Posted on 07/01/2007 12:33:53 AM PDT by MarcoPolo
In light of all the things I've been hearing about bad imports from China and also in light of all the saber rattling and outcry against China that I've been hearing for years from well-meaning people here in the U.S., I thought it might be time to put down into writing some things about China that most people in America would never know and which I myself have seen and experienced.
For starters let me say that this is a subject which I have particular knowledge of, since I spent the last two years ('05-'06) living in mainland China. I lived in a small town, outside or at best on the edge of the usual beltway of tourist destinations, in what people refer to as "real China." No big foreign embassies, no major shopping meccas, (we had a McDonald's and KFC, but frankly lots of little holes in the wall have those in China these days)---just real, everyday, Chinese life. Many of the people on the street had never seen a foreigner before in their lives and would actually stop to stare and exclaim "Wai guo ren!" which means "A foreigner!" I got treated to every kind of banquet you can think of (because it's considered prestigious to take a foreigner out to dinner). This was my daily experience for two years.
All that being said, I also got to experience so much of what is happening in China and to China. I had heard so much about the cruelty of religious oppression in China and the total lack of free speech before I went there, that I was a bit cautious when I first arrived. The truth is that my main driving passion for going to China wasn't the food, the culture or the thrill of travel (because I could certainly have gotten those in much easier countries); it was the desire to share Christ with them. Anything else wasn't worth it.
What I found after getting settled in there really shocked me. What I found was a growing church in homes spread out around our town. What shocked me more was how open these meetings were. And what shocked me even more than that was learning that the secret police knew what we were doing and didn't care. While I was there I became friends with many wonderful people, and one was a person whose hate of the system and political dissidence was well-known in the whole area. He himself had formerly worked for the police. What this person told me about the situation between the secret police and the church was an eye-opener. In essence he told me that back before in that town church meetings used to be very secretive and private. When they had such secrecy, the secret police kept a close watch on them. Now that church meetings are so open and public, the secret police don't care anymore. If you're open they know you don't have anything to hide. If you're secretive they suspect you're hiding something. That's what he told me, and I never forgot it.
Something I also learned while I was there was that sometimes the reasons for crackdowns on house churches were not to stop religion itself. That's rarely the actual reason. They've fully licensed Methodist-style and quasi-Catholic-style public churches throughout China, and they also freely allow Buddhist and Taoist temples as well as actual mosques to operate on a public basis in cities all over the country. I know because I've heard the call of the minaret over the city of Xian at night, personally visited the worship of a public church and went sight-seeing at a functional Taoist/Buddhist temple complex. The reason for the house church crackdowns often is more political in nature. What Americans often do NOT realize is that the Chinese government has studied well the very politicized nature of American churches. It's easy to see from our recent history how that churches have been subverted and twisted into political machines (such as the black churches being used as fronts for civil rights and Democrat causes and many mainstream evangelical churches being pushed to become active in political causes on the right side of the political spectrum), and like it or not this politicizing of churches hinders the work of missionaries all over the globe---not just in China.
What I found is that as long as we foreigners kept our noses out of Chinese politics (where they didn't belong anyway), as long as politics was kept out of the church, and as long as we remained open, welcoming and accommodating with our church services we had very little trouble out of the Chinese officials about what we were doing. They didn't tell us what to teach or who to teach it to. Groups in other cities where politicized churches had been active or where assemblies had been very secretive actually had substantial problems from the Chinese officials. Our city was blessed by God himself. The kind of church growth we experienced was exponential, and we even heard from time to time of indigenous groups working and worshipping in other parts of China as well.
That's not to say that everything about China is peaches and cream---not so. The pollution is horrible (which is why you're seeing tainted fish imports). I myself witnessed people fishing in some of the most polluted waters I have ever had the misfortune to see in my entire life. Also corruption is endemic to Chinese officials of nearly all ranks (a problem they've had for thousands of years). Their government is making the first real efforts to crack down on corruption in years, but the truth is they can't stamp out a facet of their society that's been ingrained in them for so many centuries just overnight. It will take a lot more work and frankly a lot more Christianization of the average people to truly cut corruption in China. But they are trying. I mean hey, they just condemned one of their highest food officials in the country to execution for taking bribes and thereby allowing contaminated toothpaste to be sold which killed 10 people. But China does have a long way to go in this area.
In terms of free speech, the changes I witnessed were remarkable. In a country where Mao Zedong was (and by some still is) worshipped, I actually had a student who got up and criticized his "Cultural Revolution" during her speech in class. Not only was nothing done to harm her, but rather this was looked upon as pretty much common knowledge that nearly everyone accepts. Yes, it's true that the Chinese officials are still are not comfortable with much discussion of Tiananmen Square, but at least the doors of free speech are beginning to crack open in ways which would have been previously unheard of. I saw this on many occasions for myself. Also the advent of the internet in China has opened doors to information that no firewalls and blockers can truly shut. The people there spend lots of money and time in internet bars where they play games, converse with friends, people from other parts of China and from other countries, and read up on things that they want to know more about. They have access to information that many Americans wouldn't believe.
With regard to their economics, I don't think you'll find too many populations of ordinary people in the world that are more capitalistic than the Chinese people are. They can take anything and turn it into a business. There are vendors and shops everywhere you turn in the towns and cities. They've seen the benefits of capitalism, and they've taken it gladly. Many industries are still nationalized and will likely remain that way for time to come, but the spirit of the people has opened up to capitalism.
