About God, Demons, and Miracles: the Jesuit Discourse On the Supernatural in Late Ming China

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Christian Faith ◽  
Western Science ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
Late Ming ◽  
Cultural Accommodation ◽  
Religious Cult ◽  
Chinese Religions ◽  
Jesuit Missionaries ◽  
Conventional Paradigm

AbstractThis paper proposes an alternative to the conventional paradigm of "cultural accommodation" as a key to the understanding of the Jesuit scheme of conversion in late Ming China. It challenges one of the corollaries of that paradigm, which holds that because of the paramount rationalist sensibilities of the Confucian élite, the Jesuit missionaries refrained from speaking about the mysteries and supernatural truths of Christianity. In this paper, it is instead argued that the Jesuits, rather than trying to cultivate a rational spirit in China, were primarily engaged in fashioning a new religious cult(ure) which centered upon the supreme efficacy of the Christian faith in exorcising demons and performing miracles and was of central importance to the religious conquest of territories formerly held by their indigenous rivals. It is further shown that it is this preoccupation at the same time motivated and delimited the Jesuits' campaign against Chinese religions and the introduction of Western science and learning and resulted in the application of double standards and in ambiguities and contradictions in their scientific writings.

The Penetration of the Copernican Theory into Feudal Japan

1944 ◽  
Vol 76 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 52-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bolesław Szcześniak
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Far East ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Western Civilization ◽  
Western Science ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
The Far East ◽  
Matteo Ricci ◽  
China And Japan ◽  
The Universe

Western science began to penetrate to the Far East at the end of the sixteenth century, along with the Christian faith spread by Portuguese Jesuits.Astrology was important in both China and Japan. It included not only a limited knowledge of astronomy, but some philosophy and logic. The advent of astronomical knowledge as understood in Europe was the beginning of a new kind of science, which did not affect the East's traditional view of the universe; although at first information from Europe about medicine, physics, and astronomy reached the Far East along with the doctrines of Christianity, as a means of attracting converts to what the Chinese termed a new philosophy of life. An early propagator of Western civilization in China was the Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1553–1610), who taught medicine and astrology together with the principles of Catholicism. Another Jesuit, Francis Xavier, advised his superiors to send a mission consisting not only of the devout but also of the cultured.

scholarly journals Xu Guangqi’s Thought On Supplementing Confucianism With Christianity

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Anna Seo
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Christianity In China ◽  
The Core ◽  
Late Ming ◽  
Christian Perspective ◽  
Chinese Scholars ◽  
Late Ming Dynasty ◽  
The Late Ming Dynasty ◽  
Christian Thought

Xu Guangqi is one of the most influential Chinese scholars who accepted Christian faith during the late Ming dynasty. His idea of “supplementing Confucianism and replacing Buddhism by Christianity” had great impact on the development of Christianity in China. His idea, however, has often been accused of syncretism, and genuineness of his Christian faith has been put into question. Some argue that his theology lacks Christology. Others suggest that his ultimate goal was to achieve the Confucian political ideals through adopting some of the Christian moral teachings. Through the analysis of Xu Guangqi’ works and life, we find that he accepted all the essential Christian doctrines and Christology is the core of his understanding of “Tianzhu”. His view on Confucianism itself istransformed through Christian perspective. In his new understanding, the ultimate goal of Confucianism is to serve and to worship “Tianzhu”，same as Christianity. The ultimate problem of life is to save one’s soul.Xu Guangqi considered his scientific works as a way to propagate Christian faith,since science was seen as an integral part of Christian thought and practice. His idea of “supplementing Confucianism by Christianity” integrated Confucianism into the overarching framework of Christian thought.

scholarly journals Gender critique on the narrator’s androcentric point of view of women in Matthew’s gospel

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Female Sexuality ◽  
Faith Community ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
God's Love ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Do So

The article, from a gender-sensitive perspective, is critical of patriarchal values that are harmful to women and other non-dominant groups. When the focus on women and women’s roles is usurped by male control, the androcentric self-interest of interpreters and authors becomes apparent. This is still the case in present-day theological studies, but is especially prevalent in premodern biblical writings, of which the Gospel of Matthew is an example. Recent mainstream Jesus studies demonstrate that women were welcomed in an ‘egalitarian’ way in the community of the first followers of Jesus. Women’s contribution to the first Christian faith community is highlighted. This stands in stark contrast to the silencing and invisibility of women in the surrounding patriarchal world of the ancient Middle East. Although Matthew does view women and other formerly excluded people as part of the faith community and equal recipients of God’s love, they are never treated as equal participants. The article focuses on three issues concerning the narrator’s point of view, namely that (1) women fulfilled a supporting, rather than an initiating role (Mt 1–2; 9:18–26; 15:21–28), (2) double standards were applied to male and female sexuality and women’s sexuality was regarded with prejudice (Mt 5:29–32; 19:2–12) and (3) women were seemingly given the opportunity to live ‘authentically’ as human beings, but in actual fact they could do so only if this ‘authenticity’ was sanctioned by men (Mt 20:20–23; 27:38; 27:56).

Exemplary Sodomites: Chivalry and Love in Late Ming Culture

NAN Nü ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Vitiello
Keyword(s):  
Male Friendship ◽  
Late Ming ◽  
Matteo Ricci ◽  
Jesuit Missionaries ◽  
Ming Fiction

AbstractThis essay explores the ideological allegiances between the chivalric (xia) and the romantic (qing) in late Ming fiction and culture. Focusing on notions of friendship and love between men and their role in the formation of the late Ming romantic ideal, it also discusses the discourse on sodomy articulated in two treatises on male friendship by the Jesuit missionaries Matteo Ricci and Martino Martini, and the hypothesis of a late Ming homoerotic fashion.

On "China's Opposition to Western Science during Late Ming and Early Ch'ing"

Isis ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-205
Author(s):  
N. Sivin
Keyword(s):  
Western Science ◽  
Late Ming
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