Hey, there, everyone! My kids have begged and begged for me to play some Roblox game with them, and like the last time I played an online game for my kids and created a Discord group for it, I have some people who have asked me a lot of questions and just wanted to have conversation. I created a private server for just my connections, and so I have a young guy from Indonesia who is a…Confucianist? Is that the word? I’ve definitely heard of it before, but I’m definitely not learned in it. So it would be great if anyone could recommend resources, both deeper and quick study. If anyone has talked Christianity with a Confucianist before, I’d be grateful to hear about your experience and what you learned. Also, the guy said he likes to give things, because he wants to go to heaven. I didn’t think people who were Confusianism-oriented believed in heaven. Little confused on that. Thanks!
Hi @lindsay! While I have not personally dialogued with a Confucian, I did study Confucianism in a graduate class this summer. East Asian traditions like Confucianism (as well as shamanism and Daoism) are often less mutually exclusive and institutionalized than the monotheistic religions we are more used to. For that reason, it is somewhat difficult to make broad generalizations about what "all Confucianists believe.” Indeed, many would not even consider it to be a religion as we understand it.
Still, Confucians do have certain common ideas. “Heaven” or “Heaven & Earth” sits in the place that we would place God, but does not function as God. Confucianism is generally more about proper order and peace within the individual, the family, the society, and the world. In classical Confucianism, “Heaven” is not a post-death paradise, but the moral order that guides the universe.
All of that said, it is possible—even likely—that your friend does not operate within a strict Confucian framework, or even understand religious things as strictly as we are used to, because of his cultural context. I would encourage you to continue to ask him questions about what he thinks and believes!
In terms of resources, I would recommend:
An Introduction to Confucianism, by Xinzhong Yao is a thorough overview of both the traditional and more common understandings of it.
Xinzhong Yao also wrote a book comparing key concepts between Christianity and Confucianism called Confucianism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Jen and Agape
This article summarizes the much longer book Asia’s Religions: Christianity’s Momentous Encounter with Paganism by Gordon Conwell lecturer Lit-sen Chang (Zhang Lisheng) who experienced a radical conversion to Christianity from Eastern religious backgrounds.
I also located a discussion of Confucianism by a Christian convert who was raised with a Confucianist worldview. The gentleman sharing is not a scholar, so I cannot guarantee everything he says, but I found his presentation interesting and accessible.
Let me know if this helps!
Hi @lindsay, thank you for sharing this experience and starting the conversation! In addition to the wisdom that @Michaela provided, I would also offer the importance of just the basics of curiosity, kindness, and friendship. If he likes to give things, receive his gifts with gratitude, and then reciprocate with your own. They don’t have to be gifts like Bibles to matter to Jesus (though you can give those too).
My heart is that even if we don’t read the books and become experts in Confucianism, we can become experts in what this particular Confucianist believes, and show him the goodness we’ve had in Christ.
I suppose that answer could shut down all conversation, so I don’t want to imply that. It’s a gift to go and learn more about his religion so you can ask better questions and engage with him in a more deeply respectful manner. I’m curious to hear how it goes, and what you learn along the way!
Also this resource is free for the next two weeks!