wfn.org | PCT and Catholic Church weigh in on ancestor worship and salvation on radio talk show

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3032 Edition

>April 5~11, 2010

PCT and Catholic Church weigh in on ancestor worship and salvation  on radio 
talk show

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

Just before Easter, PCT pastor Rev. Lo Chun-gi and Catholic  Archbishop John 
Hung were

invited to appear on a Taiwanese radio talk show to share their  views on life 
and death,

>ancestor worship, and religion.

Though Catholics and Protestants differ in worship styles and  diverge on a few 
theological

issues, both religions believe human life is eternal and  don’t treat death as 
a taboo subject.

During the show, Rev. Lo and Archbishop Hung encouraged listeners  to put their 
faith in

>Jesus.

In terms of how Christians view life and death, Archbishop Hung  said all 
Christians believe

that human life is eternal, which means that life as we know it in  the here 
and now is merely the

beginning of an eternal journey and this conviction is the reason  why every 
person must live

well and responsibly. Christians don’t fear death because  they know where they 
will go after

they die. They view death as a process they must go through before  they are 
taken to heaven

>– a place God has prepared for them.

Rev. Lo commented that Christianity teaches that life is eternal  and everyone 
must face

judgment after death. One day, Christians will meet again in  heaven. 
Resurrection means that

there will be no more sorrow or pain in the afterlife. The reason  Christians 
do not fear death is

because they have Christ and the hope of resurrection in them.

Asked whether Christians are the only ones who will go to heaven,  Archbishop 
John Hung

replied that God reveals himself to people inside and outside of  church walls. 
Rev. Lo

emphasized that God alone determines who is saved, and humans must  not usurp 
God’s

rightful place as judge of the universe. Lo went on to say that  Christians 
aren’t judges, but

>repentant and confessing sinners.

This year’s Easter fell on the day prior Tomb Sweeping Day.  Addressing the 
issue of ancestor

worship, both Hong and Lo agreed on the importance of honoring  ancestors. 
Because

missionaries in the past didn’t understand the Taiwanese  culture of filial 
piety and ancestor

worship, it led to many misperceptions later on among Taiwanese  people that 
Christians don’t

>respect their forebears.

Both Lo and Hung clarified that, in reality, Christians attach  great 
importance to honoring

ancestors. For example, Taipei East Gate Presbyterian Church holds  a memorial 
service

every year in remembrance of its congregation’s forebears.

After the talk show, Archbishop Hung left to preside over mass for  a 
Philippine congregation

>consisting mainly of foreign workers.

>********************

Taiwan Church News is published weekly in Taiwan's local  languages.

You may translate and re-use our articles online only if you  acknowledge the 
source as

"Taiwan Church News" and list the names of the reporter and  writer.

Contact us before reprinting any of our articles for print  publications.

Direct comments and questions about this article to:  enews@pctpress.org

Visit our website for more news at: http://enews.pctpress.org/  (English)

>http://www.pctpress.org (Chinese)

>********************

> 
>