Religious Liberty Prayer List - No. 081 - Thu 07 Sep 2000

CHINA: THE CHURCH'S INSPIRING GROWTH IN UNRELENTING SUFFERING

The story of the Christian Church in China oppressed under Communism is inspiring. Its context is that Communist regimes such as China always regard Christianity as a threat to their very existence, because of their atheistic political ideology.

During the dark years of Mao's 'Great Leap Forward' (launched in 1958) and 'The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution' (1966), multitudes of Christian leaders were killed and imprisoned for their faith, and many others spent years in hard labour camps. The Communists thought they were destroying the Church, but it was really like they were stepping on the head of a dandelion.

The Church in China sprang quietly to life like a freshly sown field. Led primarily by elderly women who had escaped the Communist purges, small house churches sprouted all over the country. Their very existence was and still is illegal. Fifty years of oppression and persecution has seen this Church grow from around one million believers in 1949 to 70 - 80 million today. But we must never forget that along with this inspirational growth, the suffering of our Chinese Christian brethren is very real.

In China today, Christians may operate within the state religious system, but the conditions placed on these official Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sanctioned churches are intolerable to most evangelical Christians. To remain true to the gospel message and to evangelise, they function illegally outside the official church system. Similarly, there is a traditional Roman Catholic Church separate from the state approved Catholicism.

These 'illegal' Christians are at great personal risk in China, where a citizen can be detained for two weeks without any charge being laid. Trials are often mere show, with no lawyers present to represent the accused. At the discretion of the police, a citizen may receive an administrative sentence (requiring no legal process) for up to three years in one of the enormous network of Soviet style labour camps.

The US State Department's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2000 describes the Chinese Government's respect for religious liberty as having "deteriorated markedly". It notes that "government officials in some regions imposed tight regulations, closed houses of worship, and actively persecuted members of some unregistered religious groups. Members of such groups were subject to harassment, extortion, prolonged detention, physical abuse, and incarceration in prison or in 're-education through labor' camps. There were credible reports of religious detainees being beaten and tortured."

On 23 August, 15 police raided a meeting of the Fangcheng Church in Henan Province, arresting 109 Christians (see RLP 080). A week later, police violently raided an underground Catholic church in Fujian Province, and of the 24 worshippers arrested, 22 are still detained, whereabouts unknown. Also in late August, four Christians arrested in Hua Du were immediately sentenced to 15 days in jail.

The church in Hua Du was broken up by the authorities in May. Now these 600 believers meet in 40 smaller fellowships, where baptisms occur every week. The words of the Chinese officials in USA are indeed true that China is witnessing a 'golden age for religion'. However that has nothing to do with freedom of religion, because there is none. Church growth is occurring amidst intense suffering.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:

* the safety, health and strength of imprisoned Chinese Christians, separated from their loved ones and church families.

* their emotional and spiritual strength, that they will be 'lights' in their prison or labour camp, and that their imprisonment will not be without blessing.

"Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Hebrews 13:3

* the encouragement, hope and strength of families of incarcerated Christians, and for support with food and income.

* witness, even to the highest levels of the CCP, to bring about a change in the Chinese situation.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE: ------------------------------------------------------------ CHINESE CHURCH'S INSPIRING GROWTH AND UNRELENTING SUFFERING

During 50 years of Communist rule, the Christian Church in China has grown from around one million believers in 1949 to 70-80 million today. It can be easy to marvel at the figures and forget the facts. The facts are that Chinese Christians who dare defy the Chinese Communist Party and witness to their faith, or worship 'illegally' outside the state controlled churches, risk violence, imprisonment and torture. In late August, 109 believers were arrested in Henan Province and 4 others in Hua Du. The church in Hua Du, which had 600 members, was closed by the authorities in May, but has sprung to new life in the form of 40 smaller house churches, seeing baptisms every week. Praise God for the growth of the Church in China but, knowing the persecution believers face, 'be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.' Eph 6:18

---------------------------------------------------- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> ----------------------------------------------------

The WEF Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEF RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.