Sola Scriptura's and the Chinese Union Version Bible's Impact upon Conservative Christian Leaders: The Case of Watchman Nee and Wang Mingdao

The majority of Chinese Christians can be considered to be theologically conservative. One distinctive feature of conservative theology is Biblicism, according to which Scripture occupies a central role. The Reformation principle of sola scriptura legitimises this conservative stance and calls for a stern application of this principle. As Biblicists, they are discontented with the ‘unbiblical’ practices and ministries of missionaries. On the other hand, missionaries have put forward the Union Version translation project on the basis of the principle of sola scriptura. This article investigates how Watchman Nee (1903–72) and Wang Mingdao (1900–91) were discursively influenced by the missionaries’ Union Version Bible translation project through their different understandings of sola scriptura. For missionaries, sola scriptura required the translation of a faithful and popular Chinese Bible, and Mandarin was deemed an appropriate language for the task. While Nee and Wang did not appreciate the missionary enterprise, for sola scriptura they valued the Chinese Union Version as an outstanding and up-to-date translation of the Scripture. For Nee and Wang, sola scriptura was not only a translation principle, but also a principle underpinning religious life. Conservative Christians’ devotional practice emphasises the memorising of biblical texts and verbalising them throughout the day. This practice resulted in the Union Version, which is written in eloquent modern Chinese, becoming an integral part of Chinese Christian practice rather than a mere translation. Though Nee and Wang accused missionaries of having betrayed the Reformation principle, they were still under its influence thanks to the Chinese Union Version Bible. Also, their teaching on biblical reading had similarities with the medieval monastic practice of lectio divina. In this sense, the Chinese Union Version Bible reveals an interesting integration of Chinese conservative Christian faith, missionary enterprise, sola scriptura, and a monastic style of spiritual practice within the Chinese Church.

Justifying Gender Inequality in the Church of England

Despite being a national institution, the Church of England is legally permitted to discriminate against its ordained female clergy in a number of ways, a phenomenon that is at odds with wider societal values in England. It is argued that this makes the gender values of this institution’s representatives worthy of examination. This article explores the gender attitudes of theologically conservative male clergy and the psychological processes that shape these attitudes. In order to do so, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen evangelical priests in one diocese within the Church of England. A thematic narrative analysis was employed to interpret the data using descriptive, focused, and pattern coding. Three themes in particular emerged from the data, namely: “Theological parallel between the Church and the family”, “Created order of male headship and female submission”, and “Separation between Church and society”. The content of these themes reveals significant overlap with the contents of system justification theory, and so this was used to interpret the themes further. In light of this it is concluded that a perceived loss of social privilege and control shape participants’ traditionalist gender values.

The Doctrine of Christ

Christology in the Presbyterian tradition has reflected two continuing concerns—the safeguarding of Christ’s humanity and the recognition that Christ is central to both the accomplishing and the application of salvation. Calvin and other Reformers defended the deity of Christ against anti-Trinitarians, and they debated the nature of the hypostatic union with Luther and his successors. Reformed Christology was further codified as Orthodox theologians carefully explained that the union of natures does not entail the communication of divine attributes to Christ’s humanity. The nineteenth century saw increased focus on the humanity of Christ, the rise of ethical Christologies as alternatives to Chalcedon, and efforts to place Christology at the center of the theological enterprise. Twentieth-century Presbyterianism experienced conflict between the theologically conservative and liberal elements and the retrieval by Barth and others of the classical Christological tradition. Contemporary Presbyterianism is characterized by significant and perhaps irreconcilable Christological diversity.

The Shifting Landscape of US Catholic Parishes, 1998–2012

Employing data from the National Congregations Study, this chapter charts parish trends in key areas of organizational life across a dynamic fifteen-year period of recent history. Parishes’ organizational composition is becoming older and more Hispanic, both among priests and among people in the pews. Meanwhile, local parish cultures are becoming more theologically conservative, but also less charismatic in worship style. Catholic parishes are also seeing large increases in political activity, suggesting a “new politicization” of local Catholic life. Finally, parishes have heightened their participation boundaries against women and gays and lesbians. While briefly suggesting possibilities for why these changes are taking place, this chapter provides an accurate descriptive view of contemporary U.S. parishes and suggests how best to study trends in the years ahead.

