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The "inscrutably Chinese" church : how narratives and nationalism continue to divide Christianity / Nathan Faries.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, ©2010.Description: 1 online resource (viii, 309 pages)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780739139592
  • 0739139592
  • 1283613948
  • 9781283613941
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: "Inscrutably Chinese" church.DDC classification:
  • 275.1/082 22
LOC classification:
  • BR1288 .F37 2010eb
Other classification:
  • online - EBSCO
Online resources:
Contents:
Introduction: "inscrutably Chinese" narratives -- The "true face" of the Chinese church -- National narratives from outside China -- National narratives from within China -- Missionary stories from the past -- "Missionary" stories from contemporary China -- Literary narratives from before China's reform era -- Foreign travelers in the new China -- Chinese-American voices and living White males -- Pre-modern and modern literature -- Reform era writers test the waters -- Shi Tiesheng and Bei Cun dive into the deep end -- The narratives of Chinese Christianity -- Conclusion: cause for hope amid unresolved tensions.
Summary: The first half of the twenty-first century promises to be a time of great change for the Christian church in the PeopleOs Republic of China. The situation is complex and fluid, and the information gap between those on the inside and those outside of China is still significant, though shrinking. The OInscrutably ChineseO Church moves readers nearer to the Chinese Christian experience, as Nathan Faries helps foreign readers to see with greater clarity just how Chinese Christians view their government and themselves in relation to those ruling powers. There still exists a measure of inscrutability about China and its complex relationship with religion that must be explained to the outsider. It is this gap in understanding_between insider points of view within China and those outsiders seeking knowledge about the Christian faith in China_that Faries seeks to close.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: "inscrutably Chinese" narratives -- The "true face" of the Chinese church -- National narratives from outside China -- National narratives from within China -- Missionary stories from the past -- "Missionary" stories from contemporary China -- Literary narratives from before China's reform era -- Foreign travelers in the new China -- Chinese-American voices and living White males -- Pre-modern and modern literature -- Reform era writers test the waters -- Shi Tiesheng and Bei Cun dive into the deep end -- The narratives of Chinese Christianity -- Conclusion: cause for hope amid unresolved tensions.

Print version record.

The first half of the twenty-first century promises to be a time of great change for the Christian church in the PeopleOs Republic of China. The situation is complex and fluid, and the information gap between those on the inside and those outside of China is still significant, though shrinking. The OInscrutably ChineseO Church moves readers nearer to the Chinese Christian experience, as Nathan Faries helps foreign readers to see with greater clarity just how Chinese Christians view their government and themselves in relation to those ruling powers. There still exists a measure of inscrutability about China and its complex relationship with religion that must be explained to the outsider. It is this gap in understanding_between insider points of view within China and those outsiders seeking knowledge about the Christian faith in China_that Faries seeks to close.