Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing

Though the Christian faith is believed to have reached the shores of China way back in the 8th century, it is still generally perceived as a foreign or Western religion to many Cultural Chinese.How does this perception of Christianity as a foreign approach to spirituality advance or hinder our mission of making Cultural Chinese disciples of Christ? Has this negative reputation of the Christian faith changed today among Mainland Chinese? While the church in China has grown exponentially in the last few decades, the question still remains – can we find common ground between the Christian faith and the Chinese culture? What about Diaspora Chinese globally? Is it truly the case that Jesus and his teachings are alien to the Cultural Chinese mind?This book seeks to present the Gospel in a way that seamlessly corresponds with Confucius’s ideals for humanity but with a realistic solution. This means a Cultural Chinese can be a follower of Christ without having to shed his ethnic identity. In fact, by choosing the path of Jesus, the uniqueness of one’s culture and ethnicity is affirmed, as the Lord of Heaven is the Creator of all. There will be no identity dilemma — one can be a Chinese and a Christian with honor.

Read this book for the sake of sharing the Good News with Cultural Chinese! I’Ching Thomas, has aptly pointed out that the reception of the Christian religion by Cultural Chinese has never been an easy path ever since Christianity reached the shores of China more than ten centuries ago. With exceptional clarity, I’Ching identifies the core belief of the Cultural Chinese as the belief in human flourishing based on Confucianism. Without undermining the contribution of Confucius to humanity, I’Ching presents the biblical belief of human flourishing as the state of shalom, in which God restores humanity from its fallen predicament through the redemptive work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

—Rev Dr Clement Mook-Soo Chia, Principal, Singapore Bible College

Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing does us an enormous service. China is expanding its vision as a global citizen and its people are increasingly settling throughout the world. Those of us who love the gospel of Christ and love all things Chinese — and I am certainly one — have been desperate for a single volume that can expertly guide us through the rich moral and spiritual history of Chinese thought, and then show us how the story of Scripture, from Creation, to Fall, to the ultimate harmony of God’s kingdom, both challenges and fulfils the longings of the Chinese heart. As someone serving in a city, and a local church, blessed with a growing Chinese population, I am very grateful to I’Ching Thomas for the years of work evident in this book.

— Rev Dr John Dickson (PhD), Author, historian, Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity, and Rector of St Andrew’s Roseville (Sydney)

In an era when China’s political leaders and intellectual elites are doubling down on their criticism of Christianity as a “foreign” religion, I’Ching Thomas’s book provides a timely response to the age-old question of how the gospel relates to Chinese culture. Bringing together the Hebrew concept of shalom and the Chinese notion of the junzi, or Noble Man, she makes a strong argument for human flourishing as the common aspiration bridging the two traditions. Building on this common ground, she constructs an apologetic that speaks to the relational nature of Chinese culture, allowing for a meaningful dialog that engages the heart as well as the mind. For Chinese Christians struggling to share their faith with non-believing relatives, as well as for non-Chinese who seek to relate the truth of the Gospel within the Chinese worldview, this book provides a positive way forward.

— Dr Brent Fulton, President and Founder, ChinaSource

This is a must-read book for anyone serious about building better evangelistic models for reaching more Cultural Chinese today. With great insight and clarity in so many areas, I’Ching Thomas tells us the history that led to why Chinese people actually think the way they do. More importantly, she provides new insights on how we can use that understanding to build better bridges with Cultural Chinese today. In writing this book, she provides a great service to the body of Christ in helping us better understand what may be missing in our approach to reaching more Chinese today. Most importantly, she shows us how God’s work in human history actually provides the ideal blue print to fulfill the deep longings of the Chinese heart!

— Dr David Geisler, President, Norm Geisler International Ministries, Adjunct Prof, Southern Evangelical Seminary