https://www.christianpost.com/news/mayflower-church-pastor-urges-us-to-put-pressure-on-china.html
This is a topic I have revisited on multiple occasions but it
needs to be understood.
We can condemn the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for its
bestial and draconian policies that seek to subjugate all religions under the
aegis of the Chinese state. But it is also important to state that the reasons
for condemning China are not on the basis of a 'rights' regime. New Testament
Christianity knows nothing of Enlightenment 'rights' and it is a mistake to
fall into that framework of thinking and argument.
We are called to worship and proclaim the gospel and we will
do so. If the state permits this, then fine. If not, we'll do it anyway. We
don't ask for permission or state sanction. If the state feels the need to
issue some kind of edict that grants permission, then fine but we don't concede
anything or acknowledge the state's authority when it comes to this issue.
We are not beholden to the state nor is it beholden to us the
Church. The institution that is the state serves a providential purpose that
provides a matrix for the Church to operate but it can just as easily turn
against the Church as they are always at odds – one is temporal and the other
eternal. This is no less true even if the state puts on a Christian gloss
(which is necessarily counterfeit) and the same is true if the Church takes up
the role and office of state – at which point it effectively ceases to be the
Church as it has been re-cast and re-defined, abandoning an eternal calling and
ethic for temporal standing and earthly glory.
I realize this framework is already compromised in a setting
like the United States where churches eagerly register with the state for tax
benefits and then concede a degree of their autonomy in that the state is
allowed to set guidelines and make certain requirements regarding polity,
finances and the like. This dovetails with other institutionally minded
concerns regarding real estate, property, bank accounts, the possibility of
loans, and of course litigation and insurance – a quick and slippery slope of
compromise that is now (for the most part) taken for granted. And with this
comes another set of state standards regarding things like background checks
and mandatory reporting. The compromise is overwhelming and it's difficult to
even raise these issues as the assumptions are so pervasive, as are the
narratives the state provides.
In a place like China, the Church necessarily must function
in an unofficial capacity. It should be the same here but as just mentioned,
it's not. The problem arises when these churches (following the American
example) want to institutionalise, erect buildings (topped by crosses), and
have a certain kind of business-like status in society. They want to be on Main
Street as it were.
For this reason, the Chinese government starts to really push
back and all the more when these same groups have a tendency to function as an
arm (or at the very least an ally) of US Evangelical interests – which are
frankly inseparable from American Right-wing nationalist interests. This is why
Beijing gets particularly alarmed. The American Right is clearly angling for
war with Beijing.
And this brings us to the Mayflower Church which has followed
the example of Wang Yi (Early Rain Covenant Church) and others in openly
flaunting its Western political alliances – its relationship with a state that
is on a war posture with Beijing.
How do you expect the authorities to respond?
Instead of keeping their testimony pure, the leaders of the congregation
sit with US congressmen and activists like Bob Fu who have openly aligned
themselves with the GOP and thus with its vehement anti-China policies.
Pastor Pan Yongguang is not only a fool but in standing with
these people he's destroying his testimony – in the United States and in China.
And he proclaims in unmistakable terms that his understanding of the Church and
Kingdom results in political activism geared toward the overthrow of the ruling
party and Xi Jinping.
I wouldn't weep if Xi was gone or if the authoritarian CCP
was toppled and yet I cringe when I see Chinese church leaders standing with
warmongers, mammonists and in some cases figures that can be described as
fascistic. The answer to the CCP is not American Enlightenment Democracy.
It demonstrates their understanding of Christianity is
confused at best.
And then if all this wasn't bad enough, he stands with
American politicians on American soil and calls for the United States to use
its power to put pressure on China.
The United States has the most powerful military on Earth and
a massive nuclear arsenal. The United States has bases and allies forming a
perimeter around China and has openly declared its hostility – with uniformed
officers openly speaking of a coming war.
And this pastor wants the US to 'put pressure' on China to
help Chinese Christians? Does this fool
not understand what he's saying? What he's implying?
Washington – use your might and power to threaten Xi and the
CCP to let up on Christians in China.
The effect will certainly be the exact opposite. What else
would he expect? Is he merely naive or dim-witted or (God forbid) is he a
willing stooge and tool working at the behest of his new friends – his
handlers?
