CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA:

Asia is usually seen as the area west of Arabia and South of Kazakhstan.

c.190 - 200 AD first church is built in Turkey

Western Asian Christianity

Christians here until the 7th century. Sizable minority of Christians in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Egypt until the 11th century. By 1500, the fewest Christians in Asia due to isolation and persecution.

Israel, Palestine: About 10% are Arab Christians (catholic, orthodox)
# of Christians in Iraq/Iran has been decreasing recently. They are fleeing to Syria and other places. This reduction in growth is due to intense persecution.
Very few Christians in Saudi Arabia. Some countries have a law: convert and person who led the conversion is killed.
Lebanon has the largest Christian numbers in the Middle East (40%). Greek Orthodox and Maronite and Syrian Orthodox are strong throughout Lebanon-Syria-Turkey.

The rise in power of the Ottoman Empire in 1453 led to a decline in Christianity in th Middle East.

Azerbaijan
Armenia: the first "Christian state"; even before Constantinople
Georgia:


Nestorians/East Syrians/Persians

Christ was two persons/Mary not the mother of God. They had a strong missionary base from Iran and made it to China and even to Japan/Korea in the 7th century.

Central Asian Christianity

Not very many Christian communities in these areas. There were some from the Nestorian missionaries along the silk road trade routes. Today, Korean missionaries doing work in this area. Pentecostal churches starting to spread in these areas--growing resentment among Orthodox Christians and Muslims. Tamerlane responsible for eradicating Christianity in this area as well as Iran and into India. This area has always been under colonial power, until 1989.


Southern Asian Christianity

Afghanistan, Iran: Work is going on but in secret. No “known” Christians here. Not many Persian Christians left in Iran. There were Christians in Iran in 350 AD. Difficult since the Iranian revolution. High population growth rate in Iran. Will be one of the largest countries.

Christians in Pakistan are the "lowest" class of society: street cleaners, toilet cleaners. There is a death penalty for those who blaspheme the prophet Mohammed. Tribal groups along the border in Bangladesh have come to faith (about 1%) and they run lots of the social services in this area; Christians are free to practice their faith. In Nepal, Christians were forbidden till 1960 and persecuted in the 90s. Small but strong Pentecostal community (2%)

India: The apostle Thomas is said to have arrived here after the time of Jesus - it is hard to either support or refute this with evidence. Some Christians see their identity as St. Thomas Christians. In Modern times, Francis Xavier started a community in Goa. Conflict between Thomas Christians and Catholics (the Catholic Church wanted the church to be under their control). Decision to be made: evangelize the rich or the poor?

India had a stronger Christian presence until the invasion of Tamerlane.

Francis Xavier

Co-founder of Jesuits, 1506-1552 decided to evangelize the poor (80,000 converts), but he did request the Inquisition to come to India.

Robert de Nobili

(17th century) targeted the rich in mission strategy. He became a “Hindu Guru” taking on local dress. He was an orthodox Christian Hindu mystic, converting Brahmins to the faith. He didn’t try to “Europeanize” people. In the 17th century 100 Brahmins were converted through his work.

18/19th century Indian Christianity: Protestant missions start; renewal after Bible translation into local languages.

20th Century Indian Christianity. Today ⅔ of Indian Christians are Catholic in Goa, Kerala, and Mumbai (South and West India). 20-60 million Christians total?

Dalits

Many have come to faith this century. Started Christian communities. Sometimes they cannot commune with members of other castes. If they leave the caste system, they leave government support, but they still have to deal with discrimination.

Indian Christianity and Politics

Conversion is highly political; claims of duplicity/"buying the poor" against Christians. Missionaries usually choose the poor. Very few look at the Brahmans--requires a lot of effort of cross-cultural study to work as an “insider” with them.


New Movements in India

Box Singha movement: spreading church communities, not highly structured. Focused on the Bible, follow the lead of the HS, and commit to Christ. These are the essential elements of “church.” Lesslie Newbingin. Very organic.
Pentecostal Church since 1911. 20% of protestants are Pentecostal.


India and Theology

Was Jesus’ suffering for us so we no longer have to suffer? Or was Jesus was the suffering servant who serves as a model for our suffering? This is a big debate because there is so much suffering going on. Part of the Pentecostal appeal is the prosperity gospel.

