Cover to Cover with a Megalomaniac
One advantage of being off the grid in Kenya for 3 weeks is that there is time to read thoroughly. None of this talking about books that have not been read nonsense. (My apologies to both Jason 
Clark & Mr. Bayard.) I am not certain how the rest of you managed to skim Wild Swans as this narrative is meant to be read cover to cover as each successive chapter depends on recognition of the events described previously.
The text does provide significant insight into the Chinese culture, especially the impact of the tyranny of Chairman Mao which continues to reverberate. It highlights both the oppression of women in the culture as well as the utter chaos and psychological trauma inflicted on the entire population.
For me the most telling and powerful image that developed in the book was the slow realization by Jung Chang that the cult of Mao was not what she had been brainwashed to believe from childhood. It was absolutely stunning from the perspective of an outsider how slow she was to comprehend what was happening and then to realize that she was one of the more enlightened citizens.
I have done minimal travel in Asia, having only really visited Manila and Singapore for any length of time. My interactions with Chinese people has mainly occurred with exchange students and sadly I never made the effort to discuss such matters with them.
The book provided tremendous insight into the challenges that our friend in the cohort and others working in the Chinese context face in sharing the Gospel. The inherent lack of freedom of individual thought, the continued fear of governmental oppression, ongoing suspicion of relationships and motives for such all would make communicating the Gospel very difficult.
For those of us who work outside of the Chinese context there may be lessons that could be applied. How alert are we to the impact that outside forces play (such as government) in people understanding the Gospel? What about cultural realities? When interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds how much of that do we take into account? Even if they are found in our own national context, how much of their psyche is caught up in their cultural perspective and are we willing to work to bridge that gap?
With little real understanding of my own about the Chinese context I anticipate the 2018 Advance in that region and expect gain further insight into appropriate ways to engage individuals and groups either in or coming from that part of the world. I also expect it will open my eyes to an even broader understanding of God and the diversity found throughout humanity. If we believe that God is the creator of all cultures than we can anticipate that we will gain greater understanding of who God is by coming to know the Godly aspects of the culture of others. Maybe that is the real message behind this book.
PS. It’s good to be back!
About the Author
Dan Kreiss
Former director of the Youth Ministry program at King University in Bristol, TN and Dean of the School of Missions. I have worked in youth ministry my entire life most of that time in New Zealand before becoming faculty at King. I love helping people recognize themselves as children of God and helping them engage with the world in all its diversity. I am particularly passionate about encouraging the church to reflect the diversity found in their surrounding community in regard to age, gender, ethnicity, education, economic status, etc. I am a husband, father of 4, graduate of Emmanuel Christian Seminary, an avid cyclist and fly-fisherman still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.5 responses to “Cover to Cover with a Megalomaniac”
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Welcome back Dan!
Welcome back Dan! Great to connect again.
Your mention of that slow, growing realization by Chang of having been brainwashed caught my eye. And it made me wonder if we’ve been brainwashed as well. What is it in our Western culture and cultural Christianity that has blinded us to what God would have us do and be?
Dan,
Glad to have you back!
I too was confused as to why it took her so long to come to her realization of Mao, but the thing that brought me back to a better understanding was this, how often are we blinded by our own culture and the wrongs perpetrated on others as well. Especially, if, like the Chinese or any other communist country you are only given the info that the government wants you to have.
Jason
Great post Dan. I thought the book was pretty captivating as well. I loved your question…”Even if they are found in our own national context, how much of their psyche is caught up in their cultural perspective and are we willing to work to bridge that gap?” I think we need to focus on bridging this gap as much as possible when dealing with different cultures than our own.
Missed you Dan and your solid insight I moving between cultures. You hit the nail on the head in so many aspects. I too ( like Mark) kept thinking about the slow influence our western churches have gone through and how we don’t always recognize when something taught from the pulpit or in seminary is not Biblical(I am sure we all have a different definition for that). Even that we can’t agree on what is or is not Biblical tells us the degree we have let others, culture, the world influence our concept of God.