Conflict and Complementarity (Christian Philosophy in China)

Author: Xu Zhiwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-10-01
Features: This book is a product of the dialogue between Christianity and Chinese culture. Eighteen scholars from home and abroad interpret Christian philosophy from the perspective of Chinese people, comparing the similarities and differences between Christian philosophy and traditional Chinese thought at both theoretical and practical levels, historical and contemporary levels. It evaluates the impact of Christian culture on modern Chinese society and reflects on the main issues faced by contemporary Chinese theology from a philosophical height. Each chapter of the book provides an in-depth discussion of the situation of Christian philosophy in ontology, epistemology, and axiology (especially on human nature) in China. The book integrates Chinese and Western thoughts, presents systematic and comprehensive content, and offers rich and novel perspectives. It is a high-level academic work co-authored by renowned Chinese scholars, studying Christian philosophy, and can be regarded as a masterpiece in the comparative study of Chinese and Western philosophy. "Christian philosophy" is a strange term for many Chinese people. This is not surprising, as many Westerners also do not understand what Christian philosophy is, even Christian believers. Some theologians, although aware of Christian philosophy, view it as irrelevant. Many philosophers also have reservations about it. Before this work on Christian philosophy and Chinese thought, it is necessary to address three questions: First, what is the significance of the concept of "Christian philosophy"? Second, what is the significance of "Christian philosophy" for Chinese people? Third, how will we realize the significance of "Christian philosophy" in China?
The Meaning of the Concept of "Christian Philosophy"
What is Christian philosophy? It can be answered from two perspectives: historical and theoretical. Let us first look at the historical debates surrounding the concept of "Christian philosophy," and then provide a theoretical analysis and summary of its meaning. The concept of "Christian philosophy" seems natural, just as people rarely question the rationality of concepts like "Buddhist philosophy," "Islamic philosophy," or "religious philosophy." However, Western philosophers skilled in conceptual analysis have never relaxed their examination of whether "Christian philosophy" is possible. Historically, there have been three major debates surrounding this issue: the first among early Church Fathers, the second among neoscholastic philosophers at the beginning of the 20th century, and the third among analytic philosophers in Britain and America. We can examine what conclusions we can draw from these three debates.
At the dawn of Christianity, Jesus and his apostles strongly opposed the rational pride and cultural discrimination of Jewish rabbis and scholars, as well as Greek philosophers. In Athens, the Apostle Paul debated with philosophers, quoting scripture: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (1 Cor 1:18), and he warned believers not to let anyone "be led away with empty words and the vain deceit, according to the tradition of men and according to the philosophy and vain deceit of this world, not according to Christ" (2 Cor 2:8). Most Church Fathers understood the philosophy Paul opposed as Greek philosophy, and they advocated in contrast the "philosophy of barbarians" or Christian philosophy. However, some took the scripture literally, equating Greek philosophy with philosophy in general, and thus broadly opposed all philosophy. Tertullian was a representative of this view. He famously said, "What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?" The former represents Christian faith and scripture, while the latter represents Greek reason and philosophy. Was Christianity forced to make a non-Aristotelian choice between "Jerusalem and Athens"? This was a question that concerned whether Christianity could possess its own philosophy. It was not until Augustine that these issues received a widely accepted answer at the time, and the legitimacy of Christian philosophy was established. Augustine believed that there was no contradiction between faith and rational thought because faith belonged to the category of "thought," but not all thoughts were faith—faith was "to think with assent." Conversely, thinking with doubt, criticism, or opposition was not faith and was contradictory to faith. Beyond the relationships of similarity and opposition, there was a third relationship between reason and faith: that of goal and path. Augustine called the rational knowledge resulting from faith "understanding." He proposed a famous slogan: "Faith seeking understanding." This does not mean emphasizing the inadequacy of faith, nor does it mean that faith that is not understood is merely a nascent and immature faith. Augustine meant to emphasize the priority of faith for understanding. The "seeking" of faith has three meanings: First, faith is the starting point of understanding; second, faith is the direction that guides how to understand; third, faith is the way to achieve correct understanding. Augustine himself explained this as follows: "Faith seeks, understanding finds, and that is why the prophet says, 'Unless you believe, you will not understand.'" Augustine's discussion of the relationship between faith and understanding provided a theological basis for Christian philosophy. Medieval Christian philosophers, while placing on faith and understanding to varying degrees, all shared the theme of "faith seeking understanding," from Anselm to Aquinas.