Two years ago, People's University in Beijing started a two-year Masters program in Christian Studies with a first batch of over 40 students, and then over 30 in the second. The program was run through four week-long intensive courses each year, with two courses each week, totaling sixteen courses covering Western thought, culture, religious (Christian) doctrine and excerpts from Christian scriptures. One of the faculty in-charge, Dr Yi Sun, is a young scholar in Christian studies, and led a seminar at our School before. Dr Kevin Yao taught Church History the week before I taught Systematic Theology from January 10-12. I stayed at a residence at the university for foreign teachers, and walked to class every morning at minus 3 to 4 degrees Celsius.

The students had mostly finished reading my book "Systematic Theology" before attending class. I used the ten plus hours to teach the key points of the book, like 1. Understanding theology; 2. God and revelation; 3. Christian theology and the life of Jesus; 4. Humanity and the problem of suffering and sin; 5. Church and salvation, etc. I also touched on the latest developments in research, and focused on the thoughts of Luther, Calvin and the Early Fathers. I hoped that they would be able to move from traditional systematic theology to a more wider perspective, and reflect on the challenges of contemporary theology today.

Most of the students have attained a certain academic standard, with a background of college or theological education. They were familiar with the basics of systematic theology, but needed to know how theological reflection was relevant to them in their present contemporary setting in China, eg. In the areas of social ethics, economic restructuring, post-modern culture, etc.

A semi-open lecture was held on the second night, where students could invite their friends to attend. Together with first-year students, over sixty attended. My topic was "Views of Sanctification by Martin Luther and Wang Yangming", comparing the perspectives of sanctification and morality between Christianity and Confucianism. Luther's view of sanctification was based on completing God's mission. Although he did not speak like a humble gentleman, he nevertheless had a clear mission and moved forward with the wheels of time. Wang Yangming, however, focused on living out the goodness in a person's heart, but could disassociate the external environment from the heart. Both had the same starting-point, but ended up very different.

Students completing this program could be awarded a Masters degree if they have a first degree and pass an English examination. We feel privileged to work with People's University in this venture, and look forward to further academic exchanges.