The Seventh Theological Seminar on the Sinicization of Christianity was held in Jiangsu Province, featuring "Quality Church Development in Jiangsu Province".
According to the Jiangsu Theological Seminary, the conference conducted on September 28-29 focused on biblical interpretation in the new era of China, the development and mission of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, and the construction of Chinese Christianity in a new era.
The conference was divided into four sessions with 16 speakers and nearly 100 attendees from political, academic, and Christian circles.
The presentation of Professor Cao Jian from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong was entitled "The Bible and Cai Yuanpei's Aesthetic Education Replacing Religious Education" in which Cao introduced Cai Yuanpei's religious view from a dialectical point of view. Cai denied the ultimate value of religions and did not agree that religion could really help mankind build a more moral society. Cai explained the Old Testament from an ethical and scientific perspective, considering the Old Testament philosophically through humanistic lenses. Cai proposed that aesthetic education should be regarded as a basic part of a new way of looking at education and replacing religious education. Professor Cao said that he did not agree with Cai's "Aesthetic Education Replacing Religious Education", but Cai's interpretation of the Old Testament from this brand-new perspective contributed to the understanding and application of the Old Testament in China.
Professor Yan Xiyu of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary gave a presentation entitled "Achievements and Disadvantages of the Three-Self in the Context of Christian Sinicization". Professor Yan said that the Three Self-patriotic Movement was a symbol of China's Christianity moving towards independence. Over the years, the Three Self-patriotic Movement had achieved a great deal and gradually changed people's perception of Chinese Christianity and Chinese Christians. However, Chinese churches had not studied Three-Self theories in detail because they lacked sufficient human resources. Many of the thoughts of their predecessors failed to form a systematic theory which leads to the lack of confidence in the Three-Self Theory. He believed that research on the history of the Three-Self Movement, the religious theory and policy of the CPC, the previous representative conferences, and the important tasks in the Chinese Church history should be regarded as the important direction of the future research on the Three-Self Theory.
Pastor Lin Peiquan of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary shared his understanding of the story of Adam and Eve, as recorded in Genesis Chapter 3. The presentation was entitled "Adam Was Always There: A Study of the Semantic Meanings in Genesis Chapter 3: 1-7". Pastor Lin believes that the view that women are the initiators of sin is due to a mistake in the translation of keywords in the 1919 edition of the Chinese Union Version Bible. By closely studying the five important key phrases "snake", "cunning", "opening (the eye)", "making people wise" and "being with her" recorded in Genesis Chapter 3, Lin proposed that Adam was always present when Eve was tempted to commit sin. Adam and Eve were actually tempted to commit sin together so Adam and Eve should bear equal responsibility.
Ma Zheng, deputy secretary-general of the Wuxi TSPM, had a speech "On the Initiation and Development of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement from the Perspective of Situationa9047 Theology". Pastor Wang Yuan from St. Paul's Christian Church in Nanjing had a presentation entitled "How to Grasp the Relationship between the Interpretation of the Bible and Chinese Culture".
Pastor Li Jiyin from Jiangsu Theological Seminary gave a presentation on "How to Understand Filial Piety from the Story of Ruth Following Naomi". With the book of Ruth as its background, the presentation explored how Christians should demonstrate filial piety through the case of Ruth following Naomi, thus showing how God-fearing people treat their upper generations. He said that he could understand from the Book of Ruth and Chinese traditional culture that it was wrong to take away the basic necessities of life and to emphasize one-sided service to God and people. Giving parents a sense of security was not only about taking care of them but also educating the younger generation on how to love. The Church should promote the example of Ruth's filial piety, love God, and love others so that more Christians could achieve a better balance in serving in their work and responding to the needs of their families. In this way, they could then be enthusiastic about their evangelism work and honoring their parents.
Pastor Wan Honglin, deputy director of the Research Department of Jiangsu Theological Seminary, analyzed the faults of heresy from the perspective of biblical hermeneutics and introduced important principles of biblical interpretation in mainstream churches.
