On September 5, 2024, China officially announced adjustments to its international adoption policy. Moving forward, except for foreign nationals adopting children who are direct relatives within three generations or stepchildren, the country will no longer send children abroad for adoption. According to statistics, since the Adoption Law legalized international adoptions in 1992, over 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families.
With international adoptions largely halted (except in special circumstances), what will happen to orphans who remain unadopted? In response to this question, Brother Fan, a leader of a related ministry in southern China, believes that many Chinese people, including Christians, have long harbored deep misunderstandings about adoption. He asserts that the church has a responsibility to promote an adoption culture among believers.
Widespread Misconceptions About Adoption
Many foreigners come to China to adopt abandoned children, many of whom have disabilities. While deeply moved by their compassion, Fan is puzzled: why do so few Chinese Christians adopt children?
At the time, Fan was young and new to the church, and he struggled to make sense of this observation. He came to realize later that “adoption” is considered a disgrace in Chinese culture. In China, when a couple adopts a child, it is often assumed they are unable to have children of their own—a condition viewed as a significant issue.
Furthermore, traditional Chinese beliefs hold that the relationship between adoptive parents and adopted children is unreliable and unstable, always at risk of breaking down. It makes many adoptive parents concerned that one day their child will discover their origins and leave to search for their biological parents. Alternatively, the biological parents might reappear and demand the child’s return. In such scenarios, adoptive parents find themselves in a dilemma.
Fan explained that these views are not unique to China but are pervasive throughout the East Asian culture. Under the influence of these traditional views, adoption is often seen as a source of shame and is considered only as a last resort. When adopting, families often hide the child’s origins. In traditional Chinese society, adoption in the modern sense was rare. Most adoptions were guoji (succession adoption), which primarily took place among blood relatives.
Cultural Prejudice Against Adoption Has Even Influenced Chinese Bible Translations
Traditional Chinese cultural views on adoption have left a mark on the translation of the Bible into Chinese.
In versions like the Chinese Union Version and the Chinese Contemporary Bible, the term adoption is notably absent. However, the original biblical texts, as well as many English translations, frequently use the word adoption. Historically, due to Chinese cultural aversion to the concept of adoption, translators chose an alternative expression: “being granted the status of sonship.”
In traditional Chinese thought, adopted children lacked formal status, whereas true adoption, in its proper sense, conferred legitimate status. This status includes inheritance rights, recognition as a member of the family, inclusion in genealogical records, and a voice in family decisions. However, in the past, many adopted children in China were denied such status or granted only partial rights. For example, only in rare cases were adopted children allowed inheritance rights, and even then, their shares were significantly smaller than those of biological heirs. Additionally, adopted children were often excluded from family genealogies and ancestral halls. This was a significant issue for many Chinese people in the past and remains so today.
Against this backdrop, if missionaries 100 years ago had said, “God loves you, so He is willing to adopt you,” it might have been perceived as an insult. Such a statement would imply that the individual was an orphan—an unwanted child—a notion deeply offensive in that cultural context. At the time, adoption carried negative connotations, whereas “being granted the status of sonship” was a more acceptable and respectful expression.
Christians Need to Understand the Biblical Perspective on Adoption
In traditional Chinese culture, adoption is often viewed as a disgrace. However, in Christian theology, adoption is considered a noble and loving act. Fan emphasizes the need for people to reshape their understanding of adoption and regain a proper perspective. Most importantly, the church and Christians must cultivate a biblical view of adoption.
Fan explains that every Christian becomes a child of God through His act of adoption. First, our relationship with God is one of adoption. Ephesians states: “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4–5, NIV). The original text means precisely, “He predestined us to be adopted by God.” Secondly, God adopts us not because He needs children, but because humanity needs a home. Spiritually speaking, every person is an orphan in need of a family. Lastly, God’s adoption came at a great cost. He paid the ultimate price by giving His one and only Son, Jesus. In making us His children, God bore the full cost, adopting us unconditionally.
Only by understanding God’s love can we extend love to orphans and abandoned children. Scripture says, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NIV). God’s love is an adoptive love. We may help a homeless person by giving them money, food, or clothes. We may love a sinner by sharing the gospel and helping them leave a life of sin. But would we welcome them into our family? Fan asks, “Would we make them family members?” The answer is no for most people because human love is temporary and limited.
No family willingly chooses to give birth to a child with disabilities; even biological parents often struggle in such situations. How much less likely, then, are adoptive parents to embrace children with disabilities who are not their flesh and blood? "But that’s exactly what God did," Fan indicates, "He adopted us—sick, disabled, and unloved. That’s the biblical view of adoption."
He contrasts the Old and New Testament eras, summarizing that the Old Testament was the age of the Law, while the New Testament is the age of the Gospel. For example, an employer may tolerate a difficult employee, but if that person were family, it would change everything. This shift reflects the relational difference between the Old and New Testaments. The Apostle Paul repeatedly emphasizes that the Spirit you receive does not make you slaves. Rather, the Spirit you received brings about your adoption to sonship.
In ancient times, adoption often meant taking in a child as a servant—someone who lived in fear of being abandoned or sold if they failed to meet expectations. In contrast, God’s adoption is rooted in love and unconditional acceptance. Without understanding God’s adoptive love, we cannot hope to renew our perspective on adoption or find the strength to love the unlovable.
The Chinese Church Should Be the Guardian of Ethical Values
Fan has high hopes for the Chinese Church. In today’s world, traditional values are crumbling across the globe. Amid this trend, few groups are actively committed to safeguarding moral principles. “Can the Chinese Church become the guardian of moral values?” Fan asks. “We must rise to this responsibility—it is an undeniable duty of the Chinese Church to stand firm in upholding ethical values.”
In the first century, Christians endured severe persecution under the Roman Empire, yet many adopted abandoned Roman babies. At a time when Rome was marked by moral decay and incapable of establishing a public ethical order, the Church and Christians stepped forward. Their compassionate actions, such as adopting abandoned infants, bore witness to society and set a powerful example.
Today, the Church shows similar signs of function. For example, in recent years, some non-Christians have joined churches seeking life partners because the broader community is rife with confusion and falsehoods about marriage. Although the Church has its share of diverse individuals, people still expect that Christians are different.
Can the Church embody a new public moral order? Can it establish consensus on basic ethics, such as the nature of marriage and the roles of husbands and wives? For a community to develop a healthy structure, families must first achieve that health. Yet, contemporary notions of family are deeply confused, making it difficult to reach a consensus. The more disordered society becomes, the greater the need for the Church and Christians to take action.
- Edited by Katherine Guo, translated by J. C.
