Posted on 08/10/2014 8:27:26 PM PDT by PGR88
China will construct a "Chinese Christian theology" suitable for the country, state media reported on Thursday, as both the number of believers and tensions with the authorities are on the rise.
China has between 23 million and 40 million Protestants, accounting for 1.7 to 2.9 per cent of the total population, the state-run China Daily said, citing figures given at a seminar in Shanghai.
About 500,000 people are baptised as Protestants every year, it added.
"Over the past decades, the Protestant churches in China have developed very quickly with the implementation of the country's religious policy," the paper quoted Wang Zuoan, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, as saying.
"The construction of Chinese Christian theology should adapt to China's national condition and integrate with Chinese culture."
China's ruling Communist Party is officially atheistic and keeps a tight grip on religion for fear it could challenge its grip on power. It requires believers to worship in places approved by the state and under government supervision.
Besides officially sanctioned churches, China also has "underground" or "house" churches which seek to exist outside government control and are occasionally raided and shut down.
In April, authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, known as China's Jerusalem, with more than a million Christians, demolished a church following government claims it was an illegal structure.
Though a registered church, state media reported that the building was far larger than originally approved.
"Over the past years, China's Protestantism has become one of the fastest growing universal churches," Gao Feng, president of the China Christian Council, was quoted as saying in the China Daily report.
It did not include a number for Catholics in China, who must also worship only in officially sanctioned churches which reject the Vatican's authority, though an "underground" church loyal to the Holy See also exists.
Experts estimate that there are as many as 12 million Catholics in China, split roughly evenly between the two churches.
As of the end of last year, China had published 65 million copies of the Bible, the report said, including minority-language editions.
A woman prays at a cathedral in Beijing. Experts estimate that there were as many as 12 million Catholics on the mainland as of last year, with about half of the congregations under a state-sanctioned association. The rest belong to non-sanctioned or so-called 'underground' churches.
What about all the people that post here swearing Christian churches are illegal?
China will construct a “Chinese Christian theology” suitable for the country===
Funniest thing I have read all day!
Ex 3:13,14
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Who are these so called experts?
I have known people who have worshiped with Chinese Catholics and have said that Chinese Catholics are the most devout, sincere, resolute, religious people they have ever seen. They truly suffer for their faith and are very quiet and very secretive about their faith. They have their own codes for recognition of one another.
They have almost no actual churches. They worship at improvised, continually changing locations.
Most are secret Catholics and hide their identity for survival.
They estimate there are at least 30-40 million secret Catholics in China.
Many “members” of the state run church in China are really sincere Catholics but just pretend to belong to the state run church so that they can keep an eye on the Communist spies who are infiltrating their religion.
Who the hell thinks the Chinese government will come up with anything except a set of doctrines that fit historic Chinese beliefs and servitude to the government?
Confucius with "Christian" Rock to keep the kids coming back.
God help the Chinese Christians.
Amen!
Way more than12 million!
Worked well for Elizabeth I.
From the article:
“It did not include a number for Catholics in China, who must also worship only in officially sanctioned churches which reject the Vatican’s authority, though an “underground” church loyal to the Holy See also exists.”
Was the church you attended an officially sanctioned state run church?
The statement in itself doesn’t make sense belief in Christ (in the plain sense as laid out in the Bible) doesn’t have an “English” nor could it have an “Chinese” theology. Either people believe in Christ because of what HE has done or they do not. It’s that simple.
“China will construct a “Chinese Christian theology” suitable for the country, state media reported”
For “Chinese Christian” substitute the words “ruling party” or “communist party” to get the true meaning of the sentence.
It is thought the number of Christians is over 100 million.
Nor are you facing the reality that what you say is the bottom line is also the bottom line for people who approve of queers marrying one another, abortion, approved of slavery, and so on.
Several members of Parliament objected to the First Opium War based on Christian morality. The mojority ignored them because the British Empire was the work of God and needed to sell opium to get their financial house in order. If the Chinese dared to refuse the trade in opium the English considered legtimate, they'd be forced to change their mind. They all said they were Christians who believed in Christ because of what He had done for us.
What He did for us ia the only issue? Sure, and how we are supposed to do for him obviously wasn't going to get in the way of English making a buck,. Forgiven in advance and all that, ya' know.
Pop Christianity, "Christ died for us, Party on Dude !!", our lives need not reflect Christ if "It's that simple".
They'll find the appropriate places to substitute some different terminology along with carefully selected Scripture verses from a translation they approve of or create anew.
“China will construct a “Chinese Christian theology” suitable for the country, state media reported on Thursday, as both the number of believers and tensions with the authorities are on the rise. “
The Nazi Party tried this same trick in the 1930s.
Oh God is just going to love this.
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