- Translated by Charlie Li
江苏省基督教两会举办第七届“基督教中国化”神学研讨会，主题为“质量江苏教会建设”.
据江苏神学院报道，2020年9月28-29日，会议围绕新时代处境中的圣经诠释，三自爱国运动的时代发展与任务，新时代人类命运共同体建设中的基督教等方面开展研讨。
会议分为四场举行，共有16位学者、牧者、教师分享，来自政界、学界和基督教界近百人参加。
广东中山大学曹坚教授以《圣经与蔡元培的“美育代宗教论”》为题，从辩证批判的角度介绍了蔡元培的宗教观：蔡元培否定宗教的终极价值标准，也不认同宗教可以真正帮助人类构建道德，他采用了一种伦理和科学的视角解释旧约，以人文主义为导向对旧约进行哲学思考，提出将美育作为新式教育的一个基础部分，让美育代替宗教教育。曹教授表示他本人并不赞同蔡元培的“美育代宗教论”，但是蔡元培用这种崭新的视角解读旧约圣经，对于旧约在中国处境下的诠释和应用还是具有很大的贡献的。
金陵协和神学院严锡禹教授以《基督教中国化背景下看三自的成就与不足》为题进行分享，谈到三自爱国运动是中国基督教走向独立自主道路的标志，多年来三自爱国运动成绩斐然，也逐步改变了各界人民对中国基督教和中国基督徒的观感。但是中国教会对三自理论的研究重视不够、人才匮乏，教会前辈们的许多思想未能形成系统理论，导致中国教会当下仍然缺乏三自理论的自信。他认为应当把三自历史的研究、中共宗教理论与宗教政策的研究、历届代表会议的研究和教会历史中重要任务的研究作为未来三自理论研究的重要任务。
金陵协和神学院林培泉牧师以《亚当一直在场——〈创世记〉第3章1-7节词义研究》为题，分享了他对《创世记》第3章记载的始祖亚当夏娃犯罪故事的理解。他认为，由于1919年版中文《圣经和合本》对关键词汇的误译，导致妇女被视为人类犯罪的起始者。他通过对《创世记》第3章中记载的“蛇”、“狡猾”、“开”、“能使人有智慧”和“与她一起的”五个重要词汇进行原文解读，提出夏娃受到诱惑犯罪时，亚当一直在场，始祖亚当夏娃其实是作为一体受到诱惑并一同犯罪的，因此亚当和夏娃应负有同等责任。
无锡市基督教三自爱国运动委员会副秘书长马峥传道以《从处境神学角度浅谈三自爱国运动的发起和发展》为题。南京市基督教圣保罗堂王媛传道以《浅析如何把握〈圣经〉诠释与中国文化的关系》为题。
江苏神学院院牧李基银牧师以《从路得跟随拿俄米浅探如何孝亲》为题，以《路得记》为背景，透过路得跟随拿俄米的事例，探索基督徒应当如何孝亲，从而向人们展示敬畏上帝的人是如何以礼事亲的。他表示自己从《路得记》和中国传统文化思想中都能体会到，抽掉人生存最基本的衣食住行，片面强调对神对人的服侍，是对爱的亵渎。让父母老有所靠，既是对父母的反哺，也是对孩子爱的培养。教会应大力倡导路得般的孝心孝行，爱神爱人，使更多的基督徒，在服侍圣工与回应家人需要、热心福音事工与孝敬父母方面，取得更好地平衡。
江苏神学院研究部副主任万洪林牧师以《圣经诠释与防范异端》为题，从圣经诠释学的角度剖析异端的错谬，并介绍了正统教会圣经诠释的重要原则。
江苏省基督教两会举办第七届“基督教中国化”神学研讨会
The Seventh Theological Seminar on the Sinicization of Christianity was held in Jiangsu Province, featuring "Quality Church Development in Jiangsu Province".
