Solution:
First, the division and theoretical process of the three-self patriotic movement in China.
From a historical perspective, the formation process of China's Christian three-self patriotic movement theory can be divided into four stages:
After the founding of New China, the churches in China, with their foreign faces, have been unable to meet the requirements of the times. 1950 in July, 40 Christian leaders, including Mr. Wu Yaozong, jointly published "Ways for China Christianity to Work hard in the Construction of New China" (usually called "Three-Self Declaration"). The "three-self declaration" shows that Christians in China have the courage to face up to some facts that imperialism used Christianity in the past. Therefore, eliminating the influence of imperialism and westernization of the church has become the inevitable choice for the survival and development of the church, and it is also the realistic basis for Christianity to show its political stance for the construction of new China. At the same time, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement also shows the vision of the times for the construction of the new China church: to complete the tasks of autonomy, self-support and autobiography in a short time, and to "promote a church run by China people themselves", which embodies the harmonious unity of patriotism and love of religion, and also finds a political way out for Christianity in China, and has received enthusiastic response from the majority of Christians.
After the reform and opening up, the Party and the government further implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief, and the churches in China ushered in spring. 1980 10 At the historic Third National Congress of Christianity in China, Bishop Ding Guangxun made a report on "Retrospect and Prospect" in view of the practice of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, clearly pointing out that "the Three-Self Movement has achieved great success", solemnly warning that "the Three-Self Mission has not been completed" and putting forward the phrase "from running a church to running a good church". The meeting decided to establish "China Christian Council". Since then, Christian associations (academic committees) have been established in various places, which, together with members of the three-self patriotic movement, are called "Christian II". This marks the theoretical thinking inherited by the theory of the three-self patriotic movement in the new period in innovation, and is the correct way to find the church nature of the three-self patriotic movement in faith.
In order to further deepen the three-self patriotic movement, the National Christian Congress made the Resolution on Strengthening the Construction of Theological Thought at the Jinan Conference in June 1998 1 1. 10 For many years, Christianity in China has taken the construction of theological thought as the top priority of the work of various ministries, vigorously promoted it, and achieved phased results. It enlivens the theological thought of the church, deepens Christians' understanding of the essence of faith, enriches the forum support of the church, enhances Christians' awareness of joining the WTO and their sense of social responsibility, and promotes the ethics of truth, goodness and beauty contained in Christian teachings. The construction of theological thought is of great significance for consolidating the achievements of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and building a China church with independent consciousness and practice in thought. The development of theological thought construction has solved the theoretical problems of the Three-Self Movement ideologically, and also enabled the China Church to enter the theoretical realm of common use and continuous innovation, which indicates that the patriotic movement of the Three-Self Movement is gradually maturing, and the "self" that the China Church is striving for is growing.
In 2009, the State Administration for Religious Affairs proposed to create a harmonious church activity as a useful exploration and an important measure to promote religious harmony and maintain social stability. In accordance with the relevant requirements, the two Christian associations and churches in various places have given full play to the leading role of Christian groups and taken active actions. As we all know, Christianity itself is a religion that emphasizes harmony, reconciliation and peace. Through the establishment of a harmonious church, it not only improves the ability of self-education and self-management of the church, but also effectively plays the role of a bridge and link between believers and the party and government, further deepening the practicality and affinity of the three-self patriotic movement. This is the perfect integration of China's Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement and Christianity's active view of joining the WTO, and it is also a useful attempt to explore the practical ways for the church to be more cohesive and influential in social life.
2. Look at its theoretical connotation from its great achievements.
The Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China is the most important turning point in the history of Christianity in China, which initiated a new era in the history of Christianity in China.
The three-self patriotic movement has experienced ups and downs for 60 years. The historical development direction of Christianity in China was corrected under the care and guidance of God's grace, which laid an indelible foundation for China Church to regain its historical destiny, return to the essence of faith, realize political consciousness, renew theological thought, enhance moral understanding and reflect on social responsibility. This is not only the successful practice of national awakening and patriotism in the Christian church, but also in line with the teaching of Christianity and the Bible.
