Confessions of a Confucianist: Implications for Missions
Sheryl Takagi Silzer
Introduction
I have been a Christian for more than fifty years and a missionary
with Wycliffe Bible Translators for forty years, but it has only been
in the last ten years that I have realized how much my Christianity has been influenced by my Confucian heritage as a Japanese
American. Reflecting back on my missionary experience, I have
discovered a number of ways in which Confucianism contributed to the ongoing cultural stress that I experienced.
One of the main ways was reluctance to speak to authority
figures when I disagreed with them. Even though I felt they were
wrong or did not understand the whole story, I did not feel it was
appropriate for me, as a woman, to speak to them about the issue
or to suggest that they might not have understood the situation
correctly. Instead, I would get knots in my stomach and suppress
my negative feelings. Rather than addressing my concerns with
authority figures, I would take my complaints to others. Over a
period of time, these negative feelings built up, and I would release them in some harmful way. I would become angry at my
husband, my children, and just about everyone else. I would
complain about the situation to others, but not to the appropriate
people. Although I knew that the Bible allowed me to be angry
but not to sin, I did not know how to stop being angry. Since
I thought I was following the biblical commands to submit to
authority figures, I did not understand why my emotions and behavior were so unbiblical.
This article reviews how I, as a Japanese American woman
missionary, recognized and addressed my Confucianist practices
and the implications for missions. First, I discovered Confucianism and then realized how much my own life was impacted by
Confucian values. Then, I looked more deeply into Scripture and
began to understand how I had replaced biblical values with cultural values. Finally, I discuss the missions implications of understanding Confucianism and the impact it had on my perception
of myself as a woman.
Discovering Confucianism
In my research, I discovered that Confucius was an actual person
named K’ung-fu-tzu, who lived from 551–479 b.c. He was a scholar and a teacher concerned about the social ills that characterized
China at that time. His teachings sought to educate people to become the best human beings they could be by developing their
inner selves. His teachings were aimed at leaders, as he felt they
were responsible for the social turmoil of
Sheryl Takagi Silzer is an International Intercultural Consultant with Wycliffe Bible Translators
in San Jose, Costa Rica. She teaches as an adjunct
at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California, and Handong Global University Pohang,
South Korea, and leads workshops in cultural selfdiscovery and multicultural team building.
  •  Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009
the country. Confucius felt that, if the leaders acted appropriately,
they could improve the social condition of society as a whole.1
Confucius’s thinking, as well as his actions and dialogues with
his disciples, were recorded in a book entitled Analects.2 Confucius taught a code of ethics for self-realization through interactions with others.3 This code of ethics is based on appropriate behavior in five major relationships through which individuals can
cultivate their true inner selves in order for the family, state, and
world to function appropriately.4 Each of these relationships enabled the development of a particular virtue. If these virtues were
practiced, he believed they would reduce the rampant social ills.5
The five relationships are defined hierarchical relationships
between ruler and subject, husband and wife, parent and child,
older and younger, and friend to friend. The lower person is always to be subject to the higher person. Within each relationship, a specific virtue is developed: “love between father and son,
duty between ruler and subject, distinction between husband
and wife, and precedence of the old over the young, and faith between friends.”6 Confucius believed that developing these virtues
through these relationships would produce an ideal society.
The main virtue upon which these relationships were established and modeled is the child’s love for the parent, or filial piety.
