An East Asian Interpretation of Western Christianity
Ham was concerned about his East Asian philosophical roots as much as Western Christianity. Thus Ham combined the essence of Western Christianity, such as an awareness of social justice, human rights and protestant spirit, with the essence of East Asian philosophies, such as transcendentalism, comprehensiveness and magnanimity. As copper and zinc alloyed make a new product, brass, so Ham fused the East Asian philosophies and Western Christianity to attain a yet higher stage of humanity. By blending them into a union, Ham suggested this combined philosophy as the New Way for the coming civilisation; East Asian philosophies and Western Christianity were divided in order to support each other and attain a higher level, much as two legs, separated and opposed, jointly propel the body forward, and male and female, yin and yang, propel and project humankind onward.
The main characteristic of Christianity tends to be an emphasis on the personification of God and monotheism. Thus Christian culture has developed the concept of the individual and the persona. In East Asian religions, in particular Lao-tzu's conception of Tao, the Supreme Being has no form or name. It is with Lao-tzu that the radical rejection of religious anthropomorphism began. Compared with Christianity, the idea of God in the philosophies of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu tended to be an intuitive and impersonal rather than a systematised or personified one. Therefore, it is difficult for many Christian-oriented people to comprehend the impersonal conception of God. It is arguable that we cannot have Christianity without Christ. But Christ focused on altruistic life and emphasised the deeds of the Samaritan, who was a gentile, rather than the Pharisee. The term Christ can be interpreted not only as a personified being but also as a transcendental and immanent being. As an East Asian-Quaker, Ham comprehended both elements of God, the concept of persona as well as the notion of 'beyond-personality'. The East Asian philosophies seem in direct antithesis to a Western-Christian mode of thought. These differences between the East Asian philosophies and Western Christianity are not accidental but have a meaning.
I consider that all main religious philosophies have great resources for the maturation of humanity, and the human mind has infinite capabilities. For Christians, other religious faiths are also important for a deeper comprehension of their Christian faith. The human spirit at its best is multiform rather than uniform, and God exists everywhere; thus God is Universal. Every individual has divine components. In the Quakers' phraseology, "something of God in every human being."
The Avatamsaka-sutra teaches that all beings possess the Buddha nature. The Lotus Sutra also teaches the principle of universal salvation. The Nirvana-sutra tells of the imperishable character of the Buddha Nature to be found within each person. Like the text of Genesis, in the Old Testament, the Nirvana-sutra also refers to the beings of this world as the children of Buddha, because they have participated in the Buddha nature since the beginning of the world. As I have shown earlier there are several points of similarity between the East Asian religious philosophies and Western Christianity.
In this respect, Christianity should have a universal point of view rather than a monolithic one. Diversities in life and thought should also be encouraged. Today the world is becoming narrow, more globalized and integrated, not only economically but also culturally and mentally. The social structure of the world community is also being transformed and becoming more and more universal across nations. Thus, as Ham pointed out, now is the time for the world to become one, yet the spiritual activity of humanity, like philosophical belief and religious faith, has its significance in being individual, unique. As early as 1955, Ham argued that in one world an idea can broaden and grow through synthetism. In my view, religion should lead civilisation rather than vice versa. Ham, as a religious thinker, described how the emerging civilisation should go, in what direction and which way; that is pluralism.
Nature in general has advanced from simple and easy to multiple and complicated forms, thus our universe is a process of eternal transformation. For Ham, life, originating in a single cell, as a result of evolution has became poly-dimensionalized. Although the life of humanity started in a simpler pattern, it has developed into complicated patterns. Thus, it seems to me that progress and advancement mean a process of complication from simplification, and becoming multiple from single.