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

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 5

In the last part, I introduced the only Catholic Church in the TAR, and thus a tiny minority; today, we talk of the majority religion of the Tibetans and get acquainted with their views on God. Though there are many different Tibetan ethnicities, as pointed out in Part 3, something which connects them all is

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 4

Despite reflecting about God on philosophical and theological grounds, it is also noteworthy to look at the religion landscape on the ground. Today, we will take a look at Catholicism. In the Yerkalo village in Qamdo City, one can find the only Catholic Church in the Tibet Autonomous Region, serving at around 600 believers. According

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

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 2

Originally, I called this series Delivering God’s Biblical message to the Tibetan people, but from the very beginning I meant that it shall not serve as a one way road. The idea was that our Tibetan friends who are not living in Europe might ask us about our beliefs and as believers in the Bible,

Reflecting about God with our Tibetan friends – Part 1

“The Tibetan people have many famous stories. There are the stories of Gesar of Ling, the stories of Aku Tonpa, and the story of Milarepa. Everyone likes to listen to these stories and to tell them to other people. Good stories help us to understand life, and to live it well. Among all the world’s