FILE PHOTO: A faded portrait of Xi Jinping is posted outside a house church near Nanyang, Henan province. (June 1, 2018)
Communist authorities have recently stepped up their crackdown on Christian cyberspace. Some Bible WeChat accounts have been blocked and Bible mobile app downloads have been hindered. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping’s ideas have made their way into the Three-Self Church in a grand manner and are trying to be confused with biblical teachings. Analysts believe this poses a greater challenge and even persecution for both official and house churches.
International Christian Concern, an international religious persecution watchdog group, recently revealed that the Chinese Communist government is turning to the online space where Christians operate in an effort to crack down on Christians nationwide.
The organization said that some Christian WeChat accounts have recently disappeared, and the Web pages of some Christian evangelical groups and publications, including the Gospel Coalition, Ancient Gospel and Life Quarterly, are now web-only. “The web pages of a number of Christian evangelical groups and publications, including the Gospel Coalition, Ancient Gospel and Life Quarterly, have only web pages with no content, and have been replaced by a notice from the Internet police that they have received complaints that the web pages “violate the regulations on the management of public account information services for Internet users” and have been blocked from all content, and the accounts have been suspended from use.
The organization also said that Bible Apps had been removed from the Apps Store in China and that those wishing to download it must climb over the wall to obtain it. In addition, it has become increasingly difficult to purchase hardcover Bibles, and bookstores of the government-run Three-Self Church are openly selling Communist Party literature such as Xi Jinping’s writings.
The writings of Communist Party President Xi Jinping are displayed alongside pamphlets promoting Xinjiang at a press conference on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region held by China’s State Council Information Office. (July 30, 2019)
In a recent report on the shutdown of the Communist Party’s Bible Apps and WeChat public website, the Christian Post reported that, as of May 1, the appointment of Chinese Catholic bishops must be approved by the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The move violates a secret agreement reached between China and the Vatican in 2018 on the appointment of bishops.
Boiling the Frog in Cold Water: Leading with the Point?
Speaking to VOA, Pastor Sun of the Beijing house church said, “To control Bible study to this extent is one thing, it’s not right and two, it’s impossible. What era is it now? However, even if it is controlled and Bible study is not allowed, it is easy to go over the wall, and many people have wall-flipping software inside their phones.”
He said that on the one hand, the CCP has built a strong firewall, and on the other hand, people can find and even buy wall-scrolling software online, so this practice neither serves the purpose of banning or restricting Christian online activities, but also affects economic development and cultural exchanges between China and abroad.
Pastor Lin of a Sichuan house church said that the authorities’ clamping down on church activities in cyberspace has not yet occurred in their area, and once it does, it is generally quickly known within WeChat and the circle of friends.
He said, “According to past experience, the authorities will not fully roll out at once, but first individually in some areas, and then slowly develop, like ‘boiling a frog in cold water’, when everyone is used to it and does not feel it, and then roll it out again, which is the consistent practice of the authorities. “
Pastor Sun also said that internet gatherings are the only way they meet now, and that people are learning to get around the internet police: “Because of the epidemic we can only meet online, and we used to use Tencent software, so the meetings were often interrupted, sometimes two or three times in one meeting, now we use another software (the name of the software is omitted for security reasons), and we don’t have this phenomenon anymore. “
He said the authorities are more concerned about larger online group gatherings, so the church has worked hard to break up into smaller groups and “play hide-and-seek with the authorities. At present, their congregation size is less than 10 people, which is still able to carry on normally, but once the congregation has more people, I am afraid it will be affected.
Church Sermons Preach Xi Ideology
While the Chinese Communist authorities are banishing Bible studies and lay gatherings from cyberspace, Xi Jinping’s ideas are being promoted in some churches, with a focus on the government-run Three-Self Church, of course.
A photo posted online by an Internet user from Guangzhou shows Xi Jinping’s writings on display in the “church bookstore” belonging to the Sha Mian Christian Church. The netizen said, “Xi Jinping’s books can replace the daily Bible reading for Three-Self Church pastors, and many Three-Self pastors may not read the Bible every day, but Xi Jinping’s books are indispensable.”
A woman walks past a display of Xi Jinping’s books at a bookstore in Beijing. (March 1, 2021)
There were also reports that a Sunday service at a rural church in Cangnan, Zhejiang province, titled its sermon “Not Forgetting the Beginning” to promote Xi’s thoughts, including the beginnings of Communist Party cadres, the beginnings of Christians, and the importance of not forgetting the love of the beginning. In his sermon, the pastor said that the original intention of Party members and cadres is “to love the people, liberate China and overthrow the three great mountains,” a reference that he tried to confuse with the biblical “original love” for God.
In praise of this practice, some people even designed a priest’s cassock with elements of the five-star red flag as the base, and said it was specially designed for the pastors of the Three Self Patriotic Churches.
Three-Self churches present very different
Ms. Li is a parishioner of a Three-Self church in Beijing. She told Voice of America, “It may be that the church staff were asked to study Xi Thought, and anyway, the pastor did not specifically emphasize studying Xi Thought during his sermon, walking according to the spirit of Christ and not being influenced by the politics in society.”
She said their online Bible reading group of more than 100 people is currently going on as usual, and no unusual cases of interference have been detected. Previously routine Bible studies, prayer meetings and communion are resuming one after another.
However, she does not rule out the possibility that some individual churches are “radical” in their practices. She felt a strong political atmosphere when she attended a meeting of another Three-Self church, where the pastor often mixed “political words” in his sermons due to the influence of official thinking.
In addition, in house churches, both Christian and Catholic, which are suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, pastors emphasize adherence to biblical truths in their sermons and oppose government interference in religion. Many members risk their lives to defend what they consider to be the “pure faith.
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