Late last year, a Christian crowdfunding drive made headlines and sparked controversy on Chinese social media. Luo Er, the father of a five-year-old girl with leukemia, posted an article online in which he vented his frustration at God. Luo demanded that Jesus heal his daughter otherwise he would stop believing in him. Thousands of people read the article and donated over 2 million RMB ($290,000USD) to help pay for the medical expenses of the family. Tragically, Luo’s daughter died shortly after Luo started the campaign. Luo was later arrested for fraud and fined. Chinese Christians have hotly debated the incident, many questioning Luo’s intentions and asking how Christians should respond in the midst of such suffering. One response to these questions of suffering comes from a writer for OC Gospel. “Rachel” reflects on the Luo incident by remembering another tragic story of Christian suffering.
ChinaSource Team
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February 7, 2017
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Stories
As part of the ChinaSource Institute’s ongoing effort to provide resources for those serving in China, we are pleased to announce our latest online course, “The Church in China Today.”
Brent Fulton
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February 6, 2017
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Resources
Earlier this month we posted the first part of an article of reflections on pollution in China that was published in the journal Territory. The focus of the article is how Chinese Christians reflect on the recent waves of heavy pollution in north China. This week we post the rest of the reflections.
ChinaSource Team
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January 31, 2017
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Stories
As China moved from 2016 into 2017, a wave of heavy pollution blanketed the Northeast for over a week. The persistent smog not only made headlines abroad, but also generated much online conversation. Although many Chinese have learned to cope with or weather regular pollution, these unprecedented levels of smog caused many to question more seriously what effects the pollution has on their lives. How have some Chinese Christians responded? The journal Territory put together several reflections from Christians on varying contrasting themes related to pollution.
ChinaSource Team
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January 17, 2017
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Stories
As Joann Pittman skillfully conveys in her new book, The Bells are Not Silent, the church bells of China provide a valuable—and until now, largely neglected—window into the life of China’s church.
Brent Fulton
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January 13, 2017
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Stories
China Christian Daily recently posted a list of the most popular news stories from the China Christian Times. Some may be surprising.
ChinaSource Team
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January 10, 2017
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Resources
When Joann discovered a 150-year-old American bell hanging in a church in southwest China, she knew there was a story to tell. This book is a collection of stories about this and other bells from France, Germany, Russia and the United States. But more importantly, they are stories of God’s faithfulness to his church in China.
Joann Pittman
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January 9, 2017
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Resources
Are you wondering which posts you and your fellow readers enjoyed the most in 2016? Look no further; here is the list!
ChinaSource Team
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January 3, 2017
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Resources
A ChinaSource 3 Questions interview with Stacey Bieler, co-editor of the Salt and Light: Lives of Faith that Shaped Modern China.
Brent Fulton
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October 26, 2016
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Resources
In modern societies pluralism has the dual effect of both relativizing faith, forcing religious believers to acknowledge the presence of competing worldviews, and of fostering growth by creating new opportunities for them to live out their faith in the pluralist context.
Brent Fulton
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October 19, 2016
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Ideas
Seeking social change outside the realm of politics—Christians in China are providing examples of how that might be done.
Brent Fulton
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October 12, 2016
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Ideas
Over the past decade of living in China, I have been privileged to hear a number of wonderful conversion stories. Each is special, but occasionally one stands out as particularly uncommon. The following is one such story.
Mark Totman
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October 3, 2016
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Stories