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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until December 16, 2025

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The Art of Dialogue and Proclamation: A Case Study with John C. H. Wu (1899-1986)

Stout, Huili Shen
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6178-2198
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1697727724943724

Abstract Details

2023, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, Theology.
This dissertation is a contextualized and hermeneutical study of the relationship between dialogue and proclamation through the work of John C. H. Wu. Dialogue refers to the intercultural and interreligious dialogue between Christians and members of other faiths. Proclamation refers to the explicit proclamation of the Gospel of Christ among the nations. It begins by placing Wu back into his historical context in Chinese modernity from the 1840s to 1949. He is described as a humanist who takes a different approach than liberals and Communists to the relationship between China’s past traditions and modernity, between China and the West. Wu’s participation in dialogue is explored through his cosmopolitan journal, T’ien Hsia Monthly, and his explicit writings relating Christianity to the traditions of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. His involvement in the proclamation of the Gospel is explored through his Christology, his translation of the New Testament, and his interpretation of Thérèse of Lisieux. The examination of his work yields three main findings. First, dialogue and proclamation in the Chinese context are inseparable. Second, Wu applies an existential hermeneutic of joy as his criterion of comparison, through which he can appreciate with continuity the gift of his native traditions and the gift of Christ. Third, he displays a dynamic and contextualized theology of religions that can be termed “transfigured harmony.” His contribution to Christian theology lies in his ability to hold opposites in creative tension as well as his literary, aesthetic, and sapiential theological imagination.
William Portier, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Silviu Bunta, Dr. (Committee Member)
Dennis Doyle, Dr. (Committee Member)
Peter Phan, Dr. (Committee Member)
Sandra Yocum (Committee Member)
373 p.
Asian Studies; Religious History; Theology; World History
Chinese Christianity, Chinese catholicism, John C. H. Wu, the Chinese church, interreligious dialogue, Chinese theology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stout, H. S. (2023). The Art of Dialogue and Proclamation: A Case Study with John C. H. Wu (1899-1986) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1697727724943724

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stout, Huili. The Art of Dialogue and Proclamation: A Case Study with John C. H. Wu (1899-1986). 2023. University of Dayton, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1697727724943724.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stout, Huili. "The Art of Dialogue and Proclamation: A Case Study with John C. H. Wu (1899-1986)." Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1697727724943724

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1697727724943724
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This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.