[1]<\/a>,\u201d definitely causes one to pause. I could not help but wonder just how poorly must early representatives of Christianity presented the gospel message of Jesus Christ that they were seen as devils rather than saints? Perhaps is what not all just the offensive nature of those bringing the message that caused offense, but also the fact that the \u201creligion\u201d of China seems to be more than just a \u201cworship to a deity\u201d type of religion. Their faith is so intricately intertwined into their culture because it is about faith, family, culture, structure, and tradition. Therefore, when anyone comes in and tries to tell them that what they have is wrong, it is not merely a challenge to their view of their god, but rather an insult to their entire system of living. Ironically, Christ came to challenge everyone\u2019s understanding of the world that they are living in. John 15:19 reads, \u201cIf you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.\u201d This fact reminds all of us that we have to change our world-view of things\u2026the gospel is supposed to be offensive in that regard.<\/p>\nSecond, and still strongly tied to the first topic, I thought about the methods of the Westboro Baptist church movement with their picketing and signs of \u201chate\u201d for so many, that it is easy to see why people fail to see a message of hope and love coming from their ministry. Last week I commented on the realization I had regarding the early colonization efforts of Catholicism, only to see this week\u2019s story demonstrating that exact perversion of Christianity. I wondered how many of us have become over zealous in our eagerness to stand up against sin that we were seen as haters instead of lovers. It is that fine line of discerning the need to preach hard against sinfulness as Paul does in 1 Timothy 6, and still managing to preach the need to love as Paul also teaches in 1 Corinthians 13. As preachers of the gospel, we must preach against sin, but as doers of the gospel, we must make sure to do it in a manner that truly demonstrates the love of Christ toward the people we hope to win. For this reason, I struggle with the methods of evangelism that could prove effective through war and \u201ccolonization;\u201d I believe immediately the people would only see Christianity as an offence.<\/p>\n
Lastly, I kept wondering who the hero of the story was actually supposed to be? In our story, Bao saw what he perceived as injustices against his family and as a result fought against the \u201cdevils\u201d that were harming not just his family, but rather, his entire country. He tried to listen to his ancestors and the \u201cgods\u201d that were guiding him in his quest for vengeance and justice, all in what seems to be a pursuit of, again, his perception of right. However, along the way, Bao stops listening to his gods, he stops listening to his rules, and he even stops listening to his conscience. We see that he gives into his rage and hate, and as a result, he becomes a child killing soldier. The Christians are just as guilty though, in that they have not shown the love of Jesus, but rather forced Christianity upon the people of China through aggression and violence. Through our discussions, I keep hearing about the dangers of short-term mission work, or dangers of failing to learn about a culture before truly interacting with that culture; so the question I ask myself is \u201cHow do we not end up the bad guy in our mission work?\u201d<\/p>\n
The nice thing about this reading is that we are given a glimpse into the other side\u2019s view of Christianity. If we take information like that and work to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, perhaps we can increase our chances at a successful mission work. However, I believe it also provides us with a realistic attitude toward pressing forward, in that, we are always going to face the chance that our audience already views us as the bad guy, and therefore, the battle to preach the gospel is going to be a tough one. That doesn\u2019t mean we admit defeat, it just means we are honest about the challenges before us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bibliography<\/h1>\n
Yang, Gene Luen. Boxers.<\/em> China: First Second; an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, 2013.<\/p>\n\u2014. Saints.<\/em> China: First Second; an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, 2013.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[1]<\/a> Yang, Gene Luen. Boxers.<\/em> China: First Second; an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, 2013. P 246.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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