Chinese Agents Interrupted a seminary class in China’s Eastern Jiangsu Province on Wednesday and detained two Pastors without first issuing warrants. China has increased its assault drastically against Christianity over the last several months, is the increase in Atheism the cause?
Chinese Agents and Police Officers detained two Pastors without warrants, claiming that the Pastors were operating without the proper credentials for managing a school. Roughly, seven police officers and several other agents from the local Religious Affairs Bureau busted into a classroom at approximately 10:00 am on May 23rd, 2018 and threatened to arrest the teacher and more than twenty students without cause.
The students negotiated with the police and requested that the police detail the law that allowed them to be arrested arbitrarily. According to ChinaAid, who spoke with a Christian student; the argument became physical; however, “the police softened a little, but they still brought away Pastor Fang and Pastor Wang.”
Shortly after the initial incident, many Christians arrived at the Shitun Police station where the two detained Pastors had been taken to further inquire the reasoning behind the case. After such, Pastors Wang and Fang were both released shortly afternoon on the same day.
Over the last several months, China has starkly increased its persecution and oppression of Christians, often times without cause other than to disturb a class, or to incite fear that the government has power over their gatherings.
Chinese Officials recently issued an official decree that details an agenda to create a government sanctioned form of Christianity or ‘Chinese Christianity.’ Further, according to the document, one of the government’s key objectives is to reinterpret and retranslate the Bible in order to enhance “Chinese-style Christianity and theology.”
Prior to the issuance of the aforementioned document, China officially banned the sale of the Bible from online retailers like Amazon. In addition, China further increased its assault against the Christian way of life by decreeing that Christians, desiring to partake in Church activities, must first register with the government.
The actions taken by the ruling Communist Party are of striking resemblance to a China under Mao Zedong. Under Mao, Christians could not place Christian symbols on the walls of their homes. Recently, Xi Jinping issued a similar decree that Christians must replace images of Jesus Christ or the cross in the centerpiece of their home with pictures of Xi Jinping the country’s ‘President.’
Incredibly, the persecution faced by Christians in China is being committed by staunch Atheists. According to a new Gallup Survey, China has the highest percentage of Atheists in the world.
Across the World, more than seventy percent state they believe in a God; however, in China sixty-seven percent of Chinese citizens state they believe in no God. Also, roughly, nine percent of Chinese citizens identify as religious.
Utilizing the previously mentioned statistics, it can be concluded that atheism is the central cause of Religious Persecution in China. Regardless of personal belief in China, it is state sanctioned atheism. The continued decline of life in China for Christians is due in part to the continued rise of Atheistic Communism.
Works Cited
ChinaAid. “Officials interrupt seminary, arrest pastors without warrants.” ChinaAid. . (2018): . .
Anugrah Kumar . “China Has Highest Percentage of Atheists in the World, Gallup Survey Says.” Christian Post. . (2018): . .
