Theologies of Power and Crisis: Envisioning / Embodying Christianity in Hong Kong

By Stephen Pavey and Darrell L. Whiteman

Theologies of Power and Crisis provides a case study for Eric Wolf's research directive to better comprehend the interplay of cultural (webs of meaning) and material (webs of power) forms of social life. More specifically, the book demonstrates how theological discourse and practice engage with historical and material relations of power. It has been normative to speak of power in terms of political and economic processes and theology in terms of interpretive and symbolic experiences. This work breaks new ground by linking theological ideas with political-economic processes in terms of the structural relations of power.
Ethnographically, this research investigates the theological processes of Hong Kong Chinese Christians during a period of significant social change and crisis, precipitated by the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. It shows how local Christians and Christian institutions mediated the significant regional, national, and transnational forces of political-economic change by connecting theological practice to the structural relations of power. The Christian response was a contested process closely intertwined with the broader contested processes of social organization.
This study develops an understanding of Christianity that goes beyond ecclesiastical hegemony to encompass struggles over human practice, meaning, and representation in relation to the changing political-economic context. These findings implicate religious ideas and practice as significant to an understanding of social inequalities and powerlessness by connecting ideologies to material conditions. Christian ideas may be used to legitimize an oppressive social order or they may be used to liberate those who are oppressed. Issues related to the policies and practice of development should take seriously the role of religious beliefs and practices.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Release date: Jul 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781630876319

Stephen Pavey

Stephen Pavey, PhD, is an anthropologist & photographer at Hope in Focus. His scholarship and activism with undocumented youth has grown through intersectional solidarity building to include activist photography with indigenous and people of color led movements for Black Lives Matters, Not 1 More Deportation, Free Palestine, and Mni Wiconi among other efforts to challenge state violence, mass incarceration, militarization of the police, and the securitization of borders.

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Theologies of Power and Crisis

Envisioning/Embodying Christianity in Hong Kong

Stephen C. Pavey

With a Foreword by Darrell L. Whiteman

American Society of Missiology

Monograph Series

10

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Theologies of Power and Crisis

Envisioning/Embodying Christianity in Hong Kong

American Society of Missiology Monograph Series 10

Copyright © 2011 Stephen C. Pavey. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pickwick Publications

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

isbn 13: 978-1-60899-513-4

eisbn 13: 978-1-63087-631-9

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Pavey, Stephen C.

Theologies of power and crisis : envisioning/embodying Christianity in Hong Kong / Stephen C. Pavey.

xvi + 132 pp. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references.

American Society of Missiology Monograph Series 10

isbn 13: 978-1-60899-513-4

1. Christianity—Hong Kong. 2. Power (Christian Theology). I. Title. II. Series.

br1288 p25 2011

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

American Society of Missiology
Monograph Series

The ASM Monograph Series provides a forum for publishing quality dissertations and studies in the field of missiology. Collaborating with Pickwick Publications—a division of Wipf and Stock Publishers of Eugene, Oregon—the American Society of Missiology selects high quality dissertations and other monographic studies that offer research materials in mission studies for scholars, mission and church leaders, and the academic community at large. The ASM seeks scholarly work for publication in the Series that throws light on issues confronting Christian world mission in its cultural, social, historical, biblical, and theological dimensions.

Missiology is an academic field that brings together scholars whose professional training ranges from doctoral-level preparation in areas such as scripture, history and sociology of religions, anthropology, theology, international relations, interreligious interchange, mission history, inculturation, and church law. The American Society of Missiology, which sponsors this series, is an ecumenical body drawing members from Inde-pendent and Ecumenical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and other traditions. Members of the ASM are united by their commitment to reflect on and do scholarly work relating to both mission history and the present-day mission of the church. The ASM Monograph Series aims to publish works of exceptional merit on specialized topics, with particular attention given to work by younger scholars, the dissemination and publication of which is difficult under the economic pressures of standard publishing models.

Persons seeking information about the ASM or the guidelines for having their dissertations considered for publication in the ASM Mono-graph Series should consult the Society’s website: www.asmweb.org.

