A lecture entitled “Rereading Latourette: Seeking the Balance between Faith and History” as a part of the Chinese Theology Lecture Series was held online.
On October 7th, Liu Jiafeng, a professor from the School of History and Culture at Shandong University, delivered an online lecture on Kenneth Scott Latourette’s life. Latourette did pioneer work in Christian historiography. In the lecture, the professor shared Latourette’s experience of seeking the balance between faith and history in research, writing, and Christian historiography.
Latourette, a descendant of French immigrants in America, was born into a Baptist family in 1884. From an early age, he was asked to recite the Bible, abide strictly by Christian self-discipline, frugality and a diligent lifestyle. He was a devout believer and also took part in the student volunteer overseas missionary movement.
In 1909, Latourette studied under Frederick Wells Williams, a sinologist. In 1910, he came to China as a missionary and worked for Yale Middle School in Changsha. However, he left China in 1912 because he suffered from gastroenteritis. In 1921, Latourette became a professor of missionary studies at Yale University. In 1927, he succeeded Williams as a professor of evangelism and Orientalism until he retired at the age of 69. After retirement, he continued writing books but died in a car accident in 1968.
Latourette won many honors in his life, and Miner Searle Bates commented that he was a “doer of Christian history”.
Latourette wrote 83 books and nearly 1,000 articles in his life, and nearly one million copies of his works have been sold. His book A History of Christian Missions in China established his position as a Christian historian. It has 930 pages, 54 bibliographies and more than 4,000 footnotes. Some people commented that this book was “a standard reference book for studying the history of Christianity in China”. The book still deserves a record for brilliance in writing.
Latourette inherited and developed Leopold von Ranke’s view of religious history. Ranke emphasized “telling the truth”, relying on original materials and tracing the source. The Enlightenment rejected God’s participation in human affairs, while Ranke abandoned the rationalism of the Enlightenment and advocated the religious historical view. He believed that “in all the historical processes, God is everywhere” and “every critical moment proved that God is dominating everything”. He believed that God intervened directly in history.
In Latourette’s speeches, he mentioned his religious view of history. He believed that when God created people in his own image, he also gave people a certain degree of free will. The unique understanding of Christian history was centered on historical events, with Jesus at its core. He firmly believed that God was love and gave himself up as a human being in the way of Jesus and that the historical process was God’s search for human beings.
Latourette’s book The History of the Dissemination of Christianity in China is a typical work of missionary history that includes the three branches of the Christian religion: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Protestantism. This was not common practice at that time. This was his “opening up a new road again” after the history of the Far East. His other works, including the History of Christian Expansion and History of Christianity, have thoroughly implemented the idea of Christian universalism and overcome traditionally sectarian methods of writing.
The focus of Latourette’s writing was the actions of Western missionaries in China. There were few descriptions of what Chinese believers did. However, he also put forward the topic of “China Christianity” and pointed out that the missionary movement was a part of the total Western influence on China. This included not only religious factors but also Western economic, political and intellectual ones. At the same time, efforts were made to understand Chinese reactions to missionaries and their messages.
Latourette’s writing of missionary history led to a new concept of “Christian history” in lieu of “church history" in the traditional sense. He believed that the history of the church only revealed the internal development of the church, while the history of Christianity included the history of the church. He paid more attention to the influence of Christian thoughts and culture in wider society. He called this social dimension “the influence of the environment” and it was a two-way street: The environment affected the church and the church also affected the environment. Therefore, his works paid attention to the institutions established by the church, such as schools and hospitals as well as orphanages and other social services and charitable causes.
Latourette was most concerned about criticism from the church and its theologians.
Among the critics, some said he only knew how to collect data and lacked ideas, mocking him as a “diligent chronicler”. Others stripped Christianity from theology, focused on culture and environment and “made people despair of Christianity”. Theologians questioned his definition of Christianity, saying it was too general, and called the dichotomy between the Gospel and Christianity “disgustingly secular”.
Bates, a student of Latourette, once criticized him for his lack of theological knowledge of faith, while Niebuhr said bluntly that he was a layman in theology. A pastor of the Anglican Church criticized that Latourette’s historical philosophy was not the eschatology of Hebrew Christianity in the New Testament, but an evolutionary perfectionism. Others thought that Latourette’s view of history deviated from the testimony of the Bible.
As an overseas missionary and an ordained Baptist minister, Latourette had a deep Christian faith and a background in piety. He received strict professional training in history, which convinced him that all conclusions must be based on facts. Therefore, his research reflected the tension and balance between history and belief.
Latourette felt that academic work as a Christian should embody the mission of Christianity and serve that purpose. Therefore, the beliefs that “Jesus influences” and that “the divine purpose guides historical events” were highlighted in his works.
