wfn.org | Funerals Revisited: How to Bridge the Gap between Christianity and Taiwanese Culture

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>Taiwan Church News

>2958 Edition

>November 3~9, 2008

Funerals Revisited: How to Bridge the Gap between Christianity and  Taiwanese Culture

>Reported by: Chen Yi-shuan

>Written by: Lydia Ma

Must Christianity and “ancestor worship” be mutually  exclusive? Tainan Theological College and Seminary’s (TTCS)  Missions Research Center tackled this issue during a forum in an effort  to bridge the gap between Christianity and Taiwanese culture. During the  forum, speakers analyzed traditional culture, funeral rites, ancestor  worship, etc. According to Chen Chhong-hoat (Zeng Chang-fa), head of  pastoral education division at TTCS, churches should build bridges  instead of walls between Taiwanese culture and Christianity. They should  not ignore the importance or the cultural relevance behind  “ancestor worship” for ordinary Taiwanese people. To succeed  in missions, Christians must be flexible. In other words, so long as  cultural practices do not contradict Scripture, Christians should  respect local culture and accept people just as they are.

The two-day forum focusing on creating original funeral rites was held  in Kaoshiung and members from southern presbyteries, aboriginal  presbyteries, and local pastors and believers attended the event. In  total, over one hundred people were in attendance. The forum centered on  intense discussions about finding the right balance between faith and  culture and how to make the Gospel more accessible to the general  public. Chen Chhong-hoat went straight to the point by saying, “The  God we worship is infinite. Our ancestors are deceased, finite human  beings. These two do not belong together. How can we, then, talk about  them in the same breath?” Chen argued that the church was the one  who built a wall between Taiwanese culture and Christianity; hence, it  is only fitting that the church should be the one to think of ways to  remove the barrier now.

According to Chen, “ancestor worship” has been an issue for  the past 143 years. It was considered a problem ever since Christian  missions began in Taiwan. However, the problem originated because of a  misunderstanding in Western thinking and values about Taiwanese culture.  In other words, what Taiwanese did to venerate their ancestors was taken  as ancestor worship by Western society. Chen also referred to the  opening chapter of the book of Matthew where we find the genealogy of  Jesus. He challenged his audience to consider why a genealogy is listed  in the very beginning of the New Testament. Could it be taken as a sign  of respect for one’s ancestry? In his opinion, if we want to  increase the number of Christians in Taiwan beyond 3%, we must first get  rid of the Taiwanese general public’s perception that becoming a  Christian is dishonoring one’s ancestors.

Other speakers at the forum emphasized that success in missions depends  on respecting local culture and accepting the locals. Some speakers  brought up original ways of conducting funerals by adding a few items to  the traditional Christian ceremonies that would make them more  meaningful to Taiwanese culture. For example, flower offerings,  candle-lighting, pouring of water, formal salutes, etc. would be welcome  among Taiwanese who usually love solemn ceremonies. If these rituals are  added to funerals, they could help shorten the distance between  Christianity and Taiwanese culture as well as demonstrate reverence to  the deceased. In doing so, believers who have non-believing family  members present at funerals would feel less pressure and we could boost  Christianity’s profile in Taiwanese society.

According to one speaker at the forum, weddings and funerals are very  good opportunities to share the Gospel. Christian weddings are now  welcomed by the Taiwanese who embrace the idea of walking on the red  carpet, exchanging marital vows, etc. Wearing wedding gowns is no longer  frowned upon though wearing white is typically taboo in Taiwanese  culture. If Christians could demonstrate to unbelievers their utmost  respect for their ancestors through funerals, it would be an effective  means to bridge the gap between churches and traditional culture.

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