Taiwan Video 2: Ancestor Worship and Taiwanese Christians

Tuesday September 22, 2009 ~ 15 Comments

One of the fundamental challenges with evangelistic cultural engagement is how far to go to engage culture. It is always easy for unengaged people to sit on the sidelines and throw rocks at people who seek to engage cultures. I see it every day. But, people who care about God's mission also care about engaging culture.

The fact of the matter is this: in every missional cultural engagement, some go too far and some don't go far enough. It is the nature of contextualization. It is hard. It takes a commitment to biblical principles. It takes wisdom. It takes listening to each other. And, those outside the culture need to listen to those inside. And, those inside the culture need to learn from those that have gone before them.

In this video, Robert Young, a local Taiwanese believer who trains visiting personnel, explains to us how he has worked through issues of contextualization in regards to the veneration of ancestors. As you will see in tomorrow's post, animism and ancestor worship is much more significant in this culture than Buddhism and Taoism.

Listen as Robert Young (his anglicized name) explains in this video shot by our team member, Ray Chang. Listen as he explains the issues and how his family has addressed them:

Why does this matter? Well, at the Madras missionary conference, way back in 1938, they explained that churches had to be "indigenous," or be rooted and related to their own cultural context:

An indigenous church, young or old, in the East or in the West, is a church which, rooted in obedience to Christ, spontaneously uses forms of thought and modes of action natural and familiar in its own environment. Such a church arises in response to Christ's own call. The younger churches will not be unmindful of the experiences and teachings which the older churches have recorded in their confessions and liturgy. But every younger church will seek further to bear witness to the same Gospel with new tongues" (International Missionary Council, "The Growing Church: The Madras Series," Papers Based upon the Meeting of the International Missionary Council, at Tambaram, Madras, India, December 12-29, 1938. Vol. 2, (New York, International Missionary Council), 276.)

Such a value is not easy to uphold and there are dangers on both sides.

Dean Gilliland explains:

Contextualization [is] a delicate enterprise if ever there was one... the evangelist and mission strategist stand on a razor's edge, aware that to fall off on either side has terrible consequences... Fall to the right and you end in obscurantism, so attached to your conventional ways of practicing and teaching the faith that you veil its truth and power from those who are trying to see it through very different eyes. Slip to the left and you tumble into syncretism, so vulnerable to the impact of paganism in its multiplicity of forms that you compromise the uniqueness of Christ and concoct "another gospel which is not a gospel." (Dean S. Gilliland, ed., The Word Among Us (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989), vii.)

An organization I serve recently put out some helpful guidelines on contextualization that are worth your time and consideration:

PRINCIPLES OF CONTEXTUALIZATION
1. We affirm that the Bible is the only infallible text that exists. It is appropriate to evaluate all other books by the Bible. We encourage our personnel to search the Scriptures daily to see whether the principles presented by any text or teacher are true (Acts 17:11). Content that is in accord with biblical truth should be embraced. What is contrary to sound doctrine should be rejected.

2. We affirm that there is a biblical precedent for using "bridges" to reach out to others with the Gospel (Acts 17:22-23). The fact that Paul mentioned an aspect of the Athenians' idolatrous worship was not a tacit approval of their entire religious system. He was merely utilizing a religious element of their setting (an altar to an unknown god) to connect with his hearers and bridge to the truth. Similarly, our personnel may use elements of their host culture's worldview to bridge to the Gospel. This need not be construed as an embracing of that worldview. It should be noted that Paul not only used their system to connect, he also contrasted elements of it with the truth. Our evangelism must go beyond bridges to present the whole unvarnished truth of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

3. We affirm an incarnational approach to missions that is bound by biblical parameters. Following the example of Him who became flesh (John 1:14), it is appropriate that our personnel continue to tailor their ministry to their setting. The apostle Paul likewise embraced this approach, "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22b). We advocate the learning and appropriate utilization of language and culture. Constant vigilance is required lest contextualization degenerate into syncretism. Where linguistic categories and cultural mores are deficient, these must be challenged and corrected with biblical truth.

4. We affirm both the sufficiency and unique nature of biblical revelation (2 Timothy 3:14-17). We deny that any other purported sacred writing is on a par with the Bible. While reference to a target people group's religious writings can be made as a part of bridge building, care should be exercised not to imply a wholesale acceptance of such.