- Translated by Charlie Li
“汉语神学研究”系列讲座“重读赖德烈：寻求信仰与历史的平衡”在线上举行。
10月7日，来自山东大学历史文化学院的刘家峰教授以为主题，介绍了赖德烈作为基督教史学研究开路者的生平，并从他的研究、书写和基督教史观等方面讲述了他寻求信仰与历史平衡的经历。(==当summary）
赖德烈是一个法国移民的后裔，出生在一个浸信会家庭。他从小就被要求背诵《圣经》，严格遵守基督教的自律、节俭与勤奋的生活方式，是一位虔诚的信徒。他也曾参加过学生志愿海外传教运动。
1909年，赖德烈师从汉学家卫斐列，1910年来到中国做传教士并在长沙雅礼学校工作，不过他由于患有肠胃炎，1912年便回国。1921年他成为耶鲁大学的传教学教授，1927年接替卫斐列成为“传教学与东方学”教授，直到他69岁退休。退休后，他仍然坚持写作。1968年因车祸去世。
赖德烈的一生获得了不少荣誉，贝德士评价他为“基督教史的实干家”。
赖德烈一生有83本著作和近千篇文章，著作销售近100万册。他所写的《基督教在华传教史》奠定了他在基督教史学家的地位，这本书共有930页，书目54页，注脚超过4000条。有人评价这本书为“至今仍是研究中国基督教史的标准参考书”。他写作的辉煌记录至今无法打破。
赖德烈继承发展了兰克的宗教史观。兰克强调“如实直书”，依靠原始资料，穷本溯源。启蒙运动拒绝了上帝对人类事物的参与，而兰克摒弃了启蒙运动的理性主义，宣扬宗教史观，他认为“在全部的历史进程中，上帝是无处不在的”，“每一个关键时刻都有证明，上帝在主宰一切”。他认为上帝直接干预历史。
赖德烈在演讲中提到自己的宗教史观，他认为上帝按照自己的形象创造人时，也给了人一定程度的自由意志；基督教对历史的独特理解是以历史事件为中心，其核心是耶稣。他坚信上帝是爱，并以耶稣的方式舍己为人，而历史的进程是上帝对人的寻找。
赖德烈的著作《基督教在华传播史》是一个典型的传教史著作，把基督宗教的三个分支——天主教、东正教和新教都包含进去，而这在当时并不是一个普遍的做法。这是他在远东史领域之后“再次开辟了一条新路”。他的其他著作包括《基督教扩张史》、《基督教史》，则更彻底地贯彻了这一基督教普世主义的思想，克服了传统宗派主义的写作方法。
虽然赖德烈所阐述的重点是西方传教士在中国的所作所为，对中国人(信徒)的作为叙述较少。但是他也提出了"基督教中国化”的议题，并指出传教运动是西方对华影响的一部分，不仅仅是宗教因素，西方经济、政治和知识因素都在影响传教运动，同时也要努力地理解中国人对传教士和所传信息的反应。
赖德烈的传教史写作引向了一个新概念"基督教史”而非传统意义上的“教会史”。他认为教会史仅仅揭示了教会内部的发展，而"基督教史"包括了“教会史”。 他更注重基督教思想与文化在更广泛的社会中的影响，并把这种社会维度称之为“环境的影响”，而且是双向的——环境影响着教会，教会也影响着环境。因此，他的著作中注重教会所建立的机构，如学校、医院、孤儿院等社会服务工作和慈善事业。
赖德烈最在意的就是教会与神学家的批评。
其中，有人说他只知道收集数据、缺乏思想，讥讽他是“勤感的编年史学家”。还有人他把基督教与神学内容剥离了，注重文化与环境，“让人对基督教绝望”。神学家对他提出的基督教定义表示质疑，认为过于笼统，并称福音与基督教的二分法是“令人恶心的世俗”。
赖德烈的学生贝德士也曾批评他缺乏信仰的神学认知，而尼布尔则毫不客气地说他是神学的门外汉。英国公理会的一位牧师批评认为赖德烈依据的历史哲学不是新约的希伯来·基督教的末世论，而是一种进化的完美主义。还有人也认为赖德烈所持的历史观严重偏离了《圣经》的见证。
作为一名海外传教士和浸信会的按立牧师，赖德烈有着深刻的基督教信仰，并伴有虔诚主义的底色。而他又接受过严格的历史学专业训练，这让他认为所有结论必须在事实的基础上。因此，在他的研究中体现了历史与信仰之间的张力与平衡。
赖德烈觉得作为基督徒的学术工作当然要带有基督教的使命，要服务基督教的目的。因此，在他的著作中呈现出“耶稣的影响”、“神圣目的引导着历史事件”的信念。
学术讲座 | 刘家峰教授：重读赖德烈——寻求信仰与历史的平衡
A lecture entitled “Rereading Latourette: Seeking the Balance between Faith and History” as a part of the Chinese Theology Lecture Series was held online.
