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As part of its push to “Sinicize” religion, the CCP has embarked on a decade-long project to rewrite the Bible and other religious texts.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus famously said to those who accused a woman of adultery, “He who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone.”
The chastened accusers quietly left, and Jesus said to the woman, “‘Has no one condemned you?’ Do not sin.”
A beautiful story of forgiveness and mercy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has expanded his power to the extent that he seeks to control religion. (Nicholas Asfori/AFP via Getty Images)
Unless you are an official of the Communist Party of China. And it’s the story of a dissident who challenges the authority of the state. A preview of what a Bible with socialist characteristics might look like was published in a Chinese university textbook in 2020. Excerpts from the rewritten Gospel of John end with Jesus stoning the adulterous woman to death instead of mercy.
Across Henan province, local CCP officials forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping’s words. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” became an imperative, such as “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”
The decade-long project to rewrite the Bible, Koran, and other sacred texts are all part of Xi Jinping’s quest to make believers serve the Party, not God.
At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi declared, “We… will advocate the sinicization of China’s religion, and actively guide the coexistence of religion and socialism.”
Let’s translate. Xi Jinping has no problem with the First Commandment as long as he and the CCP play God’s role.
One might expect the Vatican, the leader of the world’s largest Christian congregation, to be furious and defiant. Unfortunately, it is wrong.
In secret negotiations in 2018, the Vatican agreed to allow the Chinese Communist Party to elect Catholic bishops in China in exchange for vague reassurances of “safety” for some Catholics, which was immediately abolished.
The CCP wants the power to elect the next Dalai Lama in the sacred tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists seek to stand up to CCP coercion, but the Chinese government counters that even the leader of the powerful Catholic Church, Pope Francis, recognizes their authority over church leaders. .
No scripture, whether the Bible or the Koran, can survive under the rule of the CCP. (St. Petersburg)
The power of religion is attractive to the CCP. Nothing proves the superiority of the Party better than bringing the religions of the world to their knees.
China’s constitution stipulates that citizens “enjoy freedom of religious belief”, but of course the CCP’s definition of “freedom” is very similar to so-called oppression.
The United Front Work Department’s control over China’s religious affairs is that religion is a tool that is coerced, used, and corrupted to further the Party’s goals, and that once used, it can control people’s minds. Because it does.
There are only five officially recognized faiths. Less established faiths face even greater persecution. Falun Gong remains an unfamiliar spiritual practice for many outside of China, but that doesn’t make their suffering at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party any less real.
The State Department sometimes estimates that half the population of China’s “re-education through labor” camps (modern concentration camps) were Falun Gong adherents. Thousands have died from torture, and there are widespread reports of organ harvesting at the request of Falun Gong prisoners.
But Tibet and Xinjiang are where the CCP’s unsanitary and brutal attitude toward religion can be seen. While other faiths are being persecuted across China, Buddhists and Muslims living in the far west of the country face an attempt to, quite simply, exterminate their faith and possibly their population. .
The Chinese Communist Party is committing a genocide in Xinjiang that is more criminal than anything else, but some of the world’s religious leaders, like Pope Francis, have uttered few words against it.
About the Uyghur poet Tahir Hamt Izgir, he said: Atlantic The Chinese government “demanded that all local Uyghurs hand over religious items such as religious books, prayer mats, prayer beads, and clothing. and even betrayed each other.” Those who kept them were soon discovered, detained, and severely punished.
China is balancing increased military power with increased government control over the lives of its people. FILE: A Chinese soldier salutes in front of a drone during a parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, October 1, 2019. (Kevin Freyer/Getty Images)
One of the Uyghur women associated with Freedom House said, ”[n]oh the rules, If I go to your house, read the Koran, pray with you, and the government finds out, you will go to jail. summarized by Maya Wang, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. [Chinese] Government religious restrictions are currently so severe that they effectively outlaw the practice of Islam. ”
The CCP also targets Muslim and Buddhist beliefs and the identities of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kyrgyz, Southern Mongolians, and other ethno-religious minorities throughout western and northern China to promote slow-motion culture. committing atrocities.
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Buddha statue destroyed by bulldozer. Abbey destroyed. The mosque is destroyed. Children are forcibly separated from their families and forced into colonial boarding schools, where religion and native language are often prohibited.
However, even under intense persecution, the faith remains strong and the number of believers is increasing throughout China. In my work in Congress, I have heard incredible stories about religious persecution. But I have also listened to stories of underground churches, brave clerics, and faithful believers as brave as the saints of the early church.
The power of religion is attractive to the CCP. Nothing proves the superiority of the Party better than bringing the religions of the world to their knees.
Chairman Mao called religion a “poison,” but I believe that the bloody record of religious persecution by the CCP is actually a threat to the human spirit, to our very ability to aspire higher, to the present day. I came to believe it was just a battle in a broader war going on.
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The CCP wants nothing higher than its own authority, and views love for anything other than the Marxist-Leninist regime with vicious jealousy.
In an interview with The Guardian, a Chinese church pastor said, “In this war, in Xinjiang, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, the rulers have chosen an enemy they can never imprison: the human soul.” rice field. The pastor finally said the evaluation that we must realize: ”[The PRC rulers] Doomed to lose. ”
Click here to read more from our representatives.Mike Gallagher
