After reading an
article, related to the famous Chinese evangelist 遠志明, of whom I have commented
before, I am once again sadden.
老子 的 道可道非常道；基督 的 道 乃道可道是常道。
若如此，老子豈能接受基督？
Of course, I am not saying Lao Zi had been
reprobated for I do not know since it is not revealed. Yet, I have no problem believing anyone outside of Abraham's line was eternally damned, despite how virtuous these Chinese sages were. For this reason, of God's sovereign predestination and not of men's moral, I dare to preach to just any non-believers and not just some virtuous "慕道友", a term I am usually reluctant to use.
These group of chinese evangelicals have been
manipulating historical facts to attract more Chinese. I have no problem
with the method of preaching using some "unclear" elements that have
already existed in the culture, as Paul did at Areopagus, however, what
Paul did, he truly knew what he was saying; As for these bunch of lazy
chinese smarty pants who should have studied theology more thoroughly
instead of preaching, how much conviction they have at what they claim?
Their
famous "船" linking to Noah's ark as the reason for the creation of that
character has obviously been proven flawed. What's next?
I do
believe all nations carry with them some knowledge of God throughout the
Earth during the Babel split. But to claim facts without thorough
study...hmmm...isn't that the Pharisees' mistake? Even the Catholics?
Consequently, one would dare decide on other's salvation over
God's gracious election:
"他[遠志明]說已故的華人牧者林道亮曾在講道大膽地說：老子孔子孟子莊子都得救
了，因爲他們都是渴慕神的，只是那時耶穌沒有來，若來他們一定認他是主。"
The approach of Gospel
towards Chinese should be a direct revelation of the righteousness in
the Bible and not some other lights from another source, which could be
close but yet so far. Hence when dealing with the possibility of
equating non-Biblical lights, one is responsibily for pointing out the
shortcomings of those "demi" lights. Because it is clear that just as
Jesus wasn't African or Chinese, God's chosen nation towards
righteousness was Abraham's. And should we examine true virtue of
ancient Chinese culture, we should examine it through the eyes of the
Abrahamic covenant. With the line of Abraham as the ONLY right ruler, we
can therefore discern the imperfection that exists in the highest
virtue of any other cultures, including the Jews, even Chinese.
On
the Chinese culture, I would agree that for some mysterious reason, the
Chinese had been seeking after true righteousness more than any other
cultures. I'm sure 遠志明 would like to bring up the term "general
revelation" in this case, which the Reformed theologians use to categorize
God's blessings into two: General and Special. But in order to smudge the
line between one's moral virtue and God's sovereign election, I'm sure
Mr. Yuan would say those terms are just "theological" mumbo jumbos.
I
will not make any further fantasies in order to attract the Chinese to the
Gospel by devaluing the necessity of "foreign" preachers. Motivating
the Chinese christians to be independent from foreign aids is
commendable, but not at the cost of Romans 10:14.