Jesus in China
There is a gap of about twenty years in the accounts of Jesus' life in the four Gospels. He was born at a time when trade along the Silk Road had been in prosperity for many years. The distance from Jesus' home of Nazareth to Damascus and to Jerusalem is about the same. That he would have visited Damascus, the western end of the Silk Road, more frequently than Jerusalem, is based on the following reasons: caravan traffic between Nazareth and Damascus was more frequent and accessible; the people of Nazareth of Galilee and of Damascus of Syria spoke a common Syriac dialect known as Aramaic; to travel between Nazareth and Jerusalem, one had to go through hostile Samaria.
Assuming that Jesus did visit Damascus, a man of his curiosity would at least have asked what were the beliefs, the values, the traditions, the people and the culture where the silk was from. He could have been so curious that he travelled on the Silk Road, even to the country where the silk is from.
The strongest evidence that Jesus must have been to China is from his life and his teaching. Jesus' life and his teaching, based on the four Gospels of the New Testament, are similar and sometimes identical to the values and the teachings of the ancient Chinese classics written before his birth. Cited in this book are all the classics, numbering some thirty different sources, all written before the Common Era. It is left to the readers to judge whether the story of Jesus is closer to the Chinese classics or to the values and traditions of the ancient Hebrews.
This book consist of three parts: the birth of Jesus as the Messiah and the King; Jesus in China, based on theological evidence; His resurrection and its connection with the Chinese calendar.
Description: first edition, 8.5" x 11", 160 pages
Price: US $20.00, CAN $25.00, shipping and handling included.
- Payment by cheque or money order to:
- Canadian College for Chinese Studies
- 851 Cormorant St.
- Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 1R2
Table of Contents
IntroductionPART 1:
- The Star of Bethlehem in Chinese history
- The Advent
- When fullness of time came, God sent forth his son
- The Epiphany
- The significance of the ox
- The one man
- The temple of heaven
- We have seen His star at the rising
- On the Silk Road
- The Tao was made flesh
- They worshipped Him
- Astronomical theology in Chinese literature
- The kingdom of god
- Servant greater than master
PART II:
- Jesus in China, based on theological evidence
- Jesus in China
- Chronology
- Jesus the Emmanuel
- Baptism of Jesus
- The ministry
- Beatitude
- Beatitude and the I Ching
- Love your enemies
- The Lord's Prayer
- The transfiguration
- In my father's house
- Human nature
- Relationship between father and son
- My God, my God, why?
- Kingdom and healing
- Philosophy of history
- Doctrine of karma -- retribution
- Be ye merciful
- Thy will be done
- The lamb of god
PART III:
- On the Third Day: the Chinese calendar and the resurrection of Jesus
- On the third day He rose again
- The hope of resurrection
- Hebrew hope for resurrection
- Hope of resurrection in chinese classics
- The signs of resurrection of Jesus
- The ancient Chinese sexagenary cycles calendar
- Darkness over all the land
- It is finished
- On the third day and after three days
- Theological significance of the Gan Zhi
- Chinese calendar and the crucifixion
- Chinese calendar and the resurrection
- The Passover meal
- "Father forgive them"
- The unexpected resurrection
- With what body after resurrection
- The redemption of the material universe
- The angels and the resurrection
- Conclusion
- Apostolic succession
- About the author
- Acknowledgements