Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Chinese theologians in the last several decades have been compelled by historical situations to engage in the task of contextualization, long before the term came to be used. Modern China has gone through a tortuous history of political turmoil, of intense searching for directions of cultural reconstruction, of rapid sociocultural transformation, and of continual intellectual reorientation in the quest for modernization. Chinese theologians thus found themselves in fertile soil for theological exploration on the one hand, yet overwhelmed by challenges from all directions on the other. They have also had to face the stark reality of communist rule since 1949. The year 1949 was in fact the watershed for the Chinese church, and one has to see the development of modern Chinese Christian thought in two phases – one before 1949 and one from 1949 onwards. Politically, modern China began in 1911 with the founding of the Republic of China. Socioculturally, however, the advent of the May-Fourth Movement (the New Culture Movement) in 1917 marked the beginning of the modern era. 1917 to 1949 was perhaps the most creative period for theological thinking, and in fact we see some of the best theological minds emerging to face the challenge of the times. There were several urgent issues to be addressed. There was the question of the relevance of religion in modern society. As science was regarded ... log in or subscribe to read full text