Taiwan Church News
3386 Edition
January 16 – 22, 2017
Headline News
The First Ever Chinese Translation On Deaf Liberation Theology Is Released
Reported by Chen Yi-fan
Blessed with a generous support from both Tainan Theological Seminary and College(TTCS) and MacKay & Lin Huei-chen Culture and Education Foundation, the first ever Chinese translation on Deaf Liberation Theology was published by Taiwan Sign Language Evangelical Center(TSLEC) in December 2016. Being translated from «Deaf Liberation Theology», written by Rev Dr Hannah Lewis, this newly released Chinese version is intended to urge more able people to care for the ministry for the deaf in Taiwan church.
A few years ago, through an occasional encounter with an outdated book in TTCS’s library, Mr Hwang Hong-jen – a TTCS theological student sent to serve in TSLEC then – was astonished to find that the western church’s ministries to the deaf had been existed for generations and so comprehensive. As that old book’s publishing house was no more existed, a TSLEC’s translation plan to promote the deaf ministry in Taiwan church was halted.
Due to TSLEC’s pursuing interest to find a comprehensive literature introducing the ministry for the deaf up to date, Mr Lin Bi-tang, another theological student of TTCS and also an intern evangelist of TSLEC, finally found in TTCS’s library the book of Deaf Liberation Theology which is thought an ideal reader for Taiwan church.
Under the fervent translation by a team of theological students, including Wang Mei-su, Chen Wei-jen, Chen Jia-jia and etc, the first ever Chinese translation on deaf liberation theology was released in last December!
In the Chinese preface of this new book, Rev Dr Hannah Lewis – author of the «Deaf Liberation Theology» and a deaf person herself – expressed that the original purpose of this book, written in 2007, was not only to inspire the deaf to develop their own theologies but also expect more able people in the church can read and further reflect their relationships with the deaf in order to become their partners in the deaf liberation theologies!
Illustrating a tragically biased resolution, made by the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf in 1880 and also mentioned in Rev Dr Lewis’ book, as banning sign language from the classroom, Rev Chen Yu-lin of TSLEC described the harms easily done by the able to the deaf in world wide history.
In order to expel such ignorance and answer an urgent calling, why Taiwan’s deaf ministry is short of a break through, more informative workers and evangelists to serve in the ministry for the deaf is absolutely needed, suggested Rev Chen, adding that if the families of the deaf would like to become the deaf’s guarding angels, the community of deaf fellowship could be raised up in any local church.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
