Paul Wei (Chinese: 魏保羅; pinyin: Wèi Bǎoluó; 1879 – 1919), also known as Wei Embo / Wei Enbo (Chinese: 魏恩波) was a Chinese evangelist and the founder of the True Jesus Church (Chinese: 真耶穌教會; pinyin: Zhēn Yēsū Jiàohuì).[1]
Born in Hebei, China, Wei was a poor farmer who moved to Beijing. There, he started working as a street vendor but eventually became the prosperous owner of several clothing shops. He attributed his newfound prosperity to his conversion to Christianity. He had joined the Beijing branch of the London Missionary Society led by British missionary Samuel Evans Meech (1845-1937).[2] When attending the London Missionary Society, Wei was also influenced by Cheng Jingyi, and espoused some teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[3]
In 1915, Wei met Norwegian missionary to China Bernt Berntsen, became a Pentecostal and joined his Apostolic Faith Mission. In May 1917, Wei reportedly heard a voice telling him that “you must receive the baptism of Jesus.” He felt he should go to the Yongdingmen gate in Beijing, where the voice asked him to proceed to a nearby river where, as he reported, Jesus appeared and personally baptized him facedown, giving him an armor and a sword. Satan also appeared, but Wei defeated him with the sword received from Jesus. After this vision, Wei left the Apostolic Faith Church and founded his own church, which he called the True Jesus Church. His followers believed that Wei’s vision had restored the original Christian church. They hailed Wei as “the new Martin Luther,” commissioned by Jesus to reform and restore the genuine Christian Church.[2]
Despite oppositions, including by Berntsen, who sued Wei claiming he had defrauded him of revenues of a business partnership they had established together, the True Jesus Church was able to gather several thousand members. Wei predicted that the world will end in 1921 or 1922. He died of tuberculosis on September 10, 1919, and the failure of his prophecy did not prevent the further growth of the True Jesus Church.[4]
Among several leaders, his son Wei Wenxiang (魏文祥, Isaac Wei, 魏以撒, ca. 1900-?) emerged as the main representative of the True Jesus Church, until he was arrested in 1951. The True Jesus Church was severely persecuted before and during the Cultural Revolution, but was again allowed to operate in China in the 1980s, gathering again a substantial following.[5]
Inouye, Melissa Wei-Tsing (2018). China and the True Jesus: Charisma and Organization in a Chinese Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lian Xi (2010). Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China. Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-12339-5.
January 01, 1970
paul, chinese, 魏保羅, pinyin, wèi, bǎoluó, 1879, 1919, also, known, embo, enbo, chinese, 魏恩波, chinese, evangelist, founder, true, jesus, church, chinese, 真耶穌教會, pinyin, zhēn, yēsū, jiàohuì, contents, biography, also, references, notes, bibliographybiography, edi. Paul Wei Chinese 魏保羅 pinyin Wei Bǎoluo 1879 1919 also known as Wei Embo Wei Enbo Chinese 魏恩波 was a Chinese evangelist and the founder of the True Jesus Church Chinese 真耶穌教會 pinyin Zhen Yesu Jiaohui 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 BibliographyBiography editBorn in Hebei China Wei was a poor farmer who moved to Beijing There he started working as a street vendor but eventually became the prosperous owner of several clothing shops He attributed his newfound prosperity to his conversion to Christianity He had joined the Beijing branch of the London Missionary Society led by British missionary Samuel Evans Meech 1845 1937 2 When attending the London Missionary Society Wei was also influenced by Cheng Jingyi and espoused some teachings of the Seventh day Adventist Church 3 In 1915 Wei met Norwegian missionary to China Bernt Berntsen became a Pentecostal and joined his Apostolic Faith Mission In May 1917 Wei reportedly heard a voice telling him that you must receive the baptism of Jesus He felt he should go to the Yongdingmen gate in Beijing where the voice asked him to proceed to a nearby river where as he reported Jesus appeared and personally baptized him facedown giving him an armor and a sword Satan also appeared but Wei defeated him with the sword received from Jesus After this vision Wei left the Apostolic Faith Church and founded his own church which he called the True Jesus Church His followers believed that Wei s vision had restored the original Christian church They hailed Wei as the new Martin Luther commissioned by Jesus to reform and restore the genuine Christian Church 2 Despite oppositions including by Berntsen who sued Wei claiming he had defrauded him of revenues of a business partnership they had established together the True Jesus Church was able to gather several thousand members Wei predicted that the world will end in 1921 or 1922 He died of tuberculosis on September 10 1919 and the failure of his prophecy did not prevent the further growth of the True Jesus Church 4 Among several leaders his son Wei Wenxiang 魏文祥 Isaac Wei 魏以撒 ca 1900 emerged as the main representative of the True Jesus Church until he was arrested in 1951 The True Jesus Church was severely persecuted before and during the Cultural Revolution but was again allowed to operate in China in the 1980s gathering again a substantial following 5 See also editProtestant missions in China 1807 1953 True Jesus ChurchReferences editNotes edit Lian 2010 pp 42 63 a b Inouye 2018 pp 86 118 Lian 2010 p 43 Inouye 2018 pp 101 118 Inouye 2018 pp 187 259 Bibliography edit Inouye Melissa Wei Tsing 2018 China and the True Jesus Charisma and Organization in a Chinese Christian Church New York Oxford University Press Lian Xi 2010 Redeemed by Fire The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 12339 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paul Wei amp oldid 1166183282, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
