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Abstracts
of CGST JOURNAL (Issue No.30 Jan 2001)
Religious Paths Ancient and Modern:
Reflections on Cases of Chinese Religion
Social Participation of the Hong Kong
Protestant Church in the Early Eighties:
An Analysis of Her Conviction (An abstract)
Kwok Wai-luen
Falun Gong and New Religions
in Contemporary China (An abstract)
Ying Fuk-tsang
A Comparison Between Ancient Chinese
and Western Rhetorics (An abstract)
Yeo Khiok-khng
The Spirituality of William Johnston:
A Case Study of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (An abstract)
So Yuen-tai
The Challenge of Foucault's View on
Power/Truth to Christianity:
A Preliminary Response (An abstract)
Kai-man Kwan
Towards an Ethics of the Human Genome
Project (HGP) (An abstract)
Pattle P. T. Pun
麥斯威爾的先驅───菲羅普洛（中文撮要）
托倫斯
Social Participation
of the Hong Kong Protestant Church in the Early Eighties:
An Analysis of Her Conviction
(An abstract)
Kwok Wai-luen
Assistant Research Officer
Chinese Culture Research Centre
China Graduate School of Theology
This paper investigates the social participation of the Hong Kong Protestant Church by looking into a document called The Conviction of Hong Kong Christians in the Present Social and Political Changes. In the early eighties, the citizens of Hong Kong, as well as the Christians, were in a "confidence crisis" because of Political uncertainties that lay ahead in the future. The Protestant churches, which had long been considered fundamentalist in theology and apathetic in politics, demonstrated a resurgence of social concern in their declaration of this Conviction on 16 April 1984.
The Conviction rallied a movement that was unprecedented in the history of the Hong Kong Protestant Church in her response to particular social/political issues. About 3000 Christians and over 200 pastors and parachurch workers participated. The role of the church in a society facing political changes was discussed. In the Conviction, the church recognized her triple identity: Chinese－Hong Kong citizen－Christian, and noted that this identity called for a sense of responsibility towards the society of Hong Kong and towards China. The church was to promote welfare, justice, equality and democracy in the society of Hong Kong. Evangelism should not be her only concern, but should be an integral part of a holistic vision of the manifestation of God's Kingdom. The Conviction also urged for reconciliation among evangelical and ecumenical churches, as a witness of unity in the face of an uncertain future.
The Conviction represents a remarkable breakthrough in the theological and social stance of the church, which was deep-rooted fundamentalist in her background. This paper points out the contributing factors for this change. They are, namely, the awareness of the identity of the church within the society of Hong Kong, the growing number of young people and university students in the congregations, the emergence of a younger generation of church leaders, and the influence of evangelical theologies from the west.
The paper also studies the achievements of the Conviction. The Conviction succeeded
in arousing social consciousness among Christians, and in initiating a series
of Christian social movements that were significant. Church manifestos published
later in the 1990's, though more numerous, were by no means comparable to the
Conviction, whether in scale or in terms of influence.
Falun
Gong and New Religions in Contemporary China
(An abstract)
Ying Fuk-tsang
Assistant Professor
Director of Christianity and Chinese Culture Research Centre
Alliance Bible Seminary
The development of Falun Gong （also known as Falun Dafa） has aroused much attention. While the Chinese government accuses it as an evil cult, the Falun's followers deny that there is religious essence in their faith and practice. Falun Gong is by no means a religion, they maintain. This paper defines Falun Gong as a kind of new religion with a claim to moral revitalization as its form. On the basis of its social phenomena, the author takes Falun Gong as a case to study, to shed light on the development of new religions in China. The investigation here focuses on two main issues: 1. the religiosity of Falun Dafa and the reasons for its rapid development in recent years; and 2. the comparison between Falun Gong and traditional Chinese religions.
As evidences of the religiosity of Falun Gong, the author demonstrates the deification of her founder and leader Li Hong Zhi, the mystified character of her religious disciplines, the idea of salvation involved, and the pious tendency of Li's followers. The author then goes on to analyse the strength and weaknesses of Falun Gong in comparison with traditional religions in China today. He believes that this study can inform us of the situation of religion in the political context of China, and give us a preview of its development in the 21st century.
A
Comparison Between Ancient Chinese and Western Rhetorics
(An abstract)
Yeo Khiok-khng
Associate Professor
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Western biblical scholars have used rhetorical theories, such as Greco-Roman or New Rhetoric, in their exegetical works. Chinese scholars need to know ancient Chinese rhetoric as well as ancient Western rhetoric because the textuality of the Chinese Bible contains both of them. A comparative essay like this one attempts to bring both rhetorical traditions together. It focuses on the pre-Chin Chinese traditions and the ancient Greco-Roman traditions.
The first comparison looks at the relationship between rhetorical genre and the appropriateness of persuasion. The concerns of word and thinking, form and content as well as the appropriateness of expression are found in the Classics of Chou and the work of Confucius. Aristotelian rhetoric also advocates the mastery of rhetorical means towards persuasion. Ciceronian rhetoric discusses ornatus (style), decorum (propriety), and aptum (apt) without excessive expression.
