Official China Church Leader Defends Bible Exhibition
Many evangelicals have criticized the CCC and TSPM for misleading people in the West with reports that only show partly the situation of the Church in China.
ATLANTA – Amid criticism from evangelicals and persecution watchdogs over the China Bible Ministry Exhibition sponsored by the government-sanctioned church in China, a top China church leader openly admitted that the exhibition is "propaganda" as many say it is.
"Yes, if they (opponents of the Bible exhibition) say the exhibition is propaganda, I would admit that,” said the Rev. Deng Fucun, residential vice-chairperson of the National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, on Monday at Atlanta’s Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church.
“However, it is propaganda of God’s grace and blessings in China. We count God’s blessings. What’s wrong with that?" he asked.
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The China Bible Ministry Exhibition in Atlanta, which opened last Friday at Second-Ponce de Leon and concludes today, is the exhibition’s second appearance in the United States following the first in Los Angeles from late April to early May. Sponsored by the China Christian Council and the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CCC/TSPM), the exhibition is themed "A Lamp to My Feet, A Light to My Path - Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China” and reveals the evolution of Bible printing in the People's Republic of China.
Many evangelicals have criticized the CCC and TSPM for misleading people in the West with reports that only show partly the situation of the Church in China, as many believe that some millions of house church Christians are under persecution. Some have even refused to recognize CCC/TSPM as part of the Christian body because it is allegedly used by the Chinese Communist Party to control religious affairs for its political agenda.
Furthermore, reports claim that the communist state does not only interfere in the internal affairs of the Church, but in some parts of China, government officials continue to forcefully control, monitor and restrain the activities of all religious communities including “house church” Protestants and “underground” Roman Catholics. Moreover, according to reports, prominent religious leaders and adherents alike continue to suffer from confinement, torture, disappearances, imprisonment, and subjection to other forms of ill treatment due to their religious beliefs.
During his interview with a Christian Post correspondent, 70-year-old Deng recalled how Chinese Christians were severely persecuted during the Cultural Revolution in China – a period which he too had gone through.
"During the Cultural Revolution, pastors gathered in cowsheds and churches were closed down,” he said. “The government wanted to clear up all Christians, but God’s grace can never be stopped."
"In the cowshed, I blamed God,” Deng recalled.
“‘Why you have put me to this situation? I cannot carry this heavy yoke,’” he remembered thinking.
“But as I look back after the Cultural Revolution, I know that God has prepared me to work for him today,” Deng said. “God’s way is higher than our way. At that time, I had not realized that."
Continuing with his response to the exhibit’s critics, the China church official said, "If we are trying to show you something that is not true in this exhibition, then I think we deserved to be criticized.”
However, Deng argued, “We are testifying God’s grace,” noting later that many American Christians have encouraged them to hold the exhibition in more cities.
The China church official also commented on reports by others of Chinese church persecution.
“What they say is also propaganda," Deng said.
In a statement by China Aid Association (CAA) over the past weekend, the Texas-based Chinese persecution watchdog attacked the Chinese government’s motive in organizing such an exhibition in the United States.
"Those who know well about the operation of the Chinese government and its sanctioned religious organizations should acknowledge this exhibition is nothing but a PR campaign to cover up the religious persecution image in the U.S.," CAA stated.
The Rev. Bob Fu, president of CAA, pinpointed the self-contradiction of the Chinese government, saying, "It’s rather ironical that Beijing House Church pastor Cai Zhuohua is serving for three years sentence in the Chinese prison for printing Bibles in China since last year while the propaganda message of this Bible exhibition is that there is freedom to print Bibles in China."
Concerning Cai’s arrest, the Rev. Mei Kangjun, executive associate secretary general of the National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China, said Cai was "doing something illegal."
"In China, you cannot print Bible recklessly. We have to print the Bibles at the Amity Printing Press," Mei said. "You must go through the [Amity] Press to print Bibles or any other Christian literature."
When asked about the persecution against house churches, Deng argued that persecution may exist in some rural areas due to the miscommunication between the officials and the Central government concerning religious policies.
"But if you look at China as an overall picture, the mainstream is that the government does allow religious freedom," Deng claimed.
In response to claims that Bibles are only for the registered churches, Deng said that they have helped unregistered churches and gave examples of how they distribute Bibles to them.
Throughout the interview, Deng did not fully respond to the questions concerning house churches and the persecution. Like many other CCC/TSPM leaders, Deng stressed on the "official" number of Christians in China – around 16 million.
Many other mission organizations, however, have estimated that the number should be closer to 60 million, including Christians from the unregistered churches. The discrepancy between the two figures suggests that CCC/TSPM leaders do not recognize the unregistered believers although Deng claimed that "no matter what kind of church, if it peaches about Jesus Christ died on the cross, it is a church of God."
Johnny Li, Open Doors U.S.A. spokesman for China mission, minister-at-large, is among those who question the "official" figures. After he has visited the China Bible exhibition in Los Angeles earlier this month, Li commented about the shortage of the Bibles among house churches.
"Now in China, there are just around 16 million Christians, but a total of 40 million Bibles were claimed to be printed. If it is the case, it means that Bibles are actually overwhelming in China!" Li said in a previous interview.
"All that we can do is to raise questions and challenge. We cannot say to the Church in China that there is a huge shortage of Bible as there are actually 60 million Christians. We do not have hard evidence for this figure."
"It is true that the official Church has already done a lot, and I am happy to see what they have done. But China is such a big country; is it possible that the Church can fulfill all the gaps in order to satisfy the needs of Christians?" he continued.
The Chinese government has upheld strictly its "Three-Self" policies for churches in China – self-governance, self-support and self-propagation of the Gospel – and warned of the foreign "infiltration" under the guise of religion, but provision of resources by overseas organization is actually very vital for the growth of churches in China, according to Li.
"We will continue to fill the gap that has to be satisfied in China in terms of resources. We will continue to do what God intends us to do and we also bless that God will guide the official Church in China to change its direction so that it can become more opened," Li concluded.
Christian Post Correspondent Eunice Or in Atlanta contributed to this story.
