I entertained the elderly Pastor Huang twice in Nanjing. Each time, his choice of visits surprised me. He did not opt for well-known sites such as the Nanjing Confucius Temple, the Nanjing Presidential Palace, or the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. In his first visit, he asked to visit The Treasure Shipyard Relics Park in Nanjing, a place that had never drawn my interest. The second time was more surprising, as he wished to visit the Grand Bao'en Temple. Why would a Christian pastor want to go to a Buddhist temple?
I learned from him that these two choices are closely related to the same person, Admiral Zheng He (1371 – 1433 A.D.). The Treasure Shipyard centers directly on Zheng He and shipbuilding technologies in the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 A.D.). The construction of the Grand Bao'en Temple was commissioned by Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di, reigned from 1402 to 1424 A.D.), who also commissioned Admiral Zheng on his seven voyages to the Western seas. Why, then, was a Christian pastor so interested in the admiral? Pastor Huang told me that Admiral Zheng was a devout Muslim, and he hoped to use the historical figure as a bridge to connect Muslim communities. His wish grew out of the core principle of his ministry: to promote dialogues between Christians, atheist scholars, and people of other faiths.
Pastor Huang once successfully organized an exchange meeting between Christianity and Islam, choosing the anniversary memorial of a major disaster site for the occasion. More than a decade earlier, the city for the exchange meeting had suffered a severe natural catastrophe that caused heavy casualties and property losses. On the day of the remembrance, respectively, a Christian pastor and a Muslim imam reflected on disasters and human suffering from the angle of their own faiths. Being able to make this dialogue happen brought Pastor Huang great comfort.
In a similar fashion, he once discussed "the Way" (or "the Tao" in Chinese, translator's note) with Taoists. With Confucian scholars, he explored the traditional culture. On one occasion, he even co-hosted and co-organized an exchange meeting titled "Jesus – Confucius Dialogue" with the descendants of Confucius. Participants spoke from different perspectives on shared topics such as the culture of "filial piety," and the event included a Q&A session. After the meeting, one participant reflected that his perception of Christianity had changed in a better way, as he previously assumed most Christians were narrow-minded and exclusive.
According to Pastor Huang, this ministry of dialogues and exchanges began in 2013. Since then, he has organized numerous small-scale forums on themes such as the 500th anniversary of the Religion Reformation, the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth, the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, the 250th anniversary of the Mayflower's voyage, the 200th anniversary of Engels' birth, the 600th anniversary of Admiral Zheng He's adventures, the 400th anniversary of Blaise Pascal's birth, and the 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant's birth. These events have attracted the participation of Christians, atheist scholars, and believers of Islam, Taoism, or other faiths.
To converse effectively with people from different backgrounds, Pastor Huang reads widely and actively seeks common ground. During his study visits, whenever he comes across books or gifts that are related to his dialogue partners, he buys them as presents to foster closeness. In his view, trust is the foundation of all dialogues.
The path has not been easy. Pastor Huang often invests significant time, energy, and resources in his ministry. Yet the outcomes are limited. Even sometimes he has to face direct criticisms of Christianity in some events. Still, he remains convinced of the value of this work because he is offering those who might misunderstand Christianity an opportunity to encounter it from broader perspectives.
Originally published by the Gospel Times
- Edited by Karen Luo and translated by Charlie Li
