Church News From China - Volume 3 No. 1
* STUDENTS HOPE TO GATHER IN TIANANMEN
Large numbers of university students in China are examining
the claims of Christianity and putting aside their
skepticism about what they formerly considered "superstition."
One Bible study group, which started out with five
students, has grown to more than 300 people meeting
in dozens of locations. On another campus there were
200 converts in the past year.
"We believe that great things will happen in the next few years," said a Chinese student who is a member of one of these Bible study groups "We are specifically praying that someday soon all Christians [in China] may be able to come out of hiding and declare their faith openly and publicly, and also worship openly and publicly without fear. We believe that by 1997 at least one million Christians will be able to gather in one large praise celebration at Tiananmen Square. Where once there was violence and death, we want to bring the message of peace and freedom in Jesus." (Bible League)
* INTELLECTUALS CONVERTING TO CHRISTIANITY
In spite of persecution of Christians in China - including
imprisonment, beatings, exorbitant fines (often several
years' wages), and confiscation of Bibles - Chinese
converts to Christianity in 1994 again numbered in
the millions. Chinese students and intellectuals are
more responsive than ever to believing the words of
Jesus, according to China Harvest. (MissionLink)
* 10 MILLION BIBLES
This past summer, the 10 millionth Bible came off the
press in Nanjing at Amity Press, a joint venture between
the Chinese government and United Bible Societies.
Amity is also in the process of publishing a braille
Bible, two study Bibles, and a Chinese/English diglot
Bible.
Because China's church is growing rapidly, however, these numbers do not meet the demand. China's current laws do not allow foreigners to bring Bibles into China, except for their own personal copies. In addition, Christians in China's unregistered churches for the most part do not have access to Amity Bibles. Many Chinese Christians still write overseas pleading for Bibles. (Pray for China Fellowship, Open Doors)
* CHRISTIANS ARRESTED, TORTURED
Jin Zhiming, 45, a leader of China's growing house church
movement, was arrested in Changzhi, Shanxi Province.
During the raid, five officers from the Public Security
Bureau confiscated Bibles, books, and Jin's personal
belongings.
The vast majority of China's estimated 50-70 million Christians belong to unregistered house churches. Because they do not register with the government, which would subject them to restrictions and regulations, they are frequently arrested, fined, or sentenced to labor camps. There have been several reports of Christians subjected to torture while in detention, resulting in a number of deaths. (Christian Solidarity International)
* REFUGEES FLEE ONE-CHILD POLICY
A number of Chinese refugees, including several Christians,
are choosing to return to China rather than wait in
U.S. prisons while their applications for asylum are
considered. However, lawyers for the refugees fear
those returning to China will face severe repercussions
upon re-entry. Five men who have already returned to
China have been fined by the Chinese government and
may be imprisoned in Shanghai, according to Jeffrey
Lobach, an attorney representing the Chinese refugees.
Many of the refugees fled China because of the government's harsh family-planning policies, Lobach said. "Scores of them are Christians. Some were when they arrived; some [became Christians] since they've been here," he said.
Under China's strict population-control policy, many women and families have faced either forced abortion, sterilization, or heavy fines. (NNI)
* CHINESE CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS MEET
Seventy Chinese scholars shared enthusiasm for their
new faith in Christ at a meeting last summer in Virginia.
The scholars, all from mainland China, are currently
pursuing studies in the U.S. At the end of the weekend,
they shared testimonies for two hours of how Jesus
had changed their lives. "I couldn't stop them!"
said Freddie Sun, chairman of the event and director
of Christian Aid Mission's China Division. (Christian
Aid Mission)
* DISSIDENT CALLS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Liu Xiabo, one of the Chinese dissidents detained last
summer prior to June 4, was reportedly working on a
petition appealing for government tolerance of opposing
views and religious beliefs.
(Human Rights in China, International Herald Tribune)
* RADIO IN CHINA
Earlier this year, a radio program broadcasting to China
began reading the Bible on the air. According to The
Spoken Word of God Ministries, China was chosen because
it has 22 percent of the world's population and nearly
all households own radios. (Spoken Word)
* MORE BIBLES NEEDED
One network of house churches reports a monthly need
of 25,000 Bibles for new converts to Christians, plus
1,250 study Bibles.
(Release International)
* MEDICAL MISSION TO WESTERN CHINA
During the past year, more than 25 Christian Chinese
doctors and nurses - from the U.S., Taiwan, Singapore,
Malaysia, and Hong Kong - have visited poor areas of
western China for assessment, lectures, and service
under the auspices of Medical Services International.
(OMF)
* HONG KONG CHURCHES
The number of Christian churches in Hong Kong has increased
from 872 in 1989 to 1079 in 1995, an increase of 25.3
percent, according to the Hong Kong Church Renewal
Movement. The number of people attending worship has
also increased during the same period by 42.75 percent.
(China News and Church Report [CNCR])
* DISSIDENT CONVERTS
Han Dongfang, a well-known Chinese labor activist, has
become a Christian. He is continuing his work in Hong
Kong, where he is living in exile since the Chinese
government prevented him from returning home. (CNCR)
* CHRISTIANS ARRESTED
Five church workers from Wenzhou, who were detained
in a PSB raid on a house church in Huai'an, Jiangsu
Province, have been fined up to 5,000 yuan. Four local
Christians detained in the raid were released the following
day. During their time in detention, the believers
were repeatedly questioned about their activities.
Sources say they were often beaten and kicked during
interrogations designed to encourage them to confess
to having connections with foreign religious organizations.
One such interrogation session reportedly lasted 13
hours. (News Network International [NNI], CNCR)
* ANHUI POLICE LAUNCH CRACKDOWN
A house church leader from Anhui had a cross shaved
on his head and his hands stabbed with scissors following
his arrest earlier this year, according to a letter
from Chinese Christians received by Hong Kong sources.
During the police interrogation of Hu Zhuan Qi, in
his early 30s, officials reportedly asked if it was
accurate that Jesus had told his followers that they
must be willing to bear the cross. When Hu answered
yes, the official reportedly replied, "Then I'm
going to give you a cross to bear."
The security officer then shaved a cross on Hu's head and stabbed his hands with the scissors. A photograph showing the marks on Hu's head and hands was included with the letter. (NNI)
* MILLIONS TO PRAY FOR CHINA
This October, millions of Christians around the world
are expected to pray for 100 strategic cities of the
world - including 17 in China. The cities are political
and economic centers in their respective countries.
Most are either capitals, or cities with large populations.
Christians will be praying that God will bless each
city, and that people residing there will know His
love for them. The 17 cities in China are Beijing,
Changchun, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hohhot, Jinan,
Lanzhou, Lhasa, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan,
Tianjin, Urumqi, Wuhan, and Xian. (Charisma)
* FOREIGNERS ARRESTED
An Australian missionary and a Hong Kong Chinese church
worker were among those arrested and briefly detained
in Guangdong earlier this year, following a raid on
an unregistered house church. Two Chinese evangelists
were also arrested; security agents used steel rods
to severely beat one of them, Li Dexian, 43. Li sustained
fractures to several ribs and injuries to his back,
legs, and neck. (NNI)
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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.
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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. |
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