Hope for the Middle Kingdom

China could very easily be called a land of suffering. Dating back to the ancient and medieval era, multiple kingdoms and warlords waged war across the country, sometimes millions of combatants and hundreds of thousands of casualties in one battle. Then, at the end of the Renaissance, suddenly thrust upon them are foreign powers from across the sea that far out-gun them, and China suddenly recognizes that perhaps, they are not the all-powerful middle kingdom. Then came war with Japan – a devastating ordeal where they were driven back to far central China, after millions of casualties; torn apart by civil war, there was little they could do to resist. Following that, a mis-guided ruler killed millions of his own people in a “Cultural Revolution”. Today, the country has more stability than ever before in its thousands of years of history, but the people are shaped by this past of war, suffering, and death. To cope, they cling to their worldviews.

As I sit here looking at the skyline of Chongqing, I’m struck by its different attributes. Some of the buildings are very tall and outstanding, while others are only a few stories tall. Some buildings are brand new, or even under construction, while some look as though they pre-date the Great War. Some are very clearly seen from where I sit, while others are barely visible through the fog.
From what I know, this view is very similar to the religious landscape of China. Some worldviews are new, strong and vibrant, while others are more subtle, but nonetheless contributing to the inhabitants’ overall view of reality. Some are propped up by the government, some are torn down, and some are let be. I will open this piece by saying that I am in no way an expert on the subject, but I’ve been exposed in the last few days to some aspects that I have found interesting. Historical overview will, I think, provide a good foundation for what we see in modern China today.

Let us begin with Siddhārtha Gautama, or the Buddha (Enlightened One) ~500 B.C. He attempted to alleviate the suffering in the world by the elimination of ignorance, resulting in Enlightenment. Ultimately, good deeds, karma, and faithfulness would result in reincarnations, ultimately leading the immortal soul to Nirvana, or one-ness with the pantheos of the world.

Sometime near or after Buddhism’s birth, Taoism, or “the way”, which fit right into the beliefs already existing in China, came on the scene. The idea that all of reality is a struggle, a balance, between the good and the bad, while not exactly the same as Buddhism, was consistent with many of its beliefs. Morality, and your resulting reincarnation into natural or god-like state, is set by the king of the underworld. At the end of their lives, people are put on trial, and the result determines their reincarnated state.

Nearly concurrently, Confucius, perhaps the most famous Eastern philosopher, founded the worldview named for him that sought to unite oneself with heaven, or Tian. Again, as with Buddhism, this was accomplished by piety, morality, and focus.

I am only scratching the surface of these ancient religions; entire libraries have been written on these subjects, and there are so many unique strains that emphasize different aspects of the belief. I am doing a high-level analysis in an attempt to paint a general picture.

Finally, enter the Marxist worldview, one that describes reality as a constant struggle between ideas and more progressive ideals (dialectical materialism, for those of you who like big words). Over time, these struggles will result in the perfect society, or utopia, that lacks bad will, evil, or oppression. Similar to the previous beliefs in that it is also monistic (no difference between physical and supernatural), it is different in that Marxism believes a solid naturalism – only the physical, concrete world exists.

This is China – a culture that has evolved over time, bombarded with different ideas that have been assimilated into the peoples’ beliefs. So where does that leave us? I was asked an interesting question via Facebook that was very thought-provoking:

Ben, how do these experiences influence your prayers for the people of China? What has God been revealing to you about Himself as you learn more about Chinese culture and religion?... Are there any parts of Chinese culture in which you particularly see a reflection of the image of God?

I think that that the aggregate belief have a few consistencies with the truth. To begin with, they accurately recognize the struggle that humanity is entangled with. There is evil and suffering in the world, and humanity’s depravity is at the center of it. There is hope for a perfect place whereby evil and suffering are removed, and people can live in peace and harmony. The striving to do good in a world surrounded by evil is central to many of these beliefs.

The answer though, is not in our own goodness, or even potential for goodness. The Apostle Paul accurately states in Romans 3:

“…There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good.
No.
Not one.”

Isaiah drives the point home in chapter 64:

“…we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

A somewhat depressing thought, particularly for those who spend their entire lives trying to do good things. Mankind is, on his own, doomed to struggle, fail, and suffer through life. China has searched desperately for an answer to these realities and done its best to provide a solution. Promises of immortality, utopia, or unification with God Himself drive them to live out their faith with a devotion that puts many Christians to shame.

What then, is the answer? Isaiah supplies not just a band-aid, but a cure to our problems in chapter 53:

“Surely He [Jesus Christ] has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”

And Peter goes a step further in his first epistle, chapter 2:

“[Christ]…who Himself bore our sins in His own body, on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Live. Healed. Returned to the Shepherd. Are these not the things that the whole world needs? Is this not the peace that we all, including the Chinese people, are seeking? Not by our own miserable attempts at righteousness, but by the free gift that He supplies. He paid the penalty, accepted all the “bad karma” that our actions deserved, to the point of death itself.

He provided an end to suffering, both for now and eternity. He gave us a hope in the midst of loss. He gave us life instead of death. When I say He gave these things to “us”, I do not for a second believe that He did that solely for the Western church.

He died for the crippled Chinese beggar on the side of the road. He made available the gift of eternal life to the “middle-class” engineer at a factory. He loves, literally to death, the Premier of China himself. China is precious to Him, every single one of its inhabitants. He knows them each by name; they are each individually His masterpieces, created in His image. He is their Shepherd, and is out looking to bring them to His fold. He longs to be reunited with them, as do they, though they do not know Him. Pray that the Chinese people would find the end of their longing for peace in Him.