In terms of form of government, one must understand that nothing happens in a vacuum. The Chinese have seen what has happened to two separate former Communist countries right in their own backyard. Don't think they haven't learned from them. It is my belief that they are slowly (and purposely and consciously) shifting their country towards freedom gradually rather than immediately. Recent history has given them good reason for doing so. They watched as the former Soviet Union was overturned suddenly and with military force, and then in consequence spent years mired in economic depression and financial disaster. Why would they want to emulate that? On the other hand, they saw their close neighbors to the north in Mongolia, shift peacefully and a bit more gradually from a Communist country to a free democracy. The result has been years of increases in personal and religious freedoms for the Mongolian people and a slowly improving economic situation for the country as a whole. (I was blessed to get to visit the country of Mongolia and got to witness some of this firsthand.) The rational choice is this: to go with gradual and peaceful reforms piece by piece over time instead of sudden (and in China inevitably violent) upheavals. I don't think this has escaped the minds of the Communist leaders of China.
As for the saber-rattling and bluster of the Chinese about their foreign military affairs (i.e. Taiwan and the such like), just know that this is precisely that---bluster. The truth is that the more the two entities (China and Taiwan) become more similar in economic systems and in personal freedoms the more likely it is that one day they will actually choose to reunite themselves. A war over this matter is completely unnecessary, and I think in the future that idea will become completely moot as a point.
To sum it all up, maybe I should just say this:
China has its problems, which are unfortunately about all that most Americans ever hear about China, but China has come a really LONG way from where it was in the days of Mao. The peaceful exchange not only of trade and the more celebrated economic links but also of ideas and Christianity has led China towards becoming something that it could previously only dream of but never attain: a truly great nation. It is a historical fact that when a nation opens its doors to Christ, that nation is blessed beyond measure. China itself has witnessed this several times in its past, but the current astronomical growth of Christianity in China today dwarfs all the past instances. And it is my belief that consequently God will continue to bless China to eventually become a great haven for Christians and other people who want to live in freedom.
ping.
What the Chinese authorities don't seem to realize is that the United States has a representative form of government; one which allows for dissent and voting to change legislation.
Christians are exhorted to obey their governments, whether that government is totalitarian Communist, a federal republic, or imperial/republic (Rome). Christians here go about pushing for change because it is their legal right to do so. They follow the laws of the land--which permits them to try to get their opinions and advice heard and followed.
Christians in China should not be any more a threat to the Communist government than a Communist member there. They are to obey their government's laws so long as they aren't contrary to the Bible (so for China--Christians will continue to spread the Gospel and oppose abortion and the one-child policy's endorsement of abortion). They won't stage an uprising against the establishment. That isn't the Christian way. All government rule by God's mandate. God chose for China to currently be ruled by the Communists. Thus Christians in China are supposed to obey the Communist government.
Fascinating. Very appreciative of these insights, MP.
Ah, the joys of a China!
What utter nonsense. Jesus Christ challenged spiritual and secular authority time and again.
Good point. Otherwise, an eye-opening read...
Agreed. We always taught our Christian brothers and sisters that in China. We always told them to be obedient to their government except in cases where for moral or spiritual or scriptural reasons they could not.
What we here have to keep in mind though in terms of how the government looks at and deals with churches in China, is that there are some groups calling themselves Christian in China which are actually very violent and dangerous and therefore muddy up the waters for other more truly Christian groups.
There is a group in China which is called Eastern Lightning. From what I heard from Chinese Christians they preach that Christ is on earth right now in the person of a woman, and in the name of their religion they have actually committed abductions of people, used mind-control tactics, and other extremely cultish and dangerous activities. Some religions in China have actually been involved in murders. (I got this particular piece of info from the political dissident I mentioned.) So it's not surprising that the Chinese government in its current changing situation is having some difficulty being able to distinguish who is who in the underground religious world of China.
What about rendering to Caesar?
Or about Philemon returning to his master?
Or Christians being called to not uprise against the Roman government although they were persecuting them?
Or, extra-Biblically, Martin Luther supporting a reformation, but adherence to the secular governments?
(all rhetorical).
It is extremely clear that Christians are supposed to obey their governments.
Other more versed Christian freepers could point you to specific verses.
Some of you people act as if this is some sort of new thing....
Jesus did challenge the authorities at times, but never about the actual form of government that they chose or their economic choices or any such thing. It was always over spiritual, moral or scriptural issues. This is the same example we’re supposed to follow in every corner of this globe today. While individual Christians in free societies such as America may and I would say should feel free to involve themselves in the political system, churches as a group should never do so in any country other than to exercise church discipline over its own members who support moral evils (such as abortion) either politically or otherwise. To make the church to become a political entity is to seriously damage its ability to reach the souls of all men everywhere under every type of system (i.e. foreign mission work).
"They won't stage an uprising against the establishment. That isn't the Christian way."
What's the communists way?
Who authorized Christ's death? What was his crime?
No.
It's just that once a month your busybody village vicar mannerisms require a response.
Marco Polo, sorry. This is getting a bit off topic from your thread, but trying to set things straight.
Lucky for you that the Founding Fathers didn't follow suit.
Are you referring to sound, Bible-based standpoints?
And did you read the verses?
If yelling to a crowd gets you slapped down you don’t get long to get the message out. A message is usually still valid though spoken softly and with conviction. The power is in the message, not in the volume.
Marketing shows a great message repeated multiple times will have a longer more powerful effect than one shouted just once. The message is great and so it will be repeated over and over.
Congrats and thanks for a great post.
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