Christmas crusade (December 19, 2013, Global Times)
Christmas is, without doubt, becoming increasingly popular in China.Although Chinese people may not know the origins of Christmas, this has not affected their enthusiasm for the holiday, as the real reason for its popularity is not religious beliefs but consumption. Economic factors have brought Christmas into the lives of millions of Chinese people.However, with the rapid development of Christianity in China over the past 20 years, especially with the new phenomenon of worship services held in houses, office buildings and commercial spaces emerging in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and economically developed eastern coastal cities, more and more Chinese people are, for the first time, walking into churches for Christmas.
Taylor Gorman
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December 19, 2013
Religious Policies in China: Defining Normal (Winter Issue, ChinaSource Quarterly)The word "normal" is not something that those of us in the West commonly associate with the word religion or religious activities. Religious activities are simply religious activities, and to label one as normal and another as abnormal is, well, abnormal. What is normal for one religion or sect (baptizing people by dunking their heads under water) may seem strange, or even dangerous, to followers of another religion. This concept of "normal religious activities" is at the heart of the religious regulatory regime in China.
Taylor Gorman
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December 12, 2013
Dear ZGBriefs reader,
Christmas is coming! That means the end of the year is also near and time for fiscal year giving closes. We want to thank you for continuing to read and engage with ZGBriefs and offer you a chance to donate an end of year gift to support this fantastic publication!
Taylor Gorman
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December 10, 2013
A Pastors Reflections on the Asian Church Leaders Forum (December 2, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In June of this year, church leaders from all over Asia gathered in Seoul, South Korea for the Asian Church Leaders Forum. In attendance were many Chinese pastors who had been denied permission by the Chinese government to attend the 2010 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa. One of those, Pastor Ezra Jin of the Zion Church in Beijing, wrote an article for the November 2013 issue of the Lausanne Global Analysis, titled A Landmark Encounter: The Significance of the ACLF for the Church in China.
Taylor Gorman
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December 5, 2013
The Bible business (November 20, 2013, Global Times)
To meet the spiritual needs of the rapidly growing number of Christians, China printed more than 105 million Bibles from 1987 to 2012, of which 60 percent were distributed to churches inside the country and 40 percent were delivered overseas. In this factory, employees operate machines round the clock for three shifts a day. Its warehouse stores millions of different versions of the Bible which are ready to be delivered worldwide at any time. The special King James Version which was used for Prince William's wedding in 2011 was made here. China, the world's biggest atheist country, has now become the world's largest Bible-printing state.
Taylor Gorman
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November 21, 2013
The Church Today (November 11, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In Section Two of the article, posted here, the author talks about the church-consciousness (ecclesiology) of Chinese Christians today. He argues that Chinese believers have a weak understanding of what the church is, and gives reasons for this. He also describes some of the characteristics of churches in some smaller and medium-sized cities in China. Finally, he talks about the importance of building community within a church and gives some suggestions as to how that might be done.
Taylor Gorman
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November 14, 2013
Western and Chinese Church History (November 5, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In this article, The Chinese Church: Past, Present and Future, translated from the journal ChurchChina, author Gao Zhen explores the history of the Chinese Church, examines the issues and challenges facing the church today, and looks ahead.
Taylor Gorman
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November 7, 2013
Urbanizing Chinas Ethnic Minorities (August 14, 2013, Andrew Stokals)
Chinas urbanization push has been in the headlines recently. Of course after 30 years, Chinas urbanization is not exactly fresh news. But recent reports of opposition to Chinas urbanization plan underscore just how integral urbanization is to the most pressing issues facing China now: 1. Maintaining economic growth through consumer spending, 2. Reducing the income disparity between urban and rural areas, 3. Growing Municipal and local government debt. One area that receives less attention is the issue of forced urbanization in ethnic minority regions, such as those home to Tibetan and Uighur populations.
Taylor Gorman
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October 31, 2013
House Church and TSPM: Surprising Admissions in China's Official Press (October 22, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
A recent article appearing in Global Times, the English-language mouthpiece of the authoritative People's Daily, raises interesting questions about how China's leaders view the relationship between the official and unofficial church. Entitled "Estranged Brethren," the article deals forthrightly with the longstanding division between Christians in churches under China's official Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and those who worship outside the TSPM umbrella.
Taylor Gorman
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October 24, 2013
From the Global Times: Estranged Brethren (October 16, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
On October 10, 2013, the Global Times, one of Chinas English language daily newspapers published an article titled Estranged Brethren, about the division between the official Three-Self church and the House Church movement. Articles about religion in general, and Christianity in particular, are far and few between in the Chinese media, and articles that reference the house churches are even more rare. This article is particularly noteworthy for its discussion of the background of the division, its discussion of the Shouwang Church in Beijing, its relatively sympathetic treatment of the house church position, and references to calls for changes in Chinas religious policies.
Taylor Gorman
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October 17, 2013
Urge for Faith: Postmodern Beliefs among Urban Chinese (September 2013, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Historical events following Mao's death left an ideological vacuum in China. This has created a strong need for faith, even an urge, so as to avoid the risk of further social disruption and political instability. While postmodernism, with its relativity and lack of absolutes, is trying to fill this void, it also leaves people questioning and open to exploring faith.
Taylor Gorman
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October 10, 2013
Confucius, the Bible, and Preaching (October 1, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
This article is an interesting Christian response to Yu Dans popularization of Confucianism, arguing that what she preaches is really a watered down version of Confucianism watered down to make it more palatable. The author then wonders if the Church is in danger of doing the same thing watering down the Gospel in order to make it popular.
Taylor Gorman
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October 3, 2013