This has also been described as mutual indebtedness—the parents’ care for their children indebts the children for the rest of
their lives. If this value is learned well within the home, a person
is prepared to serve society as well.7 To demonstrate filial piety, a
person treats his or her parents with the proper actions, or li. This
refers not only to the outward behavior, but also to the inward
disposition of mind and heart.8 It is also based on reciprocity for
what the parents have done in bringing up, training, and providing for them. With filial piety, children repay their parents for their
kindnesses. Filial piety is demonstrated through respect or love to
parents. This takes various forms and should also be extended to
anyone who is older or higher in status. This love/respect is seen
in every aspect of life in the home as well as in public. Children
are to provide care and services by serving favorite foods, giving
gifts, and speaking with respectful language, as well as submitting
to their parents’ desires. Children are also to respect/show love
to their parents by being courteous, giving them special seats or
places, celebrating their birthdays, and remembering them after
they have died.9 Such activities parallel the care that the parents
had for their children in rearing them. These activities continue
on even when children become adults and leave their childhood
homes, and even after their parents have died.10
The daily practice of such respectful behaviors forms a pattern
in which a son learns to “suppress his own desires, anticipates the
wishes of his father, and takes his father’s commands as sacred
edicts.”11 This was not the original intention of the Confucian
scholars who taught that if parents were wrong, they were to be
gently corrected:
[F]ilial piety consists, during the lifetime of our parents, in
conforming ourselves to their wishes, and giving them not
only physical care and nourishment, but nourishing their
wills; while should they fall into error, it consists in reproving
them and leading them back to what is right.12
encourage a person to do something good. However, it is more
often demonstrated by a negative response.18
How Confucianism impacted me
Before I studied Confucianism, as a third-generation Japanese
American, I thought I was thoroughly American and not affected
On the other hand, the Asian cultural practice of saving or proby my Asian heritage. However, my grandparents lived with us
tecting the face of the family or group has reinforced the supwhen I was growing up, since my father was the oldest and only
pression of individual desires and disagreements with parents or
son. Both my grandmother and mother
with those in higher positions of authority.
were very submissive to their husbands
omen have a very low position in
The concept of face includes everything
(the husband and wife relationship). I
Confucianism. In fact, submission
regarding one’s birth, degree of education,
never heard a disagreement between
characterizes a woman her whole life.
sophistication, and fate.13 Children are sothem. Additionally, my mother never
cialized from an early age to act in ways
First, as a child, she is to submit to her
thought her mother-in-law liked her.
that preserve the dignity of the family
father, then as a wife to her husband,
I was also taught not to talk back to
name. Disagreeing with an elder or conand, finally, as a widow, to her oldest son.
my parents or to question what they did.
fronting that person in public causes an
I was to obey because they were my parelder to lose face. In fact, face has been described as a mechanism
ents and I was their child (the parent and child relationship). My
for Asian conflict management—that is, in order to preserve face,
older brother and I were given responsibility for our two younger
conflict is avoided.14 Face is saved to preserve social harmony,
brothers, and we made sure they followed our orders as well (the
and children are trained at a young age to have smooth relationolder and younger relationship). Since they were eight and twelve
ships by not being aggressive. They do this by learning to suppress
years younger, they were too young to contradict our authority.19
their own desires by giving in to others, particularly to those who
I also remember my parents telling me to not express myself
are older.15 A strong sense of community loyalty automatically
by being overly noisy or by drawing attention to myself. I was also
suppresses bad feelings among extended family groups, not just
to control my emotions and conceal them.20 At the time, I thought
the individuals involved. These bad feelings are often passed on
that was just the proper way of acting and wondered why my Caufrom one generation to the next.16
casian friends were trained so differently. Their parents allowed
Women have a very low position in Confucianism. In fact,
them to express their emotions, talk loud, and draw attention to
submission characterizes a woman her whole life. First, as a child,
themselves. I would feel uncomfortable when they were emotionshe is to submit to her father, then as a wife to her husband, and,
al, talked loud, disagreed in public, or spoke disrespectfully about
finally, as a widow, to her oldest son. The lifelong submissive role
their parents. When I read the Japanese proverb that says, “the
of the woman makes her unequal to a man as men are given prinail that stands out gets pounded down,” I realized my parents
ority over women in Confucianism.17 She may release her supwere following Japanese culture in teaching me not to make mypressed negative feelings by taking control in other culturally
self stand out from the group by making a lot of noise or drawing
sanctioned areas, such as championing the success of her chilattention to myself. The Japanese proverb stands in contrast to the
dren or trying to control her daughters-in-law.
