Friday, September 4, 2009

CREDO500 Blog Conference introduction

My co-organizer Pastor Jonah Tang has recently posted the introduction for the CREDO 500 blog conference, which is a mere three days away. (Hint: to those who have *yet* to hand in their reviews. Please do so ASAP as I require time to check them!) Here is the translation of the introduction for all who are either not fluent enough in Chinese, those who prefer to read it in English, and those who do not read Chinese.



INTRODUCTION:

Knowing and glorifying God, whom John Calvin served

by Jonah Tang

trans. by Daniel Chew

Name and beginning

On July the 10th 2009, Christians in the Reformed tradition around the world gathered in the city of Geneva, Switzerland, to commemorate the 500th anniversary (1509-2009) of the birth of the French Reformer John Calvin, breathing new life into the embers in this once thriving spiritual center of the Reformation. Although not everyone had the opportunity to attend this ceremony, churches around the world have resounded with various events to be held in remembrance of this iconic figure of the Reformation era.

The CREDO 500 blog conference is initiated by this present author and co-organized together with brother Daniel Chew, with Dr. Stephen Chan (陈佐人), Dr. Zhi Yong Wang (王志勇) and Dr. Keng Ann Lee (李健安) graciously agreeing to be the project’s guides and advisers. On the one hand, the weak faith of many suffer from the onslaught of postmodernism and the rapid growth of all manner of heresies, while on the other, the 21st century is witnessing the rapid increase in the Church as many ethnic Chinese are coming to the Lord . In order to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas in light of these facts, and in the hope of continuing the proclamation and development of Calvinist theology and the rich heritage of the Reformed tradition, this conference has been organized.

The original meaning of the word in the Latin, “Credo”, is “I believe”. “CREDO 500” get its meaning from the first five centuries of the early church, linked together with the Reformation and Post-Reformation era of the recent five centuries to make up a pair of two five centuries of faith, which can be termed as the “ecumenical Reformed faith and tradition”. At this blog, the CREDO motif is developed further as the acronym for “Chinese Reformed Evangelical Discussion Online”, with the goal of planting the Reformed faith in the new generation of Chinese Evangelicals. It is hoped that the strict confessionalism and godly piety of the 16th and 17th century Reformers and the English Puritans, together with the faithful witness of the Apostles and the believers of all ages, will find new adherents. Utilizing the ability of the Internet to flatten the world, believers are enabled to interact and learn together this Christian historical orthodox faith. For unless we know and understand the Reformation and its necessity and beginning, we will never be able to be one substantive household of faith founded on the Truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Objective and Purpose

This author strongly believes that the influence of Calvin did not end with the Modern and Western world, but continues to impact and transform the Post-modern and Chinese-speaking world. We are honored to be able to invite Christians around the world from different denominations and backgrounds: be they scholars, pastors, researchers and theologians, to contribute to this blog conference and engage in interaction and mutual guidance on various technical topics. The conference would be done in the following format: Every other day a paper would be uploaded together with its attendant response, after which all and sundry are invited to actively participate in the discussions on that paper. All are invited to affirm, ask for further clarification or suggest points for more thought and reflection, with regards to the content and manner of writing of any of the papers. We eagerly anticipate creative engagements and constructive responses, to aid the authors in correcting and improving their articles.

In principle, all discussions are to be purely factual and objective. However, all attendees are to abide by the proper attitude of glorifying God. In expressing one’s thoughts and opinions, one is not to compromise on the foundational truths, but also to respect differences of opinions over minor points of doctrine. In all things, we are to be loving and speak words of edification to build up others. In this light, this author desires and exhorts the practice of the following beliefs and principles of Reformed orthodoxy: 1) To be based on the Bible, 2) To be Christ-centered, 3) with the sole aim of glorifying the triune God, 4) to be done for the good of the Church. These are also the desired result for the conference: that through studying the legacy of John Calvin, we may glorify God, whom Calvin served.

The theme of this blog conference is “Calvin to the modern Chinese Churches” 「从加尔文看今日华人教会」. We have collected a total of 20 papers to be spit into two sections, the first being “The legacy of Reformed Theology” and the second being “The Reformation and John Calvin”. Lord willing, we plan to publish the results of this conference in a volume, which is to be separately published in English and Chinese. Listed below in the next section are the short biographies of the authors and reviewers of the papers for this conference.

Lastly, we would like to express our appreciation to all who have contributed to this conference in one way or another. We look forward to this historical blog conference, and hope it will provoke thought to edify the Chinese churches, to bring about a unity between the intellect and the spirit, and to narrow the distance we have from our Reformed forefathers such that we are connected to our past. Amen.

[NOTE: I have not included the bio in this post because I have not translated them. I will include that in a later post]

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Greetings to you, brothers in Christ in the East!

Thank you for arranging this interesting "blog conference" on Calvin and the Reformation. I look forward to reading more of your papers and commentary.

One point I would make to you: please do not underestimate the ministry of the Chinese churches to the global body of Christ. There are those in the West who pray and hope that the torch of love for the Lord and fidelity to His uncorrupted Word will be led by you. The fact is, fewer and fewer "Christians" in the West are fulfilling our responsibility before God. The lampstands are being retired in many churches not only in Europe but in America.

Grace and peace to you and your churches!

Regards,
SPQR
Philadelphia, USA

CREDO500 said...

Dear SPQR,

Shalom in the body of Christ and the family of confessional calvinist. Thanks for your kind words and prayers for the chinese churches, that's a big support indeed.

There'll no doubt be loads of interesting papers and reviews over the coming months. Thus, you and your friends from another part of the world are all more than welcome to surf over and participate in the discussion. We expect thought-provoking posts from various angles and perspectives. And believing that such cross-cultural conversation as the conference engendered are helpful for sharpening all the deliberation involved. Looking forward your words of wisdom.

Also, blessing regards to you and your churches.

In Him,
Jonah

Daniel C said...

Dear SPQR,

thanks for the encouragement. It is a privilege for us to serve the global body of Christ even as we focus more on the Chinese churches.