The Church in China
Of all the human beings in the world today almost one in four is Chinese. That of itself should be sufficient reason for taking a keen interest in the affairs of that great nation. Perhaps the fact that China has been for so long ‘the great unknown’ has discouraged the attention which her size, her growing influence and her need would seem to warrant. Likewise in respect of the Church in China the lack of adequate information has tended to exclude her interests and claims from our minds. What we do know is that after the missionaries had to leave in the face of the Communist take-over in 1949 the witness of the churches was progressively strangled until in 1966 the Cultural Revolution drove them underground. There they have remained and although in 1972 two churches (one Protestant, the other Roman Catholic) were opened in Peking there is no evidence to suggest that the conditions for open witness have improved. Accounts are received of small groups meeting in various parts of China and the evidence suggests that the Christian faith lives on.
The Church in China is isolated. The doors are still closed to the Gospel. We must pray and wait. But we must also prepare for the day of opportunity. A new attitude and a new strategy is called for. There can be no ‘rush in’ according to the old-style missionary methods. The strategy adopted by the responsible agencies for Chinese evangelism follows that advocated by the veteran Chinese missionary statesman, Leslie Lyall: ‘1. Quietly train Chinese and Asian nationals, for a possible future witness in the authoritarian and socialist society of China. 2. Prepare a wide range of literature for the potential future use of Christians in China — including a new translation of the Bible. 3. Improve the programme of Christian broadcasts to China.’
RTF Objectives
It is with the attainment of the first two objectives mentioned that the Reformation Translation Fellowship is concerning itself. It was formed in Canton just before the Communist forces had completed their take-over of the country in 1949. Burdened by the lack of sound scholarly evangelical literature in the Chinese language for students and pastors, two missionaries of the Reformed Church in North America, Dr J. G. Vos and the Rev. Samuel Boyle, together with Charles Chao, himself the fruit of mission work in Manchuria, came together to begin the work.
The Fellowship set out to make available in Chinese some of the wealth of Christian literature enjoyed by the churches in the West. This it has continued to do over the years while also publishing some original writings in Chinese. From the first major translation to be issued, Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen, a steady stream of larger and smaller works have appeared, ranging from Calvin’s Commentaries on Romans and Ephesians to Dr Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, and from Why I Believe in God by Cornelius Van Til to The Roman Catholic Church by Dr Lloyd-Jones. At the same time a quarterly magazine, Reformed Faith and Life, has sought to deal with the contemporary issues in the Chinese Church situation.
Our Ministry
Although the Fellowship makes no direct attempt to get literature into mainland China it has a wide field of ministry among the more than 20 million Chinese in South-East Asia and in other parts of the world. With its base now in Taiwan and the Rev. Charles Chao, Chinese Executive Secretary, directing the work, the Fellowship is more keenly aware than ever of the strategic importance of sound literature to equip students and pastors and help to build up the Church among the Chinese community today. The effects of liberal teaching on the Church in China was acknowledged by Bishop Stephen Neill when he said that ‘the concepts of liberal Christianity proved in the end less dynamic than those of Marxist Communism’. Even the evangelical witness of the Chinese Church today tends to be non-doctrinal. It is largely to meet such a deficiency that the Reformation Translation Fellowship is in operation.
As the Fellowship enters a new phase in its life and as it surveys the Chinese scene it does so expectantly. There are indications — such as the love and respect for the printed word instilled in the people by Chairman Mao, and the imposition of a new simplified Chinese script — that should the doors to China open again, Christian literature — the Word of God written and expounded — could play a large part in the evangelization of that great nation. Mr Chao is engaged with other scholars on a new translation of the Bible. We rejoice in the fact that ‘the Word of God is not bound’ and we pray that the same Word may ‘have free course and be glorified’ among the Chinese people.
RTF in Britain
Interest in Britain in the work of the Reformation Translation Fellowship resulted in the formation in 1954 of a British Committee with the aim of making the work better known and raising financial support for the translations. This the Committee (now called the Board) has continued to do down the years. Like the parent body, the British RTF is inter-denominational and members of the Board are drawn from various churches. The doctrinal basis of the Fellowship is the Reformed interpretation of Christianity as set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The British Board maintains close contact with the directors of the work overseas and support raised in this country is sent direct to meet the costs of printing the literature in Taiwan.
The ministry is maintained entirely by voluntary contributions from churches and individuals. Further information including the latest Annual Report and samples of literature may be had from the Secretary, John J. Murray, 47 Baberton Mains Gdns., Edinburgh EH14 3BY.