American proverb that says, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”21
Two consequences of maintaining social harmony are freI began to understand why I was different from my friends and
quently found in Confucian societies. One is the development of
why some of their behaviors made me uncomfortable.
an authoritarian attitude by those who are older and resentment
When I went to college and took a required class on public
and bitterness by those who are younger. This unequal and hierspeaking, I had a very difficult time speaking up. For one assignarchical system creates a situation where elders can easily develment, the class went outside, and we took turns standing on a
op an authoritarian attitude. The norm is for those in the higher
small hill above others, shouting out our speeches while the
position to make decisions and have the right to decide what
other students criticized loudly. This was very difficult for me to
those under them do. Younger people who are taught to submit
do. First, I was not used to raising my voice, and, second, I was
all their lives to older people can easily become bitter and resentnot used to people criticizing me in front of others. This incident
ful. Women, who are always in submission, generally develop a
created a painful memory that I still have. For many years, pubvery submissive attitude; however, some women rebel against
lic speaking was very difficult for me. My knees would knock, I
this characterization and try to take control in other ways. On
would get butterflies in my stomach, and my voice would quaver.
the other hand, young men become old and eventually receive
Shortly after college, I felt God’s call to join a mission organithe respect due an older person. This inequality is embedded in
zation (Wycliffe Bible Translators). During my forty years with
the Confucian system, and the natural consequence is authorithe organization, I have had difficulty with various supervisors.
tarianism by the elders and bitterness by the younger. The ConAlthough I was trained as a Bible translator and had been in
fucian system creates these attitudes, which are both regarded as
translation work as a single person, one supervisor treated me
acceptable. Bitterness is often considered a positive trait that can
differently than he treated my husband, who also worked there.
W
Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009  •  He only talked to my husband and expected my husband to pass
the information along to me. Although I might have expected
this in an Asian situation, I was disappointed to find it in a nonAsian Christian context. However, I could not bring myself to
confront the supervisor or tell him how I felt. Instead, I suppressed the negative feelings inside me. Another time, when I
wanted to obtain official permission from my supervisor to do
graduate studies, my supervisor told me it was not necessary because my husband had a graduate degree. I was very disturbed
again, but could not bring myself to talk to my supervisor. My
husband spoke to him on my behalf, but I was still angry with
him and suppressed my negative feelings.
In response to Confucian hierarchy, I responded in three different ways. One was to consider myself unequal or not as good
as men in God’s eyes, second was to do a lot of work in order to
please God, and third was to try to control others. These responses were all unconscious. My Confucian background had made
me believe unconsciously that men were better than women—
that is, God preferred men over women. This was also reinforced
in my own family life. I was the only daughter with three brothers and had two sons and no daughters. I felt that my duty was
to take care of the men in my life and make sure they succeeded.
Anything I wanted for myself should be denied for the sake of
the males.
In order to compensate for this feeling of inadequacy, I developed a drive to accomplish much to please God. I did not realize
that this response was similar to the Confucian value of duty as
well as the Buddhist value of good works. In my determination to
do many things, I also did not know how to say “no” and would
get myself in a bind by taking on more things than I was actually
able to do.
I also tried to control others by suggesting different things
they could do, especially different jobs women could do on the
mission field. I know I offended a number of people, as one woman told me her husband did not want her to talk to me anymore.
I made her feel guilty about not doing more. I also tried to control my daughters-in-law, but to no avail, as they are not Asian.
However, I had unconsciously expected that they would do what
I asked them to do. It did not take long to learn that they did not
have the same Confucian values I did.
The downside of Confucianism was not being able to deal
with conflict, address authorities appropriately, resolve resentment and bitterness, and stop trying to control other women.
I would often brood and wonder why God did not like me or
why things never went my way. I would complain to anyone who
would listen and often pass on my bitterness to others. At one
point, my children even asked me what was wrong.
After many years of suppressing my emotions, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and later with uterine cancer. In fact,
my whole family has had some form of cancer. Both my grandmothers died of cancer—breast cancer and ovarian cancer. My
father died of prostate cancer that went to his brain, and my older
brother of prostate cancer that went to his bones. My mother has
had breast cancer twice, but is still alive. I tested positive for a
  •  Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009
cancer gene and realize that years of suppression from Confucian values may have affected my family’s immune system and
health and played a role in making us susceptible to cancer. It
was actually after I was diagnosed with cancer that God began to
help me understand how much Confucianism has impacted my
life and how I needed to turn to him and his word to receive the
help I needed. I began to realize that I had believed the lies of the
Confucian system—that I was not as good as men, and I needed
to resort to good works to fill the void rather than valuing who I
really was in Christ.
