New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable AwakeningBrown, Arthur Judson
History
New Forces in Old China: An Inevitable Awakening
Brown, Arthur Judson
China -- Commerce; China -- Foreign relations; China -- Politics and government; Missions -- China
``Eighth,--In the course of negotiation beware of insisting on monetary
compensation for the injured Christian. In greatly aggravated cases this
may occasionally be unavoidable. But should it be made a condition of
settlement, see to it that the damages are under, rather than over, what
might have been demanded. It is almost sure to cause subsequent
trouble, both within and without, if a Christian receives money under
such circumstances.
``Ninth,--When unhappily involved in a persecution case with the official,
we should remember that we are not lawyers, and therefore make no
stand on legal technicalities, nor allow ourselves to take a threatening
attitude, although we may be subjected to provocation; we should be
patient, dignified and strong in the truth, making it clear to the official that
this is all that we seek in order that the ends of justice may be satisfied.
``Tenth,--It would be well on every fitting occasion to exhort those under
our care to avoid frequenting yamens or cultivating intimacy with
their inhabitants, unless, indeed, we feel assured that their motive is the
same as that animating our Lord when He mingled with publicans and
sinners.''
A widely representative conference of Protestant missionaries
issued in 1903 the following manifesto and sent copies in
Chinese to all officials throughout the Empire:
``Chinese Christians, though church-members, remain in every respect
Chinese citizens, and are subject to the properly constituted Chinese
authorities. The sacred Scriptures and the doctrines of the church teach
obedience to all lawful authority and exhort to good citizenship; and these
doctrines are preached in all Protestant churches. The relation of a missionary
to his converts is thus that of a teacher to his disciples, and he
does not desire to arrogate to himself the position or power of a magistrate.
``Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that unworthy men, by making insincere
professions, enter the church and seek to use this connection to
interfere with the ordinary course of law in China. We all agree that
such conduct is entirely reprehensible, and we desire it to be known that
we give no support to this unwarrantable practice
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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