Chinas wahre Größe: Das geistige und geistliche Erbe Chinas- faszinierende Entdeckungen in der 5000 Jahre alten Schriftsymbolik

by Chan Kei Thong

Chan Kei Thong has brought up an interesting discussion about the relationship between God, China and its language. He thinks that China and Israel both share a long history with rich cultures. Due to the many similarities and belief in God as the only Creator, the author points out in detail how Chinese characters manifest historical evidences and many aspects recorded in the Bible. He claims China's 4000 years of history as proof to support that God has never left this country.Like Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds.

Genres: Christian, History, China, Nonfiction, Christianity

Board Book

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

"Chan Kei Thong was born in Singapore, educated in Singapore and the United States, and has lived in China for more than 20 years. He is president of LDi, Inc., which provides executive coaching, leadership training and operates five international schools." - Back leaf, Faith of Our Fathers.

Reviews

[April Knapp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chan definitely brings up an interesting discussion in Faith of Our Fathers. The meat of the book (and most compelling evidence) is his section on the meaning of Chinese characters (writing) and how they reflect Biblical accounts and ideas. This is an idea I've noticed and have been intrigued by since I studied abroad in China. For example, the character for "righteousness" is a pictograph of a lamb being slain over a person, indicating that the Ancient Chinese recognized a need for a sacrifice in order to be made righteous. And there are tons like this that Chan points out.

Another compelling section is his citing of Ancient Chinese writings which show the Ancient Chinese peoples' view and understanding of God. It is interesting just of similar their religious practices and views of God were to the Ancient Hebrews.

I also enjoyed his section about Ancient Chinese astronomy and their interpretations of the stars. It sounds crazy, but it's really interesting how their recordings actually match up with biblical text.

However, I had some major problems with this book. Chan seems to stretch his historical interpretation a bit in order to make things fit his hypothesis. While the above mentioned sections were great, there are other parts of this book that were not stable. For example, he claims that the Ancient Chinese practice of ancestral worship is actually NOT worship or idolatry, but just paying respects. I have never heard this from any other historian and it is a known fact that ancestor worship is practiced today, especially amongst Chinese minority groups, and it is indeed worship. Some of his stretched historical interpretations made me question the book's validity.

I also was skeptical with Chan's interpretation of the Dao De Jing, the book from which Taoists base their beliefs., because he is not an expert nor is his interpretation like any other scholars who've studied the Dao De Jing.

I believe the Bible is Truth, so it is hard for me to suspend that belief while reviewing a book about God and truth in text. I was uncomfortable with Chan holding Dao text and Ancient Chinese text at the same truth level as the Bible, especially because Chan is a Christian and this book is unashamedly evangelical. Yes, all Truth is God's Truth and there may be some truth in other texts, but to hold it at the same level as the authority of the Bible is a dangerous step for a Christian. It seemed like another stretch of Chan's to convince Chinese readers that their ancestors were actually Bible-believers.

While I agree that there is compelling evidence that the Ancient Chinese had some biblical influence, I cannot fully grasp Chan's argument that the god they worshiped was the same exact God of the Old Testament. My personal opinion is that a more accurate conclusion would be that God preserved ideas about Himself in the Chinese culture, but their idea of God was not completely biblical.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely wonderful! I really enjoyed this book, even though it was not the easiest book to read. I found this absolutely intriguing and inspiring. I'm an educator who works with international students, many from China. This book really opened my eyes to the culture and history of my students. It gave me insight into who they are and where they come from. I imagine that some of the history recorded here has probably been lost even to my students. And yet, I can see this history written in each of their stories.

I found it astounding how God has made Himself known through the history of China. It is stunningly obvious to me that the God of Shang Di known by the ancient Chinese is in fact the God of the Bible. However, this does not lead to their salvation. It does point to the biblical narrative, though, by helping to provide support for the history recorded in the pages of God's Word. There is clear evidence here that all people come from the same beginning, as this seems to be the only explanation for how the Chinese God and worship so closely resembles that of the Hebrews. There are so many similarities in the God they worship as well as in how they worship. The only explanation I can offer is that the Chinese, like the Hebrews and all other cultures, were once together at the Tower of Babel.

