Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation ---- A Systematic Theological Analysis of the Basic Problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue Paulos Huang Helsinki 2006 2 Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation ---- A Systematic Theological Analysis of the Basic Problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue Paulos Huang Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due persmission of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki in Auditorium XII, on October 28th, at 10 o’clock am. Department of Systematic Theology, University of Helsinki Helsinki 2006 3 © Paulos Huang ISBN 952-92-0895-2 Printed by Edita Prima Oy Cover: Johanna Huang Helsinki, Finland 2006 4 Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………….. 9 Preface and Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………..10 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………. … 14 1.1 Aim ………………………………………..…………………………………….14 1.2 Sources ………………………………..……………………………… .…..…. 20 1.3 Method ……………………….………………………………… ………..…... 29 1.4 Previous research … ……………….………………………………………...… 30 1.5 Motivation ………………………...……………………………………………..41 1.5.1 Confucians as the main dialogue partner to Christians in China ……. …. 41 1.5 2 The contemporary cultural regeneration bring Confucianism and Christianity to the same agenda ……………………………………..44 1.6 Structure and notational convention …………………………..……………….. 49 2. The preconditions for the dialogue ..…………………………… ………….… 51 2.1 The legacy of Matteo Ricci for the Confucian-Christian dialogue …..………. 53 2.2 Confucianism ………………………………………………………….…….…. 57 2.3 The Confucians who have mostly commented on the Christian doctrine of salvation ………………………………………………….... 61 2.3.1 The Neo-Confucians (16th-17th centuries) and the representatives in this study ……. ………………………………………….…......... 61 2.3.2 The Cultural Nationalist Confucians (1920-1980) and the representatives in this study…………………………….………….… 65 2.3.3 The Modern Confucians (1980-) and the representatives in this study….. 68 5 2.4 The Christian concept of God in Chinese terms ……………………………….. 78 3. Confucian ideas of the Saviour in Christianity: The assimilation of God to the Chinese concepts of Shangdi 上帝 and Tian 天 .. ……...……..….………….… 88 3.1 Neo-Confucian ideas of the assimilation ………………………………………..91 3.1.1 Affirmative responses to the assimilation ………………………….… 91 3.1.2 Negative responses to the assimilation ………………………….….. 106 3.2 Cultural Nationalist Confucian ideas of the assimilation …………………. .... 117 3.3 Modern Confucian ideas of the assimilation ……………………………...….. 123 4. Confucian ideas of the object of salvation in Christianity: created humanity and its status ……………………………………………. 131 4.1 Human beings as part of creation…………..………………………………… 131 4.1.1 Neo-Confucian arguments …………………………………….…… 133 4.1.2 Cultural Nationalist Confucian arguments ………………………… 141 4.1.3 Modern Confucian arguments ………………………………… ..…. 152 4.2 The status of human beings ……………………………………. ……………. 165 4.2.1 Neo-Confucian arguments…………………………………..….…… 166 4.2.2 Cultural Nationalist- and Modern Confucian arguments ….… …… 170 5. Confucian ideas of the means of salvation in Christianity…… . .…….….... 183 5.1 The existence of transcendence in Confucianism …………………………...... 187 5.1.1 Neo-Confucian arguments ………………………………………….. 188 5.1.2 Cultural Nationalist Confucian arguments ……………………......... 193 5.1.3 Modern Boston Confucian arguments …………………………….... 197 5.1.4 Modern Christian Confucian arguments …………………….…..…. .205 5.2 The transcendence of the Christian God and that of the Chinese Heaven …..... 210 5.2.1 Neo- and Cultural Nationalist Confucian arguments: The Chinese Heaven as internal transcendence. …..……………..…. 212 6 5.2.2 Cultural Nationalist and Modern Confucian arguments: The Christian God as external transcendence ………..……..…….... 219 5.3 The superiority of the internal transcendence to the external transcendence … 232 5.3.1 The arguments of Cultural Nationalist Confucians ……………….... 233 5.3.2 The arguments of Modern Non-Christian Confucians .………… 240 5.3.3 The arguments of Modern Christian Confucians ………………….. 245 6. Basic Problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue …………………..…. 259 6.1 The tacit difference of the ways of thinking …………………… …..… …….. 260 6.2 Four obstacles in the Confucian-Christian dialogue …………… ……….…... 264 6.2.1 The theological perspective: the monist unity between Heaven and humanity …………………….264 6.2.2 The spiritual viewpoint: the Christianity as spiritual opium ……. 267 6.2.3 The political viewpoint: Christianity as an element of political turmoil ………………..… 268 6.2.4 The ethical viewpoint: the Christian concept of God conflicting with Confucian ethics ……………………...…… … …………………... 271 6.3 Affirmative elements in the Confucian-Christian dialogue …….