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Over the last few posts we’ve been looking at Chinese pietism. This is not actually a very big feature of second generation Chinese, but tends to be more prominent in first generation ministries. And even then the influence of pietism is not uniform: many may not even know the name Watchman Nee, and there are in fact competing influences on OBCs – such as modernism (see previous post)! 

Yet Chinese pietism still exerts a strong influence on some Chinese – and you can see it in the things that are said:

Notice the rejection of the carnal and ‘soulish’ methods such as planning, reason, calculating resources, raising support – and in its place the more ‘spiritual’ dependence on God by faith. Often these carnal methods are not explicitly spoken of as bad – but implicitly understood to be inferior. Yet in practice there is a sharp division between the spiritual (which is good) – and the worldly (which is bad).

But there is more:

“God broke him through that experience and he learnt to trust in God for his every needs.”

“He denied himself and instead was willing to sacrifice even his career as a doctor for God.”

“You need to become fully devoted to God.”

And here we have that theme of the denial of self / dying to self in order to become the truly spiritual man.  The things that we are to learn to die to are things like our wisdom, cunning, intelligence, and talents. And underlying this is the thinking that Christian growth is not actually about putting sin to death and growing in our love for God… instead it’s about breaking the outer man so that the inner life of the spirit may shine forth (see previous post).

Here are some more things to listen out for:

“It was not us, it was God.”

“God told him not to finish his uni course, but instead to travel overseas and wait for his leading.”

“Yes he missed that plane – but it was God, you know. God did not allow him to board that plane, he had something greater in mind that we could not fathom at that time.”

“God did not allow us to sell the church building at that time. He had another way in mind, that was not our way.”

“God spoke to him and told him not to return yet, there was more God had planned for him to do.”

Notice the unqualified certainty with which people ascribe what god has been doing in recent events in history. God’s supernatural and present intervention in one’s ministry - and even his speaking to us in our spirit – is a valuable confirmation of one’s election. Notice also that it is often associated with things which, at the time, go against the ‘carnal’ faculties such as reason and careful planning, and instead exhibit a life that is much more ‘spiritual.’

However Chinese pietism doesn’t just show itself in what people say, it can also show up in practices common in the Chinese church – practices such as faith missions, and faith promise giving. These look for God’s present involvement apart from the normal means of drawing up budgets, talking to supporters, calculating resources. These are merely the workings of man. Instead, for God to work, he must do so supernaturally, through his spirit.

Be aware that, taken individually, these may all be innocuous. And of course, some of these things can also be seen in non-Chinese Christianity. But taken together, they may indicate the influence of Chinese pietism…

[ PS: how else have you seen pietism at work in the things people say and do? ]