The second comparison looks at the relationship between essence, category, and ethics in rhetorical traditions. While the cosmological assumptions in Chinese and Western rhetorics are different, the concentration of discussion on this issue is the same. Both Confucius and Mencius understand the rhetorical being as a moral self, thus word and thinking and ethics are inseparable. The same issue was debated in ancient Greco-Roman rhetoric between Plato and the Sophists. Roman rhetorics are especially concerned with rounded development of self. This essay points out that the highly dialectical rhetoric of the ancient Greek tradition is probably comparable to the rhetoric of KungSunlung. The essay then moves on to Taoist rhetoric of Lao Tze and Chuang Tze to observe the relationship between cosmology and logos.
The paper concludes by identifying the implications of such comparative studies of rhetorical traditions for biblical studies. It is argued that biblical rhetoric, though influenced by Greco and Jewish rhetorics, is unique by itself. Biblical rhetoric is concerned with persuasion in proclamation and not in a dialectical proof. There is no doubt that biblical rhetoric is concerned with truth and ethics. Thus a cross-cultural understanding of rhetorical traditions will expand the capacity of biblical scholars to better interpret the text.
The
Spirituality of William Johnston:
A Case Study of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
(An abstract)
So Yuen-tai
Research Student
Department of Religion
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
There have been fewer Buddhist-Christian dialogues in China than in Japan and the West, thus says Whalen Lai. Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries in China tend to regard Buddhism as superstitious and even satanic, and Chinese Christians are much influenced by this point of view. Buddhism is thus considered a competitor to Christianity, not capable of contributing to either Chinese culture or Christianity. But is this true? The author of this paper proposes that Buddhism has its own great philosophical system and wisdom that may provide new insights, new concepts and new wordings for the reconstruction of the universal truth of the Christian faith.
In this paper, the author introduces the spirituality of William Johnston, an Irish Jesuit who has been living in Japan for more than forty years. Johnston went to Japan in 1951 and learned Zen Buddhism and Zen-sitting from the Zen Master. In the Buddhist-Christian dialogue in which he actively participates, Johnston's concern focuses on the mystical experience of meditation. He seeks to improve Christian meditation by looking into the insights and techniques of Zen. In this paper, the author tries to formulate Johnston's spirituality, discussing in detail the way of meditation, the interpretation of enlightenment, the method of discernment and the maintaining of spirituality.
Johnston's spirituality is characterized by an attempt to better the practice of prayer by emphasizing on its mystical dimension, which happens to be the central theme of Zen-sitting. In addition, Johnston applies the philosophy of Zen Buddhism to contemplation, illumining its phenomena at various stages. Zen philosophy is regarded as a good complement to Christian theology in helping Christians to reflect on and interpret their mystical experiences. Examples of this include the 'use' of wu-wei throughout contemplation, the emphasis on being in Oneness with the universe, the use of the body in meditation, the meaning of enlightenment, the method of discernment according to the Zen Master and the accentuation of "back to market places." All these can enrich Christian spirituality, according to Johnston.
The author is not saying, however, that Johnston's spirituality is the only valid model of practice. He just tries to show that it is a concrete and constructive attempt at Buddhist-Christian dialogue. It is a case to be studied by those who want to exercise inter-religion dialogue. The author argues that although Johnston employs the techniques and philosophy of Zen, he never forsakes the core belief of Christianity. In fact, he stresses the use of the Bible, the tradition and the Eucharist. How the Church interprets the Christ-event is the key to scrutinize the validity of mystical experiences, Johnston maintains. In other words, Johnston stands on the ground of the Christian faith in his incorporation of Zen in meditation. Needless to say, Johnston comes across contradictions between the two systems of belief. The problems he encounters and the way he solves them are also discussed in this paper.
The
Challenge of Foucault's View on Power/Truth to Christianity:
A Preliminary Response
(An abstract)
Kai-man Kwan
Assistant Professor
Department of Religion and Philosophy
Hong Kong Baptist University
Foucault's view on truth and knowledge is radical and influential. He thinks that power is ubiquitous, and truth and power cannot be separated. Claims to absolute truth and universal morality are inherently oppressive: they lead to elimination of diversity and domination. This view poses a challenge to Christianity, which is hardly separable from a set of truth claims about God and Christ. Some theologians respond to this challenge by abandoning the truth claims of Christianity. In this paper, I argue that Foucault's challenge can be met, and this kind of capitulation is not necessary.
First, I point out that Foucault's radical view of truth/power has been severely
criticized by many thinkers. Those criticisms tend to show that such a radical
view is beset by internal contradictions and various problems which are very
difficult to solve. The best response on Foucault's behalf is to argue that
his position is in fact milder than what it appears: Foucault is not saying
that all power and universal truths are inherently bad, only that they are dangerous.