Confucianism and Scripture
Prior to studying Confucianism, I had interpreted my Confucianist behaviors as Christian. I thought I had obeyed the verses
that spoke of submission to rulers (Rom. 13:1, Titus 3:1, 1 Pet. 2:13),
especially when I kept silence when I disagreed with them. I did
not want to rebel against God by disagreeing with authority figures (Rom. 13:2). In the same way, I was submissive to my husband and did not contradict him or question his authority (Eph.
5:24, Col. 3:18, 1 Pet. 3:1), but would suppress negative feelings
when I felt he was wrong. I was outwardly obedient to my parents
as a child (Eph. 6:1, Col. 3:20) and kept my disagreements inside.
However, I did not understand where my feelings of inadequacy came from. I felt that God was not pleased with me as a woman
and, in particular, as an Asian woman. It just seemed to me that
he was more pleased with men, and white men in particular.
The particular passage of Scripture that was a breakthrough
for me was Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created
them” (NIV). As various seminary professors used this passage
in their classes,22 I began to consider what it meant to be made
in God’s image. God began to reveal that his love to me was just
the same as to men—Asian or white. He had created both male
and female to reflect his image, not just one to the exclusion of
the other. Men and women were to reflect God’s image together
through godly relationships and acceptance of one another. This
was a wonderful new thought for me. I began to see how cultural
values distorted God’s image and made Asian women feel inadequate in relation to men. I was able to look back on my life and
see how God’s truth had been distorted.
As I reflected more on what it meant to be made in God’s image, I began to understand that Christ completed the work on the
cross for my sin once and for all (1 Pet. 3:18). It was through his
work of grace that Christ provided redemption for me. I could in
no way earn my salvation (Eph. 2:8–9). I did not need to continue
doing lots of things to earn God’s pleasure. He was pleased with
me through Christ’s work on the cross (Col. 1:19–20). In fact, I
was denying the power of Christ’s work on the cross by having
my own form of godliness and overworking (2 Tim. 3:5). I had
a tendency to say “yes” to everything that sounded like an opportunity a missionary should be involved in. I had to learn to
ask God if he wanted me to take advantage of each opportunity. 
I found myself learning to say, “No, I don’t think God wants me
to do that.” God also convicted me that my need to work resulted
in prioritizing work over people, and that I needed to do less
“work” and spend more time with people, and more time with
God. This was so contrary to the past years of my life. As I moved
more toward this new lifestyle, my heart was lifted and the burden of work reduced. I was no longer responsible for having to
say “no.” I began to experience joy (John 16:24) and peace (John
14:27) rather than worry whether I was doing enough to please
God (1 Thess. 4:1). I began to enjoy doing things for God.23 It was
like a conversion experience for me, even though I had made a
profession of faith at five years old.
As I looked again at the verses on submission, I began to notice it was not just the submission that was important, but the attitude behind the submission. I was to submit as to God—not just
because it was my duty to submit, but because of who he is. I also
noted that rulers were supposed to look out for the good of the
ones under them to govern diligently, cheerfully showing mercy
(Rom. 12:8) and becoming like one who serves (Matt. 22:26). The
Scriptures did not say that rulers are always right or never do any
wrong. Rulers are human and affected by the same sin nature as
the rest of us. My submission had unconsciously been affected by
the desire not to disturb the outward harmony.24
When I realized that I had believed the lie that God did not
love me as much as he loved men, I could replace the lie with the
truth that God loved me equally with men. He loved me so much
that he made me in his image. I began to thank God for his love
for me, and he began to give me love for those around me—both
authority figures and others.
The beginning of change came with a conflict I had with a
supervisor. I had been shamed in public25 and was very angry. I
complained about the situation to others for several years. I had
previously felt there was nothing I could do about it except complain. Armed with the truth about myself, I prayed about this conflict and God gave me the thought to take my husband to speak
with this supervisor. God knew that I needed that support. The
result was that the misunderstanding was cleared up immediately.
I could not believe that was possible. I had spent several years
brooding over the situation, and to have it cleared up in a moment
was unbelievable. I was so thankful to God and began looking for
other ways that God would help me rectify past injustices.