According to the Jiangsu Theological Seminary, the conference conducted on September 28-29 focused on biblical interpretation in the new era of China, the development and mission of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, and the construction of Chinese Christianity in a new era.
The conference was divided into four sessions with 16 speakers and nearly 100 attendees from political, academic, and Christian circles.
The presentation of Professor Cao Jian from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong was entitled "The Bible and Cai Yuanpei's Aesthetic Education Replacing Religious Education" in which Cao introduced Cai Yuanpei's religious view from a dialectical point of view. Cai denied the ultimate value of religions and did not agree that religion could really help mankind build a more moral society. Cai explained the Old Testament from an ethical and scientific perspective, considering the Old Testament philosophically through humanistic lenses. Cai proposed that aesthetic education should be regarded as a basic part of a new way of looking at education and replacing religious education. Professor Cao said that he did not agree with Cai's "Aesthetic Education Replacing Religious Education", but Cai's interpretation of the Old Testament from this brand-new perspective contributed to the understanding and application of the Old Testament in China.
Professor Yan Xiyu of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary gave a presentation entitled "Achievements and Disadvantages of the Three-Self in the Context of Christian Sinicization". Professor Yan said that the Three Self-patriotic Movement was a symbol of China's Christianity moving towards independence. Over the years, the Three Self-patriotic Movement had achieved a great deal and gradually changed people's perception of Chinese Christianity and Chinese Christians. However, Chinese churches had not studied Three-Self theories in detail because they lacked sufficient human resources. Many of the thoughts of their predecessors failed to form a systematic theory which leads to the lack of confidence in the Three-Self Theory. He believed that research on the history of the Three-Self Movement, the religious theory and policy of the CPC, the previous representative conferences, and the important tasks in the Chinese Church history should be regarded as the important direction of the future research on the Three-Self Theory.
Pastor Lin Peiquan of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary shared his understanding of the story of Adam and Eve, as recorded in Genesis Chapter 3. The presentation was entitled "Adam Was Always There: A Study of the Semantic Meanings in Genesis Chapter 3: 1-7". Pastor Lin believes that the view that women are the initiators of sin is due to a mistake in the translation of keywords in the 1919 edition of the Chinese Union Version Bible. By closely studying the five important key phrases "snake", "cunning", "opening (the eye)", "making people wise" and "being with her" recorded in Genesis Chapter 3, Lin proposed that Adam was always present when Eve was tempted to commit sin. Adam and Eve were actually tempted to commit sin together so Adam and Eve should bear equal responsibility.
Ma Zheng, deputy secretary-general of the Wuxi TSPM, had a speech "On the Initiation and Development of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement from the Perspective of Situationa9047 Theology". Pastor Wang Yuan from St. Paul's Christian Church in Nanjing had a presentation entitled "How to Grasp the Relationship between the Interpretation of the Bible and Chinese Culture".
Pastor Li Jiyin from Jiangsu Theological Seminary gave a presentation on "How to Understand Filial Piety from the Story of Ruth Following Naomi". With the book of Ruth as its background, the presentation explored how Christians should demonstrate filial piety through the case of Ruth following Naomi, thus showing how God-fearing people treat their upper generations. He said that he could understand from the Book of Ruth and Chinese traditional culture that it was wrong to take away the basic necessities of life and to emphasize one-sided service to God and people. Giving parents a sense of security was not only about taking care of them but also educating the younger generation on how to love. The Church should promote the example of Ruth's filial piety, love God, and love others so that more Christians could achieve a better balance in serving in their work and responding to the needs of their families. In this way, they could then be enthusiastic about their evangelism work and honoring their parents.
Pastor Wan Honglin, deputy director of the Research Department of Jiangsu Theological Seminary, analyzed the faults of heresy from the perspective of biblical hermeneutics and introduced important principles of biblical interpretation in mainstream churches.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Seventh Theological Seminar on the Sinicization of Christianity Held in Jiangsu