I argue that while this interpretation of Foucault may be acceptable, this would
also greatly mitigate his challenge to Christianity. Critics can no longer argue
that Christianity's absolute truth claims automatically lead to domination.
Second, I argue that postmodern relativism cannot in fact provide a basis for tolerance and resistance to domination. Moreover, absolute truth claims and intolerance are not necessarily linked. What we need is a kind of critical realism and a conviction in the objective values of freedom and tolerance.
Finally, I argue that Foucauldians' radical view on power/truth is rooted in
their naturalism and unquestioned assumption of the death of God and of metaphysics.
Supporters of Foucault argue that those who cling to metaphysics are immature
because they cannot really face the consequences of the death of God. I argue
instead that Foucauldians who would not apply their own strategy of problematization
to naturalism, the truth which seems self-evident to them, are immature. True
maturity consists of awareness of one's finitude, and openness to the Wholly
Other.
Towards
an Ethics of the Human Genome Project (HGP)
(An abstract)
Pattle P. T. Pun
Professor of Biology
Wheaton College, IL
The application of genetic engineering culminates in the Human Genome Project (HGP) which is an investigation into our genetic makeup with the hope of finding cures for genetic diseases. The new genetics brings along with it ethical issues such as the accessibility and control of human genetic information. In this paper, the following three ethical principles are examined so as to develop a theological model for the construction of a "perfect human being" within the Christian worldview: (1) Aquinas' and Augustine's idea of the Divine Law, (2) man as God's steward in his creation, and (3) the Ethics of Virtue.
A "perfect human being" is defined by seven premises: he is (1) a creature of God confined by Finitude, (2) created to enjoy and glorify God, (3) made alive by the direct involvement of God, (4) created to be God's steward, (5) created in his Image and thus should follow the Divine Moral Law, (6) a creature representing the creation to God, (7) to conform to the Image of the Incarnate Word. The application of genetic technologies in medicine and its social implications are evaluated in accordance with each of these premises. In light of some of these motifs, the paper also analyse the ongoing legislative efforts which address the ethical issue of genetic confidentiality and non-discrimination measures.
托倫斯
本 文 論 及 兩 位 對 科 學 及 神 學 均 有 重 大 貢 獻 的 基 督 徒 ： 愛 丁 堡 的 麥 斯 威 爾 （ James Clerk Maxwell） 及 亞 歷 山 太 的 菲 羅 普 洛 （ John Philoponos） 。 前 者 轉 化 了 十 九 世 紀 科 學 的 理 性 結 構 ， 後 者 則 早 在 六 世 紀 即 已 因 其 光 學 原 理 、 動 量 理 論 及 時 空 關 係 論 ， 為 前 者 奠 下 發 展 的 基 礎 。 本 文 透 過 申 論 基 督 信 仰 對 科 學 在 三 方 面 所 作 出 有 效 的 認 知 性 貢 獻 ， 展 示 基 督 教 神 學 可 以 怎 樣 對 科 學 構 成 有 效 的 、 轉 化 性 的 影 響 。 這 三 方 面 的 貢 獻 是 ： （ 一 ） 基 督 信 仰 不 僅 為 科 學 建 立 了 嚴 謹 的 方 法 ， 令 科 學 研 究 受 其 研 究 對 象 的 性 質 所 約 束 ， 並 且 為 科 學 建 立 起 一 種 與 研 究 實 體 所 揭 示 之 實 況 吻 合 的 理 性 形 態 。 （ 二 ） 基 督 教 的 創 造 論 認 為 宇 宙 是 藉 著 神 的 道 ， 從 無 變 為 有 ， 創 造 而 成 的 。 這 道 在 某 一 特 定 時 空 之 中 成 了 肉 身 － － 耶 穌 基 督 。 道 成 肉 身 的 事 實 ， 為 科 學 帶 來 一 種 對 宇 宙 時 空 的 動 態 式 理 解 。 這 種 理 解 與 創 造 秩 序 所 展 露 的 宇 宙 烙 印 是 相 符 的 。 （ 三 ） 基 督 教 「 上 帝 是 創 造 者 」 的 教 義 對 科 學 帶 來 了 規 範 性 的 影 響 ， 令 科 學 得 以 擺 脫 靜 態 的 時 空 宇 宙 觀 ， 轉 而 對 宇 宙 時 空 形 成 一 套 動 態 的 觀 念 。 上 述 三 點 顯 示 我 們 的 確 需 要 開 創 有 如 麥 斯 威 爾 和 愛 恩 斯 坦 所 稱 的 「 新 數 學 」 （ new mathematics） －－ 一 種 內 附 時 間 關 係 的 數 學 。 至 今 為 止 ， 西 方 學 術 界 在 這 方 面 仍 未 取 得 成 功 ， 但 可 以 寄 望 的 是 中 國 的 基 督 徒 數 學 家 和 科 學 家 不 久 即 有 所 成 。
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