My friend Bonnie lend me this booklet, “An Introduction to the Mainland Chinese Soul”. It is insightful and gives a clear picture of the Chinese way of thinking and how it affects their receptivity to the gospel.
The best parts are the stories of individuals that reveal how Chinese handles life and the gospel.
The story of Ren Min, born in 1985 relates how the cultural background of his grandparents and parents during the rise of communism influences him today. The story of Chen, age 28, talks about the stressful life of a young married university graduate, making a monthly salary of about 3500 RMB ($420 USD) (This booklet was written in 2001.) Dealing with supporting their parents and trying to make a better life for themselves is difficult in China.
The story of Miss Wang shows us the thinking behind an English student of a missionary teacher in response to the gospel. “Anyway, I don’t really think there is a real God in the world – it’s just something in our minds. But it won’t hurt anyone if I act like I do believe that, and it will probably even help me be better. I can’t jeopardize this chance to learn as much as I can about foreigners and about western culture, even if it is from the Bible. What have I got to lose? So I will continue to be interested in order to keep this friendship. She is essential to my future, and she is a nice person.” While there are those who experience a genuine conversion, but I can see how Miss Wang’s response can be a typical one.
Another response is from a story of a woman, name not given, to her brother-in-law’s miraculous healing of a bloated stomach with no medical intervention. She prayed, “Lord, I don’t know if you exist, but if you do, let my brother-in-law’s stomach not hurt tomorrow and I will believe in you the rest of my life.” She saw a vision of a person in a white robe healing her BIL. The next day, after he was healed, she said, “Now I am in trouble. I have to believe the rest of my life…What I did know was Jesus was very powerful and I could count on him. And seeing that person in the robe gave me great peace. So I want to talk to my mother-in-law about it and belong to God’s people.”
The story of Gao gives a response that I think is what English teachers hope to see. “My classmates and I ask why [my teacher helps in the local orphanage], and he said the love of God helped him do that. That’s when I started reading the Bible with him. I felt I could trust a person who sacrificed so much. And I desperately wanted the peace and power he had to face such tragedies with love … After several months of study, I asked Jesus to give me that.” It’s interesting that because he had no background in Christianity, Gao did not understand about about eternal life and sin until later.
The booklet says, “Many Westerners have trusted Christ in order to be free from guilt, have eternal life and find a purpose for living,. But, since sin is a confusing concert for the Chinese, they may respond to other aspects of Jesus’ message. …The present life is more of a consideration than eternal life in their worldview. Their orientation emphasizes benefit, face and relationships.”