【I love listening to you most】
Responses from readers of Kingdom of God Magazine
Response to Issue 59 "The Church in Hong Kong in the Political Whirlpool"
The political turmoil currently facing the Hong Kong church has been described by some commentators as four modernizations: two systems and one country, normalization of Hong Kong governance in Sai Wan (the area where the "Liaison Office of the Central People's Government"1 is located in Hong Kong), mainlandization of ideology, and normalization of Hong Kong governance. The team has become leftist. The church in Hong Kong has never experienced such narrow opposition in the past, so where should we go from here? Or we can get enlightenment from a review of church history.
From political and religious independence to contemporary dialogue
The Hong Kong church must bear in mind that in past interactions between Chinese churches and society, opportunities for intergenerational dialogue were sometimes lost just because of hesitation or reluctance to take a stand. For example, during the May 4th Movement, many intellectuals rushed to support rationality and scientific spirit and began to reject religion. Unfortunately, when the church faced contemporary negation theory,2 the supersession theory of Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi,3 the selection theory of Chen Duxiu4, and the dualism of Liang Shuming5, most of them retreated into the four walls of the church and rarely responded positively, so that the Chinese intellectual circles The strong bastion of anti-religion that was built is still influential today.
On the other hand, many churches throughout the ages have been dominated by raging nationalism outside the church. It was before World War II that the German church fell into the strong patriotic sentiments incited by Hitler, which resulted in it losing its critical power derived from the Bible and allowing the dictator to massacre Jews indiscriminately. At this moment, is the Hong Kong church singing red songs along with the city while ignoring the dominant godless melody?
From neutrality to pluralistic discussion
After Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the mentality of masses fighting against masses has repeatedly emerged in society. In many cases, church leaders have avoided talking about it in order to avoid sharp confrontations. However, this superficial "river crab" (harmony) will only lead to the loss of most young people who hold dissent. True harmony encourages listening, tolerance, and acceptance in diversity. If the church chooses to be silent in this great era, why is it still asking why there is no Timothy? It would be better to explore where Paul, Timothy’s master, was.
From obedience to power in the powerless
Even if the church can distinguish when to obey people and when to obey God, how can the church disobey orders if it has no power?
Take a look at the St. Nicholas Church under the iron heel of East Germany in the past. Since the secret police held regular meetings at 5 p.m. every Monday, the church began to hold prayer meetings during this period in 1982. Later, in 1989, believers took to the streets to demonstrate for reform after prayer meetings. They were suppressed many times, but instead inspired people across East Germany to rush to participate. In the end, these continuous prayer meetings and marches actually caused the Berlin Wall to fall.
The practice of the church lies in defeating the strong with the weak, guarding the conscience, and becoming the treasure in the earthen vessel. (Refer to 2 Corinthians 4:7-11)
(USA, California, Tan Ruiling)
Note
1. Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
2. Completely deny religion, considering it to be anti-science and superstitious.
3. Cai Yuanpei replaced religion with aesthetics, while Hu Shi used morality-building character and meritorious deeds-making contributions to the country and society and establishing a reputation-writing immortal works to influence future generations.
4. Chen Duxiu proposed to choose the benevolent part of religion and abandon the supernatural part of religion.
5. Liang Shuming suggested using the ethical sensibility of religion and at the same time incorporating the knowledge of science.
Thoughts after watching "The Distance Between Us and Evil"
My thoughts after reading "The Distance Between Us and Evil" written by Zi En in Issue 59 are profound, vivid, and won my heart. It is different from ordinary TV idol dramas or traditional family dramas in the past. It explores in depth that when the media presents news events, they may focus on reporting the event itself, but often ignore the "people" at the core of the event.
"He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." (John 8:7) If you want to end sin, if you just stop at throwing stones at sinners, can you eradicate the source of sin?
Christians are not necessarily farther away from evil than unbelievers. In this world, the shadow force of evil is everywhere, and no one can completely escape its control by his own strength. Only through union and protection with the Lord Jesus can we overcome.
(Taiwan, Hsinchu, Jiao Feng)