A scholar recently called on the church to have the vision of being bold in becoming the Kingdom of God.
On October 16th, at a forum on theology, Professor Qu Xutong from the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was invited to deliver a lecture titled “Becoming a Vision: On the 'Redenomination' of Chinese Christianity”.
Having graduated from Heidelberg University in Germany with a master’s degree and a doctorate in theology, Professor Qu teaches at the Institute of Foreign Philosophy and Culture and the Institute of Religion and Culture at the School of Philosophy of Beijing Normal University.
Starting with real cases, Professor Qu, also a visiting scholar at the Bart Research Center in Princeton, pointed out that the form and influence of Christian denominations in China had always been there. When talking about the theological premise of understanding denominationalism, he urged, “The church should be bold in becoming the Kingdom of God as a vision!”
Firstly, in terms of methods, attention should be paid to the tension and balance between the vertical dimension and the plane dimension, he proposed. Christians should not be too “godly” - too radical, nor too “human” - too compromised.
"We should seek and witness God’s own purpose in between God and men. In addition, we should pay attention to the 'uniqueness and many' in the plane dimension. That included the differences between God’s unique words and people’s responses in different times and situations and the practicality and situation of faith."
When it comes to theology, Professor Qu suggested the focus on Christology, the gospel of the Trinity, and the triplet of dimensions of the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as the king. In particular, the Chinese Church lacked the understanding and explanation of the Trinity. The triplet of images of Jesus as the king in the Kingdom of God included the king, the priest, and the prophet, while different denominations understood the triplet of images differently.
For instance, the church had different understandings of the mission: the first understanding was that “the Kingdom of God is in you”, which had nothing to do with specific situations, society, history and culture, and the philosophy only focused on the salvation of the soul; the second insight was that “the Kingdom of God is among you” in which Christians should participate in the construction of culture and society; the third understanding was that “the Kingdom of God is both in you and among you”; and the fourth notion was that the Kingdom of God was a mechanism of mobilization.
“The church is not the Kingdom of God, and it is often not like the Kingdom of God.” He stressed, “The church cannot become or establish God’s kingdom by itself, and it is only possible for the church to participate in God’s kingdom by virtue of God’s grace. The church should be bold to be like the Kingdom of God, to be a ‘preview’ and ‘vision’ of the Kingdom of God, and sincerely witness to and bravely lead others to the Kingdom of God.”
Professor Qu explained the word “vision”, “The word vision was adopted and conformed to the accustomed expression that Chinese Christians are used to. Diverse visions emphasize that there are many visions in the Kingdom of God. The specific received vision is one but of the many, the specific and different vision.”
“In reality, there is no such a concrete church that is ideal, unique, ecumenical and purely true, but only a church that is specific and situational, that pursues and witnesses the truth between ideal and reality, holiness and filth, ecumenism and localization, God and men, inside and outside, and above and below, and that sincerely tries to work with God,” he added.
Considering the church theory in view of "the Kingdom of God” mentioned above, the so-called Christian denomination could be understood as: how to receive the vision from God, how churches should specifically respond to various situations, and what kind of specific denomination or tradition to establish or spread.
His understanding of the Christian denomination first emphasized mobility and generativity followed by continuity and stability. His philosophy was different from the traditional classification of sociology or history and divided the church into mainstream denominations and small factions.
The speaker thought that denomination had three dimensions, including church life (especially church etiquette, church pastoral care, governance, and mission), historical narration, and theological orthodoxy. These three dimensions interacted and influenced each other.
He also explained denominationalism figuratively. For instance, different denominations were compared to large and small rivers. Small rivers might become great rivers and vice versa or even disappear.
As to specific situations and historical tasks, Professor Qu put forward several questions for consideration.
"Does the church belong to 'Chinese Christianity' or 'Christianity in China'? We return to the three dimensions of denominationalism. Is church life Chinese or an American denomination in China? Is the historical narration traced back to Christ or certain pastors?”
In view of the global situation, he raised a question - "how can we get out of the judgmental opposition and one-dimensional paranoia between belief and reason, conservative and liberal after the Enlightenment?"
With regards to China’s situation, he asked, "How can we get out of the opposition between the house church and the Three-self church after the May Fourth New Culture Movement or the Anti-Christian Movement?"
Professor Qu concluded the lecture by sharing his theological imagination and expectation, "In church life, do ceremonies such as preaching and communion services, and church governance and pastoral care have Chinese features and characteristics, which are also a great need of Chinese churches? In historical narration, where is the identity and continuity of the church? In theological orthodoxy, does the Chinese church explore the Chinese theological orthodoxy while returning to the ecumenically diverse Church?"
