July 7, 2025

July, 7, 2025
July 7, 2025

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World news biblically understood

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Chinese Churches Can Reopen… If They Preach Party Doctrine

While coronavirus restrictions may be lifting for state-approved churches in China, many find themselves facing an even more dangerous situation — being told what to teach by an officially atheist authoritarian regime.

Catholic churches in the Chinese province of Zhejiang have been told by the state-affiliated Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association that Mass may resume this month provided churches preach “patriotism.” This instruction is deeply problematic. To the Chinese Communist Party, “patriotism” means pledging your loyalty to the Party, which is increasingly hostile to religion under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese churches are routinely pressured to conform to the government regulations geared toward re-enforcing the authority of the party and promoting its goals. Last year, state-sanctioned churches in the Shandong province were required to promote socialist ideology in their sermons and display propaganda posters that used Bible verses to promote China’s “core socialist values.”

Pastor Jin Mingri, who once led a large unregistered Protestant church in Beijing, described the growing problem to The Guardian in 2018, “Before, as long as you didn’t meddle in politics the government left you alone. But now if you don’t push the Communist party line, if you don’t display your love for the party, you are a target… Of course we’re scared, we’re in China, but we have Jesus.”

China’s political leaders have long feared that Christians would mobilize against the Communist Party, much like Christians aided the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Beijing seeks to mitigate this perceived threat through its long-term efforts to “Sinicize” religion.

In the wake of the coronavirus, things are looking even worse for Chinese churches.

In April, at least 48 state-sanctioned churches were forcibly shut down by authorities in one Chinese county alone.

The sight of government officials rushing to tear crosses from your church can be intimidating and upsetting for congregants. A Christian from China’s Jiangxi province claimed that members of one church cried in distress as authorities removed their cross. The Christian reported, “Whether they demolish a church or a cross, everyone is afraid to challenge them. If you try to protest, they will accuse you of fighting against the Communist Party and the central government.”

As soon as the coronavirus lockdown began to ease at the end of April, Chinese authorities were quick to resume an ongoing initiative to remove crosses from the exteriors of church buildings. This is merely the visual evidence of Sinicizing religion — even church buildings start to look less uniquely Christian.

When Chinese authorities tear down crosses, they aren’t just destroying meaningless symbols. They are destroying all outward representations of Christianity in those towns as they work to shape the contents of sermons from within churches, remaking Christianity in their own image.

When North Korean defector Joseph Kim fled to China, a Chinese woman told him to seek help at churches and that he could find them by looking for crosses on the top of buildings. It is disheartening to know that in the future, those in need may not be able to locate Chinese churches because the government has hidden them in plain sight, devoid of any traditional Christian symbols.

China has received a lot of bad press for their handling of the novel coronavirus. But among the bad decisions made by Chinese leaders, the world must also remember how China treated religious minorities during and following the outbreak. A pandemic should never be exploited to oppress religious believers, but China has done just that.

Chinese Churches
CLICK HERE FOR SOURCE

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Millions Are Understanding Our World Through A Biblical Worldview

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‘Nazi!’: The Left Refuses To Protect Today’s Jews, But They Have No Issue Capitalizing On The Holocaust

Liberals will try anything to make you believe that it is a 21st Century version of the old Nazi Concentration camps with all the stigmas attached to that era! It is interesting that they would seek to capitalize on a very dark period of history from the mid-30s to the mid-40s, to garner a completely unjustified public's outrage, but they would ignore the fact that we seem to be back in a 1930s/40s antisemitic atmosphere as it pertains to the safety of the Jewish people.

Hatred Of Jews: The Devastating Aftermath Of Martin Luther’s ‘Wrong Turn’

Martin Luther, one of history’s great men of faith in Christ, took a wrong turn. The results in human history have been devastating. His achievements are many, and they have endured across time. Sadly, so have his flaws. Martin Luther let an age-old evil rise up within him, and it wound up ruling a significant part of his life and legacy. At one point, it practically destroyed his German homeland. The old evil was an unreasoning hatred for Jews.

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A Call To Sanity And Repentance: The ‘Woke Right’ And A New Subculture In American Evangelicalism

Let the Word of God be your standard of reality—not the Conservative Manosphere. The Apostle Paul calls what you are doing boasting against the natural branches, and he warns us not to do it (Rom. 11:11–27). By denying that Israel — even in her fallen state — has any claim to the land of promise, you are rejecting God’s self-revelation as immutable, faithful, merciful, gracious, and long-suffering.

ABC's of Salvation

Decision

Jan Markell

Israel My Glory

Erick Stakelbeck

untitled artwork

While coronavirus restrictions may be lifting for state-approved churches in China, many find themselves facing an even more dangerous situation — being told what to teach by an officially atheist authoritarian regime.

