馬雅各（James Laidlaw Maxwell)於1865年以基督長老教會傳教士與醫生雙重身分前往臺灣，帶入醫療宣教，成為臺灣基督教的濫觴；日治以前，長老教會主要的傳教據點以平埔族村落為多數，外國的宣教士成為平埔人眼中的「紅毛親戚」，相較於閩客族群對西方宗教的排斥，平埔族群與西方宗教有著密不可分的歷史關係，文化上較能接受西方宗教，醫療上依賴外國宣教士，更需要教會勢力來保障自己的生存權，好與閩客移民抗衡，因此今日百年以上之長老教會，常可見平埔族群蹤跡。平埔族群議題與研究於解嚴後開始發燒，各地曾有平埔族群居住之村落出現一連串的活動，正名議題不斷被興起，但往往以宗教為平埔文化復興之主體，然而就基督教的一神觀點，此方式卻成為基督教平埔信徒文化重建上的障礙。 本文將探討屏東內埔鄉中林基督長老教會平埔族意識的現況，以及文化發展上的困境，然而為何會有困境?困境又該如何解決?藉由同樣是長老教會的口埤教會信徒在文化推動上的轉換方式也許能夠得著答案。口埤教會何時開始有族群認同的概念，又如何被啟蒙對身為平埔族群而有歸屬感；以何種方式在宗教與文化復興上取得平衡，以提升族群意識與文化發展；進而成為平埔教會可以模仿的對象，都成為本文逐一須探討的議題。

In 1865, James Laidlaw Maxwell visited Taiwan with the dual identity of a missionary and medical doctor. Through medfcal ministry, he became a Christian pioneer in Taiwan. Prior to Japanese colonial rule, the Presbyterian Church's missionary strongholds were mostly in the Pingpu villages, and the Pingpu people considered foreign missionaries as 'Red hair relatives' Compared with Minnan and Hakka ethnic groups that rejected Christianity, the Pingpu tribes maintained a close historical relationship with the Western religion. They were culturally more acceptable of Christianity, and relied on foreign missionaries for health care. They needed the church power to protect their right to life so as to compete with the Minnan and Hakka immigrants. For these reasons, the Pingpu traces are often visible in the Presbyterian Church today, even after more than a century. The Pingpu issues and researches caught the fever after the lilting of martial law. There appeared a series of activities in the Pingpu villages with the continuous rise on issues pertaining rectification of their tribal name. However, whenever cultural renaissance of the Pingpu tribe is discussed in terms of religion, Pingpu Christians were deemed as barriers for cultural reconstruction due to the monotheistic view which is taken by the religion they adhere. This thesis will explore the current state of Pingpu consciousness among the members of Zhonglin Presbyterian Church in Neipu Township, Pingdong County, and the dilemmas they face in terms of cultural development Why are there difficulties and how to solve these difficulties? Its answer may lie in the transformation experienced by the members of Koubei Church which is part of the same Presbyterian institution. When did the church begin to have the concept of an ethnic identity; how did they enlighten themselves to a sense of belonging as Pingpu tribe; how did they strike a balance between religious faith and cultural revival in their endeavors to enhance ethnic consciousness and cultural development, to a point that other Pingpu churches can imitate? All the above are the issues that will be explored in this thesis.