"Chinese theology can be used as a good proof of scientific theology and church practice," he stressed.
- Translated by Charlie Li
一名学者呼吁，“教会要敢于成为上帝国的异象！”
10月16日，在一个有关神学话题的论坛上，清华大学哲学系瞿旭彤教授受邀分享题为《成为异象：试论中国基督教的“重新宗派化”》的讲座。
瞿旭彤教授于德国海德堡大学神学研究硕士和神学博士毕业，先后任教于北京师范大学哲学学院外国哲学与文化研究所、宗教与文化研究所，历任讲师、副教授等，并曾作为美国普林斯顿巴特研究中心访问学者。
瞿教授从事实情况出发，提出中国基督教宗派的形式和影响是一直都存在着的。当谈到理解宗派化问题的神学前提，瞿教授谈到：“教会要敢于成为上帝国的异象！”
首先在方法上，要注意垂直维度和平面维度之间的张力和平衡，不能太“神”——太激进，也不能太“人”——太妥协，要在神人“之间”寻求和见证神自己的心意。另外也要注意平面维度的“一与多”，包括神的独一话语与人在不同时代和处境的回应、信仰的实事性与处境性之间的区别。
第二，在神学上，瞿教授提出要注意基督论的专注与三一论的福音、耶稣基督作王的上帝国的三重维度两方面，尤其是中国教会缺乏对三一论的理解与解释。以基督为王的上帝国的三重形象包括君王、祭祀、先知，不同宗派对三重形象有不同的领受和强调。
举例来说，教会对使命有不同的理解：第一种理解是“上帝国在你们心中”，与具体处境、社会、历史和文化等无关，只专注灵魂的得救；第二种理解是“上帝国在你们中间”，基督徒要参与文化、社会的建设；第三种理解认为“上帝国既在你们中间，也在你们心中”；第四种理解认为上帝国作为动员机制。
“教会不是上帝的国，而且往往不像上帝的国。”瞿教授强调说：“教会无法靠自己成为或建立上帝的国，教会只能凭着上帝的恩典有可能参与上帝的国。教会要敢于像上帝的国，敢于成为上帝国的‘预演’和‘异象’，真诚地见证和勇敢地指向上帝的国。”
瞿教授对“异象”一词进行了解释：“异象是套用中国基督徒的用语。异象强调的是上帝国有很多象，具体领受的异象是多种中的一种，具体的、别异的象。”
“在现实中，没有理想的、独一的、大公的、独真的具体教会，而只有具体的、处境的、在理想与现实、圣洁与污秽、大公与地方、神与人、内与外、上与下之间的追求和见证真理、真诚地试图与神同工的教会。”
从上述“上帝国视域”中的教会论出发，所谓基督教的宗派化问题，可以理解为：如何领受从上帝而来的异象，在具体处境中成为何样的具体教会，并且建立或传教何种具体宗派或传统问题。
他对基督教宗派化问题的理解首先强调流动性与生成性，其次才是持续性和稳定性。它不同于传统社会学或历史学的分类，把教会分成主流宗派和小派。
主讲人认为宗派化有三个维度，包括教会生活（特别是教会礼仪、教会牧养和治理、宣教）、历史叙事和神学道统。这三个维度是彼此互动和影响的。
他也用比喻具象化讲解宗派化，例如不同宗派比作大小河流，小河可能成为大江，大江也可能成为小溪，甚至归于无有。
针对具体环境和历史任务，瞿教授提出了几个问题供大家思考：
教会是“中国的基督教”，还是“在中国的基督教”？面对这一问题，瞿教授说：“我们回到宗派化三重维度去考虑。教会生活是中国的还是在中国的美国宗派？历史叙事是追溯到基督还是某个牧师？”
针对全球处境，如何走出启蒙以后信仰与理性、保守派与自由派的指摘性对立和单向度偏执？
针对中国处境，如何走出五四新文化运动或非基督教运动以后家庭教会与三自教会的对立？
最后，瞿教授分享了自己的一些神学想象与期待：
——在教会生活中，讲道、圣餐等仪式和教会治理与牧养是否有中国的特色和特点，同时也是中国教会很大的需要？在历史叙事上，教会的身份认同与延续在哪里？在神学道统上，中国教会是否在回归大公多元教会的同时，探寻汉语神学道统？
——汉语神学可以作为科学神学的好真和教会实践的好证。
学者分享| 教会要敢于“成为上帝国”的异象：试论中国基督教的“重新宗派化”
A scholar recently called on the church to have the vision of being bold in becoming the Kingdom of God.
On October 16th, at a forum on theology, Professor Qu Xutong from the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University was invited to deliver a lecture titled “Becoming a Vision: On the 'Redenomination' of Chinese Christianity”.
