Calvin Synod Herald, 1988 (88. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1988 / 1. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD-4-REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA CHINA The Chinese for centuries called Christianity ‘‘yang jiao,”, or foreign religion, and converts were regarded as disloyal to their country. But today, Christian churches in this country are filled to overflowing. The number of Christians is growing because of the Chinese clergy's emphasis on nationalism and a relaxed political atomosphere. Atheism is still the official Communist Party line, but in recent years the government has adopted a more tolerant attitude toward religious activity. The clergy in Protestant churches and Catholic cathedrals in China's major cities report standing-room only crowds every Sunday, with pews filled long before the start of the service and people spilling out into courtyards and streets. At the Mochou Road Church, one of three Protestant churches in the eastern Chinese City of Nanking, folding chairs in the aisles help accommodate some of the 1,000 worshipers who attend service every Sunday. In some rural areas, entire villages are Christian, according to Chinese pastors. During the chaotic decade of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, all public religious activity ceased in China. Churches were destroyed, Christians jailed and persecuted. But Christianity is enjoying a revival in the communist country. Since 1981, 11 Protestant seminaries and 4,000 churches have reopened nationwide and 2.9 milliion Bibles have been printed. The first printing plant in China to give priority to printing the Bible and other religious publications opened in Nanking in December. It can produce half a million Bibles a year. ‘‘People need to have a religious life, so the government allows it," says Lin Yixuan, a staff member at Nanking Union Theologial Seminary. The seminary, which reopened in 1981, is China’s only national theological training center. Ten others, operating at the local level, have total enrollment of about 600 students. A recent informal census by the Chinese Christian Council found an estimated 4 milliion Portestants belonging to the stated-sanctioned church, but milliions more are believed to worship privately in “house-churches”. The official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Church, which broke ties with the Vatican in 1957 and does not recognize the authority of the pope, claims 3 million members, but again there may be many more, including those who secretly remain loyal to Rome. During the chaotic decade of the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, all public religious activity ceased. Churches were destroyed, Christians jailed and severely persecuted. A Beijing pastor says the Cultural Revolution was responsible for the strength of the the church in China today. “If the Cultural Revolution did not happen, the Chinese church would not be what it is today,” he says. “We learned how undependable man is. The only thing that is dependable is God. During the Cultural Revolution, you couldn't even trust your wife, even less your children. If you had anything to say, you could only say it to heaven.” The nationalistic character of the church and its lack of identification with foreign powers has also spurred its growth. The official Three-Self Patriotic Church, an amalgamation of all Protestant denominations administreed by the government’s Religious Affairs Bureau, operates under the guiding principles of “self-government, self-support and self-propagation.” Its goal is to create an indigenous Chinese church, and it forbids evangelism and foreign influence. Christianity, brought to China by Western missionaries as early as the 1580’s, has long been associated with the imperialism of foreign powers. It never gained a substantial following because the Chinese always looked upon it as something foreign and inseparable from Western imperialism, says Lin, a 1954 graduate of the Nanking seminary. But .now, the Chinese can accept the “three-self” church as their own, he says. “The sun shines in China just as it shines in England and the United States”, he says, “why should we say that the sun must shine through the United States or England in order for its rays to shine on us?" Christianity and communism seem to have reached a coexistence in China. Chi Renhua, a 28-year-old seminarian, says, “Communism is an ideal society that has not been acheived yet. We think this is a good ideal. As a belief, we can respect communism.” The church does not bar Communist Party members from becoming Christians, but the party requires any members who become Christians to give up party membership. Although proselytizing is banned, the seminarians in Nanking say they feel no hesitation about telling others they are Christians and explaining what it means. The Christian congregations are predominantly elderly, but the church is increasingly turning its attention to China’s youth. At the Mochou Road Church, one-fifth fo the 2,400 members are in their 20s and 30s, says the Rev. Xu Jife. At the French Cathedral in Tianjin, which holds two Masses each day of the week and three on Sunday mornings, a Sunday evening Mass was added to accommodate young Catholics who work during the week. “They come to service and afterward they say they feel somethig they have never felt before, a peace’” the Beijing !
