February 28~March 6, 2011
Headline News
Taiwan’s Christians urged to respect the feelings of non-Christians
Reported by Lin Yi-ying, Lydia Ma
Written by Lydia Ma
“Don’t let your excitement to share the gospel get the best of you by uttering offensive remarks and inadvertently becoming a stumbling block to the next Christian trying to share that same gospel. Otherwise, many Christians won’t have a chance to share the gospel because of you’ve set a bad precedent,” urged Rev. Yeh Ming-han during a seminar entitled “Folklore and Culture” in Lotong Presbyterian Church in Ilan on February 22, 2011.
Yeh’s seminar is part of a series of events and seminars organized by PCT General Assembly to equip its congregations for “One-leads-one, New Doubling Movement.” He was originally an expert on mysticism and numerology before becoming a Christian.
For those who’ve always worshiped their ancestors or believed in folk religion, as is the case with most Taiwanese, Yeh underscored that having Christians tell such people they’ve sinned by breaking one of the Ten Commandments is a non-starter.
“That’s a pact between God and Israelites, not between God and Taiwanese people!” he pointed out, adding that the reason why many people in Taiwan cannot accept the gospel is because many “old” Christians in Taiwan lack empathy and don’t quite understand folklore or other religions. These Christians should spend time listening and understanding people from other faiths.
He illustrated his point with a story: “A zealous young preacher visited the home of an old, 80-year-old Hakka lady. Upon seeing the Bodhisattva statuette in her home, he told her bluntly that Bodhisattva used to be a man and later became a woman – making Bodhisattva a fake god. He then suggested that she worship Jesus, the true God, in the future. After the old lady politely escorted the preacher out, she lighted some incense, prostrated before the statuette, and said, “Bodhisattva, please forgive me. I didn’t invite this man to my home. I didn’t know he would insult you. Please forgive me.” The old woman went on to warn her children and grandchildren to never invite any Christian to their home.”
Yeh alluded to the Third Commandment and pointed out its background. He said it was a pact between God and the Israelites, who already had a long-standing relationship with God before this command was given. But to tell people who’ve never heard of Israel’s God nor this command that they’ve sinned against this God by bowing down to an idol is a grave insult.
“Every culture is unique. Like the apostle Paul, we must respect every culture and religion instead of criticizing it. We can also inspect if it has any blind spots and start dialogue from there, but always with respect.”
As for “cultural” Christians who know about Christianity but don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, Yeh’s suggestion is to take the New Testament or Paul’s approach rather than Old Testament prophets’ approach of preaching repentance and woe.
“Every person in this universe is searching for acceptance and approval and people want to know about their own future and afterlife. That’s the reason why many use mediums such as Tarot cards or fortune telling or New Age practices,” he explained.
But if “born-again” Christians were to highlight Jesus as the way or “medium” to these answers and the one who takes away the power of “sin” and “death” and replaces them with “Holy Spirit”, “guidance”, and “eternal life”, they might win over their “cultural” Christian friends more easily than preaching damnation.
