What should I say? How do I start?

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MyLighthouse

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First off, SORRY if this is the wrong forum. I wasn't sure which one to post it on.

Heres what I need advice on:

I made a friend from China almost a year ago. It was for language exchange- I help him with English and he helps me with Chinese. I'm usually a pretty bold person and share my faith naturally, but this hasn't been the case. For some reason it hadn't really hit to me until the other day. My friend was telling me about a holiday they celebrate in China this time of the year that deals with the dead(sort of like Mexico's- Day of the Dead). In this he said he looked up holidays we in America celebrate, he found Easter.
He continued to explain that the word, Easter, in Chinese means to raise from the dead. Afterward saying that he said," Americans celebrate a man's death and we celebrate the many deaths. I was shocked thinking, Does he really not know why we celebrate Easter? Does he not know who the "man" is? I just let him continue telling me about his holiday and thinking the whole time, "What should I say?"
I looked into the area in China he's from and found that it's only been introduce to the gospel the last 7 years, roughly (many churches were ran out). So it's very likely he has no idea of Jesus. I've taught children and told the gospel to many people, but for some reason I'm at a complete blank with this one. Should I ask what he believes in? Should I just explain Easter's meaning to him? Where do I begin? What is too much?

Advice, verses, prayer, etc. I appreciate any and all of it!
 
do not tell him about easter unless you want to confuse him.

just stick with simple scripture as if talking with a child - but don't talk down to him,

as an adult tell only what the scripture says.

anything like easter that is not in scripture will cause him much trouble and "many deaths".
 
I agree with Jeff. You have no need to explain things that are not in the Bible... though, as you get to know him (baby steps) you might begin explaining the "relations" of some holidays to our core beliefs. But, for now, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Tell him who Jesus is and that we celebrate His Resurrection, not death.
 
The Bible Found in the Chinese Language:


ChineseLetteringBible_zpsf3009952.png



http://students.washington.edu/cbsf/cool/Chinese.swf

You could show him this flash website above. You could ask him, "Hey, did you know that the Chinese language is connected to the Bible?" And then go from there and tie it into Jesus Christ and the gospel.

If he is resistant to hearing about it, then I would just email him the links within this post (Including the ones below which share the gospel in comic book form).


For Men:
This Was Your Life


For Women:
You Have a Date
 
I recommend starting at the very basics. Here's an excellent book about God in ancient China. And my review below.

Faith_of_Our_Fathers_3__78961.1405418090.1280.1280.jpg

"Faith of Our Fathers" by Chan Kei Thong is a fascinating collaboration of evidence to support the author's belief (and that of other Chinese and Western Christians) that Shang Di, the ancient monotheistic god of China and the one true God were one and the same. Chan believes the Chinese people were one of the faithful groups that left the Tower of Babel and travelled to what later became China, bringing their God-honouring ways with them. While each piece of evidence within this book on its own may not provide true credibility for this belief, taken as a whole, these seven signposts make a very strong case.

Here are the seven historical markers:
1. The composition of ancient Chinese characters suggests knowledge of the earliest events of human history as described in the Bible.

2. Historical texts point to the Supreme Being venerated in ancient China, as being the same God revealed in the Bible.

3. The Border Sacrifice ceremony performed by the emperor at the Tower (Altar) of Heaven for several thousand years shares amazing parallels with the sacrificial system prescribed in the books of Law in the Bible.

4. Some eminent scholars from the 16th and 19th centuries came to the conclusion that no.2 was true.

5. Striking similarities between the Hebrew and the Chinese approach to moral truth eg. man's responsibilities to society and his relationship to the Divine.

6. The ancient rulers of China understood and set forth a godly way of ruling the people. The rulers saw themselves as serving Heaven (the righteous Supreme Being) by serving the people.

7. Chinese historical records appear to confirm some key astral events spoken of in the Bible. Interpretations of these events are surprisingly consistent with the Bible.

I found this book to be a fascinating read. It's part history lesson, part theological study and part devotional. There's plenty of images and photos to satisfy the reader. I did find the book long-winded in places and the devotional sections were redundant for me (but they'll be useful for some readers). The book really helped me to better understand elements of Leviticus.

Discovering that the ancient Chinese believed in the one true God was incredible. Learning the story of how monotheism gave way to paganism was also intriguing but highly disturbing. In brief: Shang Di was worshipped for two millennia but then His worship became just a tradition and was corrupted and overtaken by competing beliefs like Daoism. The Chinese emperors began to identify themselves with the Dragon (Satan), which in ancient China had been feared and associated with sin, death etc. During the Late Middle Ages, there was a return to the worship of Shang Di but this drew to an end when China became a Republic, just prior to World War One.

"Faith of Our Fathers" is a must-read book for everyone.

8.5/10
 
If he is more video oriented, then you may want to show him this, too.

[video=youtube;3dEh25pduQ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dEh25pduQ8[/video]
 
Here is a two-part sermon series on "God in Ancient China". Each video is roughly one-hour in duration (long I know), but the message is seriously fascinating and well worth a watch. The video is spoken in both Chinese and English. It covers about half of the material in the book I've reviewed above. Both you and your Chinese friends could make use of the information found herein.

Enjoy!

Part One:
[video=youtube;eNT82P6JpSM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNT82P6JpSM[/video]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Part Two of the "God in Ancient China" message:
[video=youtube;1kkxUyMAMXQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kkxUyMAMXQ[/video]
 
Definitely pray before talking to him, though. Pray for God's Spirit to be with you when you talk to him so as to open his eyes to the truth.
 
Dear 'MyLighthouse', as it is written and said in the Gospel of John 11; 49-52, spoken by the high priest of that year, who 'prophesied' regarding JESUS of Nazareth's death, that;

'But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that, it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish". He did not say this on his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that JESUS would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of GOD who are scattered abroad."

Is it better for 'one to die in order to save many'?

Or is it better for 'many to die and not be able to save even one'?

Even more, we do not 'mourn' HIS death, but 'rejoice, and again i say, rejoice', for HE has 'risen' and we remember the 'accomplished cause' and the 'accomplished cost' HE 'took the fall and paid for in full', 'in our place' and 'for our sins' and 'for our judgement' and therefore 'victoriously' saved many from GOD's 'eternal punishment' to come on all mankind one day. In fact HE did them also for the whole world to be 'reconciled' with GOD in 'peace', if only they would 'believe' in 'CHRIST' for that 'Salvation' to be theirs too.

Thank you and be blessed in the name of LORD JESUS CHRIST..
 
THANK YOU EVERYONE! I love all the advice and resources you put on here :D
 
MyLighthouse said:
THANK YOU EVERYONE! I love all the advice and resources you put on here
Click to expand...

You are most welcome. Oh, and I have one more resource for you, if you are interested still. It is an Anime Video on the Crucifxion / Gospel:

English Version:

[VIDEO=youtube;gIDYvg73RuM]www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIDYvg73RuM[/VIDEO]
 
There is no Chinese Language Version, but they do have a Japanese Language Version with Chinese Subtitles, though.

Here is that Version:

[VIDEO=youtube;mmRjwIc4AX0]www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmRjwIc4AX0[/VIDEO]

I hope these resources help.
And may God bless you.
 
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