On October 7th, Liu Jiafeng, a professor from the School of History and Culture at Shandong University, delivered an online lecture on Kenneth Scott Latourette’s life. Latourette did pioneer work in Christian historiography. In the lecture, the professor shared Latourette’s experience of seeking the balance between faith and history in research, writing, and Christian historiography.
Latourette, a descendant of French immigrants in America, was born into a Baptist family in 1884. From an early age, he was asked to recite the Bible, abide strictly by Christian self-discipline, frugality and a diligent lifestyle. He was a devout believer and also took part in the student volunteer overseas missionary movement.
In 1909, Latourette studied under Frederick Wells Williams, a sinologist. In 1910, he came to China as a missionary and worked for Yale Middle School in Changsha. However, he left China in 1912 because he suffered from gastroenteritis. In 1921, Latourette became a professor of missionary studies at Yale University. In 1927, he succeeded Williams as a professor of evangelism and Orientalism until he retired at the age of 69. After retirement, he continued writing books but died in a car accident in 1968.
Latourette won many honors in his life, and Miner Searle Bates commented that he was a “doer of Christian history”.
Latourette wrote 83 books and nearly 1,000 articles in his life, and nearly one million copies of his works have been sold. His book A History of Christian Missions in China established his position as a Christian historian. It has 930 pages, 54 bibliographies and more than 4,000 footnotes. Some people commented that this book was “a standard reference book for studying the history of Christianity in China”. The book still deserves a record for brilliance in writing.
Latourette inherited and developed Leopold von Ranke’s view of religious history. Ranke emphasized “telling the truth”, relying on original materials and tracing the source. The Enlightenment rejected God’s participation in human affairs, while Ranke abandoned the rationalism of the Enlightenment and advocated the religious historical view. He believed that “in all the historical processes, God is everywhere” and “every critical moment proved that God is dominating everything”. He believed that God intervened directly in history.
In Latourette’s speeches, he mentioned his religious view of history. He believed that when God created people in his own image, he also gave people a certain degree of free will. The unique understanding of Christian history was centered on historical events, with Jesus at its core. He firmly believed that God was love and gave himself up as a human being in the way of Jesus and that the historical process was God’s search for human beings.
Latourette’s book The History of the Dissemination of Christianity in China is a typical work of missionary history that includes the three branches of the Christian religion: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Protestantism. This was not common practice at that time. This was his “opening up a new road again” after the history of the Far East. His other works, including the History of Christian Expansion and History of Christianity, have thoroughly implemented the idea of Christian universalism and overcome traditionally sectarian methods of writing.
The focus of Latourette’s writing was the actions of Western missionaries in China. There were few descriptions of what Chinese believers did. However, he also put forward the topic of “China Christianity” and pointed out that the missionary movement was a part of the total Western influence on China. This included not only religious factors but also Western economic, political and intellectual ones. At the same time, efforts were made to understand Chinese reactions to missionaries and their messages.
Latourette’s writing of missionary history led to a new concept of “Christian history” in lieu of “church history" in the traditional sense. He believed that the history of the church only revealed the internal development of the church, while the history of Christianity included the history of the church. He paid more attention to the influence of Christian thoughts and culture in wider society. He called this social dimension “the influence of the environment” and it was a two-way street: The environment affected the church and the church also affected the environment. Therefore, his works paid attention to the institutions established by the church, such as schools and hospitals as well as orphanages and other social services and charitable causes.
Latourette was most concerned about criticism from the church and its theologians.
Among the critics, some said he only knew how to collect data and lacked ideas, mocking him as a “diligent chronicler”. Others stripped Christianity from theology, focused on culture and environment and “made people despair of Christianity”. Theologians questioned his definition of Christianity, saying it was too general, and called the dichotomy between the Gospel and Christianity “disgustingly secular”.
Bates, a student of Latourette, once criticized him for his lack of theological knowledge of faith, while Niebuhr said bluntly that he was a layman in theology. A pastor of the Anglican Church criticized that Latourette’s historical philosophy was not the eschatology of Hebrew Christianity in the New Testament, but an evolutionary perfectionism. Others thought that Latourette’s view of history deviated from the testimony of the Bible.
As an overseas missionary and an ordained Baptist minister, Latourette had a deep Christian faith and a background in piety. He received strict professional training in history, which convinced him that all conclusions must be based on facts. Therefore, his research reflected the tension and balance between history and belief.
Latourette felt that academic work as a Christian should embody the mission of Christianity and serve that purpose. Therefore, the beliefs that “Jesus influences” and that “the divine purpose guides historical events” were highlighted in his works.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Rereading Kenneth Scott Latourette: Seeking the Balance Between Faith and History
