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Chinese Explorations of Orthodox Theology: A Critical Review
Lai, Pan-chiu
Lai, Pan-chiu
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Abstract
In spite of the small number of Orthodox Christians in China Chinese publications related to Orthodox Christianity have mushroomed in recent years. Many Chinese theologians from other denominations of Christianity or scholars without formal religious affiliation are involved in the explorations of Orthodox theology. This essay analyzes and evaluates critically the existing Chinese explorations of Orthodox theology. Through making references to the contemporary development of Orthodox theology especially the revivial of the doctrine of deification this essay will show that the Chinese explorations of Orthodox theology were shaped not only by the renaissance of Orthodox theology in the twentieth century but also by the contemporary Chinese context. The involvement of the Chinese context affects the Chinese explorations of Orthodox theology in both positive and negative ways. On the one hand the scope of exploration as a whole is largely focused on the areas or issues particularly relevant to the Chinese context especially the relationship between Christianity and Chinese culture.Furthermore, in terms of depth, due to the religious backgrounds of the researchers, some of the Chinese studies of Orhtodox theology fails to take seriously the connection between the theological liturgical and spiritual dimensions of the Orthodox tradition and exhibit difficulties in intepreting, for instance, the mystical theology in Orthodox Christianity. It is expected that these limitations can be overcome, at least partially, through dialogue with contemporary Orthodox theologians. The dialogue may also help the Orthodox theologians to understand the possibly distinctive positive contributions to be made by Chinese theologians and scholars towards the contemporary articulation of Orthodox Theology.
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2018
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