-China: First Commandment Now Illegal?

        (Chinese President Xi Jinping)

Apparently it is now illegal in China to display the First Commandment:

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”

The other nine are still Ok for churches to display but Chinese officials say that the First Commandment challenges government authority. Here’s the story from Christian Today:

Chinese authorities have ordered a church to remove the First Commandment from a display on the grounds that it contradicts the policy of China’s President Xi Jinping.

…about 30 officials in Henan Province’s Luoning country conducted an inspection at the church and wiped off the commandment from a display on the wall.

The church belongs to the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement. However, when its pastor protested he was told, ‘Xi Jinping opposes this statement. Who dares not to cooperate? If anyone doesn’t agree, they are fighting against the country.’ …

The move reflects China’s policy of ‘sinicisation’, which has seen religion coming under increased pressure to be subservient to the state in its teachings and practices.

Read the whole article>

Response: Christians in China are now facing the greatest period of persecution in a generation. President Xi Jinping’s  5 year ‘Sinicisation’ policy is an attempt to bring all religions under the authority of the Chinese Communist socialist government. Under the new policy the government and its leaders are to be considered the greatest authority above all others in the country including religions and now even God.

The first actions of government authorities in trying to force churches to kow tow to the new policy was to take down all of the crosses on the churches. Pastors that did not completely cooperate with government policies were forced to watch their churches torn down. Then authorities went into Christian homes and forced Christian families to take down pictures of Jesus and replace them with pictures of President XI.

Even worse than those reports is the one I recently read that claimed that the state officials were going to produce a new state approved version of the Bible. Apparently when it comes to Moses there will only be 9 commandments in the new Chinese government ‘Bible.’

What is currently happening in China reminds me of what Christians faced in the first century when the state required everyone to worship the Roman emperors regardless of their religion or beliefs. Now is a good time to remember to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters ion China.

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