NEW YORK – Christian evangelist Luis Palau is encouraging Christians to bring their Bibles to the Summer Olympics in China, claiming that the Chinese government is "wide open" and will not stop visitors from bringing Scripture into the officially atheistic country.
"I have asked officially from people here and over there. Any person can go in there and take Bibles, as long as they're not selling them," Palau told The Christian Post in an interview on Thursday.
"If they're giving them away, they can take all the Bibles they want. And I think that's going to happen. And I think that's very valuable."
Palau's comments come after China persecution watchdogs criticized the Chinese government last November for listing the Bible as one of the banned items in the Olympic Village.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, however, clarified that China's law "will guarantee religious freedom during the Olympics," but not allow Bibles to be brought in for "distribution or propaganda," reported Agence France-Presse. According to the official, athletes, journalists, and tourists will be allowed to bring worship items, including the Bible, for personal use.
Palau, who was in New York City this week to promote his new book, A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and A Christian, said he doesn't think Christians will face much opposition from the People's Republic of China during their stay there.
"I'm encouraging people to book their flights because it's going to be jammed. And to get a hotel and bed and breakfast because it's going to be jammed with people," he said.
"But they're going to be free, they're not going to be stopped to express the Gospel, to preach," he assured.
He added, "They were afraid that the athletes would start. Athletes are there to play and win, you know. But they may witness for Christ like some Chinese athletes do."
The Chinese government is known for its repressive religious policies, which prohibit worship outside state-approved venues and forbid proselytizing. It is not unusual to hear reports about Christians being detained and harassed by police for defying the regulations.
Palau, however, is more optimistic. He said that his Gospel message in China has never been censored, although many persecution watchdog groups note that his addresses have been in government-sanctioned churches.
Despite being very open about his future plans in China, one obstacle Palau said he did encounter was permission to hold an open-door evangelistic rally in China.
While he looks forward to such a rally in China by the time the Summer Olympics arrive in Beijing in July, Palau said that for now he will just have to wait for approval by Chinese officials.
"I believe you ask for permission, from my perspective as a foreigner coming to a foreign country," he explained.
"They have said to me, 'Be patient. Keep coming back. In China, we'd like to befriend a person, get to know them, trust them'... So, we're looking forward to it any day now."
The Argentina-born evangelist even joked that he has personal reasons for wanting to hold the rally in China soon.
"I said to one of the ministers ... 'You know, I can't wait forever. I'm getting old, you know? You’ve got to give me my chance.'"
If the rally is permitted in China, Palau said he plans to hold it in one of the major cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, or Hangzhou.
In the meantime, Palau will be promoting his book, which released this month in the United States, and preparing for his next festival to be held March 14-15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina .
Palau's book was first released in China in August 2006 under the title, Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and A Christian. In the book, Palau and Zhao Qizheng, an atheist and former spokesman for Communist China's Cabinet, share their unique perspectives on the Bible, philosophy of religion, history and politics. It became a national best-seller in China and is the first-ever book between a Chinese diplomat and a Christian evangelist.
Comments
I see aritonang's original post has magically(?) reappeared. Well done, whoever resurrected it. And, I see he/she has posted another comment. Welcome back aritonang.
Then, let me reiterate once again. Those what US media perceived pejoratively as militant atheist are not any where near the vicinity of the real definition of militant atheist outside US.
Observe the political officers of PRC as comparison to your student so called militant atheists. In PRC if you carry your bible, your local officer follows you and then if you do not enter the atheist controlled worship places then you and your family are in trouble. Trouble here means detention, interrogation, dodgy judicial system and then hard labor or public execution.
Real militant atheists are seasoned cold blooded killers. Killed were some 65 million (and counting) in China; 20 million in the Soviet Union; 2 million (and counting) in North Korea; 2 million in Cambodia; 1.7 million in Africa; 1.5 million in Afghanistan; 1 million in Vietnam; 1 million in communist Eastern Europe; and, 150,000 in Latin America.
Go to Victims of Communist memorial in Washington and see a fresh reminder of the death toll that militant atheists piled around themselves when they were given the chance.
Can someone please explain why the post by "aritonang" was flagged as inappropriate? There was nothing "abusive, spam, offensive, illegal racist or libellous" about it. It seems that some visitors to this website are taking it upon themselves to "flag" any post that they don't personally agree with. However, considering the article deals with the oppresson and censureship of Christianity, the flagging by some self-appointed PC moderator provides a great example. This all seems to be a recent phenomenon. It is a very disturbing turn of events.
Countdown until this post gets "flagged" 5...4...3...2..
VOM has an excellent way for you to help send Bibles into China. You can access them from the links page at www.mugsoftruth.com. While your there mugs of truth have some really neat coffee mugs that proclaim the Word of God.
I agree with our friend the Indian American ASMatthew,
Currently the atheist Maoist are publishing 50 millions of their own rendition of so-called bible to the communist party controlled churches. State controlled churches which ironically incorporate views of Mao Zedong are the ones Zhao Qizheng and the rest of the militant Atheist maoist are talking about.
And not the real bible for the Chinese which is CHINESE UNION TRADITIONAL VERSION
Spirit of the Lord has a plan in this event. We shall see what happens.
After reading this story I came away with two thoughts:
1) According to the author of the story, bulldozing homes, wholesale arrests and years in prison for pastors, "disappearances," threats of execution, etc are no longer persecution - they are now called "detained and harrassed."
2) Unfortunately Palau has joined the increasing ranks of well-known Christians who are becoming mouthpieces for the Chinese. Albeit well-meaning, they are clueless of how they are being used by the regime to legitimize its actions and cover up the true extent of the repression in China. People like Palau (and others) are, as Lenin said during he Russian revolution, nothing more than "useful idiots." Sad.
Due to the Iraq war of 1991, thousands of Bibles went to Saudi Arabia, and by the 2nd war
with Iraq, thousands of Bibles went to that country. How long China can stop the flow of
Bibles to that country? One day, China will be flooded with the Bible like they flood the world
with $ 1.00 plastic goods. When a nation try to resist God and His word, they never realize that their efforts will be totally futile in due course of time. God loves the Chines people and
He will send His word there to heal the land.