Members of the ASM Monograph Committee who approved this book are:

Paul V. Kollman, CSC, University of Notre Dame

Roger Schroeder, SVD, Catholic Theological Union

Michael A. Rynkiewich, Asbury Theological Seminary

Previously published in the ASM Monograph Series:

Ken Christoph Miyamoto

God’s Mission in Asia: A Comparative and Contextual Study of This-Worldly Holiness and the Theology of Missio Dei in M. M. Thomas and C. S. Song

Edley J. Moodley

Shembe, Ancestors, and Christ: A Christological Inquiry with Missiological Implications

Roberta R. King

Pathways in Christian Music Communication: The Case of the Senufo of Cote d’Ivoire

E. Paul Balisky

Wolaitta Evangelists: A Study of Religious Innovation in Southern Ethiopia, 1937–1975

W. Jay Moon

African Proverbs Reveal Christianity in Culture: A Narrative Portrayal of Builsa Proverbs Contextualizing Christianity in Ghana

Auli Vahakangas

Christian Couples Coping with Childlessness: Narratives from Machame, Kilimanjaro

David J. Endres

American Crusade: Catholic Youth in the World Mission Movement from World War l through Vatican ll

Colleen Mary Mallon

Traditioning Disciples: The Contributions of Cultural Anthropology to Ecclesial Identity

Christopher L. Flanders

About Face: Rethinking Face for 21st Century Mission

In loving memory of,Dr. Robert William Lyon, Sr., a.k.a. Bob

Power remains the most important theological and ethical issue facing the Western church and thus far that church has not, except for a few voices, faced it in any radically honest way . . . a larger part of the problem is the fact that power is so obviously effective and useful. Its utilitarian value cannot be questioned.

—Bob Lyon, The Poor Church as the Truly Evangelic Church

Foreword

In 1992 my family and I spent a sabbatical living in Hong Kong researching the development of indigenous churches and the cross-cultural adjustment of American missionaries. It was a thrilling and exciting time living in this vibrant city, discovering how Christianity was connecting with the concerns of Hong Kong Chinese. Two observations stood out. Christians were numbered primarily among the middle and upper-middle class in contrast to the poor, and there was a mass exodus of pastors fleeing Hong Kong in anticipation of the communist takeover when Hong Kong would revert back to China in 1997 from its status as a British colony.

I remember how frustrated I was with these pragmatic pastors concerned for their own survival abandoning their flocks to head for greener pastures in Vancouver, San Francisco, and other major cities with a significant Chinese Diaspora. I wondered, Why did this Hong Kong Christianity look so westernized and middle class, and why were the poor and oppressed so often ignored by these churches? Now I’m beginning to understand what I observed, thanks to Steve Pavey’s anthropological research.

By viewing the 1997 Crisis, as it was commonly called, through the lens of political-economic processes and realities, and seeing more clearly the role of structural power in social relationships and religion, we get a quite different and sobering perspective on the dominant role of the Christian church in Hong Kong society.

This leads me to ask, what happens when the teachings of Jesus which were so much on the side of the poor and the oppressed, become wedded with institutions, denominational structures, and Christian programs that are entangled with power, prestige, and position? In contrast to Jesus’ ministry, Christian theology and ideology can be used to legitimize an oppressive social order instead of used to liberate those who are oppressed. The problem is that as long as our churches are growing, and our missions are expanding their influence, we think that all is well in heaven and on earth, and so we seldom question the impact of our methods or motives on our mission. Well, this study of Christianity in Hong Kong is a wake up call. Perhaps it took a Christian missiological anthropologist to sound the alarm. Drawing on anthropologist Eric Wolf’s political-economic theories of how ideas and power converge, Pavey has written a delightful ethnohistorical case study of Christianity in Hong Kong in the midst of dramatic change.

It is now common place to recognize that culture shapes our theologies, but if we dig a little deeper, and go a little further in our research we’ll discover that power is also very much at work in shaping the ways we think about God, and envision living as Christians. While we may be quick to see the hand of culture, we’re hesitant to admit the role of structural power in creating our theologies that in turn can so easily be used to legitimize inequality. Hong Kong gives us a good case study of an Unholy Alliance where the business interests are served by the government and morally sanctioned by the church. Pavey demonstrates how the institutional church follows in line after big business and the executive government. He notes that the theologies of largely middleclass, western educated Hong Kong Christians, focus on private spiritual interests in order to maintain economic prosperity and political stability. He says, The Christian message in Hong Kong is understood as relevant to only the private or spiritual dimension of life allowing for the ideology and values associated with laissez-faire economics to rule the public dimensions of life. The church stays away from political and economic issues for the sake of stability and prosperity. But there is another side to this story.

Culture is always contested and contingent, and so is Christianity in Hong Kong. There is a minority voice, mainly among the parachurch organizations that advocates for the poor and oppressed and envisions the role of the church in responding to their needs instead of justifying its relationship with power. Pavey says that this minority group of Christians, contest the meaning and practice of Christianity by resisting the structural and organizational power of the dominant church and society especially over the meaning and place of the poor in Hong Kong society. These minority Christians envision and embody Christian mission as largely one of crossing economic boundaries rather than the traditional view of crossing ethnic boundaries.

Pavey says, I hope this case study of Hong Kong Christianity will contribute to better understanding of Christianities in order to reshape more just forms of Christian practice and relations of power. In my judgment, Pavey has done that and more. Until recently anthropology and theology have kept their distance, but in the last 10-15 years a new genus of anthropological studies has emerged that looks at the anthropology of Christianity. This book is a worthy contributor to that growing and important body of literature.

