What does it mean to be a "Ruified Christian"? In this episode of Religion to Reality, hosts Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich sit down with Dr. Lauren F. Pfister, professor emeritus at Hong Kong Baptist University and a 30-year resident of Hong Kong, to explore the deep overlap between Confucian (Ru) tradition and Christian faith. Dr. Pfister shares his conversion story, the night his university community wept over Tiananmen Square, and the three-year beard-growing ritual he created to honor his late parents. Plus: a solo primer on the basics of Confucianism to open the episode.

Dr. Lauren F. Pfister is Professor Emeritus of Religion and Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University, where he taught for more than 30 years and directed the Center for Sino-Christian Studies. A specialist in comparative philosophy, Chinese intellectual history, and cross-cultural hermeneutics, he holds a PhD in comparative philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. He is the author or editor of numerous books and 250+ scholarly publications on Confucian thought and the history of Sinology, including a landmark work on missionary-scholar James Legge. He now co-founded and serves as a mentor at the Hephzibah Mountain Aster Academy in Colorado.

"I ask what I don't know. I ask how they came to their convictions... I can only love what I know is a true need or a true hope in another. If I don't listen, how can I know what they need and what they hope?" — Dr. Lauren Pfister