Is there a difference between feeling naked and actually being naked? Over at the Gospel Coalition, Gavin Ortlund has written a post about shame called “Naked and Unashamed.” He focuses his attention on the subjective, psychological aspect of shame. This is the typical way evangelicals look at the topic of shame. In this respect, he does a good job. “Our first parents were said to be “naked and without shame,” but when sin entered the world, they sought covering (Gen.... Read more
Being half right also means being half wrong. Few people are eager to live in a half-way home or be half-dead. So, why would we be OK with telling half the story when it comes to gospel truth? I’ve been discussing ten troubling tendencies in Chinese evangelism. Here are my comments on the last three I listed. Chinese emphatically and dramatically lay stress on the death of Christ at the expense of the resurrection. If the resurrection is mentioned, it... Read more
It’s a lot easier to memorize a gospel presentation than to understand it. That seems to be a common thread in following list of troubling trends in Chinese evangelism. Previously, I discussed #1–3 (though these are not in any sort of rank). One of the major thrusts of my dissertation was to address this particular point. China is an honor-shame society, which means that issues of face and group identity are more of a concern than laws. Laws are unevenly... Read more
Chinese evangelism can often struggle to put first things first. When this happens, even if we are right in what we proclaim, we may still distort the truth simply by getting the order of things wrong. I previously listed ten troubling tendencies in Chinese evangelism. I want to offer a little bit of elaboration. We begin with the first three I listed (again, not in any particular order). If you listen to a Chinese believer explain the message of salvation,... Read more
If a foreigner plans to learn to read Chinese characters, why not learn those in the Bible first? There is a rumor out there that says the characters in the Bible are so different than those used in contemporary Chinese society. This is an unfortunate half-truth. The characters themselves are not unique to the Bible. In fact, I did a comparison between this list of characters and that of list of the 3000 most commonly used characters in Chinese society.... Read more
The Chinese know how to do multiplication. Evangelism is a trademark of the Chinese church. One cannot help but be encouraged and spurred on by Chinese brothers and sisters. It’s easy then to forget that even Chinese believers may have certain weaknesses or troubling tendencies. Chinese Christians are famous for their boldness. However, boldness is not the sum total of evangelism. I will list 10 areas of concern that I think we should be aware of when it comes to... Read more
Here are a few more suggestions to help address the problem of academic cheating among Chinese Christians Read more
Many times, I’ve heard Christians excuse the fact that many pastors routinely cheat on their seminary work. The devil didn’t make them do it. It was their culture! It’s Not Because They Don’t Know For years, I’ve heard foreigners make excuses for Chinese students: “They don’t know it’s cheating” or “They don’t think it’s wrong.” To put it frankly and as kind as I know how, those comments are simply patronizing and/or ignorant. I fully admit that a number of... Read more
Check out my most recent article “Biblical Theology from a Chinese Perspective–Interpreting Scripture through the Lens of Honor and Shame.” It’s a part of the July 2013 issue of Global Missiology. The theme of this issue is “Urban Mission.” (more…) Read more
Last week, I discussed an article about some rioting Chinese parents who protested “There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat.” Having received a lot of feedback about the article, I would now like to add some thoughts of my own based on my time teaching Chinese church leaders. First, I’ll summarize some of the things I’ve experienced. Then, I’ll share my own perspective and offer some suggestions. Previously, I worked a lot with Chinese college... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In