Confucianism and Christianity: Sources and the ‘Superior Man’
What this shows about the Confucian and Christian writings is that they are some of the oldest historical documents with reliable provenances. We have no older Greek and Roman writings to use to validate the accuracy of transmission or compare the growth of ideas and beliefs.
Both Confucianism and Christianity deal with the basic moral problem of how to make humans behave in a proper way. They each define “proper” and give the way to succeed. But the basic problem is man himself – pride and greed. The best efforts of man seem to eventually always shipwreck on human nature.
Then it comes down to the use of force. All attempts at creating a “New Man” who is altruistic (Ren and Yi) becomes, in the end, an attempt to herd cats. Confucianism recognizes the role of Heaven under a Supreme Heavenly God giving rewards and punishments in this life and a role for spirits. This is shown in the acts of piety and worship taught (Ki). There is even a belief in the soul that lives on after death.
Some western scholars see in Confucianism only an ethical sociopolitical teaching, a “secular as sacred” scheme – a core of humanism. Sometimes I am embarrassed about western scholarship on Chinese topics. They dismiss the spiritual/supernatural because they too often view history/religion/philosophy from a purely philosophically materialistic position and a western ethnocentric position. At this point, as a western Christian scholar, I am trying not so much to explain Confucianism as attempting to understand it and listen to what Chinese scholars have to say in response.
There are points of contact with Christianity that teaches God has similar dealings with men and also posits a “Superior Man”, but one who is “Born Again” (spiritually) as in the words of Jesus (John 3:3). For Christians it is God who writes his laws on our hearts and makes us “pious” by his free gift of Grace based not upon our previous actions but upon the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to make payment for us and balance the scales of justice. Then, we produce acts of piety and proper worship out of a new spirit and the guiding of the in-dwelling of God’s own Holy Spirit who lives within us teaching us through the words of the Bible.
Both Confucianism and Christianity make claims to wisdom and how best to organize one’s life and culture. There is wisdom in both sets of beliefs – a major question is do they work? That is, do they produce what they declare to be the goal of the system for individuals or for a culture? There have been successes and failures in both sets of systems. Is the making of a “Superior Man” really possible for a Confucian or a Christian?
Image: Confucius, gouache on paper (The Granger Collection, New York); circa 1770; source:http://www. britannica.com/eb/art-75120/Confucius-gouache-on-paper-1770?articleTypeId=1; public domain;copyright expired
