Recommended Reading on the Catholic Church in China
The books in this list provide a robust starting point for understanding the Catholic Church in China today and how it has been shaped by its history.
In-depth academic and theological research.
The books in this list provide a robust starting point for understanding the Catholic Church in China today and how it has been shaped by its history.
In a recent presentation by Daryl Ireland on early twentieth-century Chinese Christian posters, a wealth of insights emerged that illuminate the intersection of faith and culture in China. As Chinese Christians continue to navigate the challenges of their cultural and political environment, the lessons from history can serve as both a warning and an inspiration.
Viable parallels exist between ancient Christian learning and life with Chinese Christianity, and part of the purpose of our writing these series of presentations is to identify what those are in the best way we know how.
The arrival of so many new immigrants [from Hong Kong] in a short period of time has presented both local and Chinese churches in the UK with some unique opportunities and challenges. Zipporah, a student at Singapore Bible College, conducted research into this situation for a class on mission research.
As the old Chinese saying goes: "The final mile counts for half the journey. Without it, the previous ninety-nine are wasted" (行百里路者半九十). Fully engaging with the Bible, transforming life, resembles a long and arduous road.
Overseas Chinese churches need to equip immigrant congregations to become people on the move, learn to grow and blend together in mixed groups, achieve cross-cultural missions together, and establish gospel partner relationships with other churches, instead of going it alone.
Given that the small community of the Chinese diaspora and the East Asian societies and Western societies that host it are all facing crises and challenges brought about by various changes, the ministry work done by churches in this context can provide a powerful witness, allowing the grace experienced by this small community to bless the much larger Chinese and Western populations in which it is embedded.
Current reports on Chinese churches in the UK often focus on their significant growth in numbers. To be sure, while the interviewees were all grateful for the growth, they also faced unprecedented pressures. This reminds us that when discussing the British Chinese Christian community, we should avoid falling into the trap of moralizing numbers.
Pastor Li…shared his reflections on…Christianity in China…as well as his outlook and predictions for the next decade. He believes that Chinese Christianity is transitioning from a growth period to a bottleneck period …the next long phase will be one of consolidation, with the cultivation and nurturing of excellent church talent being a key priority.
We should not erect an artificial barrier to sharing the gospel of Jesus by insisting on a Western language that non-Christians in Asia are not familiar with. Jesus is the answer, yes, but to what questions? East Asian people have a rich tradition of spiritual formation in the general sense of renovating the heart.
Readers [of Jingjiao] will not only be equipped with the fascinating history of Jingjiao, which helps overcome the anti-Christian narrative that Christianity was brought into China by European and American colonial imperialists. Christians and missionaries in various global cultural contexts will also benefit from this book by learning from the Church of the East missionaries’ creative strategies of inculturation.
Without a thorough understanding of American evangelicalism and how it was conceived within a specific historical context, Chinese Christianity could be prone to "imitating blindly," which could lead to "maladjustment" and "malnutrition," hindering its healthy growth and development in the future.