Confrontation: Paul on the Mars'
Hill of Taiwan
by Alan Gates
The following article is reprinted with permission from Christianity
and Animism in Taiwan, Chinese Material Center, P.O. Box 22048,
Taipei 100, and is available for NT$500 or US$20.85.
We are now ready to proclaim the Christian kerygma to the animist. Let us imagine that our advocate is Paul, the missionary, and that the locus of his service is Taiwan. How would Paul preach to the Taiwanese today?1
On the basis of all that has already been discussed in this study, I assume his message would approximate what he preached on Mars' Hill in the city of Athens (Acts 17). He would have mastered the religious orientation of the people and the wisdom of the great sages, whose proverbs are known even to the common man. Quite probably his message would also reflect the felt needs of his audience as an ethnic group. We assume that he would address the masses, not the philosophers.
Allowing for a measure of sanctified imagination, let us say that Paul is passing through the island. He finds himself in the famed city of Peikang, the center of the Matsu cult. It is the twentythird day of the third lunar month, the birthday of "the great goddess whom all Taiwan worships." Thousands of pilgrims are merging from all parts of the island. Within the city, vast crowds of Taiwanese surge and swell as they push towards the sacred grounds of the temple. As they get closer a pungent sweetness of burning incense stings the nostrils and chokes the lungs. Everywhere is heard the staccato of bursting fire crackers. Excitement is at fever pitch. It seems as if some strange power has captured the minds and hearts of the people and filled them with but one desire- to stand in the presence of their protector, the goddess Matsu. Many of these pilgrims come with a real measure of spiritual hunger. Nearly all bring a specific need. Central to their thoughts is the hope that the famed Goddess of the Sea will answer their prayers- the healing of a sick child, peace for a troubled heart, help in a difficult decision, success in a courtship, or guidance in a business venture. Their prayers are legion.
The Apostle Paul now comes on the scene. He has found a widening in the street. The people have become aware of his "foreign" presence in their midst. All eyes are fixed on him as he mounts a flat monument located in the center of the square. He then faces the throng and raises his hand to gain attention. They sense that he is about to speak and draw near to listen.2
"Men and women of Taiwan, I perceive that you are a most religious people. Traveling throughout your beautiful island, I have been impressed that religion lies at the center of your life. I have seen on every hand evidence of your fear of the spirits and concern for the gods. I have visited and admired your many beautiful temples built in their honor. Moreover, the sincerity of your faith is evidenced by the zeal which has brought you to this place and this moment in your religious pilgrimage. Many have come from afar. Many have spent weary hours walking along Taiwan's hot, dangerous highways. Old and young alike have braved the scorching sun and slept under open skies to come to this city and its famous temple. You have thereby displayed your concern to please Matsu and gain her favor!
"One thing has impressed me during my visit to your country. I find this of greatest interest. In some temples, whether Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian, I have found lighted lamps, inscriptions, and other signs pointing to your knowledge of the God of Heaven. You call him T'ien Kung, Yuhuang Shangti, and Tao. Moreover, in some temples, I found your chief deity to be without a name. Apparently, He is unknown to those who worship him!3 It is this God, the Father in Heaven, whom you worship in ignorance, that I today proclaim unto you."
ln his introduction, Paul reaches out to make contact with what is nearest the inner citadel of the people's hearts. He demonstrates both a knowledge and an appreciation of their religious practices and beliefs. He assumes their participation in the universal religious quest of man. But now he proceeds directly to the theme of God. He wants the Taiwanese to know who He is, His concern for His creatures, and His work on their behalf.
"This unknown and mysterious God, whom you often call T'ien Kung, ought not to be unknown to you. He has disclosed His eternal power and deity to you in and through His creation. Indeed, the heavens above and the world around us are His handiwork. Everything reflects His wisdom and greatness. Have not your sages said, "All things are derived from Heaven?" I do not have to prove to you His existence; you already know that He exists! Deep within your hearts you know there is a God who is infinitely greater than all of the gods of the temples. These gods are enclosed in shrines made by human hands. But the true God cannot be shut up in any temple or shrine. He is Lord of Heaven and earth. He fills all the universe.
"God is not to be compared with the emperor of ancient China who surrounded himself with a court and many servants and refused to be approached by ordinary men except through intermediaries he had appointed. Neither is God like a man in that we must give Him food and drink, as you do to your gods. God does not need our gifts! Indeed, the cattle on a thousand hills are His. It is rather that we need His gifts. In fact, we are already enjoying many of His good things: life, health, food, shelter, and clothing. All these are His gracious provisions for men.
"Moreover, God delights in the work of His hands. This means that you men, women, and children are the crown of His creation. The whole human race has come from Him and has filled the earth. He is not the God of one people alone, in west or east. He is the God of all mankind. And what does He desire? Just what your sages deeply longed for: "Within the four seas, all men should be brothers." The true God loves us all. His love is like a father's love for his children. Because of His love, He has commanded that we should seek God. Indeed, all men do seek God, especially you Taiwanese. Your great ancestors sought Him in the mysterious Tao; others in the beauty of art; and still others in philosophical ideas of heaven. Now you seek Him still- now this way, now that- through your religious experts, and even before the altars in your own homes.
