Rev. Wen Yongsheng：“Ancestor-reverence ministry is a spiritual battle”

Those brothers and sisters who have previously shared the Gospel among the Hakka people all have some experience: the Hakka people are regarded by Christians as “hard soil.”

　　So what exactly are the obstacles to salvation among the Hakka people? Is it the Monkey King in Bangka Island, Indonesia? Is it the Shoushan Pavilion Dabogong Temple in Kuching? Is it the Yimin Ye and Sanshan Guowang in Taiwan? Is it fortune-telling and feng shui practices? Is it the Tzu Chi Merit Association? Or is it the issue of ancestral worship? Faced with the Hakka people’s non-Christian customs, how should we respond?

　　The 3rd Global Hakka Gospel Conference specially invited Rev. Wen Yongsheng, Senior Pastor of Taoyuan Pingzhen Chong Zhen Church in Taiwan and Dean of the Hakka Ministry Theological Seminary, to present the special topic “Breaking the Obstacles to Salvation Among the Hakka Ethnic Group.”

　　He stated that the Hakka people have a polytheistic background, namely Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism was introduced into China from India during the Yongping period of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 58–75), and is known as a religion of knowledge and wisdom. Buddhism has been very successful in localization, while over so many years, Christianity has still been regarded as a “foreign religion.”

　　Rev. Wen believes that Buddhism’s success is mainly due to its success in literature work, such as the translation of Buddhist scriptures. We thank the Lord that the “Hakka Bible of the Old and New Testaments” was published in 2012. On the other hand, there is also ideological exchange: Buddhism’s interaction with Confucian and Taoist thought has allowed Buddhism to take root among the Chinese.

　　Taoism is a native religion originating from nature worship. Its founder Zhang Ling, also known as Zhang Daoling, received the so-called “Five Pecks of Rice Daoism” in the first year of Han An (AD 142), and established Taoism. During the Wei and Jin periods, Zhang Daoling was also known as “Celestial Master Zhang.”

Gospel Contextualization

　　He hopes that Christians should understand the worldview of the Hakka people in order to achieve both self-understanding and understanding others, knowing what is real to the Hakka people and what is valuable. Polytheism, three souls and seven spirits, the Hungry Ghost Festival in July, heaven, hell, reincarnation after death, the underworld being like the living world, loyalty, filial piety, integrity, etc., are all part of the Hakka worldview.

　　As for how to break the obstacles to salvation among the Hakka people, Rev. Wen said first it must go from polytheism to monotheism, because the folk religion blended with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism has caused most Hakka people to believe in polytheism. To transform polytheism into monotheism, one must find the rationality of “oneness,” such as each person having only one biological father. But to truly succeed, it still depends on prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit.

　　Secondly, we must think about how to transform Christianity from a “foreign religion” into a localized religion, reflecting on gospel contextualization through the localization of Buddhism.

　　“The popularity of Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism is because they are simple, and Chinese people like simple things; therefore, Christians should use simple and clear language when sharing the Gospel. In addition, Chinese people like inclusiveness, which is beautifully called ‘harmony,’ so when sharing the Gospel, one should speak more about the goodness of the Gospel and less about the faults of others.”

　　The third point is reality. Confucianism emphasizes reality, Indian Buddhism emphasizes “transcendence from the world,” while Chinese Buddhism emphasizes “engagement with the world.” Changing “believe in Jesus and receive eternal life” to “believe in Jesus and receive buffaloes” can better attract the attention of the Hakka people, and in evangelism, it should often emphasize that Christianity values “family” and “education.”

Gospel Pre-evangelism is Essential

　　Rev. Wen also introduced the Tzu Chi Merit Association during the seminar and stated that the core value of Chinese people is doing good deeds. Tzu Chi does not build large temples but instead focuses on charity, attracting huge donations, recruiting many volunteers, and drawing many people into Buddhism, including Hakka people.

　　“One must know that once someone believes in Buddhism, it is difficult to lead them to Christianity. Therefore, the church should take action and not rely only on direct counseling, but also carry out gospel pre-evangelism such as acts of love.”

　　The Basel Mission established a blind center and hospital in Meixian; the Hong Kong Chongzhen Church established elderly day care centers, nursing homes, and many church schools; Singapore, Sabah, and Indonesia also established church schools and hospitals; the Dorkas Fellowship in Jakarta—all of these are gospel pre-evangelism. In addition, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan currently has 8 welfare institutions, and many churches previously operated kindergartens. Unfortunately, there are not many Christian primary and secondary schools, and in Hakka areas there are almost no church schools or hospitals.

