Sons of heaven
In the Economist I picked up yesterday in Hong Kong was this article about the spread of Christianity in China. It was interesting because it wasn't just a total re-hashing of old news, and pointed out a few things that were new to me, sort of.
For instance, the article quotes both a convert to Christianity who is also a former Communist Official and the Texas-based China Aid Association that there are now 130 million active Christians in China. If this number is true, that gives China the largest active Christian population of any country in the world. In the world.
Another piece of information that I have only recently heard and this article confirms is that the government usually pays little attention to house-church gatherings of small size.
The article is good, showing both the ambiguities and challenges the house church movement faces in today's China
For instance, the article quotes both a convert to Christianity who is also a former Communist Official and the Texas-based China Aid Association that there are now 130 million active Christians in China. If this number is true, that gives China the largest active Christian population of any country in the world. In the world.
Another piece of information that I have only recently heard and this article confirms is that the government usually pays little attention to house-church gatherings of small size.
House churches have an unclear status, neither banned nor fully approved of. As long as they avoid neighbourly confrontation and keep their congregations below a certain size (usually about 25), the Protestant ones are mostly tolerated, grudgingly. Catholic ones are kept under closer scrutiny, reflecting China’s tense relationship with the Vatican
The article is good, showing both the ambiguities and challenges the house church movement faces in today's China
Comments