Southeast Asian Christianity

Theravada Buddhist Dominated Countries: Cambodia, Laos, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand

Growing Pentecostal community in Cambodia, after Khmer Rouge wiped out most of the Catholics. In Myanmar, the three minority groups have Christian communities growing. Korean missionaries among the Thai. Vietnam: strong Catholic presence. There is periodic persecution. There are Catholics and underground churches.

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia: First churches came with the Brits in the 19th century. Now there are growing Pentecostal churches in Malaysia. 15% of Singaporeans are Christian. Indonesia is officially secular, but historically there is a lot of pressure between Muslims and Christians. 3 million Christians in Sumatra.

Philippines: highest percentage of Christians in SE Asia, in terms of Catholic presence. Spanish Catholic Bishop from 1595. Different renewal movements in Philippines. Catholic Cardinals worked for overthrowing some governments (Marcos). Strong Pentecostal movements. El Shaddai movement within the Catholic Church. Lots of Philippino workers throughout the Middle East and in other Muslim areas in Asia. This is a church of the poor. ⅔ of the population of the Philippines is poor. Philippines has rapid population growth (could be 150 million in 2050).

East Asian Christianity

China

Alopen and the Early Church in China. 635. Stone documenting this early missionary movement. Chang An: world’s largest city at the time, at the end of the silk road. Stayed around, persecuted in the 10th century, was revived in the 12th, 13th century, then the Ming Dynasty persecuted it. By 1500, Christianity was very low, maybe extinct.

Matteo Ricci.

Catholics in China. He started to innovate. Came as a Chinese noble learned scholar, attempting to reach Chinese scholars. He took on the wisdom of the local culture and integrated it with the faith. He spent 20 years learning before sharing the Gospel.

Around 1700, Catholics and Jesuits were making a lot of headway into China, but due to tension with Rome, the Jesuits were called back to Rome and Rome criticized this mission approach. Some offensive things Ricci did: He made confucius a saint, he thought ancestral worship was cultural and not religious, he put names of chinese gods in the Bible. This led to the “Rites Controversy” where the Catholic church insisted that Latin Forms of the church must be prominent. Chinese saw this as a Western Empire trying to impose, so they resisted and looked to get rid of the Catholics. Lots of persecution. Many smart Jesuit missionaries innovated and continue to inculturate the Gospel.

Early 19th century, the Catholic church begins to ordain. The Bible starts to be translation. Taiping Movement: local Chinese gets a vision of heaven: creates a community movement.

Hudson Taylor: China Inland Mission. Not asking for monetary support, going on faith. Holiness movement. Taylor took on native dress, submitted to the emperor. They didn’t strategize to start churches, but they converted individuals, leaving it up to them how they would form their own communities. By the turn of the century they had 800 missionaries in China.

Faith mission vs. Mainline mission

Both groups went to the interior. Christianize and Westernizing. Mainlines emphasized the social gospel with institutions: churches, hospitals, schools. Faith missions were self-organizing house churches.

Roland Allen

Form a community around scripture then leave. Take model from Paul. Don’t stay too long.

1900-1949

8000 missionaries and 1 million believers in China by the 1920’s. Chinese start their own movements. More of a patriotic movement in China. Strong nationlistic fervor at the end of WWII. Missionaries kicked out in 1949-1951.


China since 1949

5 million official Christians. Christians required to register with the government and form in the TSPM. During cultural revolution, only churches that survived were the house churches. After Mao, the church opened up again.

State Church #’s: 20 million. House church: perhaps 90 million. If the church continues to grow like this, China may become one of the largest Christian countries.

Tibet, Mongolia, Macau, Taiwan

Macau 5% Catholic - influence of Portugeuse.
Large Presbyterian presence in Taiwan.

Between 7th and 10th centuries, the Persian missionaries reached here.

Korea

Before WWII

Koreans were oppressed under the Japanese (as the Israelites under Pharaoh). Some resisted Shinto shrine worship and were killed.

After WWII

minjung liberation theology.

Church growth in Korea since 1958 (large Pentecostal growth)

Largest Christian communities in the world. Presbyterian, Methodist churches growing rapidly. 25-30% Christian, mostly evangelical. Strong mission movement.

Church hasn't grown much since mid 1990s - rethinking church for younger generations.