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The China Christ Crisis
From The Week, via Asia Times, columnist "Spengler" notes that if current trends in conversion continue, there will be 200 million Christians in China come mid-century--and says that:
Barred from worshipping publicly, Chinese Christians meet in their homes, and the resulting network of the faithful is already creating a “leaven of democracy” that the communist regime can’t control. “These fearless grass-roots evangelists will do more to bring democracy to the world than all the bluster of President George W. Bush.”
The link--scroll down to the headline "China: The Opiate of the masses gathers strength."
|9.13.07 @ 12:52PM|#
I once heard a missionary say about Asian converts that it takes
about ten minutes to convince them that they need to pray to Jesus,
but it takes a lifetime to convince them to stop praying to all the
other gods.
...add such cultural differences to the standard caveats regarding
any early growth projection (At some point in the 70s, we could
have projected that eventually we'd all be working for Amway), and
you can color me skeptical.
|9.13.07 @ 12:57PM|#
"These fearless grass-roots evangelists will do more to
bring democracy to the world than all the bluster of President
George W. Bush."
Yep. They brought down the Roman Empire and democracy sprung up
only 1500 years later.
Hey, they were busu burning witches and jews. You've got ot have
your priorities straight
|9.13.07 @ 12:59PM|#
Of course it should be repressed, because atheist libertarians
know that religious belief in Jeebus is far more dangerous and
irrational than anything on earth, and freedom only counts up 'til
religion then it must stop because it is so irrational and
psychotic and Imaginary Friendy, as alQaeda proves.
Of course, on the other hand, in China, there is precedent for
bloody
civil wars being fought by folks who pick up the Christian
message with a twist of two.
And despite a jab at the anti-religious militants, both communist
and "libertarian", I have to wonder, given the past bad experience,
why Christian conversions will be inherently pro-democratic,
regardless of their effect on the immortal or imaginary soul, and
regardless of the irrational religionphobia of Communists and
Randians.
|9.13.07 @ 1:01PM|#
...columnist "Spengler" notes that if current trends in
conversion continue, there will be 200 million Christians in China
come mid-centur.
6 million disco records were sold in 1975, but 35 million were sold
in 1977. If this trend continues, Aaaaaay!
|9.13.07 @ 1:14PM|#
Why do I have a feeling that before long the consensus on this thread will be that this is a worse development than if they all bought new copies of the little red book.
|9.13.07 @ 1:24PM|#
J sub D,
Pissing in the sink would "do more to bring democracy to the world
than all the bluster of President George W. Bush." We're not
talking about bringing down the Roman Empire.
|9.13.07 @ 1:25PM|#
Yep. They brought down the Roman Empire and democracy sprung
up only 1500 years later.
Hey, they were busu burning witches and jews. You've got ot have
your priorities straight
Perhaps I should have indicated that the post was snark, not to be
take seriously. My bad!
|9.13.07 @ 2:35PM|#
Barred from worshipping publicly... They all take in a lite lunch and bible story down at the Inn of the Sixth Happiness.
Brian E|9.13.07 @ 2:45PM|#
Here's the actual article, which wasn't even quoted accurately in The Week. It wasn't that hard to find.
|9.13.07 @ 2:52PM|#
Lest anyone think THE WEEK mischaracterized the article, the misquoting is merely tightening and paraphrasing the original--they shouldn't have used quotation marks to be sure given the editing and paraphrasing, but THE WEEK's summary of the meaning was indeed accurate.
|9.13.07 @ 2:54PM|#
if current trends in conversion continue, there will be 200
million Christians in China come mid-century
Unfortunately, the other 1 billion will be Bin Laden
Muslims....
/snark
Rhywun|9.13.07 @ 2:58PM|#
The evangelizing power of American-style Pentecostalism is
proving irresistible to millions of Chinese
Oh great. As if the dozen or so tongues spoken in the various
regions weren't already enough.
|9.13.07 @ 3:10PM|#
That's interesting. Some Hal Lindsay types say the 200,000,000 man army of the Anti-Christ mentioned in Revelations refers to China. Now we read that there will be 200,000,000 Christians in China, not 200,000,000 anti-Christians.
|9.13.07 @ 3:25PM|#
So soon we shall have 200 million supporters of the Chinese Inquisition. One thing Christians are experts in is prosecuting/persecuting heretics. They will combine the experience of the Inquisition with that of Mao and we'd better watch out.
|9.13.07 @ 3:38PM|#
sixstring:
BWAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAHAAAA ....
It took a second to get it, but god that's funny.
(k-12 catholic school may be a pre-req for grokking the humor)
|9.13.07 @ 3:43PM|#
(k-12 catholic school may be a pre-req for grokking the
humor)
Nah, catechism every saturday fo 12 years is enough.
Mad Max|9.13.07 @ 7:45PM|#
Hmmm . . . an article about a potential challenge to the ChiCom
dictatorship, yet the libertarians on H&R don't seem to be
showing much enthusiasm.
As between Communism and Christianity, it seems that some posters
are more opposed to Christianity. But wait, I thought there was
nothing inherently anti-religious about Communism! Guess I was
wrong.
"Hair Maly, furr of glace..."
Ha, ha, Asians are funny! Their English isn't always very good, as
opposed to Americans, whose Cantonese is absolutely impeccable.
|9.14.07 @ 2:39PM|#
So soon we shall have 200 million supporters of the Chinese
Inquisition.
Huh. I didn't expect a Chinese Inquisition.
Mad Max|9.14.07 @ 9:49PM|#
sixstring,
"diu-nei lou-mou, you plick."
A quick Google search shows that that the particular phrase you
used traslates into a fairly insulting phrase suggesting an Oedipal
relationship between myself and my mother.
I guess you really put me in my place! With that erudite comment,
you undermined the logical foundations of my position. Your
carefully-reasoned analysis has fully refuted my arguments.
But why did you have to drag my mother into it? I would never
insult *your* mother, not after all the wonderful sexual services
she has performed for me.
|9.14.07 @ 11:54PM|#
Sheesh! Took you all day and the best you can come up with is "No. Fuck YOUR mother." Amateur.
Mad Max|9.15.07 @ 8:38AM|#
sixstring,
Your mother isn't an amateur, she's a professional. But she gave me
a discount because . . . well, modesty forbids.
|9.15.07 @ 7:37PM|#
Oh, very well. I'll do it.
No one expects the Chinese Inquisition!!!
Our chief weapon is supplies ...
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