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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Christianity Explodes in China |
| 2005-08-03 |
| Chinese are embracing Christianity in a social revolution that is spreading through town and countryside to the point where Christians already may outnumber members of the Communist Party of China. Visits to villages in backward rural provinces or to urban churches in Beijing, where even on weekdays the young and middle-aged gather to proclaim their faith, confirm the ease with which conversions can be won. "City people have real problems, and mental pain, that they can't resolve on their own. So it's easy for us to convert these people to Christianity," said Xun Jinzhen, who preaches to customers at a beauty salon in Beijing. "In the countryside, people are richer than before, but they still have problems with their health and in family relationships. Then it's also very easy to bring them to Christianity." State-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches in China count up to 35 million followers, making Christianity the third most practiced religion in the country after Buddhism and Taoism. Islam ranks fourth. Even more significant is a steadily growing network of underground or "house" churches, which are said to have up to 100 million members. That compares with an official total of 70 million members of the Communist Party, many of whom have lost faith as the party has moved away from strict ideological principles toward increasing acceptance of free markets... This has got to quietly scare the hell out of their leaders. The Taiping Rebellion in China had (distorted) Christian overtones, and may have been the second bloodiest war in human history after WWII. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 rjschwarz: The question is are these Christians as we know it. The Taiping Rebellion was fought between Christians and the government in China and if I recall it was a somewhat different version of Christianity. In the past, a variety of religious sects have amassed armies either against or in behalf of the government. The Yellow Turbans helped bring about an end to the Han Dynasty. The Taipings attempted to topple the Qing Dynasty. The Boxers attempted to prop up the Qing Dynasty against the demands of various foreign powers for treaty ports and the like. But none of these movements had any real degree of intellectual coherence or staying power - the conflicts they brought about were pretty much raw power grabs by their leaders. I doubt that Christianity in its current form will spawn anything like the large-scale massacres that characterized the followers of the preceding sects - against their opponents when they were winning and against them when they were losing. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-03 23:04 |
| #12 The question is are these Christians as we know it. The Taiping Rebellion was fought between Christians and the government in China and if I recall it was a somewhat different version of Christianity. At that point Christianity had grown so big as to be a threat to the Emporers, if my memory is correct. Looks like the tide is rising again. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-08-03 22:39 |
| #11 The Koreans have been Christian for a long time. It got lost in the North for the most part, following the Communist take-over, but I think in the South the upwards of 90% belong to the religion... mostly Protestant, I do believe. There is at least one Korean Protestant Church within easy driving distance of my house, and several more in the city. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-08-03 22:25 |
| #10 The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians This would change the general world-wide trend in what way, exactly? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-08-03 22:15 |
| #9 BA, "The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians" But this time.... MSM duplicity exposed...........check True nature of Islam exposed....check Alt. media avail................check U.S. awake from hibernation.....check British awake from hibernation..check IDF free to eliminate threats...check |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-03 22:05 |
| #8 To throw in my $.02...do any of you know of a good site that has verifiable numbers of converts to Christianity by country? I've heard this for years about China (especially out in the rural/village areas), but have also heard it's also exploding in S. Korea, and many African nations. A buddy of mine just got back from Kenya (on mission) and they had a worship service there where 600+ villagers converted to Christianity! I'm betting in border states to "jihadistan" nations are seeing more and more converts. The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians (e.g. Sudan is my main example in this arena, but you see smaller conflicts in these border areas like SE Asia in Indonesia, etc.). |
| Posted by: BA 2005-08-03 21:23 |
| #7 it's all right - it's a good article. It's just sometimes I get tired of all of the evil in this world and that picture pretty much sums it up. Sometimes I have to wonder where the hatred, selfishness and cruelty comes from. At least if the Chinese convert, perhaps that's a billion more people that will at least attempt to embrace goodness over the lure of darkness. That's got to be a good thing. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-03 21:18 |
| #6 I hear you. It won't happen again. I apologize. Actually, I was in the process of putting a disclaimer, got distracted and hit the "submit" without previewing, at least twice. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-03 21:02 |
| #5 I found that picture upsetting. I know you are making a valid point, but maybe a disclaimer would be best for something that graphic and haunting. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-03 20:56 |
| #4 2b, Please explain. I don't want to waste anyone's bandwidth or time. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-03 20:47 |
| #3 thanks for nothing, PR. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-03 20:31 |
| #2 It's finally good to hear some Good News among all the Christian persecution that's going on. I have also read reports of other Christian missionaries are in full swing after the Tsunami and the floods in Bombay. I am not saying that I favor disasters but then again it's not really up to me, is it? One constant that I find in all these articles is that the people (Christians) who the locals considered a threat, are the only ones sticking around to help after a disaster, whether it is environmental, natural, or emotional. Here is an example of deliberate misinformation against Christianity. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-03 20:00 |
| #1 It's finally good to hear some Good News among all the Christian persecution that's going on. I have also read reports of other Christian missionaries are in full swing after the Tsunami and the floods in Bombay. I am not saying that I favor disasters but then again it's not really up to me, is it? One constant that I find in all these articles is that the people (Christians) who the locals considered a threat, are the only ones sticking around to help after a disaster, whether it is environmental, natural, or emotional. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-03 19:52 |