China’s Church Divided tells the story of the fraught relationship between the Chinese Catholic Church, the Vatican, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), focusing on the post-Mao reform era that began in the late 1970s.
Unlike Chinese Gnosticism, which emphasizes "feelings dominating, reason suppressed, and the mind set aside," Orthodox spirituality emphasizes "reason as gatekeeper, mind in charge, and feelings set aside."
The volume’s case studies mirror many of the challenges Chinese cross-cultural workers and churches face today. The book covers not only culture-specific pressures on the field but also how national churches and agencies responded—or did not respond—to missionary stresses.