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The “abnormal” spread of Christianity across China is a threat to the Communist Party rule and social stability, a paper prepared by a top party academic warns.
Ma Hucheng, an adviser on religion to the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party, warns that the government’s attempt to control Church growth through the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) — the state sanctioned Protestant church — is failing.
“If we are unable to hold the line here, this will damage our independent foreign policy and cause the government to lose control of religion in accordance with the law, and make Christianity once again a political and spiritual tool of control for the West, and make Christianity [in China] a pawn of the Western church,” Ma said, according to a translation of his paper, An Analysis of the Reasons for Rapid Growth of the Protestant Church in Today’s China, prepared by OMF International’s Director of China Research, Tony Lambert. (originally published in the Church of England’s newspaper, but you can read it here now.)
Wonder if it will turn into another Diocletian event?
Let us pray that the Chinese Christians succeed…
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Joel Landon Watts is a Masters of Theological Studies student with a focus in Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific ideals of the past century. Currently, he is a TA for Old Testament at United Theological Seminary under Dr. Vivian Johnson, Associate Professor of Old Testament. His first book, Rhetorical Strategies of the Evangelist: Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark, is expected to be published by Wipf and Stock early next year. He is currently co-editing a book on moving from Fear to Faith (Energion, 2013).
There are literally thousands of house churches through out Chine. They are not threatened by the run of the mill church, but they HATE the house church. My friend who was a missionary to the Shanghai region, said the gov’t would break up house church meetings constantly, even by gunpoint, while there was a Catholic church 1 mile away and they never bothered them. Let’s pray it DOESN’T turn into a Constantine event. Chine is always on my heart, because I wanted to be a missionary to the Lolo people,
open churches are infiltrated and monitored.
yup. look what happens to the Catholic Churches.
I’m not saying they’re not monitored, but the house churches are not trusted at all by the government at all. My friend (his name is John Blondo and he has a church in Queens, NY now) said that standard churches are predictable…sure they’re watched, but they’re not really threatened by them. House Churches in China are very unpredictable..they may actually go out and baptize people in the river…if you wanna hear about the bloodshed at an outdoor Chinese baptism, just ask.
I’m hoping it turns Constantinian, not Diocletian!
If I had a choice!
Christianity was ruined by Constantine. I believe he had good intentions, but we had the middle ages because of him. Sure, people stopped getting fed to the lions, but there are plenty or problems with a “state” religion. Is a theocracy good? Which flavor? Catholicism? Independent Baptist? Jehovah’s Witness? Then you make clergy a career. However, if the US became a theocracy, I’d probably pray for a Constantine