On Relations Between Good Words For Exhorting The Age And The Bible

As a major work by Liang Fa, the first Chinese religious minister, Good Words for Exhorting the Age (or Good Advices for the World, Quanshi Liangyan) derives, but also distinguishes itself from the Bible, and this thesis identifies this homological relation as well as the dissimilarity between them, with the application of Gadamer's hermeneutics, especially his definition of literature: linguistic hangovers and spiritual sciences are all involved with the formation and forms of literature. Secondly the thesis focuses on Liang's exegeses, his ideographic interpretation, the leading feature of his explanation and its causes and reasons. Finally the paper reveals the essence and the significance of those exegeses.The preface firstly sweeps over the historical background of this topic and the importance of Liang's work in Chinese history, is followed by an overview on researches of the same nature within and outside China, and affirms the aim and significance of this research as to explore the ultimate source of the work under discussion.The Main Text:Emphasizing the subjectivity, the first chapter reviews the relationship between Liang Fa and the Bible in three aspects: his faith, his contact with and his attitudes to the Bible. Secondly, the thesis offers a panorama in terms of its contents and ideological elements, and finally, shifts to the formalistic side and delves the affiliation with, and its differentiation from, the Bible.Chapter two concentrates on Liang's comprehensions and explanations of some fundamental concepts, such as the nomenclature of God, trinity, existence, properties, and so on. Liang also talks about the debaucher of mankind, its cause and effect, and ascribes it to the theorem of"the origin of sin". As for redemption and atonement, Liang holds that human beings'free will and divine favor are equally important. He believes...