The Ironic Legacy of an Opus Dei Bishop: Native Priests and Andean Catholicism in Postconflict Apurímac, Peru

Since the end of the civil war, the diocese of Abancay in the south-central Peruvian Andes has produced a clergy made up entirely of men born and raised in the diocese where they now work. Yet, ironically, this diocese was specifically criticized by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for its lack of engagement with local Andean populations. Abancay is a politically and theologically conservative diocese strongly influenced by the Opus Dei bishop who trained this generation of native clergy, but it is also a diocese in the process of forging a new relationship between Andeanness and institutional Catholicism.Desde el final de la guerra civil, la diócesis de Abancay, en los Andes peruanos del centro-sur, ha producido un clero formado exclusivamente por hombres nacidos y criados en la diócesis donde trabajan actualmente. Sin embargo, irónicamente, esta diócesis fue criticada específicamente por la Comisión de la Verdad y la Reconciliación por su falta de compromiso con las poblaciones andinas locales. Abancay es una diócesis política y teológicamente conservadora fuertemente influenciada por el obispo perteneciente al Opus Dei que formó a esta generación de clérigos nativos, pero también es una diócesis en el proceso de forjar una nueva relación entre la identidad andina y el catolicismo institucional.

Introduction

The introduction places the missionary-Waorani story within the context of the history of American evangelicalism. The iconic narrative of the five men slain in Ecuador stands in a tradition of two centuries of missionary zeal and sacrifice memorialized in print that began with David Brainerd (1718–47). His diaries, edited by Jonathan Edwards as An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd, inspired generations of believers. Other memoirs followed, establishing the missionary narrative as an influential genre of religious biography. Such books presented missionaries, especially those who died in pursuit of their calling, as saints, heroes, or martyrs. They also were products of their times. The Triumph of John and Betty Stam, about a missionary couple murdered in China in 1934, included a note of victory that reflected the influence of Keswick holiness. Widespread interest in the “Ecuador martyrs” twenty-two years later, demonstrated the staying power of the missionary narrative and the increased cultural visibility of theologically conservative Protestants as they left separatist fundamentalism for a “new” evangelicalism. The missionary-Waorani encounter also had an unexpected, almost miraculous sequel that became part of the accepted history even if elements of it were romanticized and misleading.

The Waning of ‘Secular’ Nationalism in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa

This chapter explains the gradual dissolution of the transnational movement for reform that Anderson tried to foster amidst the rise of liberal and Islamist approaches to legal reform by considering Anderson’s students and his response to the Iranian Revolution. It considers Anderson’s approach to religion and legal reform in Britain as well as the increasingly visible presence of Muslim immigrants and concludes with his reflections on the role of Islam in Iran’s revolution. Following the Iranian Revolution, Anderson began to grow more and more concerned about the influence of theologically conservative but militant forms of Islam on the global movement of legal reform and on global conflict. However, this did not affect his continued belief in the ‘moderate’ approach to Islamic legal reform he had supported for over thirty years.

Marital Instability in the United States

This chapter surveys some of the main strands in the recent US literature on the economics of divorce. We discuss changes over time in the divorce rate, the widening gap in marital instability by socioeconomic status, and the increase in “gray divorce.” We review the role of age at entry into first marriage and how it differs by race/ethnicity. Compared to other developed economies, the divorce rate in the United States is exceptionally high. We offer possible explanations including the roles of theologically conservative religions and the high levels of both income inequality and teen fertility in the United States We review the effects of divorce reforms and the role of barriers to economic self-sufficiency. Finally, we discuss the effects of divorce on children’s well-being and the role of child support policies.

Apostles of Deceit

This chapter examines the FBI’s domestic intelligence-gathering on religious groups during the Cold War. The author explains how Hoover’s calls for vigilance against foreign agents resonated with socially and theologically conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists who saw “modernizing” or “liberalizing” theological trends in ecumenical American Protestantism as extensions of philosophical materialism and atheistic humanism. The chapter demonstrates how Protestant bodies such as the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States became targets of a fascinating if troubling alliance between the FBI and conservative religious groups that emulated the FBI’s cold hawkishness toward a range of organizations that challenged mainstream trends of the nation.

Falling in Love with Confucius

This chapter serves as the narrative hinge of the book. It examines how the once theologically conservative and vehemently anti-Confucian German missionaries came to grips with Confucianism in the 1920s and 1930s. It argues that the rise of Communism hastened the shift from an anti-Confucian to a pro-Confucian stance. The specter of a global Communist insurrection pushed the two German societies to turn toward Confucianism as an ally. The political situation in Germany was just as important as the one in China: German missionaries embraced Confucianism because they witnessed the threat of Communism in both countries. The chapter compares the German experience with other international missionary organizations and argues that the German embrace of Confucianism was conditioned by their particular experience of failure after World War I. It also examines how missionaries continued to criticize rival religions, such as Buddhism.