Sixty Glorious Years

Fu Xianwei

October 1 2009 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Sixty years ago, a new chapter in Chinese history began as China entered a new era. This new era was brimming with hope and spurred people on. The Chinese people--who had been through so much--embarked on a great national rejuvenation. In this new era, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement was also reinvigorated and set out on the road to glory.

Christianity had entered China three times in the past, but each time had been unable to put down roots and had become lost to history. In the early nineteenth century, Protestant Christianity entered from the West once again. After undergoing years of upheaval and the calamity of war, Chinese Christianity still faced significant difficulties on the eve of the founding of the PRC. The basic reason for this lay in the historical background of the intertwining of the missionary movement with Western powers' colonialist aggression towards China. Christianity was used by imperialism, and some missionaries played a dishonourable role in acts of aggression, injuring China's national pride. Culturally, Christianity also retained Western supremacy and self-centeredness. This created antagonism and conflict between Chinese and Western cultures and prevented Christianity from assimilating with Chinese culture. Further, Western missions shackled the Christian truth to their own denominations, and demanded that Chinese believers join their own organizations in order to expand their influence. They referred to themselves as "parent organizations" and reduced Chinese churches to the status of "offshoots" without any sovereignty to speak of. Thus, the story of Christianity in the old China was a tragedy, and it had a dismal and uncertain future.

Having come to a fork in the road, which path should Chinese Christianity take? Follow the familiar way of the bygone era, turn its back on the tide of social progress and drift further away from the people, or bravely innovate and extend itself for the good of the nation, taking the path of sharing a common fate with the motherland and its people? Chinese Protestant leaders turned to prayer.

In May 1950, a delegation of Protestant leaders led by Wu Yaozong went up north to Beijing. Premier Zhou Enlai made time in his busy schedule to hold three frank and open discussions with them that went all through the night. Their mention of the ideals of self-support, self-propagation and self-governance advocated by Chinese Protestants over recent decades met with Premier Zhou's praise and approval. The talks with Premier Zhou firmed the resolve of Chinese church leaders to cut ties with imperialism, shed their reliance on foreign missions and start on the road to independence, autonomy and self-management. For this reason, forty church leaders, including Wu Yaozong, set out a proposal that was to become known as the "Three-Self Manifesto" – an essay entitled "The Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of a New China." The People's Daily newspaper published this declaration on September 23, 1950, and lent support for it in an editorial entitled "Patriotic Movement Among Protestants."

The Three-Self Patriotic Movement was both an expression of national awakening and patriotism in the Protestant sphere and also consistent with Christian doctrine and biblical teaching. It was, therefore, enthusiastically supported by patriotic believers. From this time on, Chinese Protestantism cast off the yoke of imperialism and threw off the shackles of Western missions' control, broke through the confines of Western conservative theology and removed the binding fetters of being a "foreign religion." The TSPM thereby restored the original face of the gospel, enabling Christianity to be a glorious witness for the Lord in the new China.

The Three-Self Patriotic Movement enabled Chinese Protestantism to break completely free of Western missions' control in the areas of personnel, finance, and administration. Chinese Protestantism was no longer a subsidiary or a replica, but had erased the insult of being a "foreign religion" to become rooted in Chinese culture. The church came to be truly supported, propagated, and governed by Chinese believers; this in turn caused Chinese people to change their impressions of Christianity and removed obstacles to people accepting the gospel. The TSPM both inherited and promoted the fine traditions of national righteousness and patriotic sentiment, and undertook to heighten patriotism and socialist consciousness. It fanned Chinese believers' passion for loving the country and loving the church, and encouraged believers to contribute to the construction of the new China and socialism. It realized the longstanding desire of Christians who loved the country and the church to assert the church's sovereignty and establish a Christianity that reflected their own identity.

The TSPM not only tided the Chinese church through a difficult period, but also found a new and living way for its development and laid a firm foundation for running the church well. It provided the conditions in which believers could obtain pastoral care and healthy spiritual growth. It increased mutual understanding between Protestant denominations and brought about greater unity. On the basis of mutual respect, the TSPM started on the path to united worship in 1958. In this historical step on the road to church unity, it freed itself from denominational disputes and ended fragmentation. The TSPM increased cordial interactions between Chinese Protestantism and the ecumenical church, raised the status of the Chinese church on an international level, and was hailed by churches in Third World countries as a fine example of church decolonization. The Chinese church became both more Chinese and more global. The Three-Self is an enriching and unique contribution from the Chinese church to the ecumenical church.

In the late 1970s, China implemented reforms that released the people from ideological and structural constraints that had bound them and brought to an end China's isolation. Over the last thirty years, the Party and the government have re-examined religion scientifically and implemented a policy of freedom of religious belief. In recent years, the Party and the government have emphasized the need to "give play to the positive role of religion in promoting social harmony" and "give play to the positive role of religious leaders and believers in advancing economic and social development." The advancement of these new thoughts, viewpoints, and actions constitutes a major theoretical innovation in the sinification of the Marxist view of religion. It reflects an increasing maturity in the religious theory and policy of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a continual deepening in the Party's understanding of religion and its role in society.

