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I’m A Christ Follower… (part one)
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Posted by: | CommentsMouth To Ear (M2E) Evangelism – it works!
China dismisses Olympics Bible ban as rumors
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BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — China Thursday rebuked reports that the it would ban foreign athletes from bringing Bibles to the Olympic village during the Beijing Olympic Games next year, dismissing them as “sheer rumors”.”We have taken note of the reports and checked with the relevant authorities. The facts prove that the reports are sheer rumors,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a routine press conference.The Catholic News Agency published a report in November citing the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport and Spanish daily La Razon as saying that Bibles were on a list of “prohibited objects” in the Olympic village.
“The Chinese government has never ever issued such a rule, nor any such statement,” Liu said. “China’s religious affairs authorities and the Beijing Olympic organizing committee have not – and could not – issue a rule banning the Bible in the Olympic village.”
China has always respected and protected the religious freedom of foreigners living in China in line with laws and regulations, he said.
According to the Provisions on the Administration of Religious Activities of Aliens Within the Territory of the People’s Republic of China, foreigners are allowed to bring in religious publications, audio-video materials or other objects for personal use, Liu said.
“We are suspicious of the ultimate motivations of those who spread such rumors. They should be responsible, and not do things that are not beneficial for themselves and undermine mutual understanding between China and the world,” he added.
Catholic Church to be built in Olympic village
Posted by: | CommentsA temporary church will be set up in the Olympic Village during the 2008 Games for Catholic athletes, and all churches in Beijing will be open to Catholic tourists, a senior official has said. The Beijing diocese is training priests fluent in foreign languages to celebrate Mass during the upcoming Games, said Liu Bainian, vice-president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.”All will be arranged in accordance with the practices adopted by other Olympics host cities,” he said.
According to Games organizers, a religious service center will be set up in the Olympic Village with professional religious personnel providing services to meet the needs of athletes from various religious convictions.
Athletes and those who accompany them can enjoy different dishes specially made in accordance with their religious beliefs, the organizers said.
Religious services and information will be available in Beijing as well as the six other co-host cities.
A total of 60 volunteers from the five major religions in China – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity and Catholicism – recently attended a three-day training session organized by the Beijing municipal administration of religious affairs for providing religious services during the Games.
Anyone else getting the impression that China is REALLY trying to put forth an image of religious tolerance during their time on the world stage of the Beijing 2008 Olympics?
Christianity Finds a Fulcrum in Asia
Posted by: | CommentsI came across an article that speaks to future of Christianity, taking into account the dramatic changes taking place in China right now.
I suspect that even the most enthusiastic accounts err on the downside, and that Christianity will have become a Sino-centric religion two generations from now. China may be for the 21st century what Europe was during the 8th-11th centuries, and America has been during the past 200 years: the natural ground for mass evangelization. If this occurs, the world will change beyond our capacity to recognize it. Islam might defeat the western Europeans, simply by replacing their diminishing numbers with immigrants, but it will crumble beneath the challenge from the East.
China, devoured by hunger so many times in its history, now feels a spiritual hunger beneath the neon exterior of its suddenly great cities. Four hundred million Chinese on the prosperous coast have moved from poverty to affluence in a single generation, and 10 million to 15 million new migrants come from the countryside each year, the greatest movement of people in history. Despite a government stance that hovers somewhere between discouragement and persecution, more than 100 million of them have embraced a faith that regards this life as mere preparation for the next world. Given the immense effort the Chinese have devoted to achieving a tolerable life in the present world, this may seem anomalous. On the contrary: it is the great migration of peoples that prepares the ground for Christianity, just as it did during the barbarian invasions of Europe during the Middle Ages.
The full article can be found here: Christianity finds a fulcrum in Asia; By Spengler
We hope and pray that the Holy Spirit continues to move among the people of China. We pray that this movement will spread throughout all of Hunan Province and Yueyang City – giving every person in Yueyang an opportunity to hear and understand the gospel message and the freedom to follow Christ.
Will you pray with us that the Holy Spirit will be poured out in Yueyang in a mighty and awesome way?
What are your thoughts on this issue?