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China Will Create Own Christian Belief System Amid Tensions With Church (Says Chinese Gov't)
South China Morning Post ^ | August 10, 2014 | South China Morning Post

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.


TOPICS: Religion; Society
KEYWORDS: china; christianity
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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.

1 posted on 08/10/2014 8:27:26 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: PGR88

What about all the people that post here swearing Christian churches are illegal?


2 posted on 08/10/2014 8:32:24 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience. It is a guide to your actions.)
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To: PGR88

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.’”


3 posted on 08/10/2014 8:38:03 PM PDT by Scrambler Bob (/s /s /s /s /s, my replies are "liberally" sprinkled with them behind every word and letter.!)
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To: PGR88
“Experts estimate that there are as many as 12 million Catholics in China, split roughly evenly between the two churches.”

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.

4 posted on 08/10/2014 8:39:30 PM PDT by detective
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To: PGR88
Face and Face Alone, no doubt. Not passive Face, saving Face.

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.

5 posted on 08/10/2014 8:52:53 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: PGR88

God help the Chinese Christians.


6 posted on 08/10/2014 9:00:33 PM PDT by OldNewYork (Operation Paperclip II now)
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To: OldNewYork

Amen!


7 posted on 08/10/2014 9:20:33 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( "Never, never, never give up". Winston Churchill ...)
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To: detective
I was at an openly Catholic Church in Fujian Province in 2002. It wasn't in the best condition, but was allowed to be, but I don't know what has happened there in the last 12 years.
8 posted on 08/10/2014 9:22:27 PM PDT by MacMattico
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To: detective

Way more than12 million!


9 posted on 08/10/2014 9:27:00 PM PDT by MNDude
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To: PGR88
"The construction of Chinese English Christian theology should adapt to China's England's national condition and integrate with Chinese English culture."

Worked well for Elizabeth I.

10 posted on 08/10/2014 9:54:40 PM PDT by Slyfox (Satan's goal is to rub out the image of God he sees in the face of every human.)
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To: MacMattico

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?


11 posted on 08/10/2014 10:11:46 PM PDT by detective
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To: Slyfox
Given the fact Chinese are still not ready to forgive the English for the first and second Opium Wars, anything but English Christian theology would be a much better bet.
12 posted on 08/10/2014 10:23:18 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: Rashputin

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.


13 posted on 08/10/2014 10:38:11 PM PDT by JSDude1
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To: Rashputin

“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.


14 posted on 08/10/2014 10:46:04 PM PDT by detective
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To: MNDude

It is thought the number of Christians is over 100 million.


15 posted on 08/10/2014 10:53:00 PM PDT by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
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To: JSDude1
You don't know much history, bub.

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".

16 posted on 08/10/2014 11:05:31 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: detective
That's the size of it.

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.

17 posted on 08/10/2014 11:12:44 PM PDT by Rashputin (Jesus Christ doesn't evacuate His troops, He leads them to victory.)
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To: detective
I didn't specifically ask that question, but the Priest was Chinese and definitely loyal to the Pope, with pictures of him in the office area. And our conversation centered around the Roman Church.
18 posted on 08/10/2014 11:14:30 PM PDT by MacMattico
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To: 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. “

The Nazi Party tried this same trick in the 1930s.


19 posted on 08/10/2014 11:17:37 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: Pelham

Oh God is just going to love this.


20 posted on 08/10/2014 11:20:58 PM PDT by Kackikat (ELECTED officials took an OATH...Time to honor it....be a Patriot.)
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