Jesus in Beijing

When it comes to religious matters – historic Christianity in particular – the left’s lack of knowledge can be stunning. I noticed years ago that good ‘liberals’ who claimed to be well-educated and urbane had no knowledge of the Bible – even as literature. Any child who attended Sunday School knew more.

The MSM is no exception. There are precious few reporters who have a good theological background. In fact, the MSM merely assumes without question that such matters are irrelevant. They would doubtless be surprised to learn that the fastest spreading faith on earth is not Islam, but Christianity. Philip Jenkins – among others – has written extensively about the rapid spread of Christianity outside North America and Europe.

And the spread of Christianity has political consequences. While the Bible – unlike the Koran – has no developed political theology, it does assume that the God who created the universe and everything in it also providentially orders both history and nations. And nations, willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly, serve God’s ultimate purposes whether they acknowledge it or not. In the biblical view, human government is always a means, never an end in itself. People who have this eternal view of means and ends can love their country while understanding that they have a destiny that lies outside this world.

But with so much cluelessness amongst our betters, I was rather surprised to see Jane Macartney’s recent piece on Chinese Christianity ‘One Billion Souls to Save’  in the UK Times. While Macartney covers the same ground in brief as David Aikman’s 2005 book, Jesus in Beijing, it’s pleasant to see a major newspaper discuss such an under-reported story.

Macartney espouses the generally-accepted position that there are around 100 million Christians in China. There are those like Aikman who think this figure is low and that the real number could be as high as 150 million. And at present conversion rates, the crucial 40% tipping point could be reached by mid-century. The 40% mark is the point when a Christianity-influenced political culture begins to reorder itself.

Witness South Korea, which endured repressive government until the 1980s when constitutional democracy seemed finally to stick. I rather think that the change was not merely accidental or evolutionary. It’s no coincidence that one can drive into Seoul from Inchon International Airport at night and see illuminated crosses everywhere. It will give anyone who knows the country’s history since 1953 reason to pause and contemplate the Gospel’s humanizing and liberalizing influence.

But the Gospel is infiltrating the Chinese Communist Party just as it did the upper echelons of Rome in the second and third centuries. And here it’s best to let Macartney have the last word on the subject:

I learnt of the Communist Party secretary of a village not far from Qufu, the home town of Confucius, who sleeps with a crucifix above his bed. His wife, he explained, was a Christian, as were his sons. Indeed, he went on, pretty much everyone in the village of about 3,000 was a believer. Almost all, it seems, belong to illegal house churches, small congregations that come together in private homes in cities, towns and villages across China.

It’s unstoppable. And official Washington is undoubtably oblivious.

Related posts:

1. Finding Jesus in London

Tagged as: Beijing, China, Christianity, church, David Aikman, Jane Macartney, Jesus, South Korea