As my journey continued, I wondered if difficulties with supervisors might haunt me the rest of my life. Several years ago, I
was in a situation where I needed to find a new position within
Wycliffe. When one supervisor invited me to discuss this with
him, I decided it was time to be honest and tell him my history
with supervisors. I did not give him all the details, but, as we
talked, he felt comfortable becoming my supervisor. The situation has been the best ever. Although I wanted to hide my past
difficulties, God convicted me that I needed to be honest and tell
him. Through this new position, God has done amazing things
that have never happened to me before.
Another way in which God had to deal with me by addressing the downside of the Confucian hierarchy was in healing the
depression and bitterness that came with always being at the bottom. I seemed to have a sixth sense that noticed when men were
favored over women. I would become upset easily at this injustice
and brood over the injustices to myself as well as to other women.
My inability to question these things grew and festered over the
years. I knew things were not right, but thought it was wrong to
question them. The bitterness made me feel bad about myself. The
only way I could respond was to allow the resentment to grow.
Because I thought my actions were Christian and not Confucianist, I denied this bitterness. I thought God wanted me to
submit unquestioningly to authority figures, but I could not understand the growing bitterness. I would complain about supervisors to everyone who would listen. Some were very kind and
let me go on and on while others disagreed with me. Others were
also dissatisfied with the supervisors, so we spent time complaining together, but we were unable to resolve our bitterness.
I was very stressed because I thought I was acting in a Christian way, so I did not understand where the negative feelings
were coming from or how to address them. This stress affected
my health. I was unable to sleep well at night and woke up early
in the morning rehearsing how to address the situations. I had no
peace and was very miserable. I also made other people miserable with my continuing complaints.
I had to face the fact that I had bitterness, that it was evil (Rom.
3:14), and that I needed to get rid of it (Eph. 4:31). I knew that my
complaints were affecting others and causing them to become
bitter as well (Heb. 12:15). Knowing what generated my bitterness
helped me to address it. I first needed to change my thinking. Unquestioning submission to authorities was not what God wanted;
he wanted to change my attitude and my heart. He wanted me to
submit to earthly authority figures because of my love for him
and not because I was following some rules for behavior. God
also gave me his Spirit to help me desire his will, convict me of
my sin (John 16:8), and guide me into his truth (John 16:13).
Confucianism focuses on proper conduct in an attempt to
create an orderly, harmonious, and peaceful society. Christianity focuses on relationship with God and how Christ enables us
to become a reflection of himself. The ability to become a better
person within Confucianism lies with the individual alone, while
the ability to become a better person within Christianity lies in
the individual’s relationship with God based on God’s truth and
guided by his Spirit. Confucianism focuses only on human relationships while Christianity focuses on a relationship with God
first. Confucianism presents the five relationships for a person to
follow while Christianity presents a relationship with God that
enables them to submit mutually to others. One is done out of
duty and the other out of love for what Christ has done for us.
Implications for missions
At the turn of the twenty-first century, one of the biggest changes
has been the rise of Christianity outside of the North and West.
Phillip Jenkins says that “the center of gravity in the Christian
world has shifted inexorably southward to Africa, Asia and Latin
America.”26 The number of Western Christians has been surpassed
by the number of African, Asian, and Latin American Christians.27
In 1960, 30 percent of the non-Western world was Christian, but
Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009  •  is predicted to be 78 percent by 2000.28 The increase in the Asian
them in breaking out of these Confucianist bonds. Their experiworld has been significant—35 percent Korea, 14 percent Hong
ence of true acceptance and freedom in Christ will draw many
Kong, 13 percent Indonesia, 12 percent Singapore, 9 percent Vietto Christ.
nam, 7 percent India and Malaysia, and 5 percent the People’s ReThe influence of culture on Christianity has been discussed
public of China.29 This global church will have a different look
for a number of years, going back as far as 1951 when H. Richard
than the Western church. Samuel Escobar describes this church as
Niebuhr presented various ways of looking at Christ and culture.
grassroots Christianity characterized by “a culture of poverty, oral
He presented “Christ against Culture,” “Christ of Culture,” “Christ
liturgy, narrative preaching, uninhibited
Above Culture,” “Christ and Culture in
uch more reflection needs to be
emotionalism, maximum participation in
Paradox,” and “Christ the Transformer
done
in
considering
the
extent
to
prayer, worship, dreams and visions, faith
of Culture.”39 The Lausanne II conferwhich one’s own cultural and religious
healing, intensive search for community
ence addressed the model of “Christ in
with belonging.”30
Creative Tension with Religions” as an
background distorts the gospel message.
