A History Of Christian Missions In China

What is the state of Christianity in China? Some scholars say that China is invulnerable to religion. In contrast, others say that past efforts of missionaries have failed, writing off those converted as nothing more than “rice Christians” or cynical souls who had frequented the missions for the benefits they provided. Some wonder if the Cultural Revolution extinguished any chances of Christianity in China. Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang offer a different perspective, arguing that Christianity is alive, well, and on the rise. Stark approaches the topic from an extensive research background in Christianity and Chinese history, and Wang provides an inside look at Christianity and its place in her home country of China. Both authors cover the history of religion in China, disproving older theories concerning the number of Christians and the kinds of Christians that have emerged in the past 155 years. Stark and Wang claim that when just considering the visible Christians—those not part of underground churches—thousands of Chinese are still converted to Christianity daily, and forty new churches are opening each week. A Star in the East draws on two major national surveys to sketch a close-up of religion in China. A reliable estimate is that by 2007 there were approximately 60 million Christians in China. If the current growth rate were to hold until 2030, there would be more Christians in China—about 295 million—than in any other nation. This trend has significant implications, not just for China but for the greater world order. It is probable that Chinese Christianity will splinter into denominations, likely leading to the same political, social, and economic ramifications seen in the West today. Whether you’re new to studying Christianity in China or whether this has been your area of interest for years, A Star in the East provides a reliable, thought-provoking, and engaging account of the resilience of the Christian faith in China and the implications it has for the future.

Like many of her fellow missionaries to China, Pearl Buck found that she was not immune to the influence of her adopted home. Some missionaries even found themselves "convert[ed] ... by the Far East." In this book Lian Xi tells the story of Buck and two other American missionaries to China in the early twentieth century who gradually came to question, and eventually reject, the evangelical basis of Protestant missions as they developed an appreciation for Chinese religions and culture. Lian Xi uses these stories as windows to understanding the development of a broad theological and cultural liberalism within American Protestant missions, which he examines in the second half of the book.

On the history of Christian missions in China, from the Legend of Saint Thomas in the Han dynasty, to Robert Morrison, and to modern China.

The History of Christian Missions in Guangxi, China describes the fascinating history of Catholic and Protestant missions in bandit-infested Guangxi from the seventeenth century to the present. Included is an overview of Guangxi’s historical context and its development throughout the twentieth century. Particular attention is given to the missionaries through abundant quotations and several short biographies. Other chapters include: •an examination of the relationships between mission societies and the missionaries that served in Guangxi •a detailed history of outreach to Guangxi’s minorities, including the Zhuang, Yao, Dong, and Miao •an analysis of the missionary methods and ministries of compassion •a breakdown of the costs and challenges faced by the missionaries, including martyrdom and death •an evaluation of the receptivity levels and results in Guangxi over time The book ends with an appendix of missionary quotations on life in Guangxi, to which contemporary missionaries in South China could easily relate. Although this is a regional study, readers will gain a much clearer picture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century missions and be spurred on to sacrificially make Christ known in the least reached parts of the world.

Banner-carrying Salvation Army marchers, stone-silent Quakers, jumpy Midwestern revivalists, and Prayer-book Anglicans all made up the mixed multitude sent to the Middle Kingdom by the China Inland Mission (CIM) in the nineteenth century. In China's Millions veteran historian Alvyn Austin crafts a compelling narrative of the sprawling history of the China Inland Mission. This book introduces readers to a remarkable array of sights, from the visionary, charismatic sect-leader Pastor Hsi, to the "wordless book," a missionary teaching device that fit perfectly with Chinese color cosmology, to the opium-soaked aftermath of the North China Famine of 187779. Clear, readable, and well researched, China's Millions digs deeply into the Chinese and Western past to tell a story of the strange yet hopeful result of two cultures colliding. - Publisher.

Assists scholars in their search for material on the anthropological, educational, medical, scientific, social, political, and religious dimensions of the missionary presence in China. This guide facilitates research concerning the history of Christianity in China as well as the wider Sino-Western cultural encounter.