Billy Graham's visit to China: Retrospect
7/88
House church leaders in China said Dr. Billy Graham's controversial visit did three things which they could not have accomplished, according to Ron McMillan, Open Doors News Service's Asia Correspondent.
First, he shared Jesus Christ with many top communists who hold enormous power in China today. Secondly, Graham made a vigorous case for Christianity and its positive role in China's development at a time when a critical new law on religion is being drafted in the government. House church leaders expressed hopes that his efforts may result in a more sympathetic law towards religious freedom.
Thirdly, he was able to discuss the message of Jesus Christ with atheistic scholars at several educational establishments. He gave brief lectures and fielded the questions of academicians at Beijing University, the Academy of Social Sciences, and other colleges.
Graham was hosted by two opposing organizations: the Chinese Association for Friendship with Foreign People, which opened doors for him into the Communist establishment, and the China Christian Council. Initially, house church leaders were wary of Graham's patronage of Communist leaders. However, the prevailing opinion was that Graham had done the best he could under difficult circumstances, and he did not let the house church movement down. He ensured this to a degree by meeting privately with a group of house church leaders in Beijing, and by visiting Wang Ming Tao in Shanghai, the 87-year-old patriarch of the home church movement. Graham also brought extended greetings to a large gathering of believers at an independent house church in Canton.
More importantly, he resisted labeling evangelical ministries who refuse to work through the Three Self Patriotic Movement, an arm of the communist government responsible for monitoring religious activity, as "anti-China." Religious leaders who have visited China in the past have been urged to make such statements.
His visit ironically ended in controversy over the arrest of a house church leader, Xu Yongze, who was on his way to hear Graham preach in Beijing. Xu has been described as the "Billy Graham of China." The stubborn refusal of the Ministry of National Security to even admit that Yongze was in their custody served as a strong reminder to the watching world that the Chinese Church is still suffering under strong persecution.
Up one level
Back to document index
The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
|
This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
|
| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
(Available in DVD only) $17.95 ORDER NOW!
|
INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
Price reduced! |
| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
$19.95 ORDER NOW!
|
|
The Forerunner Forum is the discussion group for this web site. The purpose of the group is to engage in discussion about the articles on-line. If you want to discuss any article or video on this web site, visit The Forerunner Forum. |
| VIDEOS | WORDS | BLOG | DISCUSSION | WHAT'S NEW | ABOUT US | FEEDBACK | SEARCH | DONATE | JAY'S BIO | HOME |
For more information, contact:
| The Forerunner jrogers@forerunner.com |
|
P.O. Box 362173 Melbourne, FL 32936-2173 |
Use an RSS Feed Reader?
Subscribe to
The Forerunner!
Featured Product
If you like the articles on this website, you may also be interested in:
Featured Articles
|
The Real Jesus: |