This shift from a Western church to a
important theme for present-day misglobal church has many implications for what Christianity might
sions.40 Understanding ethnicity and religious background is
look like in the future. In order to address this shift adequately,
crucial to mission work. For example, Malaysia’s mixture of three
missiologists need to grapple with the challenge of how to present
main religions—Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism—has
the gospel in a way that fosters rather than inhibits this growth.
to be understood, as well as the influence of local folk religions.
One of the main challenges is to equip missionaries to present the
These religions fulfill everyday needs of family, finances, and
gospel without cultural trappings both of the West and the East.
business. Therefore, in order to present the gospel appropriately
The American way of life has shaped Christianity into a product
in Malaysia, it is necessary to consider Christ’s encounter with
to be distributed to the consumer through the tool of technolthese religions.41 Western evangelicals might also learn from
ogy.31 The Asian way of life, influenced by Confucianist and Budother religions.42
dhist values, has shaped Christianity into a duty to be performed
Another reason for understanding culture and other religions
as a social role characterized by good works. A major challenge
is the need to work with people from other cultures. A recent
will be to counter the cultural preferences that missionaries with
comprehensive study of mission attrition revealed that one of
such values consider to be Christian.32 In fact, Christians are
the main reasons for attrition is the inability to get along with
so influenced by their environments that the historian Andrew
coworkers.43 In a period of rising interest on the part of Asians
Walls says Christians from different parts of the globe might not
in joining the missions movement,44 it is imperative that Asians
be recognizable to one another.33 Samuel Escobar exhorts misthemselves, as well as others, understand their own cultural herision-sending churches to be very careful that they are not exporttages. Well-known missiologist Samuel Escobar says,
ing cultural distortions to emerging churches.34
One of the evangelical missiological trends after Lausanne
Along with this shift has come a rise in the non-Western mis1974 posed forcefully the need for evangelists and missionarsionary movement, particularly from Asia. Asians from Banglaies to become aware of how their culture shaped not only their
desh, India, Burma, Japan, and Korea have been sending out mismissionary methodologies, but also their versions of the gossionaries for more than one hundred years.35 In the 1970s, Asian
pel, in ways that were in open contrast with biblical teaching
churches were sending out their own missionaries, and, by 1973,
and theological conviction.45
the Asia Missions Association was formed in order to coordinate
mission efforts throughout Asia.36 The Asian Missiological SoMissiologists, mission organizations, mission trainers, and misciety held its first conference in Bangkok, Thailand, October 30
sionaries themselves need to consider the extent to which cultural
to November 1, 2007, to forward the work of missions in Asian
and religious backgrounds impact and influence not only Chrischurches through research and academic discussions as well as
tianity, but the gospel message they take to other places. Cultural
networking. One goal of the Asian Missiological Society is to recdiscovery training was not a part of my pre-field orientation forty
ognize and avoid the pitfalls that has hindered Western missions,
years ago. However, missiologists have identified this as a needed
particularly in Asia.37
area for research and training. Much more reflection needs to be
In our globalized world, there is an increasing need to undone in considering the extent to which one’s own cultural and
derstand our coworkers as well as those we are trying to reach
religious background distorts the gospel message. This is true not
with our mission efforts. The Joshua Project listing unreached
only for Asians and Asian Americans, but for all missionaries.
people groups places three large groupings out of sixteen in Asia
Although outside the scope of this article, other theological
(East Asians, Southeast Asians, and South Asian peoples).38 The
issues that Asians need to grapple with in light of their culturneed for mission work in Asian countries and the increase in the
al heritage are the biblical concept of grace versus good works,
number of missionaries from Asian countries necessitates greater
identifying and dealing with sin, and good works versus sancunderstanding of Asian peoples by themselves as well as others.