Catholic churches in the Chinese province of Zhejiang have been told by the state-affiliated Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association that Mass may resume this month provided churches preach “patriotism.” This instruction is deeply problematic. To the Chinese Communist Party, “patriotism” means pledging your loyalty to the Party, which is increasingly hostile to religion under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese churches are routinely pressured to conform to the government regulations geared toward re-enforcing the authority of the party and promoting its goals. Last year, state-sanctioned churches in the Shandong province were required to promote socialist ideology in their sermons and display propaganda posters that used Bible verses to promote China’s “core socialist values.”

Pastor Jin Mingri, who once led a large unregistered Protestant church in Beijing, described the growing problem to The Guardian in 2018, “Before, as long as you didn’t meddle in politics the government left you alone. But now if you don’t push the Communist party line, if you don’t display your love for the party, you are a target… Of course we’re scared, we’re in China, but we have Jesus.”

China’s political leaders have long feared that Christians would mobilize against the Communist Party, much like Christians aided the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Beijing seeks to mitigate this perceived threat through its long-term efforts to “Sinicize” religion.

In the wake of the coronavirus, things are looking even worse for Chinese churches.

In April, at least 48 state-sanctioned churches were forcibly shut down by authorities in one Chinese county alone.

The sight of government officials rushing to tear crosses from your church can be intimidating and upsetting for congregants. A Christian from China’s Jiangxi province claimed that members of one church cried in distress as authorities removed their cross. The Christian reported, “Whether they demolish a church or a cross, everyone is afraid to challenge them. If you try to protest, they will accuse you of fighting against the Communist Party and the central government.”

As soon as the coronavirus lockdown began to ease at the end of April, Chinese authorities were quick to resume an ongoing initiative to remove crosses from the exteriors of church buildings. This is merely the visual evidence of Sinicizing religion — even church buildings start to look less uniquely Christian.

When Chinese authorities tear down crosses, they aren’t just destroying meaningless symbols. They are destroying all outward representations of Christianity in those towns as they work to shape the contents of sermons from within churches, remaking Christianity in their own image.

When North Korean defector Joseph Kim fled to China, a Chinese woman told him to seek help at churches and that he could find them by looking for crosses on the top of buildings. It is disheartening to know that in the future, those in need may not be able to locate Chinese churches because the government has hidden them in plain sight, devoid of any traditional Christian symbols.

China has received a lot of bad press for their handling of the novel coronavirus. But among the bad decisions made by Chinese leaders, the world must also remember how China treated religious minorities during and following the outbreak. A pandemic should never be exploited to oppress religious believers, but China has done just that.

Chinese Churches
CLICK HERE FOR SOURCE

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Of News Events Around The World.

‘Nazi!’: The Left Refuses To Protect Today’s Jews, But They Have No Issue Capitalizing On The Holocaust

Liberals will try anything to make you believe that it is a 21st Century version of the old Nazi Concentration camps with all the stigmas attached to that era! It is interesting that they would seek to capitalize on a very dark period of history from the mid-30s to the mid-40s, to garner a completely unjustified public's outrage, but they would ignore the fact that we seem to be back in a 1930s/40s antisemitic atmosphere as it pertains to the safety of the Jewish people.

Hatred Of Jews: The Devastating Aftermath Of Martin Luther’s ‘Wrong Turn’

Martin Luther, one of history’s great men of faith in Christ, took a wrong turn. The results in human history have been devastating. His achievements are many, and they have endured across time. Sadly, so have his flaws. Martin Luther let an age-old evil rise up within him, and it wound up ruling a significant part of his life and legacy. At one point, it practically destroyed his German homeland. The old evil was an unreasoning hatred for Jews.

untitled artwork 6391

A Call To Sanity And Repentance: The ‘Woke Right’ And A New Subculture In American Evangelicalism

Let the Word of God be your standard of reality—not the Conservative Manosphere. The Apostle Paul calls what you are doing boasting against the natural branches, and he warns us not to do it (Rom. 11:11–27). By denying that Israel — even in her fallen state — has any claim to the land of promise, you are rejecting God’s self-revelation as immutable, faithful, merciful, gracious, and long-suffering.

ABC's of Salvation

TV AD

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Decision Magazine V AD

Decision

Jan Markell

Israel My Glory

Erick Stakelbeck

untitled artwork

YOU CARE ABOUT

BIBLICAL TRUTH.

SO DO WE.

Together, We Can Deliver A Biblical Understanding Of News Events Around The World And Equip The Church To Stand With A Biblical Worldview.

Israel My Glory

Erick Stakelbeck

untitled artwork

YOU CARE ABOUT

BIBLICAL TRUTH.

SO DO WE.

 

Together, We Can Deliver A Biblical Understanding Of News Events Around The World And Equip The Church To Stand With A Biblical Worldview.