It’s been a long time since I have watched the Olympic Games on American broadcast TV, and not CCTV5, the Chinese sports channel, and there are several things that I miss. I miss the 24-hour coverage of events and watching them in their entirety, not just highlight reels. I miss watching ping-pong and badminton. And I miss getting to know the Chinese athletes.
The latest issue of ChinaSource Quarterly takes an in-depth look at the pressures facing young Christian families in urban China.
Two online resources highlighting Christian testimonies about marriage and family issues.
Historical influences on family structure and how this structure has collapsed in recent decades are reviewed. The author then recognizes that family order has been established by God and must be restored. This is essential for China’s transformation. The role the Chinese church should play in this restoration needs to be thought through.
Over recent generations, marriage expectations have changed. For young Christians in China, marriages are taking on new ethical norms that include challenges. Parental pressures in finding a spouse as well as in planning a wedding can create much tension. After marriage, child-bearing and rearing continue to generate challenges between the young couple and their parents. The one-child policy has exacerbated these difficulties. Christian couples are swimming against many secular tides in these areas.
From the guest editors' point of view
The author begins by explaining “love” as historically defined by Mohism and Confucianism, that is, universal love versus love based on blood kinship. He delves into the differences between these two kinds of love, especially as they relate to family structure and authority as well as to extended family relationships. He then turns to Christian love, its relationship to these two ideologies and how it can influence the culture.
The stresses and conflicts found within Chinese families are increasing with urbanization that often forces families to live apart. After discussing some of the major pressures that families face in today’s China, the author delineates some of the principles needed for building a good family foundation.
My first glimpse into the world of domestic abuse China-side came in 2005.
The testimony of a victim of domestic abuse and her journey to healing.
In March China introduced its first-ever comprehensive domestic violence law. While celebrated as an important step toward the protection of women and children (and, occasionally men experiencing abuse) the law also raises a number of questions within the Christian community. Here lawyer and Christ-follower Cheng Pangzhi wrestles through these issues, ultimately offering hope for reconciliation of families and a call to make use of the new law in order to protect victims of violence.
"Faithful love in action" as Chinese adult children care for their aging parents.