The Chinese communist government clearly sees the first of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” as a threat.
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As reported Sunday in The Telegraph, Chinese authorities have intensified a nationwide campaign against independent Christian congregations, arresting thousands of worshippers and forcing many of China’s “house churches” further underground.
Police have raided churches across the country, detained pastors and lay leaders, and expanded surveillance of believers who refuse to worship in state-approved churches.
Several Chinese Christians who fled the country told The Telegraph that believers increasingly feel they are being treated as enemies of the state simply because their highest allegiance is to God rather than to the Chinese Communist Party.
One Christian told the newspaper that “there is no freedom left,” while another described living under constant surveillance and fearing arrest for attending ordinary worship services. Others said authorities have pressured Christians to join government-controlled churches whose preaching is closely monitored by the Communist Party.
The crackdown reflects Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s long-running policy of “Sinicization” of religion, under which churches are expected to conform their teaching and practices to Communist Party ideology. Independent Protestant house churches and underground Catholic congregations have been particular targets because they operate outside the state’s official religious organizations.
“It’s the emperor playing God. [Xi] wants to be exclusive, he doesn’t want to have anything treated or worshipped more superior than him,” saod Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, which supports persecution victims from China.
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The “Sinicization” policy is the same one China is using in its campaign to erase the cultural and religious identity of the Muslim Uyghur population.
Human rights observers say the campaign has included church demolitions, removal of crosses, arrests of clergy, censorship of religious materials, and increasing use of surveillance technology to monitor believers, according to a recent report by the U.K. government.
Ironically, the repression comes after decades of extraordinary Christian growth in China. Earlier estimates suggested China was on track to have one of the world’s largest Christian populations, with tens of millions worshipping in both registered and unregistered churches.
That rapid expansion has long worried Communist officials, who view any large organization beyond Party control as a potential political threat.
Persecution of the church has historically only caused it to grow, going all the way back to its origins. Perhaps Christians worldwide should pray for a road-to-Damascus experience for Xi and his atheistic communist pals.
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