I’ve been looking forward to this one too. Ever since I went to China in 2006 I’ve taken a special interest in all things Chinese. His bio reads:
“A prominent Chinese economist, Dr. Zhao Xiao was commissioned by his government to study the success of the American economy. He concluded that a moral foundation allowed the economy to flourish, argued that China’s economy would benefit from the spread of the Christian faith, and embraced Christianity himself. He continues to be a respected scholar and government advisor, speaking openly about the influence of Christianity on economics. Our first non-English speaking faculty member, he will lean on a gifted translator to share his thoughts on the relationship between morality and a market economy, the state of the Church in China, and the challenges of leadership as a Christian in a secular Communist country.”
This session was difficult to parse. He used a translator and even he was difficult to understand sometimes. He was introduced as a “Chinese, Christian, Communist Economist”.
This was by far the strangest thing I’ve heard in a long time and now, having heard the talk I’m a little stunned. A trained economist or historian I am not, but this smacked of straight-up pandering and Chinese Communist government propaganda and people swallowed and clapped – even gave a standing O! (Please check out Jason Postma’s notes on the session here)
Xiao’s bio vid claims that China is looking to use Christianity and other religions to create a “more harmonious society”? Hmmm, that seems to have created harmony in our culture, right? China, we can’t show you how to have a harmonious society. We don’t have one ourselves!
And the evidence that our economy is based on Christian values…? Unbridled consumerism? Is this what you want and all that goes along with it? Rampant obesity? Over-reliance on anti-depressants? There may have been a time when our economies looked a bit more “Christian” but Xiao is looking at the good parts of our system and he want that, but how can he ignore the present reality? Which is, well, kind of a mess.
Then he said: “I want to thank all the missionaries who brought prosperity to China.” His basic premise is based on this: the economy has boomed. During the same time, there has been a growth of Christianity. That proves it. The economy has grown, so has Christianity, therefore Christianity is good for the economy. See, Christianity is good for the economy!
We’re going to need a whole lot more empirical evidence before we can swallow that hypothesis.
- Europe is thriving and reviving? It’s the most de-Christianized area of the world.
- One good influence: No more fake accounting and bribery…. Surely this is because of the influence of North American integrity… no?
He claims that this is America’s past and China’s future:
A city on a hill,
A nation of integrity,
A blessing to the world.
China will become the new America? Prosperity and blessings for all? Don’t worry world, China is a nice gentle giant.
Quote: “To bless today’s China means to bless tomorrow’s world.”
How naïve is this guy? I’m going to have to run this session by my Chinese friends and missionaries I know… maybe I’m all wrong.
