Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell
Would you say that, I’ll call it “Chinese Socialism”, as you and Curious have described, is dominant in the Chinese culture, or IS the Chinese culture, and takes precedence over every other “mindset” including the gospel of Jesus Christ?
|
The short answer is, "Yes".
The longer answer is, every culture has its own norms and ways, many tacit and unspoken, even subconscious and unnoticed by its constituents. The Chinese tilts to the collective where the American way is more to the individual. (Think of 'Clint Eastwood' or 'the Lone Ranger' as expressions of ingrained American biases.)
Guanxi network building is a way to make one's nest within the Chinese-centric LC collective, but it also reinforces the norms of that collective, and points to a "Normal Christian Church Life" that's normal only to cultural filters used by WN and WL. Like I said earlier, ask them to "remember the poor, which we were eager to do", as per the apostles with Paul in Gal 2:10, and local churchers stare blankly. That verse simply doesn't exist for them - it can't. They can read the NT repeatedly and they'll skip that verse every time (I could have used others, but chose Galatians 2 as an example).
But for Blended MC, guanxi with its obligations and benefits is normal, like breathing. It just is... like asking a fish, "are you wet?" The fish doesn't have a concept of "not wet" to consider. And we're all like that, really... partly sighted, partly blinded by our native (received) culture.
I read a bit about Watchman Nee's family, as told by a great-niece. She was talking about her father, Watchman Nee's nephew, how he was poorly treated for his Christian faith. In one scene, she described crowds dragging him out of his house, beating him, spitting on him, pulling his hair, calling him "counter-revolutionary" and so forth. (The Chinese are very good at public shaming.) What the niece didn't mention was that Chinese Christians, once in power, may use shaming tactics similar to those used on her late father, to protect THEIR guanxi collective. A trait may be "normal" only to them, but they don't see that. And what's challenging about Chinese culture in particular is how deeply-rooted in millennia-old pre-literate traditions it is. American culture by contrast is recent, superficial, and obvious - in a word, it can be crude - and the Chinese is ancient and refined by hundreds of generations of practice.*
That's perhaps why the Lord prayed, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." That prayer is for all, like, "forgive us (Chinese, Americans, Jews, Russians, Poles) our trespasses, even as we forgive those (Chinese, Americans, Jews, Russians, Poles) who trespass against us." The prayer works for everyone, but one must see the need, and use (apply) it.
Jesus Christ alone has the Sight. He alone is the Light. And he's the Light of the World (Chinese, Americans, Jews, Russians, Poles).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell
In the current context, carried to its ultimate conclusion, it appears that we of the American mindset, LC or not, are just a bunch of rubes.
|
You're not alone, so don't feel bad. Those running the Keswick Convention were bowled over by WN, the inscrutable Oriental who spoke like Madame Guyon's young cousin. (and some of WN's critiques of European/American church practices were on point).
(* I don't think that culture is of itself "fallen" or "evil". The NT identifies "many tribes and tongues and nations", each presumably with its own native peculiarities. But one must see cultural traits for what they are, and what they're not[!!] or they'll cause deep harm. Unrecognised parent culture distorts one's vision and subsequent voyage).