I found this article to be a fair, balanced, informative assessment of Christian faith and its growth in China.
. . . "By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon," said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule.
"It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change."
China's Protestant community, which had just one million members in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life.
By 2030, China's total Christian population, including Catholics, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted.
-- Read on for much more, including mention of underground house churches, government concerns, and future prospects.
If I asked you to describe the state of Christianity in Europe, you’d probably answer “not good.” And there’d be ample reason to do so. Most of us are familiar with the depressing statistics regarding church attendance in Western Europe and Scandinavia.
But there is more to Europe than Britain, France, and Sweden. And in Central and Eastern Europe, a different story is being written.
This story was the subject of a recent First Things article by Filip Mazurczak. In it, Mazurczak reveals to readers what is going on in former communist societies such as Hungary and Croatia. For instance, while the European Union notoriously omitted any mention of Europe’s Christian heritage in the preamble to its constitution, Hungary’s new constitution “ties Christianity to Hungarian nationhood.”
I hadn't known of this gathering until this morning. How magnificent that thousands of Christians from all over the world are coming together in Muslim Indonesia for this five-day prayer gathering.
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Thousands of the world's Christian leaders are in Indonesia seeking God's guidance on how to transform the nations with Christ's message of love.
It's an historic prayer gathering in many ways, not the least of which is Indonesia's decision to host the event. The huge Southeast Asian island nation is home to the world's largest Muslim population.
"That's what we are well known for, but there's something else taking place in our country," one Indonesian woman said.
Her words echo a deep desire among Indonesia's minority Christians to make the name of Jesus Christ famous.
"We are a small percentage of the population, but we are compelled to tell others about Christ," the woman said.
Winds of Revival
A massive prayer movement is underway, connecting some 500 Indonesian cities with more than 5 million believers.
This week, an hour's drive south of Jakarta, the capital city, Indonesian churches invited more than 9,000 Christians to take part in the World Prayer Assembly 2012.
"We feel that the epicenter of the world revival is going to be Asia and especially Indonesia," World Prayer Assembly's John Robb told CBN News.
Such a large Christian event has never been held in this majority Muslim country.
"We see the WPA as kind of a stepping stone toward the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14: 'For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,'" Robb said.
For five days, representatives of more than 60 countries will network and strategize on how to bring Christ's salvation and healing to the nations.
"A new wave is coming so we wanted to catch it, the spirit of prayer, so that we can bring revival to our nation," Pricilla Abbathurai of India said.
"I've been praying that I would be a part (of) what God is doing in my country and for the whole world as we fulfill the Great Commission," Philippines resident Julius Velasco said.
"My prayer for this Congress is that this movement of prayer, this movement of mission will be joined together to see the Great Commission accomplished in the coming decades," American Paul Eshlemen said.
Organizers say worship and intercession will serve as the cornerstone for all the week's activities.
Throughout Indonesia some 1.5 million believers have committed to praying this entire week, and about 300 cities are joining together with all of their focus and prayer right here outside Jakarta.
The highlight of the gathering comes Thursday, when an estimated 100,000 Christians are expected to fill Indonesia's largest stadium with several more hours of worship and prayer for the nations.
NEW YORK - Chinese immigrants travel to the United States to fulfill the American dreams of freedom, wealth, and a new way of life.
Yet, when they reach America's shores, many find something far more valuable than riches.
Chinese worshippers often gather at the Church of Grace to the Fujanese in New York City. Some congregants have traveled from Boston, Philadelphia, and as far away as Ohio and Tennessee to attend the church.
It's a fascinating story. Timothy Tennent, President of Asbury Seminary, writes: (HT: Justin Taylor) [my emphases]
[...] While we are witnessing the dramatic decline in Christianity among Caucasians, the Western world is, at the same time, witnessing the dramatic growth of newly emerging ethnic congregations. The Chinese, Hispanic, African and Korean congregations, in particular, are experiencing unprecedented growth.
This weekend, for example, I had the privilege of speaking at the Rutgers Christian Community Church. It was planted only thirty years ago by a handful of Chinese students from Rutgers University. Today, it is a thriving Christian community with several thousand members. They have English, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations and are in the middle of a major building program to build a new sanctuary.
Prior to my coming to Asbury I lived in the Boston area. Boston is the home of a major spiritual awakening. More people have come to Christ in Boston in the last three decades than during the Great Awakening, but it has largely gone unnoticed, because it is occurring primarily among African, Chinese, Korean, and Hispanic peoples. There are over 50 different African congregations in Boston and, indeed, on any given Sunday in Cambridge, Massachusetts, more people worship Christ in a language other than English than in English. It has been called the “quiet revival.”
I am convinced that the greatest source of renewal in the North American church will be found in these emerging ethnic churches. Pastors across this country should begin planting ethnic congregations in their facilities and nurturing their growth. Boston already has more shared-facility churches than any other city in the country. May this trend continue.
