“The context of this case can give us further insights into the twisted intentions of the Chinese government in regards Christians.”
Many Americans may be familiar with the case of John List. He was a devout Lutheran and taught Sunday school. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother and three children in their home in New Jersey. In 1990, he was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life in prison. This “What Happened Today in History” gives us a new lens and perspective with which to look at the “anti-cult” campaign launched recently by the Chinese government.
According to Xinhua (the official Chinese news agency), a woman surnamed Wu was beaten to death on May 28, 2014, at a McDonald’s outlet. The accused were Zhang Fan (female) and Zhang Lidong (male), both members of Quannengshen (Almighty God), a Christian group. On October 11, 2014, they were accused of being cult members and sentenced to death for committing murder. In August, 2014, the Chinese government media reported that the authorities had arrested “nearly a thousand” members of “evil-cult” groups. On October 30, 2014, the British newspaper The Telegraph, reported that Chinese Christians have accused the police of using the crackdown on “evil cults” as a cover to intensify their persecution of the country’s underground church.
The Chinese government enumerated some reasons for labeling the Church of Almighty God an evil cult. According to the People’s Daily (the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party), the spiritual practitioners believe that Jesus was resurrected as Yang Xiangbin, wife of the sect’s founder, Zhao Weishan (the couple fled to the U.S. in 2000); Yang Xiangbin, the woman who was called the “female Christ” has a history of mental illness; the church told its members that if they were arrested by the government, they should pray like this: “Even if they beat me to death, my soul is still in God’s hands”; and the church website rebukes the ruling Party for its “evil deeds,” labeling it the “Great Red Dragon.”
The context of this case can give us further insights into the twisted intentions of the Chinese government in regards Christians. From April to October, 2014, over 300 churches were either demolished or forced to move the cross from their buildings; pastors of both official and underground churches were put in prison; charitable schools and summer camps run by churches were closed by armed police; Christian teachers were arrested; over 100 Christians, including children, were arrested during a major house church raid, and close to 200 police officers stormed in during the Sunday service; 200 police officers detained 12 church members on charges of “illegal assembly” and spreading “cult propaganda”; a dozen police forced Christians holding a choir practice into a corner of the house church, made them squat, searched the room, and accused them of illegal assembly and cult activity. …
Clearly, by comparing the two cases, the one in the U.S. (John List) and the one in China, and the stark contrasts in the way they were handled by the respective authorities, we may get an idea of the real purpose and function of the recent “anti-cult” campaign instigated by the Chinese government.
If we were to accept the Chinese government’s claim that they govern by the rule of law, much the same as the U.S. government, why were a thousand of people arrested? Why were many church services raided by the police and Christians arrested across the nation? Couldn’t the government simply punish the two alleged murderers just like in the case of John List? Why did the Chinese government use the crackdown on so-called “cults” as an opportunity to persecute house churches?
In my opinion, it is an excuse to clamp down on Christians who refused to both join the government-run church and hide their faith in Jesus Christ. It is actually a nationwide anti-Christian campaign launched by the Communist regime, because the Communist Party shows little tolerance for pro-democracy Christians. However, as voiced by Beatrice Leung, it is not because these serious Christians really like to be involved in politics, but because democracy would be a protection for religious freedom. Leung is a nun who studied Catholicism in China and is now based in Taiwan.
This pattern of repression used by the government has already been noticed by experts and scholars in political science. Professor Carsten Vala from Loyola University, Maryland, says that similar reports of churches “being caught up in police dragnets” had followed a Communist Party clampdown on the Falungong spiritual group after it was outlawed in 1999. Despite the fact that these religious groups were cruelly punished by the government, they were not destroyed, on the contrary, they are growing ever so stronger in their faith.
As Professor Vala pointed out, the really committed, devout believers will be increasingly strengthened in their faith by this ‘winds of persecution’. As a Christian, I am encouraged by those disciples of Jesus in China. The church buildings can be torn down; Christians can be thrown in jail; but the congregations themselves have never been scattered into oblivion.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew 5:11) I encourage you to pray with me for those devout Christians in China.
References links:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/panel-looks-at-christianitys-rapid-growth-in-china-despite-persecution-120850/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11198580/Chinese-Christians-under-pressure-from-anti-cult-campaign.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-28/christians-lead-h-k-protests-in-test-of-china-s-control.html
http://www.christianpost.com/news/100-christians-including-children-arrested-during-major-house-church-raid-in-china-126854/
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21629218-rapid-spread-christianity-forcing-official-rethink-religion-cracks
http://time.com/3508291/china-underground-churches-catholicism-catholics-christianity-christians-kevin-frayer/