Christianity in China

In a time when there's so much negative news, not just in the world at large, but in the church world as well, its good to come across a really positive story concerning the church world.

In this article from FoxNews.com "Christianity in China", we get some interesting insight in to the explosive, but relatively under-the-radar, growth of Christianity that's taken place in China over the last several decades. Good stuff. And it calls to mind the Lord's words in Matthew 24 v. 14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached as a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." Even so, come Lord Jesus.

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Christianity in China

By Lauren Green

Published January 20, 2011 

FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/20/christianity-china/#ixzz1Bir8kJg

While religion in China may not be a big topic for discussion during President Hu Jintao's meeting with President Obamathis week, many experts say that an explosive growth in Christianity may be transforming the officially atheist regime.

According to China Aid, a Texas-based human rights group, the number of Christians in China has increased 100-fold since 1949. Current estimates range from 80 million to 130 million active members. And one startling estimate from a Chinese Christian businessman has that number doubling or even tripling in the next generation.
Christianity could become one of the macro forces shaping Chinese culture, say experts like Dr. David Aikman, author of "Jesus in Beijing."‬‪

"If the Chinese become Christianized ... which doesn't mean you have a majority of people who are Christians, but it means about 25 to 30 percent of people in positions of influence, in politics, in culture, in the media. If you have that component of a major power that accepts Christianity enthusiastically as a guide to life, that is going to change the world view of the leaders of China."‬‪

Full article here: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/20/christianity-china/  

Aslo... from this interesting website I came across, ChristiansInChina.com, I found these interesting facts I thought it would be good to post: 

Basic Facts:

• In China, there are two official churches: three-Self Patriotic Movement (Protestant) and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (Roman Catholics)

• There are around 20-50 million Chinese who are members of the official Chinese churches, with the majority Protestants

• However, most of the Christians in China belong to so-called house churches (private gatherings might be more appropriate). Estimates put the population around 70-120 million

• The Christian population has grown exponentially since 1949, especially during the past 30 years. By one account, the Christian population in China in 1997 is 20 times more than it was in 1949. Since 1997, the population has almost doubled

• Overall, about 5% to 10% Chinese call themselves Christians

• In 2007, about 50 million copies of the Bible were printed in China, making it the top nation where the word of God is spread and read

From: http://www.christiansinchina.com/basic-facts-about-christianty-in-china/ 

See also: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2659766n (2007 video article from CBS News.)

China Dumps Dollars - For Copper!

Are we seeng the beginning of the end of the dollar's dominance as the world's reserve currency? 

Article from the Telegraph (UK):

A 'Copper Standard' for the world's currency system?

Hard money enthusiasts have long watched for signs that China is switching its foreign reserves from US Treasury bonds into gold bullion. They may have been eyeing the wrong metal.

China's State Reserves Bureau (SRB) has instead been buying copper and other industrial metals over recent months on a scale that appears to go beyond the usual rebuilding of stocks for commercial reasons. 

Nobu Su, head of Taiwan's TMT group, which ships commodities to China, said Beijing is trying to extricate itself from dollar dependency as fast as it can.

"China has woken up. The West is a black hole with all this money being printed. The Chinese are buying raw materials because it is a much better way to use their $1.9 trillion of reserves. They get ten times the impact, and can cover their infrastructure for 50 years." 

"The next industrial revolution is going to be led by hybrid cars, and that needs copper. You can see the subtle way that China is moving into 30 or 40 countries with resources," he said. 

The SRB has also been accumulating aluminium, zinc, nickel, and rarer metals such as titanium, indium (thin-film technology), rhodium (catalytic converters) and praseodymium (glass). 

While it makes sense for China to take advantage of last year's commodity crash to restock cheaply, there is clearly more behind the move. "They are definitely buying metals to diversify out of US Treasuries and dollar holdings," said Jim Lennon, head of commodities at Macquarie Bank.

Full article: here

Olympics in Crisis? A Self Inflicted Wound by the IOC

Interesting. As embarrassing protests follow the Olympic flame around the world, the International Olympic Committee now declares the present situation to be a "crisis". But whose fault is this anyway? Maybe theirs.

A good argument can be made that China, one of the worlds worst human rights abusers, should never have been given the Olympic Games in the first place. Any embarrassment that China gets over this is well deserved. One good thing that will come out of this is that it will cast a spotlight on China's long record of human rights abuses.

Excerpt from MSNBC article on the topic:

BEIJING - IOC president Jacques Rogge said Thursday the turmoil surrounding the Beijing torch relay and the politically charged buildup to the Summer Games posed a "crisis'' for the Olympic movement.

Rogge urged China to respect its "moral engagement'' to improve human rights and to fulfill promises of greater media freedom. He reaffirmed the right of free speech for athletes at the Beijing Games.

China Flexes Its Muscles, and Bush Flexes Back (...Sort Of)

Bill Gertz wrote about it years ago in his book, The China Threat. In a nutshell: China is not our friend.

So it was interesting to see in the news yesterdsay that China sent a message, loud and clear, that if the US government keeps pressuring them on trade issues, they have the ability to crash our economny by selling off the $900 billion dollars in US currency reserves it now owns. Whether or not they'll actually do this is an open question, but the fact is , they CAN do it. That by itself, should be a sobering thing for us all, and espcecially our politicians, to consider.

Our politicians have rung up huge budget and trade deficits, which now puts China in the position of being able to crash our economny by simply dumping its huge reserves of US dollars. If it even decided to not buy US Treasury bonds any more, or to buy less, it would send a chilling message to the world finanancial markets, undermine the dollar's position as the world's reserve currency, and possibly trigger a major recesssion here, or worse.

Bush responded a day later (today) by saying it would be "foolhardy" for China to do that; but that by itself shows us the deeper problem. Imagine a home intruder putting a knife to your neck, and your only defense is to tell him thast it would be foolhardy for him to kill you, because he'd get arrested. The fact is, if that's the best defense you have, you're already in trouble , because you've allowed yourself to be vulnerable, and you're totally at the mercy of your attacker. That's how it is with China and the American economy.

We're totally at their mercy, and they know it. Militarily , we still have a sizeable edge, and they know it. But economically, they hold all he cards. Sure, their economy would suffer too, if they triggered a collapse of the dollar and the US economy. But they're now in a position where they have the option to do it if they wanted to... and there's nothing Bush, with all his false bravado, or America as a whole can do about it.

One way or another, I expect the US econony and the dollar to collapse one day. The Euro is already in position to become the world's reserve currency of choice. That would just be one more step in the process of rearranging the current world order, and bringing in the inevitable New World Order.

Sad to say it, but America's best days are behind it, militarily, socially, politically, and even economically. Many Americans dont seem to be aware of this. But without a doubt, China is very aware of it. Watch for China to flex their muscles more and more in the future as they continue to grow stronger.

Bottom line is, China is not our friend. Not even close. And dont let anyone tell you otherwise.


Excerpt from the UK Telegraph article:

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Fistful of dollars - China's trade surplus reached $26.9bn in June

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.

Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.

It would also cause a spike in US bond yields, hammering the US housing market and perhaps tipping the economy into recession. It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds