Aim - Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation : A systemati

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim

1. Introduction

1.1 Aim

Although the two terms salvation and God are not present in Confucianism itself, I aim to explore how Confucians ¹ understand the Christian doctrine of salvation.

Through such a study I believe one can identify the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue, and it is these which I shall clarify and discuss in this work.

The term “Salvation” as we find it in the New and Old Testaments of the Bible derives ultimately from the Greek word "Soteria" and the Hebrew word

"Yshuwah", respectively. It includes a panoply of meanings, including deliverance, protection, preservation, prosperity, safety, soundness, healing, and the ministry of angels. Etymologically, the word “salvation” more proximally appears in Middle English and in Old French, coming from the Late Latin salvation-, salvatio, from salvare (to save). Semantically, this word “salvation” can be understood from three aspects: first, it is an act of delivering someone or something from harm or from an unpleasant situation. For example, “the salvation of his party was the president’s major concern”. In Christianity it refers to redemption, i.e., deliverance from the power or penalty of sin. Secondly, it refers to the effect of salvation, i.e., preservation from harm or unpleasantness. For example, "tourism was their economic salvation";

"they turned to individualism as their salvation". Thirdly, it refers to the states of salvation: on the one hand, from which state someone or something is saved or preserved, and, on the other hand, that state to which someone or something is saved.²

There are different understandings concerning salvation among Christians. In this study I will refer mainly to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and to the Augsburg Confession as representatives of major Christian understandings. In Christian terms, understanding the Gospel is a general prerequisite for understanding

1 The thorough definition of Confucianism and Confucians in this study will be given in chapter 2.

2 The American heritage dictionary of the English language 2003: “Salvation”, and WordNet 2.0 2003 by Princeton University.

salvation, because understanding the Gospel is foundational to salvation itself as well as to any reflective understanding of it. Briefly, the Gospel--the good news--is that each person, through Jesus Christ, can be forgiven of sin, brought back into fellowship with God, and filled with God’s Spirit for newness of life. Salvation is the stock of benefits³ received by the person who believes in the Gospel and entrusts his or her life to Christ. In speaking about salvation among Christians, four main elements are commonly involved:

1) God is the one who saves people through Jesus Christ the Savior.⁴ This issue concerns God as savior. According to Jewish-Christian understanding, God reveals Himself through his deeds in the history of salvation, which He has done and is still doing through the history of Israel. God is, thus, according to Jewish-Christian understanding, primarily an active and personal being who chooses the nation of Israel as an object of salvation both as collective and as individual realities. For many Confucians such a historical and personal concept of God is strange. Therefore, the first important challenge for the Confucian-Christian dialogue is for both sides to find a common understanding concerning God, His nature and His works.

2) Individual persons are the objects to be saved.⁵ This is the issue concerning created humanity as the object to be saved. The question must be raised concerning whom or what God desires to save. What has made humanity the kind of being who seeks salvation? In the environment of the Old Testament the nation of Israel is the object of Yahweh’s salvation, both collectively and individually. In the context of the New Testament, however, the object of God’s salvation emphasizes individuals more than collectives (John 3:16). I will focus mainly on created humanity and its status as seeking and requiring salvation.

3 For example, for the Protestants, the "benefits" include forgiveness of sin, a totally right standing with God, heaven instead of hell upon physical death, new life (the Spirit of the life of Christ Jesus), awesome joy and contentment, and power to change bad habits. See the Augsburg Confessions: Its meaning for our day 1980, 29. Roman Catholic theology does not embrace the interpretation of salvation and justification as that presented by the Protestant Reformers.

4 God saves human beings through Jesus Christ the Savior, see Article IV of the Augsburg Confession.

See the Augsburg Confessions: Its meaning for our day 1980, 29. See also Allbeck, Willard Dow 2002, Studies in the Lutheran Confessions. Wipf & Stock Publishers. Maurer 1976/1978, Historischer Kommentar zur Confessio Augustana. 2 Bde., Gütersloh.

5 The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, 526 reads: “1949 Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from God.” This Cathechism is the official result of the Vatican II Council (1962-1965), where Pope and all the important Catholic Bishops were presented.

1. Introduction

3) Human beings are in the state (or situation) i.e., status lapsae, from which salvation is needed,⁶ and they are going to be saved for the state which God has prepared for them.⁷ This is the issue concerning that from which salvation is needed.⁸ For we must raise the question concerning from what situation God desires to save human beings. In the Christian tradition no one can avoid the starting point of Christian soteriology, i.e., original sin and the human situation of fallenness (status lapsae). What is necessary for a Christian soteriology, however, is not inevitably the same as that for the Confucian side of the dialogue. The question concerning that from which man is saved is understandably important to Confucians, as they lack what they count as the “strange” doctrine of original sin.

4) The fourth issue concerns the means of saving, i.e., media salutis, which is justification by faith and through grace (sola gratia/sola fide).⁹ The concept “faith”

6 The word salvation indicates that the Christian is saved from something. Saved from what? In short, they are saved from death—spiritual death. More specifically, they are saved from the following: Hell, ourselves (bad habits, destructive lifestyles, sinful tendencies, and poor character qualities, self-centeredness and discontentment, performance-based acceptance), slavery to circumstances, and Satan and his evil helpers. Article II of the Augsburg Confession reads: “Also they teach, that since the Fall of Adam, all man begotten according to nature, are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with concupiscence; and that this disease, or vice of origin, is truly sin, even now condemning and bringing eternal death upon those not born again through baptism and the Holy Ghost. They condemn the Pelagians and others, who deny that the vice of origin is sin, and who, to obscure the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits, argue that man can be justified before God by his own strength and reason.” See the Augsburg Confessions: Its meaning for our day 1980, 17.

7 The new state, to which the human beings are saved, has many "benefits" such as forgiveness of sin, a totally right standing with God, heaven instead of hell upon physical death, new life (the Spirit of the life of Christ Jesus), awesome joy and contentment, and power to change bad habits. Article V of the Augsburg Confession reads: “… the Gospel … that God … justified those who believe that they are received into favour for Christ’s sake.” See the Augsburg Confessions: Its meaning for our day 1980, 35. Thus, a Christian is a person who has decided to trust in Jesus Christ for a right standing before God, and to turn the reins of his or her life over to Christ. After expressing this decision in prayer, the Christian receives salvation. This new state is also called “the final goal” or “religious end”. See Heim 1995 and Heim 2001.

8 “The state from which salvation is needed” will be analyzed in Chapter four, when the object of salvation is studied. “The state for which God saves human beings” will be mentioned briefly but will not be studied in detail, since the concept of the spiritual destiny of man in Christianity and Confucianism are profoundly different and the exploration of such a large issue requires more space.

Therefore, I will concentrate on three elements related to salvation: the Savior, the object of salvation, and the means of salvation.

9 Sola gratia means "by Divine Grace alone". That means that people cannot "earn" their way into Heaven by "Good Works" but are entirely dependent on the Generosity and Grace of God for it. This eliminated the value of "human merits" and said that God Alone could affect that outcome.

Sola fide asserts that, although all people have disobeyed God's commands, God declares those people obedient who place their confidence, their faith, in what God has done through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They account Christ's obedience as their own, and the only meritorious, obedience. Their assurance is that God's work in Christ is their commendation for acceptance by God.

can be understood as an objective “gift of grace” from God which enables a person to believe the gospel and imparts a subjective “wish and decision” to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.¹⁰ Here the role of Jesus Christ is very important, as this role relates closely to the sacramental life of Church, including those touching

Conversely, the doctrine says that those who trust God in this way do not trust what they themselves have done (which has no worth, because of sin). The doctrine holds that it is not through personal goodness that sinners are reconciled to God. Reconciliation is only through the mercy of God himself, made effectual for forgiveness through the sacrifice of his son; thus it is only through the obedience of Christ given in substitute for the disobedience of believers, who for their sake was raised from the dead, that they have confidence that they are in fact heirs of eternal life. The doctrine of sola fide, as formulated by Martin Luther, is accepted by most Protestants, including Lutherans, Reformed and Baptists; and as ordinarily articulated by Protestants. See Article IV of the Augsburg Confession in the Augsburg Confessions: Its meaning for our day 1980, 29.

Sola fide was rejected by Catholics, who say through God's Grace, and our response to that Grace through our faith and works, we are saved. They also add a distinction between the good works, as those in Matthew 25, and the works of law. Differences remain between the two churches regarding the actual way grace justifies a person as discussed below: passively, actively, growth in sanctity, synergy, etc. In the Catholic Church it is taught that God’s salvation has much to do with law and grace. “Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the grace that sustains him. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13).” See Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, 526. This is to say, the Roman Church does teach that people are justified by grace through faith on account of Christ. What is missing, however, is the word alone. By omitting this word the Roman Church redefines grace, faith and justification in a way that undermines and invalidates the teaching of Protestantism. See Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, 526-550.

Joint declaration on the doctrine of justification by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Catholic Church 1997 reads: ” 4.3 Justification by Faith and through Grace 25. We confess together that sinners are justified by faith in the saving action of God in Christ. By the action of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, they are granted the gift of salvation, which lays the basis for the whole Christian life.

They place their trust in God's gracious promise by justifying faith, which includes hope in God and love for him. Such a faith is active in love and thus the Christian cannot and should not remain without works. But whatever in the justified precedes or follows the free gift of faith is neither the basis of justification nor merits it.”

Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission reads: “5.... Regarding the way in which salvation is appropriated by the believers, Lutherans, by teaching that justification and salvation are by grace alone through faith (sola gratia, sola fide), stress the absolute priority of divine grace in salvation. When they speak about saving faith they do not think of the dead faith which even the demons have (cf. James 2:19), but the faith which Abraham showed and which was reckoned to him as righteousness (cf. Gen.

15:6, Rom. 4:3,9). The Orthodox also affirm the absolute priority of divine grace. They underline that it is God's grace which enables our human will to conform to the divine will (cf. Phil 2:13) in the steps of Jesus praying, "not as I will but as You will" (Matthew 26:39), so that we may work out our salvation in fear and trembling (cf. Phil. 2:12). This is what the Orthodox mean by "synergia (synergy)" (working together) of divine grace and the human will of the believer in the appropriation of the divine life in Christ. The understanding of synergy in salvation is helped by the fact that the human will in the one person of Christ was not abolished when the human nature was united in Him with the divine nature, according to the Christological decisions of the Ecumenical Councils. While Lutherans do not use the concept of synergy, they recognize the personal responsibility of the human being in the acceptance or refusal of divine grace through faith, and in the growth of faith and obedience to God. Lutherans and Orthodox both understand good works as the fruits and manifestations of the believer's faith and not as a means of salvation.” See Salvation: Grace, Justification and Synergy, 9th Plenary of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission, Sigtuna, 7 August 1998.

10 This is my own definition, and I will discuss about the concept “faith” again and will also refer to Finnish theologian Tuomo Mannermaa’s study, especially in chapter 5 of this work.

1. Introduction

individuals, such as baptism and communion. These sacramental means are again strange notions for Confucians. How does such a profound difference between these two religious traditions affect the possibilities of a successful dialogue between them?

One notes, e.g., the many differences between Christian and Confucian traditions, as exemplified in Jacques Dupuis’ book.¹¹

The notion of a God who saves and, indeed, the entire soteriology of Christianity, is one of the main differences between Christianity and Confucianism.

The whole idea of "salvation" is unknown in Confucianism but is essential in Christianity. In this study my analysis will focus on Confucian understandings of these four elements of salvation, and through such an analysis I wish to uncover the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue: how does Confucianism both enable and hinder understanding? That is to say, what elements in Confucianism prevent the transmission of Christianity in China? What Confucian elements make Christianity difficult to be accepted in China? In order to understand Christian theology, what presuppositions and conditions should Confucians have? Why are there problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue? What are the problems?

According to what perspectives do problems arise? For example, the problems may come from the Chinese emperor or the communist political side, but this is not the main issue I am going to analyze in this study.¹² The purpose of this study is to discover and to display the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue that has been practiced since the time of Matteo Ricci up to our modern times. In order to make this formal task more concrete I have chosen the Christian doctrine of salvation as the material issue upon which to focus an exploration of Confucian-Christian dialogical problems and to display the response to Christian thought by the various Confucian schools. The manner in which the task has been established and the

11 Dupuis 2001, especially ”Chapter Twelve: Paths to salvation”, 305-329.

12 The questions mentioned above can be understood in contrast to the history of Christian mission in India. Christian missionary work was started a long time ago in both China and India, but it has not produced much influence until the present time. Three reasons have often been suggested for the slow development of Christianity in the two countries. First, the transmission of Christianity has been limited by political factors, limiting its ability to develop by itself. Second, the cultural and religious traditions of the two countries are rich and strong, and they have become a main challenge and obstacle for the transmission of Christianity in the two countries. Third, Chinese culture (the mixture of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Communism and secularism) has a strong capacity to assimilate other religions and cultures with foreign backgrounds.

abundance of the source material dictates that the method by which the study will be carried out be both descriptive and so-called systematic analysis.

One may also challenge whether Confucians truly represent the whole of China.

In addition to Confucianism, the strong influences of Daoism, Buddhism, and Communism have been exercised in China. Correspondingly, in addition to the doctrine of salvation, other concepts, such as those centering on Christ and the Holy Spirit, are also very important in Christian theology. Widely acknowledged, however, is that Confucianism is the dominant representative of Chinese traditional culture and that salvation is one of the main doctrines of Christianity. Therefore, I am stressing these topics as the object for my analysis in this study.

Important as well is that my analysis of the Confucian-Christian dialogue is focused on their differing beliefs rather than on practical actions or experience, because the essential task of doctrines is to reflect in a systematic, rational way a faith that grasps divine truth, a fact which is most important for understanding the Confucian-Christian dialogue. This does not mean that such practices as the pursuit of spiritual growth, prayer, and worship in the Christian context as well as worship of Heaven, ancestors, and Confucius in the Confucian context are not important, but that the more pressing issue in dialogue is to find and to analyze the doctrinal basis of these practices. Therefore, I have chosen doctrinal analysis as the task of this study.¹³

Although most of the pages in this study are dedicated to the analysis of the issues mentioned above, this analysis itself will not be my purpose. My purpose is to discover the basic problems which are important in the Confucian-Christian dialogue, and this end will be accomplished by analyzing the Confucian understandings of the Christian doctrine of salvation. I want to clearly point out that the basic problems that will come up in this study will not be representative of the whole the

In document Confronting Confucian Understandings of the Christian Doctrine of Salvation : A systematic theological analysis of the basic problems in the Confucian-Christian dialogue (sivua 14-20)