Missiology will gain much from critiques by sympathetic anthropologists who call us back to the teachings of Jesus in mission. Noting a growing gap between the church culture and the grass-roots culture, Pavey quotes Agnes Liu who says, Too often, conversion to Christ becomes conversion to middle-class values and lifestyle because this is the dominant culture of the church in Hong Kong. Although Pavey’s study is mostly about structural power, in explaining why Christianity in Hong takes the form that it does, he has avoided the mistake of reducing all causal explanations to simply power issues. He has a balanced and integrated approach to understanding the role of structural power in shaping ideas and practices within the Christian church and demonstrates that power is interdependent with ideas in shaping social relations.

Toward the conclusion of his book Pavey asserts that Questioning certainties will certainly not endear one to the missiological communities but it must be done. I agree that it must be done but I disagree that it won’t be welcomed. We need more of this kind of scrutiny, not less, but it will require that we relinquish our need for certainty in exchange for our quest for understanding. May God give us the wisdom and courage to do so.

Darrell L. Whiteman

Vice-President for Mission Personnel & Preparation and Resident Missiologist

The Mission Society

Acknowledgments

I owe my deepest gratitude to Luella, my loving partner. She has been my loyal Sam, who sacrificially walked every mile of this book’s journey, helping carry Frodo’s burden. The research and work represented by this book is deeply indebted to Luella’s loving commitment to embody these words, Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.

1

Entrée into the Field

July 1, 1997—The Hong Kong Handover

A black Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the luxury hotel situated along Victoria Harbor on Hong Kong Island located in the middle of Hong Kong’s big business district. My wife and I stood just outside with several friends waiting on a mutual friend from Taiwan to close a deal in the hotel’s cigar lounge on the opening of a new bar in the expensive mid levels district. Fancy cars had been pulling up for the last hour to escort the privileged guests to the newly built Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre not far away in Wanchai where they would participate in the handover events only a few hours away. I jokingly said to my friends, get your cameras ready, the next person to come out will be Margaret Thatcher. They laughed. But seconds later our laughter turned to gasps when none other than Lady Thatcher emerged from the entrance, just a hand shake from where we stood, and was quickly whisked away in the black Rolls. The excitement of the handover ceremonies was just beginning.

We had come to Hong Kong with one million other visitors including eight thousand registered journalists and photographers to witness with the 6.5 million Hong Kong residents the return of Hong Kong to her motherland. On July 1st, 1997, China would resume sovereignty over Hong Kong after 156 years of British control. Britain would hand over the New Territories, whose ninety-nine-year lease had expired, as well as Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, land that had been acquired through the unequal treaties of 1842 and 1860. According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration worked out in December 1984 between Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping, China guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong people in all matters except in foreign and defense affairs under Deng’s one country, two systems policy. Hong Kong’s previous capitalist system and life-style shall remain unchanged for fifty years (Joint Declaration 1984 and Basic Law 1989). Although no significant change was to occur, the world’s spotlight was now focused on Hong Kong. Why? The flags of other European powers had been lowered on many other colonies before. This handover, however, was unique in several ways.

Politically, Hong Kong, unlike most other colonies who gained independence, would be transferred from a Western sovereign, who advocated democracy (under Christopher Patten’s leadership), to an authoritarian state, the People’s Republic of China. Could the Hong Kong handover process be better characterized as re-colonization rather than de-colonization? Economically, as one of the world’s richest and major financial centers, Hong Kong would be returned to a much poorer sovereign who was just beginning to experiment with free market economies. How would China treat its golden egg? Would Hong Kong eventually fall in the shadows of Shanghai? Socially, Hong Kong is an open, global, and multifarious space that now faced the reality of a return to a motherland that hesitates little to intrude into community and individual’s private lives. The June 4, 1989, Tiananmen incident poignantly awakened the Hong Kong people to their love of China’s people and at the same time to the values they cherished as Hong Kong people. This is why we were all there. We were waiting to see what it would mean politically, economically, and socially to live in one country under two systems.

Shortly after we caught a glimpse of Margaret Thatcher, our friend returned. Despite misty and cloudy weather, we hurried up the peak to the Government House so we could see Governor Patten and his family bid farewell to their home of five years. From the Mandarin Oriental we made our way slowly through Statue Square and the maze of thousands of Filipino female migrants, most who work as domestic servants, gathered in hundreds of small groups to eat, chat, sing, and dance. I wondered what Hong Kong’s future held for them. Passing under the high tech computer controlled Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank that looks something like a space ship, we followed a narrow path that cut through the gardens next to St. John’s Cathedral, a very traditional colonial structure built in 1847. We oriented our path in relation to the