The growth of the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan is a fascinating phenomenon. Treading on a path that none have gone before, this book traces the contour of the Charismatic Movement in Taiwanâs church history from 1900 to 2000, while giving special attention to the years from 1970 to 1995, which is when the movement took flight, gained currency, and was popularized.
Instead of focusing on the development of the Charismatic Movement in a single denomination, this research examines several churches or community clusters that I regard as more influential in informing the trajectory of the movement in Taiwan. Due to the limited scope of this book, my discussion centers on the activities among missionaries and âHanâ Christians on the island, whereas the experiences of non-Han Christians (i.e., Aborigines) are circumscribed. âHanâ is an umbrella term used in Mandarin Chinese for those whom most people in the United States think of as ethnically Chinese.1
As exciting as the study is, this project is as daunting as any project that attempts to reconstruct history through working with primary sources. Unlike some may believe, primary sources are not necessarily more readily available and accessible for researchers who work on a project that is situated in the recent past. The scarcity of primary sources of the early history of Pentecostalism is well noted.2 Since no research of this scale has ever been produced at a scholarly level, I began my research with little knowledge of where my primary sources are andâperhaps even more drasticallyâwhat they might be. The identification of primary sources for this project, including eyewitness accounts of living figures, was an ongoing task that continued well into the writing stage. The incorporation of oral history into this study is yet another challenge, which will be addressed in this chapter.
Significance of the Study
Challenges aside, the current project is significant in a number of ways. First, it is the first work that presents to the academic arena a more comprehensive picture of the historical development of the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan in the twentieth century. The breadth of the discussion enables me to compare and contrast how the movement has been perceived and received by churches across denominations over a span of time.
While the study of the Holy Spirit had long been regarded as âthe Cinderella of Western theology,â3 it has since generated much enthusiasm in the field of theology. This recent movement is evidenced by the mushrooming of publications on a range of subjects from theology, biblical studies, hermeneutics, history, to ethics, mission, ecumenism, inter-faith dialogue, and so on in which the Holy Spirit is of central focus.4 The Pentecostalism that was once disparaged as emotionalism and non-intellectual seems to have been slowly vindicated by the increasingly sophisticated writings of pentecostal scholars in the English language. With the leading effort of Walter Hollenweger (1927â2016), the pentecostal-turned-Reformed minister, Pentecostalism has now become a recognized sub-discipline of theology.5 In contrast, scholarly study of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement among Taiwanese scholars in the field of theology is still in an inchoate stage. The shortage of pentecostal-charismatic scholars in Taiwan and a long-held negative view of the subject matter by Taiwanese scholars could perhaps account for its impoverished status in academia. Thus, the significance of this study lies, secondly, in its attempt at providing Taiwanese scholarship with a more sympathetic account of the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan.
The growth of the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan since 1980 is known to many Taiwanese Christians, but lesser known is the history leading to 1980. During this time, early charismatic missionaries made crucial contributions that should be included in a more holistic narrative. By connecting the dots and offering a more thorough treatment of history, the book offers the Church in Taiwan and missionaries involved in the movement an opportunity to appreciate the past.
Lastly, as I engage in this work from a Taiwanese perspective, I see people in Taiwan as being the Subject in history, instead of an appendage of someone elseâs subjectivity as has long been perceived (more below). By reconfiguring historiography from a Taiwanese perspective, I wish to challenge the academic circle also to take seriously the âTaiwanese consciousnessâ when engaging Taiwanâs history.6
History of Research
Within academia, serious scholarly writings on the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan are scarce; and until around 2005, evaluations of the movement in a more positive light were even less common. The first edited quasi-scholarly work, Lingen Yundong zhi Yanjiu (Research on the Charismatic Movement) appeared in 1987,7 around fifteen years after the work of the Holy Spirit had already greatly stirred up the Tayal tribe, one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan (Chap. 4). The work was published by Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary in Taiwan, a Presbyterian institution that primarily serves aboriginal communities. One of the purposes of the small book is to serve as a corrective to the âerraticâ charismatic phenomena among aboriginal people groups in Taiwan (Chap. 6).
China Evangelical Seminary in Taipei published an edited work, Shengling Gujinlun (The Holy Spirit Then and Now), in 1999.8 Heavy on biblical, historical, and theological studies, the work only engages limited discussion on the contemporary charismatic phenomena in Taiwan. Scholars Samuel H. H. Chiow and Peter K. Chow from China Evangelical Seminary published Lingen Shenxue yu Lishi Tantao (Charismatic Theology and History, 1999) and Rongyao Guang zhong Huoshui Quan: Lun Jiuen yu Lingen (The Glorious Light and the Living Water: Salvation and Charismaticism, 2002), respectively.9 While Samuel Chiow explores how the Holy Spirit was understood by the Church and church fathers in history, Peter K. Chow discusses the charismatic theology and phenomena from an evangelical perspective. A part of both works addresses the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan, although their discussions seem to be more prescriptive than descriptive.
Long snubbed by Taiwanese theological scholars, the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan finally received more attention by Taiwanese scholarship in the 2000s, with Taiwan Theological College and Seminary (hereafter Taiwan Theological Seminary)âa Presbyterian seminary in Taipeiâspearheading the effort. Under the leadership of Lin Hong-hsin,10 professor of systematic theology at Taiwan Theological Seminary, seminarians have made over a dozen of trips to Tayal churches in Hsinchu since 1999 to conduct interviews with tribal members who had experienced the 1972 Tayal Revival, and the children of Tayal tribe members who had been affected.11 The interview materials were subsequently complied and published as Shanjian Lingfeng chui qi: Taiyaer de suxing (The Tayal Revival) in October 2019. The seminary-wide effort that engages in oral history continues to this day. Further, Shih Shu-ying, former professor of systematic theology from the same seminary, organized several scholarly conferences in the latter half of the 2000s to explore such themes as âDemon Possession and Exorcismâ and âCharismatic Movement.â Papers from the colloquium were subsequently collected in Jidu Zongjiao yu Lingen Yundong Lunwenji (Christian Religion and the Charismatic Movement in Taiwan, 2012),12 which engages the ongoing Charismatic Movement in Taiwan far more seriously than previous works referenced. Also commendable is the publication of Chuanyue Chuantong de Jilie Shensheng Huiyu (An Intense Divine Encounter Beyond Tradition, 2012), which documents the charismatic experiences of two dozens of Christians in Taiwan.13 Edited by Shih Shu-ying, the work gives voice to those who had long been rendered voiceless, and charismatic phenomena appear to have grown into experiences that are worth recognizing within Taiwanese scholarship.
Treatments of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement in Taiwan by non-Taiwanese scholars or missionaries from the West tend to be less reactionary. Murray A. Rubinstein from the United States has written on the True Jesus Church, the New Testament Church, and the Assemblies of God in Taiwan.14 Also from the United States, a section of the Doctor of Missiology dissertation of missionary Robert Donnell McCall (1927â1997) at Fuller Theological Seminary investigates how the charismati...