From Before the Foundations of the Earth Were Laid
A Brief History of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
By David Alexander 亞大偉 Tainan Theological College and Seminary Seminary December, 2006
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From Before the Foundations of the Earth Were Laid A Brief History of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan By David Alexander
Introduction The one true God created the entire cosmos and is the Lord of history. history. Scripture Scripture tells us that the the cosm cosmos os was was crea create ted d from from nothing at the word of the Lord1, by means of holy wisdom2. Subs Subseq eque uent nt to the the initial creation, much of what is felt felt and experie rienced nced in the the world came by formation from the basic created elements3. All that exists can be traced to the creating and forming activity of the one true God speaking wisdom into the void, tran transf sfor ormi ming ng that that void void into into a parad paradise ise for the expre expressi ssion on of 4 God’s own love . The origins of this beautiful land, Taiwan, can also be traced to that that same same Crea Creato torr and and that that same loving loving intenti intention. on. This is the the grou round out of whic which h the the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food and formed ever every y anim animal al of the the fiel field d and and 5 bird of the air . Taiw Taiwan an’s ’s mount ountaains ins are like like thos thosee to which a poet lifted his eyes in awe, yet knowing that his help came from the Lord who made them6. The sea sea tha thatt surro surround undss Taiwan is filled with the water over over whic which h the the Spir Spirit it of God God 7 moved at creation . The crowds that inhabit the cities and countryside are included in the love of the One who loved the world enough to send the Son,
that all who believe in him might be saved8. From primeval times, before the curr curren entt isla island nd of Taiw Taiwan an rose rose from from the the dept depths hs of the the eart earth h carrying oceanic fossils with it to the high mountains, God has bee been n pres presen entt here here lovi loving ng the the peo peopl ples es who who have have call called ed this this land land the their ir hom home. e. Trac Traces es of of human response to God’s initiative are found in the preChristian religions of Taiwan’s aborigina aboriginall people people9. Even in Taiwanese Taiwanese folk religion religion people people from from thei theirr own own spir spirit it seek seek to commune with the divine. This, too too spea speaks ks to the the pres presen ence ce of God here from the very beginning.10 Conception and Gestation Taiwan’s creation was an act of conception leading to the birth of new life. This life was in gesta gestatio tion n for eons, eons, intric intricate ately ly woven toge ogether her as if in the depths of the earth11. Perhaps it is beca becaus usee they they were were resi reside dent nt here from primal times, breathi athin ng the air air of God’s d’s blessings and eating the fruit of this Eden in the East, that abori aborigin ginal al peopl peoples es in gene genera ral l have been more receptive than othe otherr ethni ethnicc group groupss when when the the good news of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed among them.12 Though churches from the West may claim to have brought the message of Jesus Christ to
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Taiwan, this place was not alien to God, who formed, loved and consecrated the beautiful island that Portuguese sailors couldn’t help but designate “Formosa”13. In 1624 Spanish missionaries from from the Philip Philippin pines es preach preached ed the Gospel in Northern Taiwan in the hinterland of the ports of Keelun Keelung g and and Tamsui Tamsui14. Thei Their r work was linked to the imperial expa expans nsio ion n of Spai Spain n in Lati Latin n America and the Western Pac Pacific ific.. Cle Clergy rgy wer weree her heree because because their compatriot compatriotss were here. The cross sailed with the crown and flag. flag. But their theirss was not the only empire on the stage15.
