Three-Self Patriotic Movement

Three-Self Patriotic Movement
Abbreviation TSPM
Classification Protestant
Orientation Various
Theology State-regulated and controlled
Governance National Committee
Chairperson Fu Xianwei
Secretary General Xu Xiaohong[1]
Associations
Region China
Founder State Administration for Religious Affairs
Origin 1951
Absorbed National Christian Council of China
Official website www.ccctspm.org
Three-Self Patriotic Movement
Traditional Chinese 三自愛國運動
Simplified Chinese 三自爱国运动

The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; Chinese: 三自爱国运动; pinyin: Sānzì Àiguó Yùndòng) is a Protestant church in the People's Republic of China, and one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (Chinese: 三自教会; pinyin: Sānzì Jiàohuì).

The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (Chinese: 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会; pinyin: Zhōngguó Jīdūjiào Sānzì Àiguó Yǔndòng Wěiyuánhuì) and the China Christian Council (CCC) are known in China as the lianghui (two organizations). Together they form the state-sanctioned Protestant church in mainland China.

History

The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first articulated by Henry Venn, General Secretary of the Church Missionary Society from 1841 to 1873, and Rufus Anderson, foreign secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.[2][3] The principles were drafted formally during an 1892 conference in Shanghai of Christian missions reflecting an almost unilateral agreement that the future of the Chinese church depended on the indigenization of the leadership, and the finding of sufficiently Chinese modes of worship.[4] Dixon Edward Hoste, head of the China Inland Mission, was known for putting the same principles into practice in the effort of assisting the Chinese to establish their own indigenous churches during the early 20th Century.

Establishment

CCC&TSPM office on Jiujiang Road, Shanghai

The predecessor of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) was the National Christian Council of China.[5] In 1951, Y. T. Wu joined with other prominent Protestant leaders such as Chen Chonggui, K. H. Ting, and Cora Deng to initiate the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. This organization promoted a three-self strategy of "self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation" in order to remove foreign influences from the Chinese churches and to assure the government that the churches would be patriotic to the newly established People's Republic of China. Other Protestant leaders included Jia Yuming and Yang Shaotang.

"Three-Self" is a characteristically Chinese way of abbreviating "self-governance, self-support, self-propagation" (Chinese: 自治、自养、自传; pinyin: zìzhì, zìyǎng, zìchuán). In 1954, 138 Chinese Christian leaders who presented "The Christian Manifesto" to the country, pledging the support of Christians for anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, and anti-bureaucratic capitalism efforts.[6] The movement, in the eyes of critics, allowed the government to infiltrate, subvert, and control much of organized Christianity.[7]

Christian Manifesto

"The Christian Manifesto" was published in July 1950 and its original title was "Direction of Endeavor for Chinese Christianity in the Construction of New China." The founding group of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, including Y. T. Wu, drafted the document in consultation with Premier Zhou Enlai. During the 1950s, 400,000 Protestant Christians publicly endorsed and signed this document.[8]

The purpose of publishing this document was:[8]

to heighten our vigilance against imperialism, to make known the clear political stand of Christians in New China, to hasten the building of a Chinese church whose affairs are managed by the Chinese themselves, and to indicate the responsibilities that should be taken up by Christians throughout the whole country in national reconstruction in New China.

This document marks the establishment of Three-Self Patriotic Movement and also set the precedence for church-state relations after the end of the Cultural Revolution.

After the Cultural Revolution

From 1966 to 1976 during the Cultural Revolution, the expression of religious life in China was effectively banned, including even the TSPM. The growth of the Chinese house church movement during this period was a result of all Chinese Christian worship being driven underground for fear of persecution. To counter this growing trend of "unregistered meetings", in 1979 the government officially restored the TSPM after thirteen years of non-existence,[7] and in 1980 the CCC was formed.

The TSPM is not a denomination, and denominational distinctions do not exist within the organization. Pastors are trained at one of thirteen officially sanctioned seminaries.[7] Current theological emphasis is on "a protection and promotion of the five basic tenets of Christian faith — the Trinity, Christ being both human and God, the Virgin Birth, Death and Resurrection and the Second Coming."[9] The primary role of the TSPM was then delegated to liaison with the Government whereas the CCC serves as an ecclesial organisation focusing on the internal management and affairs of the Church.[10][11]

However, the TSPM is often charged with being an instrument for the secular Chinese government, which persecutes Christians outside of it.[12] The attempt to bring house-church Christians into the fold of "registered" meeting places has met with mixed results.[7]

The Canaan Hymns hymnal associated with the house churches is also used in TSPM churches.[13] Through its official channels, TSPM has criticized the hymn for supposedly questioning the Movement's view of Christianity in service of Chinese socialism.[14]

The main periodical of TSPM is Tian Feng.[15]

Statement of Faith

The following confession of faith was adopted on 8 January 2008:[16]

The Chinese Church takes the contents of the entire Bible, the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed as the foundation of our faith, the main points of which are as follows:

Ours is a Triune God, everlasting and eternal.

