IF YOU STRIKE ME DOWN, I SHALL BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE: The Chinese Christian Crackdown:
Between 1,200 and 1,700 crosses have come crashing down over the past two years in China’s Zhejiang Province, where the brutal repression of Christians has also seen churches demolished and pastors imprisoned, all with the blessing of top party officials. . . .
Having recognized Christianity as a potential threat to the CCP’s grip on power, Xi could be test-driving religious persecution in China’s Christian heartland before taking the policy nationwide. As we’ve said before, the ongoing persecution is not in China’s national interest; if anything, it may make Christians stronger.
Repression is turning a largely placid Christian population into deeply unhappy one. So far in Zhejiang Christian leaders have sermonized against the new policies and their parishioners have organized protests, sometimes going as far as clashing with security forces and blockading churches slated for demolition. Take this policy nationwide, and China’s government may be in for a massive showdown with a Christian community that outnumbers the Communist Party.
Onward, Christian soldiers.
When I see the courage of Christians in other parts of the globe, and the risks they take for Christ, I feel ashamed for the lack of support Western Christians give to their brethren overseas standing bravely up to persecution. I shudder when I contemplate the questions Christ may ask us about this in our particular Judgment.
Not really into all the women acolytes, but after all, this is quite obviously a Protestant community.
However, on many occasions women have proven to be as strong as men, if not more so, so I totally applaud their faithfulness, and completely agree with your last paragraph.
When is our culture going to staunch up and face off the likes of Obama and his acolytes, and there are no shortage of his ilk in our country, our neighbor brothers the Aussies, and our ancestral migrant homelands, Britain, Holland and the rest of Catholic Europe?
The good thing is that our present migrant Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese and Indians – all form the new Church in Asia – are giving us an example in courage and commitment to the gospel and Faith in Christ. Long may it continue.
The freaky thing about women is that we tend to keep the home fires burning– banked ashes when the visible flames of the male leadership are…gone.
I know that China thinks very differently than we do, but you’d think they’d be smart enough to look over at Japan and see how “well” official repression worked.
Here is my running list of events in China:
http://todaysmartyrs.org/pdf/By%20Country/Todays%20Martyrs%20-%20China.pdf