Religion and Ethics in China

[Randy W]

from the Global Times

 

Between God and mammon

 

Zhou’s tale is not unique. A number of Chinese businessmen who made their money cutting corners in China’s booming albeit cutthroat business environment have been turning to Christianity for help and spiritual consolation, but paying a heavy price.

Painful transformation

Despite a lack of figures revealing the exact number of Christian Chinese businessmen, they all seem to have some common characteristics – they believed their money was tainted with sin and they felt extreme guilt over their wealth. In most cases, certain difficulties prompted their conversion.

. . .

After turning to Christianity, these businessmen often face pragmatic problems. The Bible bans bribery, tax evasion and keeping mistresses – all of which are often considered standard conduct among business circles.

Such significant change can be fatal. Sometimes, these businessmen have to give up profits, lose business partners or bring their companies to the verge of bankruptcy.

 

 

 

 

 

from Merriam-Webster

MAMMON - material wealth or possessions especially as having a debasing influence <you cannot serve God and mammon — Matthew 6:24(Revised Standard Version)>

 

 

[Mick]

Wow, Randy. Thanks so much for posting this. I am currently working on an article for a magazine that deals with the kinds of things that might happen in today's world if Christians actually lived their faith. It is an extensive article, written by four writers, of which I am one. My section deals with medical and business ethics, and the article you posted is perfect source material. When I lived in China, I knew several professors who were consistently passed over for promotions, research grants, and other perks, soley because they were Christian. The reality of "persecution" has many faces, some far more subtle than others. I am hoping that as the future unfolds, if the Chinese government is serious about reducing corruption, they might begin to look more positively toward Chinese Christians and see them as part of the solution to the problem.

 

Jesus told his listeners that before they signed on with him, it would be best if they "counted the costs" of doing so. It should be noted that many of his listeners most likely walked away, like the Rich Young Man described in the 19th chapter of Matthew. In this very same chapter, however, the Master goes on to describe the rewards awating those that give up everything to follow his way of life. Jesus was truly a revolutionary figure, turning the world's value system on its head. I love this quotation by Houston Smith, the famous scholar of comparative religion:

 

…we have heard Jesus’ teachings so often that their edges have been worn smooth, dulling their glaring subversiveness. If we could recover their original impact, we too would be startled. Their beauty would not paper over the fact that they are “hard sayings,” presenting a scheme of values so counter to the usual as to shake us like the seismic collision of tectonic plates…We are told that we are not to resist evil but to turn the other cheek. The world assumes that evil must be resisted by every means available. We are told to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. The world assumes that friends are to be loved and enemies hated. We are told that the sun rises on the just and the unjust alike. The world considers this to be indiscriminating; it would like to see dark clouds withholding sunshine from evil people. We are told that outcasts and harlots enter the kingdom of God before many who are perfunctorily righteous. Unfair, we protest; respectable people should head the procession. We are told that the gate to salvation is narrow. The world would prefer it to be wide. We are told to be as carefree as birds and flowers. The world counsels prudence. We are told that it is more difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom than for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye. The world honors wealth. We are told that the happy people are those who are meek, who weep, who are merciful and pure in heart. The world assumes that it is the rich, the powerful, and the wellborn who should be happy. In all, a wind of freedom blows through these teachings that frightens the world and makes us want to deflect their effect by postponement – not yet, not yet! H.G. Wells was evidently right: either there was something mad about this man, or our hearts are still too small for his message.

[Randy W]

from Reuters

 

Special Report: The bishop who stood up to China

 

 

 

"The anticipation was he would be a yes man," . . .

 

Instead, standing before a thousand Catholics and government officials at Saint Ignatius Cathedral, Ma spurned the party: It wouldn't be "convenient" for him to remain in the Patriotic Association, he said. Many in the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. People wept. Ma had switched sides - and a crisis was under way.

 

. . .

 

The Catholic Church in China is divided into two communities: an "official" church answerable to the Party, and an "underground" church that swears allegiance only to the pope in Rome. The most contentious issue between them is which side controls the ordination of bishops.

 

There are tentative signs a thaw may be possible. New leaders have been appointed in both the Vatican and China since Ma defied the Patriotic Association.

 

The Chinese government has privately signaled it could appoint Ma as the next full bishop of Shanghai, a position now vacant, and release two long-jailed bishops loyal to the Vatican, according to a source close to the Holy See. This person said several people had conveyed that message to a Vatican official in private meetings.

 

Any change in Ma's status is likely to be gradual, the Vatican source said, given opposition from the Shanghai government, still furious over Ma's repudiation of the official church.

 

[Randy W]

Shanghai's Bishop Ma to remain in confinement

Chinese officials say 'repentance and reflection' to continue

 

Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, who has been under de facto house arrest since 2012, is to remain in detention.

 

The influential bishop, who defied the government in July 2011 when he became the first bishop to publicly quit the state-backed Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, should continue his “repentance and reflection,” officials told clergymen and nuns attending a "learning" class last week in Shanghai.

 

. . .

 

The premise of the classes is to “enhance [the] national, legal and civil awareness” of nuns and clergy who, through their evangelization work, are in touch with many social groups.

A diocese notice also claims the classes are aimed at assisting with “a correct understanding” on the independent Church’s relationship with China and patriotism.

 

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

I suppose a business guy can try to list the Bible as an addendum in a contract, but the buyer probably wouldn't sign it. It's just simple business today that the business agreement is confined to the four-corners of the contract. What goes on outside those four-corners is the raw truth of life in the big city of world corruption, manipulation, blackmail, strong-arm tactics, and payoffs. I believe China learned this from the US.

[Randy W]

习近平：坚持我国宗教中国化方向 积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应 xhtxs.cn/nMV
Xi Jinping: Stick to the direction of Chinese religion and actively guide religion to adapt to socialist society xhtxs.cn/nMV

from China Xinhua News on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/XH.NewsAgency/photos/a.446942328709816/6349624538441536