(1) The Three-Self Patriotic Movement awakened the independent consciousness of the church in China and promoted the in-depth development of the church ministry.
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement severed the relationship between China Church and imperialism, and it was no longer a missionary area for foreign missions. Christianity in China got rid of its dependence on western Christianity in organization and economy, realized the principle of three-self patriotism and won the sovereign independence of the church in China. China's Christian Three-Self Movement made the church in China truly masters of the country, and Christians and the people of the whole country stood closer together, which changed the people's view of Christianity in China, thus making it possible for Christianity to spread and develop in China. Dr Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, England, has repeatedly spoken in support of the Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China. He also believes: "/kloc-The British reformist movement insisted on the independence of its own church and established the Anglican Church in the 6th century, which is exactly the Three Self Movement." Indeed, as a country with a vast territory and a large population like China, it is inconceivable and abnormal for the church to be attached to the missionary areas of foreign powers for a long time after liberation. The "three-self patriotic movement" of Christianity in China complied with the call of the times, changed the image of Christianity as a foreign religion in the eyes of China people, and created a good atmosphere and psychological identity foundation for the spread of the gospel in China. The independence of the system not only clears the obstacles for the spread of the gospel, but also provides a reliable guarantee for the improvement of the function of the church in China and its healthy follow-up development. On the road to "autonomous and self-supporting autobiography", under the economic blockade of imperialism, the Chinese Christian church not only successfully solved the self-supporting problem of churches in various places, but also established Nanjing United Theological Seminary through discussion and consultation by seminaries with different theological ideas and sectarian backgrounds in East China 12. The "Jinling" model has created conditions for China churches to eliminate sectarian disputes and gradually move towards unity. Regarding the different traditions, rituals and beliefs in Christianity, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement has always adhered to unity and cooperation on the premise of patriotism and love for religion. According to the teaching of the Bible, it advocates "tolerance with love and harmony as the most important communication", respecting each other and seeking common ground while reserving differences. In the 1950s, God used the historical conditions at that time to unite theological seminaries of different sects to achieve joint worship, and sectarian organizations gradually disappeared. This is the new achievement of the three-self patriotic movement in church construction, and it is also the wish of the universal church for many years.
After the reform and opening up, the three-self principle has been further implemented and implemented, and the ministries of the church have flourished. Twelve committees on church governance, bible publishing and rural work have been set up at the two national Christian congresses to carry out church ministries. According to the incomplete statistics in 20 10, the number of Christians in China has exceeded 23 million, 32 times that in 1949. More than 65,438+00,000 churches and 25,000 meeting places were opened, and an average of 3 meeting places were restored and rebuilt every day. There are 65,438+08 national, regional and provincial seminaries. Philip Porter, the former director-general of World Christianity, wrote after his visit to China: "We feel that China Church is an active, confident and developing church, which is rooted in China and works hard for the interests of China. The Three Self Movement and the China Christian Council are strong and stable. "
(2) The Three-Self Patriotic Movement enlivened the theological thought of the church and gave birth to the theological system rooted in the country.
In the real society, the theological thought of the church is developing, because God's revelation is gradual, and the church will inevitably respond to various requirements of the times from a theological standpoint. Theology is church thinking! The change of social situation provides a historical opportunity for the development of Christianity in China. At the same time, the new situation also requires China Christianity to make theological adjustment and adaptation. In the early 1950s, Mr. Wu Yaozong emphasized that "believers in China must explore the treasure of the gospel of Jesus Christ themselves, get rid of the fetters of western theology, liquidate their escapist thoughts and create their own theological system for believers in China." During this period, a theological reflection called "theological mass movement" appeared in China Church. At that time, patriotic Christians in China shouted the call of "eliminating the poison of imperialist thoughts". Combined with the ideology at that time, they had a big discussion on theological thought and reinterpreted the scriptures such as "Don't love the world" and "Love yourself". Through discussion, the factors of imperialism and colonialism in Christian theology were eliminated. Everyone agreed that Christians should love the world according to their lessons, and criticized the practice of staying away from the world. In western theology, labor is simply understood as a means for God to punish mankind. The fiery socialist construction and the practice of reform and opening up have begun to make the church re-examine this view, which shows us that in the first chapter of Genesis, God is shown as a creative and diligent worker. He created the world and governed, maintained and updated it. Then, he made people in his own image and made them his colleagues. From this, we understand that it is God's will to regard work as his appointed housekeeper and even work with him.