5. We affirm the need to be ethically sound in our evangelistic methodology (2 Corinthians 4:2). Becoming all things to all men in an incarnational approach does not necessitate an ethical breach. Jesus instructed His disciples to be as "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We are to be wise in our bridge building. We are to be harmless in our integrity as we hold forth the truth.
(Footnotes specific to another religious tradition were dropped from the guidelines as I posted them here.)

More on this over the next couple of days... but please weigh in below, specifically on Robert's comments and missions in this culture-- where not worshiping one's ancestors to be both dishonoring and spiritually dangerous.

Posted on September 22, 2009 at 8:10 PM ~ 15 Comments

Tagged with: imb, missions, Taiwan, upstream, video

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15 Comments

By Dan Turis on September 22, 2009 11:26 PM

No Matteo Ricci discussion?

By Kathy Oyama on September 23, 2009 3:49 AM

If you would be interested in conversing with a Christian minister who is Japanese, pastoring in Japan for 19 years after serving as a missionary in Indonesia for 10 years and getting his D. Min at Fuller and who is actively wrestling with these issues in a practical, applicational way, let me know. He is not just talking about theory. He is sharing the solutions that he is putting into practice effectively and successfully. His name is Katsuhiko Seino and he pastors Tsuchiura Megumi Church in Ibaraki Prefecture.

By Kathy Oyama on September 23, 2009 4:03 AM

This is a significant issue in Japan as well. A Japanese friend of mine, who was a missionary in Indonesia for 10 years, earned his D. Miss at Fuller, and returned to Japan where he has served as the pastor of Tsuchiura Megumi Church for the last 19 years, is actively and practically dealing with this very issue. So often this discussion takes place in the theoretical realm, but he is actually creating culturally sensitive forms that carry a Christian message and that are being proved effective in witnessing the gospel to the unreached. His name is Katsuhiko Seino.

By Brian Gass on September 23, 2009 9:05 AM

Complicated issue indeed! No ivory tower experience can prepare one with answers to these specific contextualization questions, but it is certainly a reminder that cross-cultural workers must go to the field with a solid biblical foundation and with eyes wide open.

How sad that Christians could be thought of as "without tears" and basically passionless! Robert seems to be navigating the stream well by observing a form of this important ritual yet without the negative spiritual meaning attached. Through relationship, I'm sure he will have many opportunities to explain to his friends and family why his observance is "strangely familiar."

By Tim Patterson on September 23, 2009 10:10 AM

As Christ followers, the more we resist forms and rituals of the culture in which we live, the more we will isolate ourselves from that culture and become ineffective in reaching the people around us. I don't believe God intends for us to create new forms to worship Him. Christ incarnate used the cultural forms of His day without compromise. If new forms do appear, they happen over time as the culture is redeemed and transformed.

In India we observed the full spectrum of contextualization by Christians, from complete abstinence from any appearance of Hindu rituals or forms, to nearly complete participation in traditional customs but with biblical meaning and Christ-centered worship. As with most everything, there is a balance. We must trust the Holy Spirit and the word of God to guide new Christ followers/churches to find that delicate balance... that will not compromise their faith but will preserve the relational connection with family and friends so the gospel can spread.

A question I struggled with as a Christ follower engaging people of another culture... Am I willing to adopt cultural forms or rituals that will become vehicles for communicating the gospel and worshiping Christ... to help people discover the one true God who transcends their cultural forms?

By David Groenenboom on September 23, 2009 6:45 PM

Great discussion - no easy answers at all. Currently I am leading 5 seekers through a five week journey exploring who Jesus is. One, who is a Moari from New Zealand, asked "can I be a follower of Jesus and still be Moari?" This is not just a cultural question, it brings us right to the heart of whether Jesus is the One Way to the Father, or one of many. It will be an intersting journey as the claims of Christ are brought to bear on this person's life, and as we all work out whether these beliefs and rituals assist acceptance and understanding, or whether they impede it.

My final point would be that we ourselves need to recognise that western comprehensions of the Gospel are not immune to cultural distortion. We do not have a monopoly of understanding, or an infallible grasp of the infallible Word. So, how do we tune in to our own cultural blind spots?

Dave, Ormiston, Brisbane

By Preston on September 23, 2009 7:14 PM

Great information. Great presentation by Robert.

The first quote I found interesting was "You Christians are cold, you are hard..."