God is Spirit. God is loving, just, holy, and trustworthy. God is almighty Father, the Lord who creates and sustains the cosmos and all that is in it, who keeps and cares for the whole world.

Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, born of the Holy Spirit, the Word made flesh, wholly God and wholly human. He came into the world to save humankind, to witness to God the Father, to preach the gospel; he was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose again and ascended into heaven. He will come again to judge the world.

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, who enables people to know their sinfulness and to repent, who bestows wisdom and ability and every grace, leading us to know God and to enter into the truth, enabling people to live holy lives, and to give beautiful witness to Christ.

The church is the body of Christ and Christ is its Head. The church is apostolic, one, holy, and catholic. The visible church is called by God to be a fellowship of those who believe in Jesus Christ. It was established by the apostles as Jesus instructed them. The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to administer the Sacraments, to teach and nurture believers, to do good works, and to bear witness to the Lord. The church is both universal and particular. The Chinese Church must build itself up in love and be one in Christ.

The Bible has been revealed by God and written down by human beings through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the highest authority in matters of faith and the standard of life for believers. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, people in different times have gained new light in the Bible. The Bible should be interpreted in accordance with the principle of rightly explaining the word of truth. It should not be interpreted arbitrarily or out of context.

Human beings are made in the image of God, but cannot become gods. God has given humanity dominion over all God's creation. Because of sin, human beings have diminished God's glory, yet through faith and the grace of Jesus Christ, human beings are redeemed and saved, and are granted resurrection and everlasting life.

Christ will come again. According to the teachings of the Bible, no one knows the day of his coming, and any method to determine when Christ will come again violates the teachings of the Bible.

A Christian's faith and works are one. Christians must live out Christ in the world, glorifying God and benefiting people.

Key figures

See also

References

  1. ↑ 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会第八届主席、副主席、秘书长名单 (in Chinese). CCC TSPM.
  2. ↑ Trammel, Madison, "Marking Time in the Middle Kingdom", Christianity Today Library, retrieved May 1, 2007 .
  3. ↑ Venn, Henry (1971), Warren, M, ed., To Apply the Gospel: Selections from the Writings of…, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans .
  4. ↑ Grant, Paul (January 1, 2007), The Three Self Church, NSM, retrieved May 1, 2007 .
  5. ↑ Bays, Daniel H. (2011). A New History of Christianity in China. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-4443-4284-0.
  6. ↑ Lewis, Donald M. (2004). Christianity Reborn: The Global Expansion of Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century. William B. Eerdmans. p. 90.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Johnstone, Patrick (2001). Operation World. London: Paternoster. p. 164.
  8. 1 2 Documents of the Three-Self Movement. New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. 1963. pp. 19–20.
  9. ↑ "TSPM – A Young Evangelist's Perspective", Amity News Service .
  10. ↑ Wilson, Lynette (March 14, 2012). "Rise in Christians has China's churches, government looking for help". Episcopal News Service. Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society, The Episcopal Church. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  11. ↑ Mengfei, Gu. "Chinese Churches on the Way Towards Unity". World Council of Churches. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  12. ↑ United States Congress. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997: Congressional Hearing. Washington, D. C. pp. 156–157.
  13. ↑ Neeley, Paul L. (2016). "Canaan Hymns". In Scorgie, Glen G. Dictionary of Christian Spirituality. Zondervan. p. 591. ISBN 978-0-310-53103-6.
  14. ↑ Aikman, David (2012). Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China And Changing the Global Balance of Power. Washington: Regnery Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-59698-652-7.
  15. ↑ Fällman, Frederik (2009). "Tianfeng". In Davis, Edward L. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 832. ISBN 978-0-415-77716-2.
  16. ↑ "Chapter Two: Faith". Church Order of Protestant Churches in China. National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China/China Christian Council. May 15, 2008. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2012.

Further reading

  • Daniel H. Bays. A New History of Christianity in China. (Chichester, West Sussex; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, Blackwell Guides to Global Christianity, 2012). ISBN 9781405159548), esp. Ch. 7, "Christianity and the New China, 1950-1966.
  • Galli, Mark (November 2004). "The Chinese Church's Delicate Dance: A conversation with the head of the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement". Christianity Today.
  • Philip L. Wickeri. Seeking the Common Ground : Protestant Christianity, the Three-Self Movement, and China's United Front. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988). ISBN 0883444410.
  • Wallace C. Merwin and Francis P. Jones, ed., Documents of the Three-Self Movement: Source Materials for the Study of the Protestant Church in Communist China. (New York, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Division of Foreign Missions. Far Eastern Office, 1963). OCLC 471718935.
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