Explosive Growth of Christianity is Changing China
2 Comments Published by Office 2 October 16th, 2010 in A Call To Action, Bible, China, Christian Church Issues, Courage, Freedom of Religion, Miraculous Testimonies, Prayer, Revival, Rise Up Australia
by Teresa Neumann : Sep 15, 2010 : Christopher Landau – BBC
“There is no small irony in the party’s new-found enthusiasm for supporting the development of religion in China, given Communism’s commitment to atheism.”
Founder’s Note: We can barely explain how much growth in eastern countries there is for Christ. Who knew? My dad was born in China to non-Chinese missionary parents. My parents adopted a Chinese boy. He became a great surgeon in the United States. My niece goes to China on business. Someday my wife and I will visit too. –Steve and Derene Shultz
(China) – The BBC reports that communist rulers in China have radically altered their views about religion and as a result, Christianity is growing in China as never before. The caveat is that the closely limited new freedoms are only granted to those Christians willing to worship in government-sanctioned churches.
The director general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuo An, was quoted as saying there are now at least 20 million Christians in China worshipping in the state-sanctioned church.
“Such growth is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in China. Christianity is enjoying its best period of growth in China,” he said, adding that, “On the question of whether there is God, the Chinese Communist Party believes there is no God in the world.”
Rev. John Zhang, a Catholic priest, said: “Some officials say, ‘You have done for Chinese society what we cannot do. Without any political involvement, the Church is doing a good job, and we from government appreciate it.'”
The report noted that house – or underground – churches remain a “significant part of the Chinese Christian landscape,” but “both the Catholic and Protestant churches sanctioned by the state are now also seeing levels of growth that few predicted in the 1980s.”
Said one young Chinese Christian student, “I think this nation will change, and I think God is doing great things in China.”
The National Catholic Seminary in Beijing prepares many for the priesthood Three decades ago, China’s Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen in the modern world.
But today’s communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches.
Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before – and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding.
The BBC has been given unprecedented access to China’s state-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches, to examine why the government seems so keen to invest in religion.
State funding
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On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state’s commitment to supporting the development of Christianity.
Local officials say that the building under construction will become China’s largest state-sanctioned church – with space for 5,000 worshippers.
The land – and 20% of the building costs – are being provided not by local Christians, but by the municipal government.
It represents state financial support worth millions of dollars – just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China.
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Mr Wang says Christianity is growing faster than ever The Communist Party’s senior official with responsibility for this policy is the director general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuo An.
In a rare interview, he told me that there are now at least 20m Protestant Christians in China worshipping in the state-sanctioned church.
“Such growth is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in China. Christianity is enjoying its best period of growth in China,” he said.
And he explained why the Chinese state is investing in religious faith – support which has included funding the construction of national Protestant and Catholic seminaries educating hundreds of future Christian leaders each year.
“Our goal in supporting these religions in developing religious education is that we hope they can train qualified clergy members so that their religions can enjoy better development.”
But there is no small irony in the party’s new-found enthusiasm for supporting the development of religion in China, given Communism’s commitment to atheism.
Continue reading the main story
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I think this nation will change, and I think God is doing great things in Chinaâ€
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Jesse
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Chinese student
 “On the question of whether there is God, the Chinese Communist Party believes there is no God in the world,” said Mr Wang.
“The Communist Party believes that it should respect and protect religious belief. The members of the party must respect religious followers and not infringe their interests.”
He insists that there is no contradiction between the Communist Party insisting that its own members are non-religious, and the communist government’s commitment to investing in religious development.
“We are making laws and regulations to better guarantee religious belief in China,” he says.
Social role
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At the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a professor who specialises in the study of Christianity believes that there are various factors contributing to its growth.
Professor Xhuo Xinping says that there is a spiritual appeal, and a potential association with economic prosperity.
But he says Christianity will finally shake off imperialist associations if churches are prepared to act as a servant to Chinese society.
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Father John Zhang interprets the church mission as social work and service “Many Christians pay special attention to social work and social service. I think this is the correct way for Christianity to develop,” he said.
One Catholic priest who has pioneered such work in China is the Rev John Zhang – whose Jinde charities receive support from Catholics around the world.
I visited the old people’s home he runs in Shijiazhuang City, where he told me why he thinks the government welcomes the church’s contribution.
“Homes for the aged are urgent. We need more and more. The government realised that.”
“Some officials say, you have done for Chinese society what we cannot do. Without any political involvement, the church is doing a good job, and we from government appreciate it,” said Father Zhang.
The enthusiasm of the communist authorities for his church-run initiative is such that even the Communist Youth League used the old people’s home as a base for a charitable project.
Confident Christians
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But there is still a question about whether as China’s Christians grow in confidence they will be prepared to continue to accept the limitations on their freedom.
At Beijing’s Haidian Church, the Senior Pastor Wu Weiqing is candid about the problems he faces, but also enthusiastic about the level of religious liberty he enjoys.
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More and more Chinese are beginning to practise the Christian faith “We do have problems, struggling with some kind of regulations, I have to be true to you. But because we are registered, because we obey the regulations and laws, we enjoy more freedom.
“I’m very happy, I enjoy my service as a pastor. I sometimes encourage people who work for the so-called house churches to come to this kind of church to worship,” said Pastor Wu.
Those house churches – the unregistered, or underground churches, which were the only place to worship during the repression of the Cultural Revolution – remain a significant part of the Chinese Christian landscape.
But both the Catholic and Protestant churches sanctioned by the state are now also seeing levels of growth that few predicted in the 1980s.
Two students I met at an evening service of prayer and praise at Haidian church summed up the optimism felt by growing numbers of young Chinese Christians.
