25 Danger Signals for Christians
This anonymous post, on the popular Christian site Living Water, warns Christians to guard against complacency in their relationships, ministry, and pursuit of Christ.
Ideas
Editorial reflection and analysis on issues shaping Chinese Christianity.
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Five Major Challenges Facing the Church
"Faith is not just a beautiful adornment added to our lives; it encompasses our entire lives. Truth is not a set of ideas or theories, but personal realities for which one can live and die." This article presents a detailed analysis of the challenges facing the church in todays society. It was originally posted on the Sina blog of Xing Pinghuang, and later re-posted on the Gospel Times website.
Keeping a Proper Perspective
From the opening chapter of his work on the proper method of mission practice (Nevius was at least partly inspired by Timothy Richard's work in Shandong), the following quote is a reminder for those of us who have found what we believe to be a better method for working in China to keep a proper perspective:
The Achilles Heel of Chinas Rise: Faith
In addition to Christian websites and periodicals in China, there are also academic sites which are writing on issues related to religion, law, and society. One such site is Pacific Institute of Social Science, which aggregates scholarly articles published throughout China. They recently posted a translation of an article titled "The Achilles Heel of Chinas Rise: Faith" by Liu Peng, a senior fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Obedience to God and Obedience to Man
This sermon was delivered at the Beijing Gangwashi Christian Church on May 22, 2011. Gangwashi Church is one of largest Three-Self Churches in Beijing. Established in 1863 by the London Missionary Society, it is also the oldest Protestant Church in the city.
Will the World End in 2012?
As the new year began in China, the Mayan prediction that the world will end in 2012 was a hot topic of conversation, for both Christians and non-Christians alike. This article, published in the Gospel Times on January 6, 2012 addressed the question from a Biblical perspective.
Where are the Churches?
A Weibo map of church locations in China.
How Many Christians in China? And Does It Make a Difference?
At the end of 2011 the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released the latest edition of their statistical report "Global Christianity" detailing the size and distribution of the Christian Church around the globe. Regardless of how one might regard their conclusions, you cannot help but conclude the church in China is growing. But, is the more important issue behind these figures whether this growing Christian this growing Christian population having a growing influence on Chinese society?
Are You “Among the People”
The following is a quotation from James Hudson Taylor, speaking to a gathering of field workers Pingyang, Shanxi in 1886.
Hold to the Tension
Cross-cultural work is all about living between two poles and keeping them in juxtaposition. The problem is that modernity - our western Enlightenment culture - drives us to resolve that tension.
Policy, Implementation, and Shifting Official Perceptions of the Church in China
Persistent reports of Christians in China being harassed, fined, detained and oppressed through discriminatory policies often lead outside observers to conclude that the Chinese government is pursuing a concerted and consistent policy to restrict Christian activity and stem the growth of Christianity. While these troubling incidents remain a reality of life in China, a survey of the larger picture suggests that they are the exception rather than the rule, and that there may be room for cautious optimism concerning future policy toward China's Christians.
The Coming Third Anti-Christian Movement?
China has always been an anomaly. She is open to the gospel, she is resistant to the gospel. She is hungry for things modern and Western, she is stubbornly proud of things traditional and Chinese. How do we make sense of all this? More importantly, how do we gauge the mindset of China's intellectuals and leaders? How do they view Christianity as a religion, as a Western cultural construct, as a world and life view?