Jesus in Beijing Book Review

Introduction

Many miracles have been heard of in the past half century when talking about the churches in China. Although many thinkers have cast about for any of several profane causes for this explosive growth under totalitarian oppression, no other explanation suffices. Chinese Christians have proven more resilient than Mao anticipated, more steadfast than the departing missionaries hoped, and more independent than the government currently desires(Kjos Ministries, p. 31-51).

Many people have assumptions about life in China, and particularly about Christian life in China. These assumptions are based on stories of missionaries who were expelled or killed in the early 1900s and in the mid-20th century, and speculation about what happened in the second half of the 20th century. Since information coming out of China is limited, the story of the resurgence of faith there is one that has not been heard by many outside of China. The assumption has been that Christianity was dead following the Cultural Revolution and the rule of Mao Tse Tung, and that any that chose to follow Christ was killed (Kjos Ministries, p. 31-51).

 The first missionaries were Middle Eastern Nestorians, a splinter group of Eastern Orthodoxy. This is important for Westerners to note: China was part of the global church before Scandinavia. Chinese believers were reading the Bible on their own by the time Charlemagne converted the Saxons at sword point. The first church struggled along for several centuries, surviving some major persecutions, before finally dying shortly before the second wave of missions began in the 1500s. At one point, Chinese Christians were in direct dialogue with Rome, and the Pope received Eucharist from a Chinese priest(Antioch Networks International, p. 41-45). The Three-Self church was highly regulated, and pastors were watched and censored. They were not, and still are not, allowed to preach on certain subversive parts of the bible, such as the second coming of Christ.

Development of Christianity in China and Chinese Foreign Policy

The writer says: "As for the development of Christianity in China based on the global political structure, China's relatively pro-American Christians tend to support the Iraq war and U.S. policy toward Israel; they are very envious of religious freedom and the United States democratic system, its social and cultural deficiencies were not ignored. A Christian in China, will be a key U.S. ally, and will in the world assume a greater moral responsibility; and a non-Christian China, once strong will be dangerous and uncertain. Ackerman believes that if Christians enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the strategic think tanks and even government officials, it will change China's current Middle East policy and the Middle Eastern Arab countries may be sent to the missionaries, to spread the gospel there." (China Soul for Christ Foundation, p. 24-48)

Personally, I think, on foreign policy, China is not necessarily a pro-American Christians, our faith requires us not to simply cross a political stance, but rather requires us to everything in God's biblical truth as revealed in the next make independent judgments by the ...