In addition, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement also provided a direction for China church theology to think about its own position. The construction of theological thought is the deepening and development of the three-self patriotic movement, and the formation and development of theological thought construction will also make the Chinese Christian church healthier. Therefore, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, to a certain extent, provided fertile soil for China's Christian theological thought and enlivened the theological thought of China Church. The principle of "three-self patriotism" embodies the spiritual temperament that China Christianity can always keep pace with the times, and it is this spiritual temperament that makes China's Christian theological thought always have distinct characteristics of the times.
Bishop Ding Guangxun believes that "the theme of Christian gospel and Christian theology can only be that God and human beings can be reconciled in Christ". As far as religion is concerned, it should not get involved in politics. However, any theological thinking is situational thinking, and the church will never live in a vacuum. Although we are "heavenly people", Christianity is not super-political. Living in the real society, we should have a certain sense of political justice and consciousness, assume certain social responsibilities, and abide by the government's policies and decrees in an exemplary manner, because "all powerful people in the world must obey it." During the discussion, we always held high the authority of the Bible, summed up the feelings and spiritual experiences of Christians in China, and answered the confusion of Christians in the face of reality, thus forming a theological system with the local cultural characteristics of China and the essential belief of Christianity in the church of China.
(3) The Three-Self Patriotic Movement deepened the understanding of faith and enriched the spiritual support of the forum.
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement has sought and established a solid theological foundation for the Church of China, which is conducive to a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding and practice of faith.
The three-self patriotic movement is a patriotic movement of Christianity, but it is also a concrete movement to love teaching. The fundamental expression of loving religion lies in restoring the essence of faith. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement changed the view of China church on people, the world and the church. For example, in the past, influenced by western theology, the churches in China often unilaterally emphasized the corrupt and sinful side of people. Now, through discussion, we realize that although the human body has a corrupt side, the glorious image of God has not been lost. From Abraham and Job, we can see that God still respects human dignity.
The gospel we preach is the gospel of peace and life. We should share God's love with more people. The stability and prosperity of a country will bring a better external environment for the development of the church and the spread of the gospel. The Chinese church has a deep understanding of this. Whether it is the information on the platform or the spiritual cultivation of believers, patriotic feelings can be integrated into the life of faith. At the same time, we should strengthen the consciousness that "a good Christian should be a good citizen" and guide believers to truly live out the lessons of the Bible through practical actions. All these have greatly enhanced the understanding of China Christians on patriotism, law-abiding, environmental protection, social services, maintaining stability, national unity and reunification of the motherland, and they have also done many things within their power.
Christians in New China took more active part in social life, participated in politics and deliberation with people from all walks of life, and made suggestions for building the socialist motherland. National, provincial, city and county people's congresses and CPPCC have representatives or members from Christian communities. At present, there are 65,438+05 NPC deputies and CPPCC members. Many advanced models such as "model workers", "advanced workers" and "five good families" have emerged among Christians.
Sixty years' experience has proved that the Three-Self Patriotic Movement has guided China Christianity to adapt to the socialist society, not to change our beliefs, but to better witness our beliefs. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement urged the Church of China to rethink the material world, affirming that the material world was created by God and had its beautiful side. God's people live on the earth today. They should do their duty as human beings and show the world the glorious image of God. We do not treat the world with a negative attitude, but follow the footsteps of the Lord, treat God, man, ourselves and sin with a correct attitude to deal with our lives, and actively welcome the Lord's return with a life attitude of respecting God and benefiting others.
(4) The Three-Self Patriotic Movement fully embodies the characteristics of the Anglican Church and expands the level of universal communication.
