Since 1949—Policy Swings and the “Christianity Fever”
What matters most is not only the dates, but the habits Christians learned for living between lines.
Samuel Ling
Samuel Ling, Ph.D. is a theologian and observer of theological and cultural trends that affect the Chinese church. He is president of China Horizon.
Latest
Two Tracks—Liberal and Fundamentalist Currents in China
Two tracks took root: social modernizers built schools and bridges; evangelists planted chapels and courage. China’s church still needs the gifts of both.
Crisis and Critique, 1862–1927
From 1862 to 1927, China’s crises produced both scapegoats and gifts: Christianity was resisted as foreign and embraced in service—while new ideologies recast the debate.
Traditional China Meets Christianity
Traditional China’s worldview—Confucianism, Daoism/folk religion, Buddhism, and the management of “heterodoxy”—shaped how Christianity was first seen: foreign, sometimes tolerated, and often misunderstood.
Four Questions for the 2040s
A new series adapted from Sam Ling’s 2025 HLS lecture asks four guiding questions across four axes—China, the West, the church, and ideas—to help us think and serve faithfully as we look toward the 2040s.
Church Structure in China
When interacting with church leaders in China, questions about the church inevitably emerge. At some point, issues concerning church structure will be brought up. How they respond will deeply affect the long term growth of the church. It is both exciting and agonizing to observe.
Cultural Continuity and Discontinuity in Chinese Church Leadership
The shaping of Christian leaders in modern China.
The Coming Third Anti-Christian Movement?
China has always been an anomaly. She is open to the gospel, she is resistant to the gospel. She is hungry for things modern and Western, she is stubbornly proud of things traditional and Chinese. How do we make sense of all this? More importantly, how do we gauge the mindset of China's intellectuals and leaders? How do they view Christianity as a religion, as a Western cultural construct, as a world and life view?
Facets of the Chinese Church
Of the many adjectives that could be used to describe the church in China, “diverse” is one of the most appropriate. The Body of Christ in China is indeed multi-faceted, a microcosm of the diverse population of China itself. Here we present four views of the church in China, each reflecting a different aspect of God’s working among the peoples of China.
Understanding China’s Intellectuals
Cross-cultural workers in China service are increasingly aware of the strategic importance of reaching China’s urban intellectuals. Some of these intellectuals, often (mis)named “Cultural Christians,” have taken up Christian thought as a subject for serious academic study. At the same time, these are exciting, confusing days. China is stepping onto the international scene as a member of the WTO. She is searching for new ideas and values. What can the history of China, and the history of Christian missions in China, teach us as we seek to understand China’s intellectuals?
Maintaining the Integrity of the Gospel
Today, the church needs to commission and groom a new generation of middle-management “China experts” with China experience. These individuals must learn the language, they should have a firm foundation placed by seminary training which believes in the inerrancy of Scripture, they must have much experience among the Chinese, and perhaps a doctoral degree in Chinese history or intercultural studies. And they must hold to a strong, unqualified confidence in the Bible, the inerrant Word of God, and a high view of God, Scripture and the cross. More than anything else, what China needs is a clear message of the sound, complete gospel.
Putting Christianity on the Map—for Chinese Intellectuals
Looking at one of China's "Cultural Christians," Liu Xiaofeng.