Cults and Christianity in China
Last fall the popular news magazine Phoenix Weekly carried this article on the relationship between Christianity and cults in China.
Explore the history, experiences, and evolving realities of Christianity in mainland China, bringing together perspectives from believers, pastors, ministry practitioners, and researchers.
Last fall the popular news magazine Phoenix Weekly carried this article on the relationship between Christianity and cults in China.
Is China’s church facing a nationwide crackdown?
Christians throughout history have seen themselves engaged in a battle that is ultimately spiritual in nature. Forces arrayed against them, political or otherwise, are physical manifestations of this unseen battle, which will ultimately conclude with the return of Christ.
One of the ways that people in China have of dealing with injustice is the administrative system known as petitioning.
The Chinese church is incredibly diverse.
When Father Ye Yaomin, a Catholic priest, returned to his parish in Foshan, Guangdong province in 1980 following years of persecution, his friends urged him to emigrate.
“China needs priests,” he replied.
If a Christian from the West were asked what the biggest Christian news story out of China was in 2014, no doubt the answer would be the campaign to demolish church crosses in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. In fact, for many in the West, that might be the only Christian-related news story out of China they are aware of.
Last week we posted part one of a translated article “Top Ten Christian News Stories in China in 2014”, highlighting stories #1-5. This week, we are posting the translation of the second half of the original article (from The Christian Times), with items #6-10: The Almighty God cult murders, the rise of ISIS and persecution of Christians worldwide, the government’s moves towards establishing rule of law for religion, a European Chinese church revival meeting, and a popular Christian singer.
The winter issue of the ChinaSource Quarterly has just been published. In this issue we explore the spiritual journey of Chinese people who are finding Christ and growing in him through the ministry of the Catholic Church in China. Brent Fulton, editor of the Quarterly, writes in his introduction to “A Window into Catholicism in Today’s China:”
On December 31, 2014, the mainland site Christian Times published a long article titled “Taking Stock at the End of the Year: Christian Times Top Ten Chinese Christian News Stories of 2014.” Topping their list, of course, was the ongoing church and cross demolition campaign in Zhejiang Province. But there were other events that caught the attention of believers in China, including a church scandal in Korea, a Mandarin-language evangelistic conference in Hong Kong, a celebration of the restoration of the church in Shenzhen, and the banning of two house churches in Foshan, Guangdong Province. We have translated the article and, since it is quite long, will publish it in two separate posts.
Paul Mariani makes an essential contribution to the history of the Catholic Church in China during the twentieth-century when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) targeted religious organizations. Through research which includes previously unreleased classified documents and his multifaceted treatment of this turbulent period, he provides a gripping narrative of the gradual, but increasingly tension-filled, showdown between the CCP and the Catholic Church in Shanghai.
A young, Chinese woman shares her thoughts and experiences from World Youth Day which she attended in Madrid, in 2011. Included in her account are her reflections on several places her group visited as pilgrims as they journeyed to Madrid. She also shares the life-changing impact this event had for her as she dealt with issues of sin and forgiveness.