At the same time, the TSPM has drawn on its abundant internal energy to remain engaged with the times, constantly deepening and developing over different historical periods. With China's reforms, the TSPM's focus shifted from running the church independently to running the church well. Since this time, it has also promoted Theological Reconstruction, helped believers to foster a vibrant spiritual life and positive approach to life, and lived out the witness of being salt and light in the world. The last thirty years have been the best time in the history of Chinese Christianity! The following factors provide clear evidence for this:

• The public image of Chinese Christianity has improved and the political status of Christians has risen with the restoration of order and implementation of religious policy. Thirteen members of the current CPPCC are Christians, and church leaders sit on Peoples' Congresses and Political Consultative Congresses at both regional and national levels.
• Steady growth in the number of churches and believers. Today, there are over 55,000 churches and meeting points across China, of which 70% have been built recently. The largest church can accommodate over 7000 worshippers! According to partial statistics, there are approximately 20 million believers throughout the nation – almost thirty times the 700,000 believers that were counted in the early years of the People's Republic. The quality of clergy and believers is also constantly increasing.
• The TSPM and CCC organizations are stronger, and their management better. The national TSPM reconvened in 1978. Following the establishment of the China Christian Council in 1980, Protestant TSPM/CCC organizations were set up across the nation to serve the churches. There are currently 29 Protestant TSPM/CCC organizations at the provincial (22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 directly administered municipalities--ed.) level, excluding Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan, and efforts are underway to extend these institutional bodies to the city and county levels.
• Bible printing and distribution continue to expand. As of August 2009, the national TSPM/ CCC had printed in excess of 50 million Bibles and set up more than 70 distribution points throughout the nation in order to deliver Bibles into believers' hands quickly and efficiently.
• Continual development of theological education. In the early 1980s there was only one seminary in China – the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary; now, there are 19 seminaries spanning the national, regional, and provincial levels. Training for volunteers is also widespread and has effectively alleviated the shortage of clergy.
• Theological reflection is more dynamic. Since Theological Reconstruction was initiated in 1998, theological reflection in the Chinese church has become more dynamic. Thinking that was at odds with biblical principles and out of step with the times has retreated from the pulpit; believers have a better grasp of loving the country and loving the church, faith and works, worship and service, faith and reason, Life and everyday life, this life and the afterlife.
• Ecumenical contact is increasing; international status is rising. Contact between Chinese Protestantism and the ecumenical church gradually resumed and is now on the increase. Cordial exchanges have advanced our friendship with the ecumenical church and have also made it aware of China's true religious policy and freedom of religious belief.
• Strengthened sense of social responsibility and service. The TSPM encourages believers to care for others and believe that "a good Christian should be a good citizen." It has increased believers' understanding of subjects such as patriotism and abiding by the law, protecting the environment, serving society, maintaining social stability, national unity, and national unification. The Chinese church's ministry of social service has also gathered strong momentum. Now, as we face both opportunities and challenges, the infiltration of hostile foreign forces in the Christian sphere is increasingly intense. For this reason, we must hold unswervingly to the Three-Self patriotic principles, continue to promote Theological Reconstruction, deepen our understanding of the theological significance of the "Three Selfs," withstand infiltration, and strive to run an independent and autonomous Chinese church well.

The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) has recently proposed that activities be held to create harmonious places of worship. This will be of great benefit in promoting religious harmony and maintaining social stability. Christianity is by nature a religion that teaches harmony, reconciliation, and peace. Accordingly, the TSPM/CCC and churches throughout the nation will set up activities and deepen the Three-Self Patriotic Movement so as to increase the capacity of Chinese Protestantism for self-education and self-management and increase its influence.

In these activities, the TSPM/CCC should emphasize learning, leading churches and believers not only to have a thorough understanding of biblical teaching, but an understanding China's current pattern of development and governance so that they can follow it. Churches should build themselves institutionally by promoting a democratic operating style, instituting rules and regulations, establishing effective mechanisms, and generally being well-organized and well-managed. The church should foster talent and cultivate a group of highly skilled people who love the Party and the nation, have a high level of religious education, and are held in high esteem both inside and outside the church. The TSPM/CCC should emphasize unity within the church, continue to uphold and strengthen combined worship services, and overcome differences of opinion. We must also be willing to serve those believers who have drifted away from the TSPM/CCC and unite them with us on the path of respect for law, love for the nation and love for the church.

In holding to Three-Self patriotic principles in this new environment, Chinese Christianity should embody the spirit of moving with the times, keeping up with society, and being of one heart with the people. As we celebrate the sixtieth birthday of our great nation today, may more Christians join together in unity. May we work together to be a more perfect witness for Christ in the midst of China's social and economic development, and the building of a harmonious society.

Translated by Emily Dunne from Tian Feng, No. 358, October 2009