Ecclesial Diversity in Chinese Christianity

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction: Ecclesial Diversity and Theology in Chinese Christianity

   • Alexander Chow

   Pages 1-23

3. Afterword: Christianity in China—Pathways, Problems, and Prospects

   • Philip L. Wickeri

   Pages 209-218

4. Missionary Encounters in China

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25

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   2. Christian Missions’ Encounter with High Chinese Culture 1900–1914

      • Mark Chapman

      Pages 27-52

   3. Catholic Apologetic Mission in Pre-Vatican II China: A Study of Two Chinese Catholic Texts

      • Connie Au

      Pages 53-74

5. New Concerns and New Chinese Churches

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 75-75

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   2. Diasporic Chinese (Huaqiao 華僑) or Multicultural Malaysian? The Challenges of Being Chinese and Christian in Malaysia Today

      • Jonathan Y. Tan

      Pages 77-98

   3. British Immigration Policies and British Chinese Christianity

      • Alexander Chow

      Pages 99-120

   4. The Politics of Jesus’ Love: K. H. Ting, Contextual Interpretation of the Gospels and Images of Jesus in Modern China

      • Zhixi Wang

      Pages 121-137

6. Chinese Churches and Urban Identity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 139-139

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   2. The Politics of Space: Affect, Church Membership, and Ecclesial Identity in Contemporary Chinese Reformed Churches

      • Steven Hu

      Pages 141-165

   3. Isolation and Outreach: Christian Churches in Shanghai and Beyond

      • Benoît Vermander

      Pages 167-181

   4. “Fraught” Chineseness: “Chinese Christians” in the Vancouver Sun

      • Justin K. H. Tse

      Pages 183-207

7. Back Matter

   Pages 219-224

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This volume explores Chinese Christianity—or Chinese Christianities—in a variety of forms and expressions, including those from outside the geopolitical boundaries of mainland China. Advancing a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese churches, the essays collected here engage many historical, sociological, cultural, and theological contingencies. The collection includes historical discussions of the early-20^th-century encounters of Protestant and Catholic missionaries in China and the rise of Christianity among Malaysian Chinese and British Chinese communities. Essays examine the thinking of K. H. Ting (or Ding Guangxun), often remembered for his leadership in the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in the 1980s–90s, by revisiting his earlier theology and approach to the Bible in the 1930s–50s. These retrospectives give way to contemporary explorations into how Chinese churches negotiate their urban identities amidst the complexities of globalization in Chengdu and Shanghai, as well as in Vancouver, Canada. Taken as a whole, this collection offers close examinations into various aspects of Chinese Christianity’s complex picture, helping readers to recognize the many shades and colors of the global Chinese Church. 

• Chinese Christianity
• religious pluralism
• Christian Theology
• Chinese Diaspora
• Asian Studies

“This work critically examines China’s Christian legacy both inside and out of China’s geopolitical margins by convening an impressive array of scholars and disciplines. Prodigiously researched and filled with nuanced insights, this volume brings into sharp focus the historical, theological, and cultural contrasts that emerged from and flowed into China’s diverse Christianities.”

• School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

  Alexander Chow

• Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC), Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, USA

  Easten Law

Alexander Chow is Senior Lecturer in Theology and World Christianity in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, UK, and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity.

Easten Law is Assistant Director for Academic Programs at Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) at Princeton Theological Seminary, USA.