How many times have we let cultural norms in the current life and in ancestor life define us in a negative way - when the Bible describes us as loving, reaching out, rescuing, and caring when no one else does?

Second description - "my family began sweeping their tombs on tomb sweeping day..."

God's timeline is not always our timeline. By honoring God while participating in a cultural activity the difference became apparent to those in and around Robert's family. It took time, but the difference was noticed. Some sought the truth while others misunderstood/misread the actions of Robert's family. In both cases an opportunity was created to share the Good News with those who did not believe.

How powerful it is to thank God our creator for parents, grandparents, and other ancestors that brought us to where we are. God worked through their actions good and bad to seek us out and call us to him. This can become a powerful restatement of cultural practices.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your trip.

Preston

By Scott on September 23, 2009 8:04 PM

This article that I wrote on Contextualization and Taiwanese Funeral Rites might be of some interest in this discussion.

http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=4590&

By John Lambert on September 23, 2009 9:50 PM

I have been studying these issues in my own culture in Northeast Thailand among the Isaan people. I have found a group here that has successfully taken certain rituals and ceremonies and redeemed them. They have seen good success and healthy local churches grow because of it. The article is "Jesus Must Be Reborn" and was translated in 2000 by Paul De Neui from a talk given by Tongpan Prometta here in Thailand. You can access the resources by going to www.thaicov.org under "Resources". Good stuff by a cultural insider.

By Geoff Chang on September 23, 2009 10:04 PM

John Calvin has a famous tract entitled "The Sinfulness of Outward Conformity to Romish Rites" (I believe it's published in Banner's 7 volume Letters & Tracts that recently came out), where he deals with this very question. Calvin lived during a time where Christians were not only rejected for not conforming to their Roman Catholic contexts, but they would often be put to death. Yet he argues (convincingly, in my opinion) that this is the only option for Christians who would be faithful to the Gospel.

This is not to say that he perfectly answers exactly what it would look like for Christians to be faithful in a Taiwanese context. As a fellow Taiwanese, I appreciate these brothers struggling with this issue. Yet the clarity of Calvin's arguments would certainly be a helpful voice in this conversation, especially in thinking through this issue biblically, and not only pragmatically.

By Dave Miller on September 24, 2009 1:08 PM

This is interesting. When I lived in Taiwan the missionaries and Taiwanese Christians were pretty unanimous on this, as I understood it. People who came to Christ were told that believing in Christ was a rejection of false worship. The ancestral shrines were burned or otherwise destroyed to signal that the person had turned from false religion to the truth.

I find it interesting that this discussion is even taking place now. What a change since Taiwan in the 70's.

By Ed Stetzer

on September 24, 2009 6:07 PM

Dan,

Indeed there was discussion of Matteo Ricci. But, I just uploaded a short clip!

Good comments here. And, as I see it, in every culture we must approach its elements with discernment:

1. Some we reject.

2. Some we adopt.

3. Some we adapt.

And, the persons best to make that discernment are committed indigenous believers who love and understand the word of God.

By Stephen Oliver on April 26, 2010 1:32 AM

I'm an American Missionary and also a Taiwan Son-in-Law. My in-laws gratiously include me in the tomb sweeping and other occasions without expecting me to do anything against my faith. I don't offer food, burn paper money, offer incense, etc., but I do help with as much as possible that is not against biblical teaching. And I pray!!

When they ask me about the content of my prayer, I say: THANKS FOR HOW GOD HAS BLESSED US THROUGH OUR PARENTS AND ANCESTORS & REQUEST THAT GOD WILL HELP US FOLLOW THEIR GOOD EXAMPLES. I say that Christians are some of the ones who most honor their ancestors (Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Paul, Peter, Luther, etc.) and hold up their good examples (and learn from their bad examples)!

After being a missionary in Taiwan for almost 10 years as NT Professor at China Lutheran Seminary in Hsinchu, I feel more and more that ancestor worship is the biggest block to the Gospel in Taiwan. Christians can be far more proactive in emphasizing the things in our own background (e.g. Biblical examples) that honor our spiritual and fleshly ancestors and God's blessings to us through them without crossing the line into unbiblical worship.

Thank you very much for this, Ed and Robert!!

By HenryKatina on August 27, 2010 10:31 PM

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By Whose Phone Number Is This on May 6, 2011 5:28 AM

Your article definitely worth looking through. I recently found the application well written and then quickly logical.

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