tification—that is, obeying as unto the Lord, rather than out of
We need to help Asian and Asian American Christian women
social duty.46
recognize the impact of Confucianism in their lives and support
M
10  •  Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009
Conclusion
As the global church and mission force from Confucian countries is growing in number, it is critical for Christian leaders both
male and female to understand how cultural heritages can distort
the true message of the gospel. Samuel Escobar and others have
stated that past missionary efforts have not adequately differentiated culture from the gospel message—so much so that cultural
interpretations of the gospel have resulted in “flagrant contradictions between their theology and their practice.”47
If you work or socialize with Asian women who do not have
a good self-image or are very submissive and shy with guarded
bitterness, you might encourage them to read this article. You can
dialogue with them to help them look at the five Confucian relationships and any resulting bitterness in their own experiences.
In the process, be willing to share how your own culture has distorted your view of Christianity.
In all of my forty-plus years as a missionary, I have not encountered any training that enables people to differentiate their
cultural background from biblical truths. This lack reinforces the
belief that one’s own cultural perspective of Christianity is the
right perspective. This area of cultural self-discovery has been
greatly overlooked, and its importance has been greatly discounted. If Asian and Asian American women are to find freedom and
acceptance in Christ, we need to learn how we are impacted by
Confucianism and how that conflicts with biblical values.
Asian and non-Asian Christian leaders, male and female,
need not only to discover how their culture influences their
form of Christianity, but also to examine their words and actions
in order to recognize whether they reinforce Confucian duty
or godly obedience in their interactions with Asian and Asian
American women. Asian and Asian American women need to
hear and understand how they can be released from the bondage
of the Confucian hierarchy and how a relationship with Christ
gives them a freedom and acceptance they did not have within
Confucianism.
Notes
1. Wei-Ming Tu, “Confucius and Confucianism,” in Confucianism
and the Family, ed. Walter H. Slote and George A. DeVos (Albany, N.Y.:
State University of New York Press, 1998), 9.
2. Tu, “Confucius and Confucianism,” 3–4.
3. Tu, “Confucius and Confucianism,” 9.
4. Wei-Ming Tu, “Probing the ‘Three Bonds’ and ‘Five Relationships’
in Confucian Humanism,” in Confucianism and the Family, ed. Walter
H. Slote and George A. DeVos (Albany, N.Y.: State University of New
York Press, 1998), 121.
5. Xinzhong Yao, “Confucius, the Founder of Confucianism,” Dialogue & Alliance 12, no. 2 (1998): 20–23.
6. Mencius IIIA, trans. D. C. Lau (Hong Kong: Chinese University
Press, 1984), 4.
7. Ching Hsiao, Teachings of Filial Piety, trans. J. Legge, in Sacred
Books of the East, vol. 3 (London: Oxford, 1989), ch. 7, 9.
8. William Theodore de Bary, “Personal Reflections on Confucian
Filial Piety,” in Filial Piety and Future Society (Kyunggido, Korea: The
Academy of Korean Studies [Hyo-wa Mirae-Sahoe], 1995), 1936.
9. Kyu-taik Sung, “Elder Respect Exploration of Ideals and Forms in
East Asia,” Journal of Aging Studies 15, no. 1 (2001): 15–16.
10. Qingping Liu, “Filiality Versus Sociality and Individualism. On
Confucianism as Consanguinism,” Philosophy East & West 53, no. 2 (Apr.
2003), 240.
11. Wei-Ming Tu, “Selfhood and Otherness in Confucian Thought,”
in Culture and Self: Asian and Western Perspectives, ed. Anthony J. Marsella (London: Routledge, 1985), 234.
12. Yu-lan Fung, A History of Chinese Philosophy, trans. D. Bodde
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1952), 359.
13. Kun-Ok Kim, “What is Behind ‘Face-Saving’ in Cross-Cultural
Communication?” Intercultural Communication Studies 3, no. 1 (1993): 1.
14. John G. Oetzel and Stella Ting-Toomey, “Face Concerns in Interpersonal Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Empirical Test of the Face Negotiation Theory,” Communication Research 3, no. 6 (2003): 600.
15. Michael Harris Bond, Beyond the Chinese Face: Insights from Psychology (New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1991), 15, 59.