Having graduated from Heidelberg University in Germany with a master’s degree and a doctorate in theology, Professor Qu teaches at the Institute of Foreign Philosophy and Culture and the Institute of Religion and Culture at the School of Philosophy of Beijing Normal University.
Starting with real cases, Professor Qu, also a visiting scholar at the Bart Research Center in Princeton, pointed out that the form and influence of Christian denominations in China had always been there. When talking about the theological premise of understanding denominationalism, he urged, “The church should be bold in becoming the Kingdom of God as a vision!”
Firstly, in terms of methods, attention should be paid to the tension and balance between the vertical dimension and the plane dimension, he proposed. Christians should not be too “godly” - too radical, nor too “human” - too compromised.
"We should seek and witness God’s own purpose in between God and men. In addition, we should pay attention to the 'uniqueness and many' in the plane dimension. That included the differences between God’s unique words and people’s responses in different times and situations and the practicality and situation of faith."
When it comes to theology, Professor Qu suggested the focus on Christology, the gospel of the Trinity, and the triplet of dimensions of the Kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as the king. In particular, the Chinese Church lacked the understanding and explanation of the Trinity. The triplet of images of Jesus as the king in the Kingdom of God included the king, the priest, and the prophet, while different denominations understood the triplet of images differently.
For instance, the church had different understandings of the mission: the first understanding was that “the Kingdom of God is in you”, which had nothing to do with specific situations, society, history and culture, and the philosophy only focused on the salvation of the soul; the second insight was that “the Kingdom of God is among you” in which Christians should participate in the construction of culture and society; the third understanding was that “the Kingdom of God is both in you and among you”; and the fourth notion was that the Kingdom of God was a mechanism of mobilization.
“The church is not the Kingdom of God, and it is often not like the Kingdom of God.” He stressed, “The church cannot become or establish God’s kingdom by itself, and it is only possible for the church to participate in God’s kingdom by virtue of God’s grace. The church should be bold to be like the Kingdom of God, to be a ‘preview’ and ‘vision’ of the Kingdom of God, and sincerely witness to and bravely lead others to the Kingdom of God.”
Professor Qu explained the word “vision”, “The word vision was adopted and conformed to the accustomed expression that Chinese Christians are used to. Diverse visions emphasize that there are many visions in the Kingdom of God. The specific received vision is one but of the many, the specific and different vision.”
“In reality, there is no such a concrete church that is ideal, unique, ecumenical and purely true, but only a church that is specific and situational, that pursues and witnesses the truth between ideal and reality, holiness and filth, ecumenism and localization, God and men, inside and outside, and above and below, and that sincerely tries to work with God,” he added.
Considering the church theory in view of "the Kingdom of God” mentioned above, the so-called Christian denomination could be understood as: how to receive the vision from God, how churches should specifically respond to various situations, and what kind of specific denomination or tradition to establish or spread.
His understanding of the Christian denomination first emphasized mobility and generativity followed by continuity and stability. His philosophy was different from the traditional classification of sociology or history and divided the church into mainstream denominations and small factions.
The speaker thought that denomination had three dimensions, including church life (especially church etiquette, church pastoral care, governance, and mission), historical narration, and theological orthodoxy. These three dimensions interacted and influenced each other.
He also explained denominationalism figuratively. For instance, different denominations were compared to large and small rivers. Small rivers might become great rivers and vice versa or even disappear.
As to specific situations and historical tasks, Professor Qu put forward several questions for consideration.
"Does the church belong to 'Chinese Christianity' or 'Christianity in China'? We return to the three dimensions of denominationalism. Is church life Chinese or an American denomination in China? Is the historical narration traced back to Christ or certain pastors?”
In view of the global situation, he raised a question - "how can we get out of the judgmental opposition and one-dimensional paranoia between belief and reason, conservative and liberal after the Enlightenment?"
With regards to China’s situation, he asked, "How can we get out of the opposition between the house church and the Three-self church after the May Fourth New Culture Movement or the Anti-Christian Movement?"
Professor Qu concluded the lecture by sharing his theological imagination and expectation, "In church life, do ceremonies such as preaching and communion services, and church governance and pastoral care have Chinese features and characteristics, which are also a great need of Chinese churches? In historical narration, where is the identity and continuity of the church? In theological orthodoxy, does the Chinese church explore the Chinese theological orthodoxy while returning to the ecumenically diverse Church?"
"Chinese theology can be used as a good proof of scientific theology and church practice," he stressed.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Scholar Says Church Needs to Be Bold to Have Vision of 'Becoming Kingdom of God'