I love the way the author traces the history of China through the years, first showing how the God they historically worshipped is the same as the God of Christianity. Then, he shows how the religious observances and worship of the ancient Chinese closely resemble the worship prescribed to the Hebrews in the Old Testament that points to a Savior. Then, he shows how the notion of covenant in China is essentially the same as that in the Hebrew culture and biblical Christianity. By this point in the book, I was hooked and convinced. Then, I love the way he traces the empires and emperors, explaining how these ancient leaders served as regents of Shang Di, leading their people in selfless humility. They pointed their people, basically without knowing it, to the worship of the God of the Bible and the coming of a Savior. Then, the author shows how that became distorted in Chinese leadership and culture, and how the culture of the dragon enters in and changes the country forever.

Even so, the author ends with hope. All truth is God's truth. He is still in control, and He still desires for all people, including the Chinese, to embrace Him. And by doing so, the Chinese, and others as well, are not turning their backs on their culture and pursuing some western God and western religion. But instead, the God of the Bible is the God of all people - of every nation, tribe, and tongue. He has revealed Himself to the Chinese through the generations, and just as has happened in every other culture around the globe, we have distorted God's revelation to us and denied Him. But that does not change the truth. God is still the God of China as He is the God of all. And embracing God is in fact embracing the truth of our culture, no matter what culture we hail from.

At the end of this book, my appreciation for and understanding of Chinese history and culture has grown tremendously. It makes me want to embrace the leadership style of some of these great emperors who ruled with humility and service, putting the country and the people always before themselves, seeking to lead the people to worship of Shang Di, and seeing themselves as His stewards of His kingdom. That is how I want to see myself. And I am excited that God is greater than my own culture and my own language. I have been reminded of this. God reveals Himself in many ways. The ancient Chinese understood a glimpse of this revelation, but they were missing a critical piece - that ultimately we need a Savior, and God gives us that Savior in the person of Jesus Christ, who died for us and lives again, giving us life forever with God. May God use this book to continue His work in China and around the world!

[Shining · Rating 1 out of 5]

I also wish that China shared the same God but unfortunately that’s not true. This book contains a lot of flawed information and misses evidence that counter his argument. Confucius’ parents for example did not believe in only one god. They prayed to the local spirit of a hill 尼丘 for a son, after which Confucius is named. Like most people at their time, they believed that there are spirits (not angels) in many things. There are many other mistakes he made. For instance, historians believe that the High God that the Zhou Dynasty believed in called Tian 天 doesn’t seem to be the same High God 上帝 that the previous dynasty believed in, although both High Gods were managers of spirits. And archeologists cannot confirm that Xia Dynasty existed.

[Evan Þ. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a provocative and interesting look at Chinese cultural origins in the light of Christianity, observing that China's most ancient religion was monotheistic worship of a god under the name of "Shang Di", whose attributes (such as transcendence, providential arranging of events, justice, and mercy) appear the same as the One God of Christianity. This religion was, Thong tells, later eclipsed by imperial pride and growing fear of previously-minor spirits. The annual sacrifices by the Emperor to Shang Di were later restored (and carried out until the overthrow of the last Emperors), but general reverence for him had been eclipsed.

Thong, a Christian, argues that "Shang Di" is in fact the same True God worshipped by Christianity. Knowledge of Him, he suggests, was handed down from Noah to his descendents, including the early Chinese - and reinforced by God's general revelation.

I cannot object to Thong's main conclusion about Shang Di - which is indeed the same thing argued by many early Christian missionaries to China, and indeed also (curiously) by the Taiping Rebellion. His survey of Chinese religious history, I'm totally unable to evaluate or comment on, except to say it's fascinating.

[David Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes the case that the single omnipotent Deity of Ancient China and the Judeo-Christian God are one and the same. Has some compelling evidence, but saves it til the middle- topics include coincidental word symbolism, the border sacrifice, and the work of 17th Century missionaries.

Lots of history and stories, maybe to the point of being superfluous. But a decent read for those curious about whether the advent of Christianity in East Asia and Southeast Asia could be construed as taking ethnic Chinese "away" from their ancestral roots.

[Tintinrulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!
"Faith of Our Fathers" by Chan Kei Thong is a fascinating collaboration of evidence to support the author's belief (and that of other Chinese and Western Christians) that Shang Di, the ancient monotheistic god of China and the one true God were one and the same. Chan believes the Chinese people were one of the faithful groups that left the Tower of Babel and travelled to what later became China, bringing their God-honouring ways with them. While each piece of evidence within this book on its own may not provide true credibility for this belief, taken as a whole, these seven signposts make a very strong case.