Only the national is the world. Similarly, only churches rooted in local culture can develop healthily and sustainably. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement has truly integrated Christian culture into the profound heritage of China's traditional culture and the lives of the people of China. After sixty years' practice of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, people gradually abandoned the misunderstanding of regarding China culture as "pagan culture" and socialist culture as "pagan culture", and consciously merged Christianity with ancient China civilization, absorbing reasonable elements from it, making the truth of the church increasingly popular among the masses. The profound China culture also provides rich nutrition and soil for the construction of Christian culture in China. In recent years, the church in China is building a harmonious, harmonious and harmonious Christian theological essence culture, and the church in China, through the construction of theological thought, excavates the information about the harmony between God and man, between man and man, and between man and everything in the Bible. Over the past 60 years, China Church has gradually formed a harmonious culture of tolerance and peace, a legal culture of obedience and law-abiding, a culture of self-sacrifice, a culture of respecting natural ecology and a practical culture of serving others. These are inextricably linked with the deep-rooted concept of harmonious culture in Chinese civilization, which embodies the distinctive national cultural characteristics.
The church is sacred and public, with its locality and universality. The "Three-Self Patriotic Movement" has localized the churches in China, thus enabling the churches in China to cross, help and learn from each other equally with the churches in other countries in an independent image. As a member of the universal church, the Church of China values and cherishes its friendship with churches in other countries and regions, and develops friendly exchanges with churches in other countries and regions on the basis of mutual respect, equality and friendship. From 1978 to now, there are churches all over the continents in China. China Church actively expanded its foreign contacts. 199 1 year, the China Council of Churches joined the World Foundation at the Canberra Conference. The mutual understanding between churches in China and other countries and regions in the world has been strengthened, and new progress has been made in contacts with churches in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. China Church has become an indispensable force in the great cause of the reunification of the motherland. In recent years, the Bible Ministry exhibitions held in Hongkong, the United States and Germany have fully and vividly demonstrated the image of the church in China and the policy of freedom of religious belief.
Through universal communication, the "Three Prides" principle of China Church has been recognized and supported by more and more churches around the world, which has effectively created an international environment for the healthy development of churches in China.
(5) The Three-Self Patriotic Movement inspired Christians' inner sense of social responsibility and broadened the practical field of serving the society.
The Bible has clearly told us that human beings have the responsibility to repair and protect nature. He is the priest of the earth, which means that human beings have the right to use nature and everything to build a better living environment. At the same time, whether it is doctrine or theology, its ultimate is always implemented in specific people, and ultimately focuses on serving the people and the society. From this perspective, the China Church fully interprets the theological connotation of biblical truth and love in the practice of social life.
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement made Christians in China pay more attention to social services while paying attention to their personal spiritual life. In order to make the two major Christian churches in China play a greater role and benefit in serving the people and assuming social responsibilities, in 2002, the two major Christian National Committees set up social service committees and set up social service departments at their headquarters to co-ordinate the work of Christian social services throughout the country. Over the years, the two major Christian churches in China have conscientiously implemented the spirit of the National Religious Work Conference and the National Religious Work Conference, closely focused on the requirements of the "four sentences" for religious work, played the role of Christianity in the economy and society, and strived to carry forward the fine tradition of Christianity serving the society and caring for the people.
Driven by patriotic organizations at all levels, more churches and believers realize that serving the society is one of the important missions of the church, and it is also the sacred work of the church as well as evangelizing. At present, churches all over the country have set up nursing homes, medical clinics and rehabilitation centers for special children, and actively participated in social welfare undertakings such as respecting the elderly, helping the poor, donating money to study, delivering medicines and caring for laid-off and unemployed people, which has won wide acclaim from the society.
At the same time, the Three-Self-Love Association also uses its sound organizational function, gives full play to its appeal and influence, and directly intervenes in social relief affairs. During the flood fighting, SARS, ice disaster and Wenchuan earthquake, Christian Patriotic Societies around the country not only organized prayers for compatriots in distress, but also widely mobilized believers to lend a helping hand to help compatriots in the motherland. According to incomplete statistics, in the Wenchuan earthquake alone, Christians from all over the world donated more than 654.38+0.5 billion yuan to the disaster area, and donated a lot of first-aid materials, which fully reflected Christians' strong sense of social responsibility.