Americans Uninformed about Churches in China, Says Bible Ministry Host
A Chinese UCC official expressed that the China Bible exhibition is ‘‘really needed’’ because Americans as well as Chinese Americans are uninformed of the ‘‘real situation’’ in China.
ATLANTA – As hundreds of Americans filed into the China Bible Ministry Exhibit on the opening day of its second U.S. stop, one of the Atlanta regional committee members expressed that the exhibition is ‘‘really needed’’ because Americans as well as Chinese Americans are uninformed about the ‘‘real situation’’ in China.
The Rev. Xiaoling Zhu, area executive for East Asia and the Pacific of the United Church of Christ Global Ministries spoke to a Christian Post correspondent on Friday following the opening ceremony of the exhibit at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church. Zhu, one of the very few Chinese members on the Atlanta regional committee, welcomed the Exhibition.
“I believe the Exhibition should have been organized in the United States even earlier,” said Zhu. “Many Chinese people do not even know that there are churches in China. Americans do not know anything about the church in China and so are the Chinese Americans here. This Exhibition is really needed because it allows more people to see the real situation of the church in China.”
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Sponsors of the exhibit, the Chinese Christian Council/Three-Self Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches (CCC/TSPM), hope to “bring new understanding between Americans and Chinese” and to “create more dialogue between Christians in China and the United States.”
However, the exhibit it not welcomed by everyone, with some Chinese American evangelicals accusing the Exhibit’s sponsors of misleading Americans while millions of house church Christians are persecuted. Some of the exhibit’s critics have even refused to recognize CCC/TSPM as part of the Christian body because it is allegedly used by the Chinese Communist Party to control religious affairs for political advantages.
Earlier in May, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) once again recommended to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that China be designated as a country of particular concern (CPC). CPC designation is given to countries for ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. Since 1999, the Commission has recommended China to be designated as a CPC.
According to USCIRF’S annual report, Chinese government officials continue to control, monitor and restrain the activities of all religious communities including “house church” Protestants and “underground” Roman Catholics. Moreover, prominent religious leaders and adherents alike continue to suffer from confinement, torture, disappearances, imprisonment, and subjection to other forms of ill treatment due to their religious beliefs according to the commission’s report.
Furthermore, China is listed on Open Doors World’s Watch List as number ten for worst Christian persecution along with countries such as North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.
However, despite the criticism against the Exhibit’s sponsor Zhu – who said he became a Christian in China and immigrated to the United States 20 years ago – defended the “Three-Self” church movement in China.
"Speaking of the ‘Three-Self’ – the principles of self-governance, self-support and self-propagation of the Gospel – the concept was actually first introduced by American and British," Zhu explained. "In the 18th-19th century, the Congregational Church of the United States sent missionaries to China. The general secretary suggested that the church in China should have the ‘self-governance, self-support and self-propagation’ system. It is because the culture of China is very different from other countries; the church must be built according to China’s culture."
According to Zhu, the three principles of "Three-Self" are understandable when looking at various factors in China. For instance, because China is a large nation, it would be difficult for one group to financially support all the churches in China. Therefore, the principle of self-support is necessary.
Zhu also pointed out that before the reformation of China in 1949, there were around 4,000 foreign missionaries in China and only 1,000 Chinese pastors, forming a 5,000-strong team for evangelism in the country. But nowadays, all TSPM churches have their own Chinese pastors, elders and believers, which allows for the Chinese church to be self-governing and self-propagating, he added.
Religious persecution watchdogs, however, point out that while belonging to the TSPM gives churches the freedom to worship and to minister legally, there are many restrictions. One of the main restrictions is the "three designates" policy. According to Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) International, a Christian organization focused mainly on East Asia, this means that Christian activity must take place only in designated buildings (church buildings and homes that have been registered with the TSPM), must be conducted by a designated leader (an official TSPM pastor) and must be confined to one’s own area (no poaching in somebody else’s "parish").
“Even the substance of a pastor’s sermon is under scrutiny,” the more-than 140-year old organization reported. “Such subjects as the value of suffering, the return of Christ and the life of heaven are frowned upon, as they are regarded as ‘escapist’ themes, and thus in conflict with Marxist ideology. Such practices as praying for the sick and exorcising demons are regarded as superstitions, and should be outlawed.”
During his interview Friday, Zhu admitted that the history of China, especially the period of Cultural Revolution, may have hardened the hearts of Christians who personally or whose family and friends were persecuted. Without addressing the current reports of religious persecution, Zhu said the Atlanta committee member wanted to say to evangelical critics that "Christianity is a religion of forgiveness.”
“It is a faith to forgive other’s sins,” he commented. “As a Christian, how should we treat those who have given us hardships? We must try to reconcile with our actions, so that a harmonious society can be achieved in the world and peace will come on earth."
When asked about how foreign churches can help the Church in China, Zhu urged that priority be put on prayers. Particularly, people must be concern about the training of pastoral ministers in China, he said, because the number of believers in China has increased significantly and as a result more ministers are needed – a fact that persecution watchdog groups such as Open Doors also noted. Open Doors has also criticized the Chinese government for not providing enough Bibles and churches, thus limiting the growth of the Church in China.
In Beijing alone, there are less than 10 TSPM churches serving the population of 15 million.