“We truly hope [that in] our country there will be more Christians, and God’s word will spread everywhere in our country”, said Daniel.
His fellow student Jesse added, “I think this nation will change, and I think God is doing great things in China.”
There is no doubting the confidence of these Christians.
But there is also no guarantee about the sort of future the communist government will allow the churches it is currently keen to support.
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I hate to rain on this party but since when can we trust the govt. The govt run churches in China are just another way the Commies can spy on the Christians and try and control what they can or cannot say or believe in. Also to spy on the number of people who say that they are Christians so that they can pull the rug out from underneath them and persecute them big time in the future.
This is the New World Orde the State Run church, I wouldn’t trust it as far as I could throw it. If I went to China I would far sooner go to an underground church where the true gospel is preached and miracles and salvations happen.
The govt wants to make Christianity official so that they can flush out the underground churches, to make them put down their guards and come out from hiding so that they can nab those who are preaching the true gospel of Christ. It sounds too familiar didn’t Constaintine do this centuries ago? He made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire and look what happened he cut us off from our Hebraic roots, formed the Harlot of Babylon aka the Catholic church and hey presto you have a watered down version of Chrisitianity state controlled of course dn the gospel became weak and ineffective. Only by a miracle of YHVH that the church has survived at all till this century.
So I wouldn’t be jumping over the moon just because the communist govt is recognising Christianity can the leopard change his spots of course not and if the commies don’t believe there is a god they are not going to change now unless some of them really do become born again believers and if they do they too will be persecuted and killed. I have heard about the govt run churches in China and they are really tightly controlled by the govt in what they can and cannot do and believe in. In fact you better be praying for these poor people sucked into this system as their lives will be forfeit and they will be fed another gospel the govt controlled version of the gospel.
In reference to what i have written in my above response. I am pasting the article below which I have taken off the Prophecy Newswatch site. This article confirms what i have written re the Chinese govt easing up on the churches and allowing freedom of Christian worship which they are not.
Beijing Blocks Christians From Traveling To Lausanne Conference
http://www.npr.org/
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A massive global evangelical gathering known as the Lausanne Congress will begin Oct. 16 in Cape Town, South Africa. But it looks likely to take place without the participation of more than 230 Chinese delegates.
So far, at least 11 people planning to attend have been forbidden to leave China, and many others have come under pressure. Many fear Beijing is moving to exert control over underground Christians.
Christianity in China is flourishing, with tens of millions of Christians openly worshiping. Many gather in private assemblies, or house churches, rather than in the official government church, known as the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The authorities have largely turned a blind eye in the past.
But when a grouping of house churches decided to send some 200 delegates to attend the Lausanne Congress, the government stepped in.
Abraham Liu Guan is a church elder who tried to leave Sunday for the meeting with six others. Authorities warned him not to meet NPR, but in a phone interview he explained what happened at Beijing airport customs. “The border defense people said they’d received a notice from the State Administration for Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. It said our participation in this meeting threatened state security, and they should not let us pass customs,” Guan said.
Repercussions Felt Already
Some of those who have been turned back have had their passports confiscated. One delegate has been placed in detention. Several others have been prevented from leaving their homes.
For months, across China, officials have been warning almost all the pastors invited not to attend, telling them the meeting was anti-China. For some, there have already been consequences.
The Rev. Xing Jingfu from Changsha, in Hunan, said authorities stopped his church from meeting and from preaching. He said they openly said it was because of the Lausanne Congress. If we meet again, they’ll arrest us, he said.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, issued a statement to NPR. It accuses the Lausanne organizers of not issuing an official invitation to China’s state-controlled church and of having secret communications with Christians from private assemblies.
“This act has openly challenged China’s principle of an independent, autonomous, self-governing church. It is a flagrant interference in China’s religious affairs,” the statement said.
For their part, the Lausanne organizers say there’s been a misunderstanding, and they did invite the official church as an observer. “We very much regret that our intentions and invitations to our Chinese brothers and sisters have been wrongly perceived. We have a profound set of disappointment and incompleteness in knowing that our friends from China are not able to be with us,†the statement said.
Before the weekend, Lausanne Chairman Doug Birdsall said how Chinese pastors reacted to warnings would be up to them.
“There are times when there are matters of conscience for which people take a stand. Most any right that we have, someone has worked for, or battled for, at some time. The apostle Paul gave advice and encouragement to followers of Christ to be faithful to Christ, and faithful to their nations,” Birdsall said.
Crackdown Won’t Affect Larger Trend
That China’s underground Christians could get together to choose delegates and raise more than $1 million to cover their costs would have been unthinkable a decade ago. But that level of coordination is unsettling to Beijing, especially given the explosive growth in Christianity.
Some predict that this current clampdown will alienate house church members further.
“These measures will cause house churches to feel extreme dissatisfaction with the Chinese authorities,†says Fan Yafeng, a prominent Christian. “Stopping the house church members from attending the conference will have a long-term impact on the relationship between politics and religion in China.”
The Rev. Ezra Jin from Zion Church in Beijing says even if he’s blocked from going to Cape Town, it won’t affect the larger trend. “I think Lausanne could play a positive role for Chinese Christians. For a short time, there might be pressure or there might be a price to pay. But that will pass quickly,” Jin says.
“Let our blood and sweat drive China’s Christian revival,” he prays with a visitor.
Beijing’s hard line on this congress comes as the authorities were showing signs of tolerating house churches. It clearly undermines Beijing’s claims to allow freedom of religion. It’s not yet clear how far Beijing will go.
But some fear this could be the start of a new wave of persecution against China’s underground Christians.