"But in all of this you have gone too far. Furthermore, you keep going to the wrong places. The true and living God is not far from any of us. Indeed, our very lives are bound up in His existence. Since He is our Creator, it may be said that we live and move and have our being in Him. So you see, He is not far away. He is near us and at hand to help us. Surely, if we are made in His likeness, He must be willing that we should know Him. To live one's whole life without knowing Him would be to miss the Way of Heaven. To be indifferent to Him and seek to worship other gods- this would be folly. Your own ancient writings say, "How tragic to abandon the Way of Heaven!"
Up to this point, Paul has held the attention of the majority. Some have become restless as they have pondered his implication that they are worshipping idols and not real gods and that they have thereby completely missed the true God. But most are willing to hear more. So Paul continues. Now he moves quickly to his core of the message- Jesus Christ, the divine provision of redemption through His atoning death; Jesus Christ, God's gracious response to the religious quest of man. Paul pours heart and soul into his presentation. He is determined by God's grace to liberate men from their bondage to sin and the powers.
"My friends, if we are indeed God's creation, then we ought not to think of deity as some manmade image, some idol of silver or gold or stone! Surely the Creator is greater than the creature! The creature should not seek to represent Him with any human form and carry Him about in sedan chairs as though He were impotent and lifeless! This is what you and your ancestors have been doing for ages, albeit in ignorance. Think of how angry this must have made the true and living God!
"And yet, He has said that His mercy has constrained Him to withhold His wrath. But now that the times of your ignorance are passed, there is but one fitting attitude for all who have offended Him- repentance! As you have fled from evil spirits in the past, now you must forsake the worship of idols and flee from your sins! Turn away from all wrong attitudes toward God. You came to this festival today fully prepared in your hearts to confess your failure to Matsu. Rather, I call on you to confess your sinfulness to God. But do this in the name of the one whom He has sent, Jesus Christ the Lord.
"You may ask, who is this Jesus Christ? And why should I call upon Him? My answer is direct and to the point. Prophets and seers of old spoke of Him. Your own sage, Confucius, was not far from Him when he sought for the tao. And now, in these latter days, God has sent Him to us. He is God's Son, the radiance of the Father's glory, the perfect expression of the nature of God, incarnated in human flesh and personality. How important it is for you to know Him. Through Him we know the Father, the one true God. Through faith in Him, we receive forgiveness- yes, even reconciliation with God.
"Perhaps you ask, why should I call upon Him? How can we know that this man is truly what He claimed to be? What merit or power does He have? How is it that He alone can save me? Your questions are reasonable. I will tell you quite simply. Two thousand years ago, the time of the great Han period, He came into this world. He was born of a virgin and lived humbly among men. God anointed this Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power; he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Acts 10:38). Then it was that men of the Asian world plotted against that Man. Their dark deeds and evil hearts could not bear His light, and, in their furious desire to quench His witness to the truth, they put Him to death, the death of a common criminal.
"But that is not the end of the story. On the third day, God raised that Man from the dead, and He is alive today. Today, He invites you to come to Him. He will be your mediator. He understands your heart, for He once lived upon this earth. He understands the difficult times in which you live, for He struggled with all the trials and temptations known to men. He wrestled with all the demonic powers which plague your lives. Seeing no other way to save us, He gave His own life as a ransom when He died for us.
"Do you question the truth of all this? So would I, if I had not met Jesus, risen from the dead. Yes, risen from the grave! And in His resurrection triumph He set me free. Yes, free from my sins and free from my fears of others and of the demons. This is best of all: He demonstrated His superior power over all the powers of Satan's kingdom. He has set me free, and now I share this good news with you. He lives to forgive you for worshipping dead idols. He lives to rid you of every fear of spirit powers and evil forces.
I call you this day in His name to repent! For the God of Heaven has fixed a day of judgment when He will judge you by His standards of righteousness. There will be no bribing this God on that terrible day. He cannot be bribed as your gods are. And He is merciful and will forgive you all your sins, if you repent. Turn from your sin. Worship at His feet."
Paul has spoken the fatal word. He has made his appeal for the
hearts of men. Some by now are complaining bitterly. Others are
accusing him of blasphemy against their gods. They are vehemently
denying ever having committed anything worthy of being called
"Sin against Heaven." Their responses are as varied
as the numbers present. Knowing Paul and the power of God, however,
we are confident that some are responding in faith. How many,
we will never know, but the temptation will always be to return
to that place in Taiwan, to preach Paul's message, and to see
for ourselves what God does whenever Christ encounters the Taiwanese!
Endnotes:
1 I am indebted to Arthur Glasser's article, "Mission and the Church's message" (The Church's World Wide Mission, 1966); P. A. Geusens, God the Father Loves Us (1969); and J. B. Phillips, The Young Church in Action (1955), for ideas in this section.
2 I interrupt Paul's "message" at crucial points to explain his particular emphases and also to suggest possible reactions on the part of the people.
3 This is documented by Thompson in his study, "Notes on Religious Trends in Taiwan." He found twentyone such temples.
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Originally published in the January 1993 edition of Taiwan Mission
Copyright 1996, Taiwan Mission is produced and maintained by Taiwan Missionary Fellowship. Those desiring to reprint articles from Taiwan Mission should write to the editorial committee requesting permission and due acknowledgment should be given.
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