17 th Century Map of Taiwan The Dutch East India Company, chartered in the Netherlands, (which had a long longst stan andi ding ng rela relati tion onsh ship ip of enmity with the Spanish crown) engaged in extensive colo coloni niza zati tion on in what what is now now Indonesia. This firm established established an outpost in Southern Taiwan near the modern city of Tainan. As with the Spanish, clergy also accompa accompanied nied the Dutch. Dutch. These Protestant Protestantss from the Reformed Reformed Churc hurch h came ame to care are for for the the spiri piritu tual al needs of com company pany
employees 16. In the the cou cours rsee of of empire empire the Dutch Dutch expel expelled led the 17 Spanish . That left the only organized Christian voice on the island to Protestants. The colony in Tainan prosp prospere ered. d. Clergy Clergy sent sent out to to care care for Europe European an souls souls began began to preac reach h to loc local peopl eoplee as 18 well . They They devis devised ed a syste system m for for writ writin ing g down down abor aborig igin inal al languages in Latin script. Cate Catech chis isms ms were were writ writte ten n and and print printed ed in the Nether Netherlan lands ds for use in evangelism and education in and around the colony19. When When the the resp respon onsi sibi bili lity ty for for pasto pastoral ral care care of coloni colonists sts and and evangel ngelis ism m of loca locall peo people ple became too heavy, more clergy were sent from the Netherlands to undert undertak akee full full time time missio mission n work among the aboriginal and ethnic Chinese people 20 Betw Betweeen 1624 1624 and and 1643 1643 Georgius Candidus and Robe Robert rtus us Juni Junius us esta establ blis ishe hed d pre preac achi hing ng poin points ts from from Heng Heng-chun at the Southern tip of Taiwan to Chia-yi county in the Cent Centra rall We West st coas coasta tall regi region on.. Thei Theirr work work was was foll follow owed ed by Dani Daniel el Grav Graviu iuss from from 1647 1647 to 1651. He served the East India Comp Compan any y and and the the conv conver erts ts at Moa-tao in Tainan County. His work ork incl inclu uded pla plans for for the the esta establ blis ishm hmen entt of a scho school ol for for 21 native evangelists there. During the time ime of the Dutch Colony in Taiwan great chan change gess were were afoo afoott in Chin China. a. The The ethn ethnic ic Manc Manchu huri rian anss who who foun founde ded d the the Chi Ching Dynast nasty y
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were were taking taking posse possessi ssion on of the enti entire re empi empire re from from the the ethn ethnic ic Han Ming dynasty, but not without opposition. Cheng Chilung, a trader from Fukien province, spent several years in the Portuguese colony of Macao. While th there he he conf confes esse sed d faith faith in Chri Christ st and and was was bapt baptiz ized ed Nich Nichol olas as by the the Roman Catholics. He moved to Nag Nagas asak akii in Japa Japan, n, marri married ed a local woman, and became weal wealth thy y and and inf influ luen entia tial. l. His His son, son, Cheng Cheng-ku -kung ng (later (later known known to Western historians as Koxinga) was born there.
Koxinga (Cheng Cheng-kong) As the Manchus took more and more of China, Cheng saw his his oppo opport rtun unit ity. y. His His flee fleett of trading ships was converted to military use, and other inde indepe pend nden entt warl warlor ords ds join joined ed him. The Mi Ming em emperor accepted him as an ally, but he was captured by the Manc Manchur hurian ianss and and impriso imprisone ned. d. Cheng-kung took over the resist resistan ance ce force force and had much much succes successs for a time. time. But the the tide turned, and he was forced out of
China. China. He turned turned his his attenti attention on to Taiw Taiwaan, occu occup pied ied by the the Dutch. The co colony wa was besieged, defeated and erad eradic icat ated ed.. Chen Chengg-ku kung ng decla declared red himsel himselff “Emper “Emperor or of Taiwan” and stamped out Christianity from the island.22 The Dutch empire’s Taiwan Taiwan involv involveme ement nt ended ended in 1661. The history of this period is told from church and company records in the Net Nethe herl rlan ands ds and and mili milita tary ry and and admin dminis istr traativ tive mate materi riaals in 23 Taiwan and China. Jesuit and Dominican pri pries ests ts visi visite ted d Taiw Taiwan an in the the 18th century with the consent of the Chinese Imperial Court, but their mission was to make maps. They had heard in Xiamen (Amoy) that there were Chri Christ stia ians ns in Taiw Taiwan an.. In thei their r search they found a few people who could speak some words in the the Dutc Dutch h lang langua uage ge,, but but who who had no Christ ristia ian n pra practic tices. es. These foreign-influenced people mentioned that the first man was named Adam, and the first woman Eve, but gave no other evidence of rudimentary Christian knowledge or faith. 24 The first attempts at planting the the Chur Church ch of Jesu Jesuss Chri Christ st on Taiw Taiwan an,, both both Prot Protes esta tant nt and and Roman Catholic, bore no lasting fruit. fruit. Each Each missio mission n effort effort had had been tied to commercial exploitation of Taiwan’s resources for European powers. Each Each was was term termin inat ated ed thro throug ugh h the the colo olonial ial expan pansio sion of a