There's no doubt Beijing has clamped down on the Uighur
populations but as I've suggested in multiple pieces – it's not that simple.
Radical Islamist elements exist among the Uighurs – some of whom are part of
groups like al Qaeda and ISIS. And the US has supported some of these groups
and given a haven to their political arms.
This in turn has led to Beijing's draconian policies – which
in turn has provoked a response in the West, but one that is not always honest
in its reporting – or at the very least has a tendency to exaggerate. There is
a cycle to this progression and yet it's presented as if it's all the CCP
acting unilaterally. This is just not an honest reading of the recent history.
It is a false framing and yet because it's convenient, Evangelicals are keen to
embrace and utilize it. It tickles their ears in a way the more nuanced truth
does not.
China is re-writing the Bible or attempting to. What a wicked
thing. But this only has an effect within the Three-Self Churches that have
already sold out and compromised with the state. The underground churches are
not affected by this.
In the United States the Bible is not re-written but it is
ignored and buried in piles of debris in the form of false teachings and
assumptions. The end result is the same – the Book is reduced to being a
vehicle for nationalist politics and the affirmation of cultural norms and
traditions.
An increasing number of American Evangelicals respond with
hostility to the teachings of the New Testament. They will not hear its
teaching. In this context Satan doesn't have to tinker with the text. In China
they actually read the Bible and in many cases try to live it out and thus the
CCP (in all its wickedness) wants to change the message. It represents a threat
that is absent in American Christianity which touts the Bible but ignores it or
explains it away.
But when I speak of Chinese Christians following the New
Testament I do not refer to the likes of Fu, Pan Yongguang, or Wang Yi. They
have all abandoned the New Testament for worldly alliances, and access to power
hoping to benefit from the wealth and the sword wielded by the American Empire.
And like their American cohorts, they rely on an Old Testament-prioritized and
Judaized theological framework to justify this – one that places Christ and the
imperatives of His Kingdom in the background.
One is left chuckling when they speak of 'supply chain'
issues. If we are to apply such ethics to all our commercial activities we
would be able to buy nothing. And I'm not just speaking of unethical
exploitation of workers in places like China and elsewhere – a regime that
arose due largely to American avarice. American consumers are happy enough to
exploit people when the offshore government is subservient. But then when it's
not, they suddenly pretend to care about the exploited workers. The political
operatives are fully aware of this hypocrisy but they also know their audience
and the corrupt and gullible shepherds who feed their arguments and narratives
to the sheep sitting in the pews.
Myriad Western companies are tied in with the Wall Street
order and the militarism, exploitation, theft, and destruction it produces. And
it is almost impossible to escape from the shadow, the economic footprint of
America's military-industrial complex. Between the war machine and the usury
complex, America's system is certainly bestial and nigh on ubiquitous. American
Evangelicals have no problem with it because they've already sold their souls
to it in a true Faustian bargain. They're certainly not concerned about the
ethics of the American system. Instead they champion it and want what few
restraints there are to be removed. And it must be noted that both individuals
and denominations are also fully invested in America's bestial economic order.
But in their blindness, they only see the problem when it
comes to the likes of China. If you have any doubts of this, just read the
comment thread for the linked article. It demonstrates in rather glaring terms
how most Evangelicals cannot even grasp the issues at stake.
It is a sad reality that even the definitions of persecution
are blurred as in some cases these Christians are not being persecuted but are
instead reaping the harvest of their political actions – some of which are
viewed not only as subversive but treasonous.
I am a 'traitor' or at least disloyal to the American system
in that I reject its ideals and refuse to sanction the system by voting, using
its courts, or supporting the military. But I don't scheme with other nations.
I'm afraid that cannot be said about these Chinese Christian leaders who are
conspiring against their government. They're playing with fire and yet when
they get burned it's not persecution – it's civil punishment. There's a big
difference.
See also:
https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2019/10/chinese-evangelicals-and-ned.html
https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-fool-wang-yi-and-dark-side-of.html
https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2020/01/wang-yi-isnt-being-persecuted-hes-being.html
https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2020/01/stonestreets-hat-trick-part-2.html
https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2018/09/american-evangelicalism-china-and-all.html
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