As a direct result of hearing a talk by Tony Lambert, I purchased his book “China’s Christian Millions”. As many will know, Tony is an expert on the religious scene in China today, having been involved with the country for the last 40 years and having worked as a diplomat in China for 15 years. He is intimately acquainted with the state of the Christian Church there.
In recent years there has been what can only be described as an economic miracle in China. Four factors highlight this growth in the economy.
(i) 9% p.a. growth during the last decade (compared with less than 3% in the UK).
(ii) In 2005 Beijing revalued the RMB (Chinese currency) against the dollar.
(iii) There are 100 million Chinese on the internet.
(iv) Virtually everyone in the cities has a mobile phone.
In the last 30 years the church has experienced a spiritual miracle. The following facts highlight the changes which have taken place.
(i) In 1976 all churches were finally closed – in 2006 there are over 50,000 registered churches and protestant meeting points plus a vast number of unregistered churches.
(ii) In 1949 there were 700,000 Protestants. In 2006 there are officially 17-20 million, unofficially probably 60 million.
(iii) Today ordinary Chinese people regard Christians as good people and Christianity as a good thing.
(iv) Many intellectuals are researching the influence of Christianity on Western culture and history – these have been dubbed ‘Culture Christians’.
(v) Most universities and colleges have some form of Christian meeting on the campus.
(vi) A Christian businessman plans to sue because of injury during a torture session.
(vii) Destructive critical theology is almost unknown. Despite attempts by the head of the state registered church (TSPM) to introduce liberal theology into the church, the best theologically educated pastors and students see this ‘new theology’ as bogus.
(viii) There have been conversions of a significant number of communist party members.
(ix) There have been conversions of a significant number of intellectuals.
All this has happened during years of intense persecution of the church under the Maoist form of communism. As Tony Lambert says:- “In a country where Maoism did its utmost to extinguish the very name of God from the consciousness of the people, closed all the churches and indoctrinated several generations in atheistic materialism, the greatest ingathering the church has seen since Pentecost has been taking place over the past decades or more.”
Two areas in particular have seen amazing growth.
(a) In 1868 in Wenzhou a one-legged Scottish missionary had the joy of seeing the conversion of a paralysed Chinese boy who became the first Chinese evangelist in the area. In 1966, Wenzhou was declared an ‘atheist zone’. Today 10% of the 6 million population of the Wenzhou municipality are Evangelical Protestants and the area is known as the Jerusalem of China with huge churches every kilometre.
(b) In parts of SW China, populated by Lisu tribes, there are villages where 98% of the population is Christian – a real tribute to the pioneer work of J.O.Frazer and Isobel Kuhn.
In this absorbing book Tony Lambert highlights many more examples of the way in which God has triumphed over the might of evil men and the machinations of the evil one. This book is not only a good read but a useful sourcebook, packed with information on the up-to-date situation of the church in China.
Review by Philip Parsons
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