POLITICS/RELIGION - A religious war is brewing in China and its not between the usualy suspects. Christianity is growing rapidly in China and now is estimated to have approx. 100 million Christians, which is more members than the Communist Party in China. The sheer size has resulted in tension and rivalry between the two Chinese factions.
On September 13th 2009, at approx. 3 AM in the morning, over four hundred local police, government officials, and hired thugs attacked the Fushan House Church (churches have to be registered in China and operating one illegally is considered dangerous), demolished it and also damaged a shoe factory next door.
20 members of the church were severely beaten, tortured and hospitalized. 17 other buildings nearby were ransacked and then destroyed.
The Fushan House Church was owned by the 50,000 members of the local Linfen Church (which is registered). When the members demanded an apology and the buildings be rebuilt the local government responded by cutting off their electricty, water, telephone service and garbage pickup. They then arrested all the leaders of the Linfen Church. They were eventually found guilty of "unlawfully occupying agricultural land" with sentences varying between 3 and 7 years depending on how defiant they were. Some were given reduced sentences in exchange for fines (essentially bribes) paid to the Communist Party.
This is hardly the first incident of attacks against Christians in China. It is a growing phenomenon which is unchecked because the attacks go unpunished and are instead encouraged by local government officials.
Christian churches in Asia have a tendency to be highly social groups, meeting constantly (not just on Sunday) to have bible readings, dinners, fundraisers, etc. The members have a strong tendency to become fanatically loyal to their group (and frankly who isn't loyal to their closest friends?) and this begins to take on a cult-like appearance.
Cults are strictly forbidden in China and the Chinese government persecutes anyone who so much as appears to be in a cult. The daily meetings of church members with their friends is completely understandable (like the cast of Seinfeld meeting at the coffee shop every day), but such routine behaviour and the setting up of extra buildings to hold meetings in makes the Communist Party very jealous and nervous.
Support for the Communist Party in China is still pretty strong, although it has waned in recent years, it still maintains a strong grip on Chinese society by controlling the flow of information. Websites and search engines are closely monitored, dissidents are rounded up and arrested, and rival political parties are harrassed and intimidated.
During times of political unrest it will be increasingly difficult for the Chinese government to hold their members in check. People look for scapegoats and Christian groups are likely targets.
American, Canadian, Toronto & International News Commentary: Spreading Freedom in the Face of Tyranny
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Affordable Website Design & SEO
|
Featured Posts
The Sarcasm Symbol
Ever had some confusion online or with your cellphone when someone fails to catch the sarcasm? Well now with the SarcMark you can ge... |
|
Behold, the Scorpion Hydrogen Supercar
CARS - To the right is the future of supercars... it is a hydrogen supercar called the Scorpion. The Scorpion from Ronn Motors in Texas is t... |
|
Documents show Stephen Harper misusing public funds
CANADA - According to 950+ pages of documents obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act the Privy Coun... |
|
Pink's Rosie the Riveter
ENTERTAINMENT - What I like about this video is how it meshes different social movements like feminism, veganism, anti-capitalism... |
|
California's Dustbowl
ENVIRONMENT - The photo on the right is a farm in California that has been put up for sale. Its just one of thousands of farms that are n... |
|
Is Steampunk the New Goth???
GOTHIC - Watch out what you see on the subway late at night because while in 2001 you might have seen some pretty freakish goths, by 20... |
|
Do you have enough Ice Water in your diet?
HEALTH - A Calorie (large C) is a measurement of the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a litre of water (1 kg's worth) ... |
|
North Korean timeline towards Inevitable War
POLITICS - The following is timeline of events that have occurred on the Korean Peninsula. 1945 - Japan surrenders to the United States a... |
|
Judgment Day is Tomorrow, so sayeth Cult
RELIGION - According to a cult based in California, Judgement Day is tomorrow (May 21st 2011) and Jesus Christ will return to the Earth a... |
|
Sex in Space Forbidden
SEX/TECHNOLOGY - Sex in outer space is a big no-no according to NASA. Not for professional astronauts at least, but the growing numb... |
Popular Posts / Last 30 Days
-
Peasant Magazine is seeking submissions for Issue #2. Specifically it is looking for fantasy, historical fantasy, historical fiction an...
-
When was the last time you read a poetry book? If you enjoy poetry by Canadian poets do check out Gail M. Murray 's book: Reflections &a...
-
CANADA - The following is a list of 10 reasons why Torontonians are considered the rudest city in Canada. The sad part is Toronto may deser...
-
CANADA - I am henceforth boycotting Yak Canada and encouraging other people to do the same. A telemarketer from Yak Canada called me on my...
-
CARS - Nobody ever steals a pink car. According to a Dutch study which compared the colour of cars being stolen, pink is the safest colour ...
-
ENVIRONMENT - Air travel in Europe has practically ground to an halt as ash and chemicals from an erupting volcano in Iceland makes air tra...
-
CANADA - Canada's GDP grew 0.1% in September. Canada's economy grew 0.7% in July, which fell to 0.3% in August. Since July the Cana...
-
By Charles Moffat - October 2010. CANADA - If you are looking to buy a home in Toronto, or even Brampton or Mississauga then the prices of...
-
This post has been moved to CardioTrek.ca : Women's Hockey in Canada at a Crossroads
-
SEX / TECHNOLOGY - Sex in outer space is a big no-no according to NASA. Not for professional astronauts at least, but the growing number of...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments containing links will be marked as spam and not approved. We moderate every comment. If you want to advertise on this blog it is $30 per link.