[PDF] Timo Schmitz: “For wisdom is a defence” (2023)

A collection of my articles which I published in English in the first two months of the year on this blog are now available as free E-Book in PDF-file. The collection is called: “For wisdom is a defence“. Feel free to download below! I’m also curious about your feedbacks.

Christianity in China among Han-Chinese and ethnic minorities

The official religion of the People’s Republic of China is state atheism, based on scientific Marxism. Nonetheless, religion as a private matter can be professed and there are plenty of religions, both native and foreign. Native religions include Confucianism, Daoism, Luoism, Sanyiism, Zailiism, Yiguandao, and Tiandiism. Local Han-Chinese folk religions and folk religions of ethnic

Is Taiwan really a country?

In recent media reports, there is a lot of coverage on the Inter-Chinese dispute, i.e. the question whether Taiwan is a part of China and therefore legitimately claimed by the latter, or whether it qualifies as an independent state, and therefore, that the Chinese claims would pose a threat on peace. Most Western media talk

The Red Guards as naughty young people who wanted to become a new elite?

One interesting question which pops up in one’s mind when thinking of the Cultural Revolution is the question, why so many Red Guards fought against each other as they more or less shared the same goals. I think one very striking point which is often ignored is that the Red Guards understood themselves as a

The complexity of the Tibet issue broken down into a few key points

Many people in the West still believe that China annexed Tibet, despite the fact that Tibet was an integral part of China since the 18th century and never left, which is why an annexation is impossible, since this presumes a secession. Nevertheless, here are some simple arguments within all the complexity which undermines the Chinese

The Cultural Revolution in Tibet and the lessons we should learn out of it

The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) is an important chapter in Chinese history under Party leader Mao Zedong. It changed the country fundamentally and still divides opinions today. First, the Chinese society of the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s could never have developed as it did without this historical chapter (though this is a weak argument of

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 6

An important question which always pops up when talking about virtues is the question of their source. Do they have a reliable source and are they trustworthy? When we want to talk of the Laws of Judaism or the Ten Commandments in a Christian perspective, then it is not enough to say that they were

The gap between theoretical and practical Christianity in China

“The development of Christianity in Chinese society is actually the occurrence of a structural change between universal Christianity and the local features of Chinese Christianity. One of the biggest results of this structural change is the change in the organizational system of the Christian church. […] The institutional setting of Chinese Christianity, and modes of

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 3

Last time, I talked of tolerance which is important, if we want to get into a fruitful conversation and an exchange of values with our new Tibetan acquaintances. However, Tibetan is not simply Tibetan, there are different identities, dialect groups, local beliefs, etc. Last time, I focused on Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, today I want

The problem of putting God and the cosmos in contrast

By the way, it is noteworthy to explain why putting God in contrast to the universe is such a big matter for Chinese Christian theology. This goes back to the traditional understanding of the cosmos itself. God, called Shen or Dao in Chinese, cannot be set apart from the cosmos, because God is the source