16. Oetzel and Ting-Toomey, “Face Concerns,” 47.
17. John C. H. Wu, “The Status of the Individual in the Political and
Legal Traditions of the Old and New China,” in The Chinese Mind: Essentials of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, ed. Charles R. Moore (Honolulu,
Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1968), 348.
18. Andrew Sung Park, “The Bible and Han,” in The Other Side of Sin:
Woundedness from the Perspective of the Sinned Against (New York, N.Y.:
State University of New York Press, 2001), 47–48.
19. Cf. Yong Chen Fah, “The Spirituality of Chinese Social Obligations,” Transformation 9, no. 1 (January 2002): 34.
20. Senko K. Maynard, Japanese Communication: Language and
Thought in Context (Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press,
1997), 12.
21. Hazel Rose Markus and Shinoku Kitayama, “Culture and the
Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation,” Psychological Review 98, no. 2 (1991): 224.
22. Robert Saucy, “Theology of Human Nature,” in Christian Perspectives on Being Human: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Integration,
ed. James Porter Moreland and David M. Ciocchi (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Baker, 1993), 22–23
23. Cf. Walter Bruggeman, “Duty as Delight and Desire (Preaching
Obedience that Is Not Legalism),” Journal for Preachers 18, no. 1 (1994),
2–14.
24. James Patrick Holding calls this “holy harmony,” or wah in Japanese. “Returning Japanese: Some Lessons from Another Culture,” cited 
5 Oct. 2007. Online: http://www.tektonics.org/af/culturegram.html.
25. “The Japanese word haji means “anything but shame.” A person
experiences this when they have been criticized in public. This justifies
revenge. See Holding, “Returning Japanese.”
26. Phillip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global
Christianity (New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2002), 2.
27. Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History:
Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books,
1996), 22.
28. This number was predicted in 1996. Bryant L. Myers, The New
Context of World Mission (Monrovia, Calif.: MARC Publishers, 1996), 32.
29. John Stewart and Edna Valtz, eds., Mission Handbook, 1998–2000
(Monrovia, Calif.: MARC Publishers, 1997), 34.
30. Samuel Escobar, “The Global Scenario at the Turn of the Century,” in Global Missiology for the 21st Century: The Iguassu Dialogue, ed.
William D. Taylor (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2001), 7.
31. C. René Padilla, Mission Between the Times: Essays (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1985), 16–17.
32. Padilla, Mission Between the Times, 108–12.
33. Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History, 7.
34. Escobar, “The Global Scenario,” 63.
35. David J. Cho, “Asian Mission: Historical Perspective” (paper
presented at the Asian Missiological Society Conference, Bangkok, 30
Oct.–1 Nov. 2007), 26.
Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009  •  11
36. Bong Rin Ro, “Asia,” in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions,
ed. A. Scott Moreau (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2000), 83.
37. Asian Society of Missiology, cited 2 Oct. 2007. Online: www.
asianmissiology.org.
38. Joshua Project, www.joshuaproject.net, accessed 2 Oct. 2007.
39. H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York, N.Y.: Harper, 1951).
40. Kang San Tan, “Evangelical Missions from an East Asian Perspective: A Study on Christian Encounter with People of Other Faiths,”
in The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1996), 300.
41. Tan, “Evangelical Missions,” 316.
42. See Gerald McDermott, Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions? Jesus, Revelation, and Religious Traditions (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 2000).
12  •  Priscilla Papers ◆ Vol. 23, No. 1 ◆ Winter 2009
43. William D. Taylor et al., Too Valuable to Lose: Exploring the
Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition (Pasadena, Calif.: William
Carey Library, 1997), 95.
44. Wonsuk Ma, “Asia, Church, Mission, and a Journal,” Journal of
Asian Missions 1, no. 1 (1999): 5–6.
45. Samuel Escobar, preface to One World or Many? The Impact of
Globalisation on Mission, ed. Richard Tiplady (Pasadena, Calif.: William
Carey Library, 2003), 5.
46. Sheryl Takagi Silzer, “Dutiful Obedience: Confucius’s Legacy for
Asian Christians” (paper presented at the Evangelical Theological Society conference, San Diego, Calif., 14 Nov. 2007).
47. Escobar, preface to One World or Many? The Impact of Globalisation on Mission, 5.