The Heavenly Father and His Non-divine Sons

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is the Taipings’ doctrine of God and the specific claim that Hong Xiuquan was the second son of God and younger brother of Jesus. Looking at the Taipings’ anthropomorphic image of God, the first part of the analysis confirms that Hong localized the Christian deity through the symbolism and conventions of the popular religious world. Turning to the most controversial aspect of the Taipings’ theology, the second and main part of the analysis discusses the Taipings’ beliefs about God and his sons. Many of the Protestant missionaries who encountered the Taipings believed that Hong, in assuming the title second son of God, was blasphemously incorporating himself into the Godhead. Challenging this misleading interpretation, the chapter shows that Hong’s main priority was to protect the oneness of God and the Heavenly Father’s status as the sole divine being.

Parts of this chapter have previously been published in an article for Studies in World Christianity. Carl S. Kilcourse, “Son of God, Brother of Jesus: Interpreting the Theological Claims of the Chinese Revolutionary Hong Xiuquan,” Studies in World Christianity, vol. 20, no. 2 (August 2014), 124–44.