　　Furthermore, there is the nationwide “Christian Relief Association” in Taiwan and the “True Blessing Holistic Care Association” in Hakka regions. Rev. Wen emphasized that ministry to the poor is very important, because Jesus is for the poor. When the church cares for the poor and Christians care for the vulnerable, they are reflecting the heart of Jesus Christ. May the church continue to take this ministry seriously so that more Hakka people may come to believe in the Lord.

Understanding the Issue of Ancestral Worship

　　Regarding the difficulty of ancestral worship among the Hakka people, Rev. Wen said that the reason the Hakka people value ancestral worship so much is because it has three major functions: ethical function, religious function, and social function. The ethical function promotes filial piety and moral education; the religious function is simply to seek blessings from ancestors; and the social function is to unite families and stabilize society, especially during times of disaster.

　　As for why it must be taken seriously, he said that when Hakka people face the decision of whether to believe, they care about the response of their “reference group,” because so far Hakka people still go to tomb-sweeping and ancestral worship as a family. Therefore, the reference group for Taiwanese Hakka Christians is the entire family. They must consider whether they can withstand the pressure from the whole family. Because of this, many Hakka people dare not believe.

　　During the seminar, he also shared a deeply memorable experience, which led him to begin research on Christian ancestor reverence ministry.

　　Rev. Wen pointed out that besides the Fifth Commandment of honoring parents in the Old Testament, there are also the teachings and example of Jesus (Matthew 15:1–9; John 19:26–27), and the teachings of Paul (Ephesians 6:1–3). From the Bible we can see that Christianity is a religion that values filial piety, and it transcends space and time, transcending ethnic groups.

　　Comparing Confucian filial piety, we can see from the Analects. Meng Yizi asked about filial piety. Confucius said: “Do not disobey.” Fan Chi was driving, and the Master told him: “Meng Sun asked me about filial piety, I replied: ‘Do not disobey.’” Fan Chi said: “What does that mean?” The Master said: “While parents are alive, serve them according to ritual; after they die, bury them according to ritual, and sacrifice to them according to ritual.” (Book of Governance Chapter 5)

　　If we compare Christian and Confucian views of filial piety, the similarity is that both emphasize “filial piety in life.” The difference is that Christianity emphasizes both God-centered and human-centered filial piety, while Confucianism emphasizes “filial piety in life” and also “filial piety after death,” whereas Christianity focuses mainly on filial piety in life.

Christian Model of Ancestor Reverence

　　Rev. Wen emphasized that in the past Christianity was regarded as “unfilial religion” because it did not emphasize “respecting the dead” and “remembering the ancestors.” In fact, the Christian faith values filial piety, but how should it be practiced in the Chinese cultural context? Therefore, the church in Chinese society should strengthen the work of remembering the dead and honoring ancestors.

　　The ministry of ancestor reverence should follow the principle of “being a servant,” meaning that as long as it does not violate the Bible, it should fully recognize the local people and appropriately respect the local culture.

　　Based on Chinese cultural considerations, he designed a model of ancestor reverence ministry, including both long-term and periodic practices. For long-term practice, he proposes writing an ancestral memorial chart (suitable for families with many ancestral records) or a generational inheritance chart (suitable for families with fewer ancestral records) as a living room display.

　　For periodic practice, he designed the “Three Acts of Remembrance” and the “Respect Ceremony,” which can be used for innovative funerals, ancestor reverence conferences, and family tomb-sweeping. The design of the Three Acts of Remembrance is a liturgy honoring the Triune God. The pouring water ritual (prayer to God the Father) symbolizes remembering the source of water; the offering of flowers (prayer to God the Son) symbolizes the legacy of ancestors; the lighting of candles (prayer to God the Holy Spirit) symbolizes bringing glory to the family.

　　As for the Respect Ceremony, it is an act of respect toward the deceased or ancestors, first using living etiquette: bowing and offering flowers. This principle of using living etiquette can serve as a standard for different regions and cultures.

　　Rev. Wen reiterated that ancestor reverence ministry is a spiritual battle, and we must use spiritual warfare to break the schemes of the devil.

Provided by Sarawak Methodist Church Methodist Messenger