"This book pushes the discourse in science and religion to consider the wealth of Christian theology beyond the West, taking inspiration from Chinese Christian theology of the first millennium. It also shows the conversation needs to move beyond just science and Christianity, including Daoism as an important interlocutor. In the end, we are met with the creative and compelling conclusion that the third millennium world needs an expansive theology of creation, reimagined and reinvigorated through Chinese sources. This book is a tour de force in science and religion studies." - Alexander Chow, Senior Lecturer in Theology and World Christianity, and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of World Christianity, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh"The author probed the conceptual metaphors in Jingjiao documents from a cognitive-linguistic perspective, and—by delivering novel insights into the theology-science-religion trialogue at the metaphorical, terminological, and qi-tological levels—initiated a paradigm shift in the field of Jingjiao studies. Notably, the book makes a valuable contribution to theological methodologies within the science-theology-religion trialogue by proposing the framework of Embodied Critical Realism (ECR)." - Donghua Zhu, Professor of Religious Studies, Tsinghua University, China"Dr. Jacob Chengwei Feng's work is undoubtedly a pioneering and deeply erudite contribution to the field of Jingjiao studies. Not only does it offer a profound exploration of the historical and theological dimensions of Jingjiao (Assyrian Church of the East in Tang China), but it also provides valuable insights and constructive proposals for the Chinese Church today, situated within a rapidly advancing technological and religiously pluralistic society. Dr. Feng has constructed a Chinese theology of creation centered on what he terms “Qi-tological” theology, skillfully bridging the theological wisdom of Jingjiao with pressing contemporary issues of the third millennium—charting a promising path that unites East and West, past and present. Taken as a whole, Science, Religion(s), and Spirit(s) in China stands as a landmark work of scholarship. Through its new translations of the Tang Jingjiao corpus and its theological creativity centered on qi, combined with an interdisciplinary methodology informed by embodied critical realism, the book offers a penetrating response to the challenges posed by modern science, cultural pluralism, and faith in the contemporary Chinese and global contexts. It is an exceptionally rigorous, richly detailed, and theologically profound contribution—one that will be of immense value to scholars of theology, religious studies, the history of science, and cross-cultural Christianity. I offer it my strongest recommendation." - Dr. Chang Shing Wu, Graduate School of Religion, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan"Feng’s work is a bold attempt to contextualize the Chinese Christian documents of the first millennium within the scientific and religious situation of the Middle Kingdom. He does this by using an innovative “Theology-Science-Religion Trialogue.” An appendix provides his translation of the Jingjiao corpus on which his analysis is based. Future works in the field will have to consider and respond to Feng’s analysis and proposals." - Glen L. Thompson, Asia Lutheran Seminary; author of Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China"Jacob Feng offers a highly innovative contribution to our understanding of the first attempt to create a Chinese theology of creation by focusing, in particular, on the role of the Holy Spirit and Qi. Thanks to Feng’s insightful research project and his masterful English translation of the Christian literature of the Tang era, Jingjiao studies will certainly take a significant step forward and inspire contemporary efforts to construct a multi-faceted global missiology and a genuine Chinese theology." - Matteo Nicolini-Zani, Author of The Luminous Way to the East: Texts and History of the First Encounter of Christianity with China (OUP, 2022)
