Interesting background on China vs. Christianity

Who says we can't learn from the past?

This TIME article, while slightly outdated (published in 2005), gives great background information on the Christian faith surviving and even thriving to the distaste of the Chinese government.

In my opinion, TIME magazine is one of the best and well-respected publications, and it definitely comes through here.

Some interesting facts from the article...

- As of 2005, there were 60 million Christians in China

- Christians are China's fastest growing religious group

- The $1.5 million Southern Church, with Ionic columns and a rooftop gazebo, stands as a monument to China's thriving Christians

Finally, the most interesting paragraph for me...

Christianity is legal in China, but fettered: The country's estimated 50 million Protestants, whose ranks grow by roughly 2 million a year, must submit to the authority of the government's Religious Affairs Bureau. Its officials make sure churches follow written and unwritten rules — no members under 18, no overt evangelical work, no emphasizing the Second Coming and, above all, no questioning of Communist Party rule. Christians who worship in unregistered "house churches" often face harassment, or worse. Last year a woman died in police custody after being detained for distributing Bibles on the street. Police regularly round up members of heterodox Christian sects like Lightning from the East, which believes that Jesus has already returned, as a Chinese woman.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1132243,00.html#ixzz16bPG2g3z