In his five-star review of How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind," Amazon reviewer C. Stephens wrote:
Thomas Oden writes, "Christianity would not have its present vitality in the Two-Thirds World without the intellectual understandings that developed in Africa between 50 and 500 C.E. The pretense of studying church history while ignoring African church history is implausible." (10) Yet, in his book "How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind," Oden purports that for centuries Western intellectuals have in fact ignored or downplayed the momentous contributions of African Christians to church history and theology. According to Oden, today's Christian mind has its roots in the writings and teachings of the early church leaders from Africa, in the struggles of the early church martyrs from Africa, in the lives of the desert Fathers of Africa, and in the early Christians who fled Africa taking their faith throughout the Mediterranean cities. Oden suggests that it is critical for contemporary African Christianity to learn of its prestigious heritage--to learn that Christianity is a vital, traditional African faith rather than a foreign imposition.
He writes, "The profound ways African teachers have shaped world Christianity have never been adequately studied or acknowledged, either in the Global North or South." (9) This is a story that Oden believes needs to be told throughout African villages and cities and must especially reach the African child. He believes it is a story best told fully by young African scholars. The story of African Christianity conveys extraordinary faith, courage, tenacity and intellect that must serve as inspiration and guides not only for African Christianity but for universal Christianity today.
The 20th annual Wheaton Theology Conference concluded April 9, 2011. The college has now posted video and audio of each lecture and Q&A as well. I was privileged to attend this conference and came away with a broadened and deepened perspective on worldwide Christian faith. I may well put up some additional posts related to the conference as I have occasion to re- listen to the lectures.
This is a fascinating story. Some believe the growth of ‘third-kind” churches in China, composed largely of young urban professionals, will play an increasingly significant role in the evolution of the Chinese church and its impact on senior levels of Chinese society. May it be so. Meanwhile, all is not rosy. China Aid keeps the world up-to-date on the persecution and hardship that Christians endure in many parts of China. Special attention needs to be paid to the kidnap and torture of Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng and the Uyghur Christian convert from Islam Alimujiang Yimiti, now serving an outrageous and unjust 15 year prison sentence. I previously wrote about him here. For more details click here and here.
Seasoned China watcher, David Aikman, for many years Time magazine's Beijing bureau chief and author of Jesus in Beijing, was interviewed Dec. 27, 2010 by Compassion Radio. A Dec. 28, 2010 interview with Bob Fu, a student participant in the 1989 Tinnamen Square uprising and founder of the human rights organization, China Aid Association, can be heard here. Both interviews provide current updates on the situation in China.
Readers might find the book, Chinese Intellectuals and the Gospel (edited by Samuel Ling and Stacey Bieler) of interest. Regarding the Chinese Communist government's common hostile attitude towards Christianity, it should be noted that it refused permission for 200 invited Chinese Christian leaders to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism held in Cape Town, South Africa last October.
Update 1/6/11 - Elizabeth Kendall produced a tremendously valuable and comprehensive report on Christianity in China on September 29, 2010. It remains a "must-read" analysis.
I posted below a short video-talk by Joseph D'Souza given at the Lausanne Congress taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. But I need to introduce the congress to those for whom it is new. David Virtue, of VirtueOnline, is onsite and posting articles on this historic congress. He writes:
In Cape Town more than 5,000 men, women and youth have come from 198 nations - literally from every tribe and language and people group. They have one single objective - to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person on earth. We are now living in the age of the global church.
There are more languages being spoken here than at Pentecost. This is a gathering of people who are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ or to tell the truth about Jesus, preaching Good News to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, unreached people's and unengaged (no known missionaries) groups, both old and young. There are 469 out of 639 people groups representing 550 million people who have only recently been reached by mobilizing Christian agencies.. .
The congress is being linked through 700 global link sites in 97 countries reaching 100,000 people in eight languages. The Book of Ephesians is the guiding Biblical document uniting this congress. . . Fully a third of all the participants here at the Lausanne Congress on Evangelism are young people in their late 20s and early 30s. . .
Take this opportunity to listen to Joseph D'Souza's powerful message about caste in India, "the world's longest-lasting slave system," and the challenge facing the Christian church. This is a most worthwhile 8 1/2 minutes of your time! It is altogether informative, instructive and inspirational at the same time. I was powerfully moved. (HT: P. Dance)
D'Souza said there is more slavery in our world today than there was at the time of Wilberforce when he fought the transatlantic slave trade. 250 million people are considered the outcastes of Indian society. I found it fascinating, and horrifying, that a "creation myth" is the root of the stratification of Indian society. The myth says that God created human beings in a hierarchy of purity and impurity. 25% of India’s population has no rights, is dehumanized, segregated, and silently endures an apartheid system. But there are great signs of hope. If you haven't yet listened to the video posted above, take the time now to do so.
I read in today's Wall Street Journal that a seat for today's Ghana-USA game were going for $283. That was according to ticket-price forecaster SeatGeek.com. David Biderman says "That's cheaper than six of the
round's other seven matches. A seat at Sunday's Argentina-Mexico match is going for $633, while tickets for the title game are already at $2,347."
Me: I appreciate the opportunity to see the game on TV for zilch. I also note that not everyone is excited about soccer. Englishman (now American) John Derbyshire stands by his 2000 article in which he minces no words:
What really needs explaining is not why Americans do not care to watch
soccer, but why the rest of the world
does.
With the probable exception of cricket, it is the most boring game ever
devised, and has been trending in the direction
of utter eventlessness for
several decades. . . It is amazing, in such a busy age, that so many
people are willing to spend
ninety minutes watching a game that frequently has no result.
Derbyshire goes on to write of hooliganism among the fans and brain injuries among the players.
I personally have been enjoying the World Cup games I've been able to see. Especially intriguing has been the ball control footwork, accurate passing, and the setting up of attacks. Quite extraordinary really.
America's Saturday World Cup opponent is reportedly
one in the Spirit.
Ted Olsen
The team America faces Saturday in its second round World Cup matchup
is spiritually
united, ESPN's Jeff Bradley reports.
"We love to sing together, dance together, pray together," Ghana
striker Asamoah Gyan told Bradley. "It brings joy to our hearts. This is
our team."
Bradley says that spirit continues to the field. "What I've noticed,
more than anything, about the Black Stars, is they are a team in every
sense of the word," he wrote. "From their pregame (and postgame, and
halftime, and pre-training and post-training) songs and prayers, to
their disciplined adherence to Rajevac's rigid system that features a
single striker, they are true believers that the whole can be greater
than the sum of its individual pieces. ... It's 11 together with one
goal."
"We are Christians and we all know how important God is," he said.
"We all respect God and we pray every time before the game and after the
game. ... We praise God, what he has done for us. Then the next day is
match-day, so we use that opportunity to give us strength and help us go
on into the game."
The team isn't praying alone. The government and nation's churches
have called for united prayers at home for the team.
And now that Ghana is the only African team left in the World Cup,
Cameroon players Alex
Song and Samuel
Eto’o both said, in separate interviews, "Everybody must pray for
Ghana."
The country of Ghana is 83 percent
Christian--mostly Protestant (71%) and Pentecostal (26%). 83 percent
of Christians say they attend services at least weekly.
Timothy Tennent takes a few pages to discuss the merits of each term in his excellent book, Theology in the Context of Global Christianity. On the designation "Third World" (coined in 1952 by the French demographer Alfred Sauvy), Tennent says:
It quickly entered English as a helpful phrase to speak collectively about Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was originally articulated in the context of the Cold War, when the world was polarized by the two "worlds" of the capitalistic, industrialized West and the communist, state-controlled East. It began as a political expression. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, the expression "Third World country" began to be used in an economic
Christianity Today magazine reports on non-Catholic Christianity in Latin America. It looks a lot like theological anarchy, which is a little discouraging, to say the least. The article offers differing interpretations. I found it insightful and valuable.
This past Sunday it is possible that more Christian
believers attended church in China than in all of so-called “Christian
Europe.” Yet in 1970 there were no legally functioning churches in all
of China; only in 1971 did the communist regime allow for one
Protestant and one Roman Catholic Church to hold public worship
services, and this was mostly a concession to visiting Europeans and
African students from Tanzania and Zambia.
This past Sunday more Anglicans attended church in each of Kenya,
South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda than did Anglicans in Britain and
Canada and Episcopalians in the United States combined—and the number
of Anglicans in church in Nigeria was several times the umber in those
other African countries.
This past Sunday more Presbyterians were at church in Ghana than in
Scotland, and more were in congregations of the Uniting Presbyterian
Church of Southern Africa than in the United States.
The past Sunday more people attended the Yoido Full Gospel Church
pastored by Yongi Cho is Seoul, Korea, than attended all the churches
in
Twenty
years later, the vivid memories are coming back. Thousands of students
protesting in the streets—and gathering at Tiananmen Square. And then,
on June 4, the Chinese government turning its guns and tanks on its own
people.
This week, we have heard commentators discuss the consequences of
the crackdown. One of the comments I found most intriguing came from a
Chinese pastor who last night spoke at the National Presbyterian Church
in Washington, D.C. His words demonstrated once again how God can bring
good out of evil.
Through the June 4 tragedy, Pastor Hong Yujian said, “We see that .
. . God prepared the hearts of the people for the widespread
dissemination of the Gospel . . . in China.” First, he said, Tiananmen
Square “destroyed the last sense of hope the Chinese people had in the
idol of communism. The massacre of ordinary people by the government
fully exposed the
This looks like a truly fascinating book. The subtitle reads "How American Experience Reflects Global Faith." InterVarsity Press has made available the book's Table of Contents and Introduction, and the whole of chapter 2 ("The New Shape of World Christianity") online. Anyone wanting to be dazzled and stimulated by the jaw-droping spread of Christianity worldwide will be grateful to IVP for making these pages freely available. (HT: Justin Taylor)
:
