August 2, 2005
REDDER CHINA (via Robert Schwartz):
Christianity is China's new social revolution (Richard Spencer, July 30, 2005, Daily Telegraph)
The beauty salon near Beijing Zoo gives its customers more than they bargain for: not just facials and manicures, but the Word of the Lord.Its owner, Xun Jinzhen, sees beauty salons as a good place to transform souls as well as bodies.
"I introduced 40 people to the church last year," he said.
Mr Xun, and millions of other Chinese Christian converts like him, may well be living proof that God moves in a mysterious way.
During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong's China turned on itself, torturing and killing hundreds of thousands of people. But the seeds were sown for an unexpected upsurge in Christianity.
In a social revolution that has prompted a heavy-handed response from the Government, religion is spreading through town and countryside and Chinese communities abroad. [...]
China's rulers are said to be ambiguous about Christianity's growth. Some see its emphasis on personal morality as a force for stability. House churches which go along with the authority and theology of the official organisations are often left alone.
But many reject the party's control over Christian practice and doctrine, and these are seen as a threat. After all, 80 million members would mean there are now more Christians than Communists in China.
Few believe that many of the party's 70 million members keep the faith burning any more.
Every natural force in China is centrifugal--only government force is centripetal. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 2, 2005 12:08 AM
Weren't there only 50 million Christians in China just a little while ago? That kind of growth is staggering.
Hudson Taylor established the China Inland Mission and there were apparently 125,000 Chinese Christians through his work by 1905.
Posted by: Randall Voth at August 2, 2005 3:45 AMRandall, the growth of Christianity is even more impressive than you think. As best as I can remember, there were fewer than a million Chinese Christians in 1949.
Go to any university campus in America where there are mainland Chinese graduate students. You'll find large congregations of newly converted and enthusiastic Christians among those students and their families. This badly underreported phenomenon is no doubt happening back in China on an even larger scale among ordinary Chinese citizens.
Now that the false gods of Marxism have been toppled in China, only the opportunists and the power-hungry join the Party. But tens of millions of true believers are finding the Chrisitian God.
Posted by: X at August 2, 2005 8:41 AMHouse churches which go along with the authority and theology of the official organisations are often left alone.
The problem is that these subverted churches become little more than PRC indoctrination clubs that quickly whither and die.
Meanwhile the house churches that stay true to Christ are persecuted mercilessly.
Posted by: at August 2, 2005 8:45 AManonymous, you're right. Those who belong to the state-approved churches, however, are far outnumbered by those who are flocking to the underground churches. As oj says, persecution will only strengthen their faith.
Posted by: X at August 2, 2005 9:01 AMX, wherever you are, you are in my prayers.
Posted by: Randall Voth at August 2, 2005 9:42 AMLeninism and Boxerism: two sides of the same coin, both headed for the ash-heap of history, thanks to modern communications.
Posted by: Lou Gots at August 2, 2005 10:27 AMCentrifugal force does not exist.
Posted by: Pepys at August 2, 2005 12:45 PMX:
I attended an Easter Mass in Beijing two years ago at a non-schismatic Roman Catholic church. I had expected to see a few wrinkled 80-somethings. Instead, the church was overflowing. The 80-somethings were represented, but what really struck me were all the young families with children in attendance. My friend and I were the only caucasians in the church.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at August 2, 2005 12:49 PM