Here are the seven historical markers: 1. The composition of ancient Chinese characters suggests knowledge of the earliest events of human history as described in the Bible. 2. Historical texts point to the Supreme Being venerated in ancient China, as being the same God revealed in the Bible. 3. The Border Sacrifice ceremony performed by the emperor at the Tower of Heaven for several thousand years shares amazing parallels with the sacrificial system prescribed in the books of Law in the Bible. 4. Some eminent scholars from the 16th and 19th centuries came to the conclusion that no.2 was true. 5. Striking similarities between the Hebrew and the Chinese approach to moral truth eg. man's responsibilities to society and his relationship to the Divine. 6. The ancient rulers of China understood and set forth a godly way of ruling the people. The rulers saw themselves as serving Heaven (the righteous Supreme Being) by serving the people. 7. Chinese historical records appear to confirm some key astral events spoken of in the Bible. Interpretations of these events are surprisingly consistent with the Bible.

I found this book to be a fascinating read. It's part history lesson, part theological study and part devotional. There's plenty of images and photos to satisfy the reader. I did find the book long-winded in places and the devotional sections were redundant for me (but they'll be useful for some readers). The book really helped me to better understand elements of Leviticus.

Discovering that the ancient Chinese believed in the one true God was incredible. Learning the story of how monotheism gave way to paganism was also intriguing but highly disturbing. In brief: Shang Di was worshipped for two millennia but then His worship became just a tradition and was corrupted and overtaken by competing beliefs like Daoism. The Chinese emperors began to identify themselves with the Dragon (Satan), which in ancient China had been feared and associated with sin, death etc. During the Late Middle Ages, there was a return to the worship of Shang Di but this drew to an end when China became a Republic, just prior to World War One.

"Faith of Our Fathers" is a must-read book for everyone.

8.5/10

[Iamthird · Rating 3 out of 5]

p 150 Worship with a pure heart - fasting, staying away from profane thoughts, and ceremonial purification rites were meant to prepare the emperor to meet His God in a state of cleanliness. Similarly, we can only approach God with a pure heart, as described in Psalm 24:3-4 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully .

Worship with Joy - Relationship with God brings a joy that bubbles from within and leads to a state of blessedness that the world cannot destroy. We we know the true God, He gives us joy in our hearts, just as Jesus promised, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." John 15:11

Matthew 28:19-20

Generation of Giants : Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) his humility, patience, scholarship, and novel contributions made him the most recognized name among Jesuit missions in the nation. (born in central Italy, age of 16 studied law in Rome). Ricci, Schall, Verbiest, and Legge clearly recognized the importance of cultural understanding and sensitivity in winning Chinese souls for Christ, and they had invested the time and energy to gain that understanding. These scholar missionaries compromised neither faith nor professional integrity in pursuit of their lifelong mission to bring a saving knowledge of God to China. "I maintain that the Chinese do know the true God, and have a word in their language answering to our word God, to the Hebrew Elohim, and to the Greek Theos." James Legge

p 225 God loves all His creation and consequently has been intimately involved with the affairs of this ancient nation from the start.

So it was that under the leadership of these three great men - Yao, Shun, and Yu - China flourished and enjoyed unparalleled peace and prosperity, such has not been seen in the 4,000 years since.

The Death of Christ - When the work on the Cross was finished, blood formed a creek;
Grace from the west flowed a thousand yards deep.
He stopped onto the midnight road, to subject Himself to the four trials;
Before the rooster had crowed twice, thrice by His disciple was he betrayed.
Five hundred lashes tore every inch of skin;
Two thieves hung on his either side, six feet high.
Sadness greater than any had ever known;
Seven utterings, one completed task, ten-thousand spirits weep.

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caught somewhere between being evangelistic and academic, which makes it a little hard to read. This book makes the case that the God of traditional Chinese culture (Shang Di) is, in fact, the same God that Jews and Christians believe in. The author makes some interesting and convincing points, some about history, some about texts like the Tao Te Ching, some about language -- all are at least worth considering. But then he pulls out weird, implausible, vague notions, like the dragon in Chinese culture is actually Satan. Buh?

[Belebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book that has tonnes of research put into it. The author has attempted to prove that the 'Shang Di' that the ancient Chinese worshipped was the same God that Abraham and his descendants worshipped. From Noah's Ark, Tower of Babel, birth of Christ to the Border Sacrifice performed by the early emperors, the author used timelines and compared Chinese historical records and teachings and writings of the sages with the books of the Holy Bible. I will be re-reading this book again. There is much to learn and share. :)

[Timothy Hrushka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book

[Nathan C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, fascinating story about monotheism in one of the world's oldest continuous cultures--China.

[Li Linke]

I want to know how God is in Chinese culture.