…...……...... 276 Summary ……..……………………………………………..…………...………. 279 Appendices ………………………………………………………………….…… 284 I. The Five Classics ……………………………………………………………..…284 II. The Four Books …………………………………………………………….….. 287 III. The eleven quotations of Ricci ……………………………………….…….….289 IV. The degeneration from theism to humanism ……..……………… …….…... 291 V. The nine horizons of Tang Junyi’s Confucianism ………………………..….... 297 VI. The Taiji 太极 ……………………………………………………………..…. 300 VII. The Li 理 and Qi 气 …………………………………………………….…. 303 7 VIII. Two wings of Neo-Confucianism . …………………………………….…. 306 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………...… 307 Primary sources ………………………………………………………… …..… . 307 Literature ……………………………………………… …………………… …… 320 Index …………...………………………………………………………….…….... 344 Abstract 8 The aim of the present study is to analyze Confucian understandings of the Christian doctrine of salvation in order to find the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue. I will approach the task via a systematic theological analysis of four issues in order to limit the thesis to an appropriate size. They are analyzed in three chapters as follows: 1. The Confucian concept concerning the existence of God. Here I discuss mainly the issue of assimilation of the Christian concept of “God” to the concepts of “Sovereign on High” (Shangdi 上帝) and “Heaven” (Tian 天) in Confucianism. 2. The Confucian understanding of the object of salvation and its status in Christianity. 3. The Confucian understanding of the means of salvation in Christianity. Before beginning this analysis it is necessary to clarify the vast variety of controversies, arguments, ideas, opinions and comments expressed in the name of Confucianism; thus, clear distinctions among different schools of Confucianism are given in chapter 2. In the last chapter I will discuss the results of my research in this study by pointing out the basic problems that will appear in the analysis. The results of the present study provide conclusions in three related areas: the tacit differences in the ways of thinking between Confucians and Christians, the basic problems of the Confucian-Christian dialogue, and the affirmative elements in the dialogue. In addition to a summary, a bibliography and an index, there are also eight appendices, where I have introduced important background information for readers to understand the present study. Preface and Acknowledgments 9 Writing a dissertation is a major adventure and this is doubly so when it is my second one. Around sixteen years ago when I first got to know Christianity, I started a desire to write something on Chinese Christianity. Life has its interesting twists and turns and so before I could write a dissertation on the Christian theology, I have had the opportunity to spend over ten years in East Asian studies (especially Chu culture and Daoism). In addition to my academic life, I have experienced many sweet memories and also tears with Chinese Christians in Finland. I have dedicated my heart and energies to church life here. However this busy life has not stopped me desiring to develop a theological reflection to aid practical solutions to various tensions in the Chinese Christian life. These tensions have brought me pain, but also excitement and joy. The more I study Christian theology, the more I have become convinced of how deeply Confucianism is embedded in my spirituality, my soul and my body. Subtly and powerfully, Confucianism works inside me. “Self-transcendence”, “self- cultivation” and “to do good” have always been my native religious language. However, I am a Lutheran Christian, who stresses always sola gratia and sola fide. How can a self-cultivation-seeking-Confucian be a Lutheran Christian? Therefore, this religious dialogue is not a purely theoretical issue for me, it lives in me with tears and joy. When I started to study Christianity in China, my initial title was “Can China accept Christianity?” My experience of church life led me later to focus on the doctrine of “salvation”. As a Lutheran Christian, theoretically I understand well that “salvation” is absolutely the work of God rather than the result of human merit. Nonetheless, it has really not been easy to grasp the relationship between justification and sanctification in real life. Confucian self-transcendence seems so natural and normal to me and for many other Chinese Christians. Justification by faith and through grace becomes so easily just a mere theory. Therefore, like so many other Chinese Christians, in practical life, I am afraid of being lazy in fulfilling my own duty, which has been endowed to me by Heaven/God. Every time when I focus on my own deeds, I realize that sola gratia is my hope. Once I have peace and certainty with salvation, I will again paradoxically try to self-cultivate. I have