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“Far from
scandalous and dangerous, as some have charged,
belief in ‘one true God’ is the most
influential and innovative belief in all human
history. Chan Kei Thong’s fascinating study
of this belief in China’s great history
is a vital piece in a wider discussion that is
crucial
for our global age.”
Dr. Os Guinness, author of The Call and Unspeakable:
Facing up to the Challenge of Evil
"Faith of Our
Fathers is a remarkable achievement, a profound
examination of China's cultural origins and
history as a reflection of a continuous Chinese
cultural sense of a connection with the
divine. From the earliest Chinese dynasties
to the fully developed imperial tradition
of the Qing, Chan Kei Thong reveals a persistent
thread of Chinese theistic longing that parallels
in a remarkable way the search of ancient
Israel for a covenant with the true God.
He also demonstrates that, as the Jesuit scholars
of China – Ricci, Schall and Verbiest
– understood clearly and as the 19th
century Protestant Sinologist James Legge
confirmed, Chinese classical literature is
entirely consistent with Christian revelation.
This book is already having a profound impact
in China in a Chinese version. Everyone
interested in Christianity in China should
read it."
Dr. David Aikman, author of Jesus in Beijing:
How Christianity is Transforming China
and Changing the World Balance of Power and
former
Beijing bureau
chief for Time Magazine
“If recent trends
continue, the major religious story of the
21st century will be China's becoming the
global center of evangelical Christianity.
If that happens, it will be because of God's
grace and the realization among Chinese that
faith in the Creator is not a foreign implant
but an indigenous growth. In this book, Chan
Kei Thong skillfully marshals the evidence
concerning early Chinese worship, showing
how for thousands of years Chinese worshipped
and offered sacrifices to Shang Di, a Supreme
Being with characteristics similar to those
of the God of the Bible. He shows how
Matteo Ricci and other dedicated missionaries
labored to bring the one bit of news from
Western Asia that would complete Chinese understanding:
that the Christ had come and had risen, indeed.
Christians and non-Christians in both China
and America should read this book and rejoice.”
Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World Magazine , professor
at The University of Texas at Austin, and senior fellow
of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion
and
Liberty
“Faith of Our
Fathers confirms that China once had an
age of faith, and that age was China's first
golden age. The God whom the emperor-sages
Yao, Shun and Yu believed in was the same
God as the Hebrew God. This answers
one of the two great questions in my heart,
which was: How is it that of all the nations
of the world, only China has had such
a long and uninterrupted history?
It is because of this age of faith, and
this faith has been like a river that has
flowed throughout the whole of Chinese civilization.
It was this constant faith of the Chinese
people toward Shang Di that supported the
continuation of the Chinese civilization.
My second question was this: Are Chinese
culture and Christianity at odds with one
another? The answer: Absolutely not.
The key is which period of Chinese history
we look at. During the age of the
sages, when 'the Great Way was in force
over all the world,' the faith that is the
root of Chinese culture is actually spiritually
compatible with Christian culture.”
Dr. Zhao Xiao,
economist, professor of economics in
the Management School of Beijing's Science
and Technology University; former head
of the China State Council's Macro Strategy
Department; proponent of the role
of God and faith in China's transition to
a market economy.
See what others are
saying:
Book
review by David Aikman
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