Is the True Jesus Church a Chinese Indigenous/Independent Pentecostal Denomination? With Special Reference to the Orientalism of Western Scholars toward “Pentecostalism” in the Global South

Abstract

The True Jesus Church has been regarded as a Chinese Indigenous/Independent Pente-costal denomination by scholarship specifically in the area of Global Pentecostal/Charismatic Studies and World Christianity irrespective of those scholar's definitions---inclusive or exclusive. This paper argues that it might be inappropriate for scholarship to define the True Jesus Church as Pentecostals at least for three factors:  1. The refusal from the True Jesus Church to be regarded as Pentecostalism due to its' providential and exclusive self-identity; 2. The primary intent of the establishment of the True Jesus Church was to seek church independence and religious reformation rather than promote Pentecostal spirituality; 3. There is a lack of synchronous network between the True Jesus Church and Pentecostalism both at global and local levels. Also, this paper indicates a latent Orientalism among Western scholars of Pentecostalism based on an exotic imagination and representation of Non-Western Christianity enhanced by the complicity of Orients and native informants.