Searching for the Chinese face of Christ

"...Chinese are pragmatics and our psychology for responding to God or spirits is on the basis of how a religion or deities help us in our daily lives. Core questions in Chinese thinking revolve around these immediate issues: will this deity help us overcome fears? Will following this religion improve our chances of going to a better world? Will our families be protected, and will these acts of devotion bring pleasure or displeasures to our ancestors and extended families? At the risk of oversimplifications, Chinese responses can be crudely reduced to whether this religion works, and does it work for me? These observations of the Chinese psyche have critical implications for Christian evangelistic approaches.

Western philosophies are deeply influenced by the Greco-Roman philosophical separation of being and doing. The result is Christian ethics being taught, while the application is up to the individual. Buddhists are interested in the outworking of doctrines and emphasize doing first, rather than conceptually understanding the doctrines. The credibility of the gospel suffers a serious blow when Christians preach ethics before...

...Our search for an Asian face of Jesus is ultimately an issue of the Lordship of Christ. The issue is not just what non-Christians think of Jesus (“who do people say I am?”) but who is Jesus to Asian Christians (“who do you say I am?”). This Christological question penetrates into the depth of Christian worship and discipleship where one’s loyalty to Christ is not confined to safe religious boundaries. The answer that Jesus is Lord cannot be verbalized merely by individuals in the privacy of their bedrooms but are to be discussed in public spaces.

Contextually, our answers to the question of who Jesus is cannot be completely disconnected from questions about Jesus commonly held by our Muslim and Buddhist neighbours. Likewise for Asians, Christian portraits of Jesus should emerge from the sufferings and heart struggles of Asia rather than a Christology developed in 16th Century Reformation Christianity. Radical discipleships must result in Christ penetrating every aspect of socio-economic and political world of Asia. The Apostle Paul has these multiple dimensions of Christ’s Lordship when he proclaimed that “Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation; for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16)." (emphasis mine)

adapted from "The Problem of an Alien Jesus in for Asian Christianity", by Tan Kang San, Redcliffe College