Thousand Christians forced from church as demolition campaign spreads

[bananas]

Source: Telegraph

Protestant worshippers evicted from a mega-church in eastern China, adding to fears the fast-growing Christian community is facing renewed repression

One thousand Christians have been forced from their place of worship in a city in eastern China after Communist Party officials decided their 10-storey mega-church was an eyesore that needed to be destroyed.

The incident is the latest in a wave of church demolitions in the province, which has fuelled fears Beijing is gearing up for a campaign to rein in a fast-growing Christian community that some leaders fear could transform into a political threat.

<snip>

Members of the Holy Love congregation, which is part of China's officially sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and therefore an unusual target, said their troubles began earlier this year when officials from the Communist Party's Religious Affairs bureau told them their place of worship was "disturbingly eye-catching" and needed "rectifying".

<snip>

The eviction is the latest crisis to hit the Christian community in Zhejiang province. At least half-a-dozen religious sites have suffered demolitions already this year year among them Protestant churches and Catholic statues. The most high profile casualty was Sanjiang, a Protestant mega-church in Wenzhou, 170 miles to the south of Ningbo, that was torn down in late April. Activists have accused the government of unleashing a "barbaric" campaign against the region's churches.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10841738/Thousand-Christians-forced-from-church-as-demolition-campaign-spreads.html

[bananas]

1. From February: China Ends One Notorious Form Of Detention, But Keeps Others

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/02/05/271412045/china-ends-one-notorious-form-of-detention-but-keeps-others

China Ends One Notorious Form Of Detention, But Keeps Others
by Frank Langfitt
February 05, 2014

After more than a half-century and the imprisonment of millions of people without trial, China officially moved to abolish its re-education through labor camp system at the end of last year.

When the Communist Party makes such sweeping policy statements, it pays to be a little skeptical. Last decade, the government abolished one detention system — and then secretly created another.

<snip>

Francis says the government still uses mental institutions and secret jails — often converted motels — to dispatch people it doesn't like.

"So, essentially, while they're closing the camps down, what we're seeing on the ground is that many of the sensitive groups that have always been targeted are continuing to be targeted," Francis says.

Among those targets is Falun Gong, the banned spiritual meditation group, which the Communist Party sees as a political threat. Some Falun Gong practitioners say that as they were being released from labor camp last year they were abducted again and taken to other detention sites.

<snip>

[sulphurdunn]

2. Being a Christian

in China, and lots of other places, takes guts. America is full of very secure and powerful, whiny little sissy Christians who claim they're persecuted because the law doesn't allow them to persecute others.

[DeSwiss]

4. I don't think this has as much to do with Christianity......

...as it has to do with the persecution of any type of religion. For this reason Chinese Catholicism ain't real Catholicism. Unlike any other place on the globe, the Pope is not the last word in the Catholic Church in China.

What it appears this has to do with mostly, is corrupt Chinese leaders who fear anything that's organized other than the Communist Party itself. And as the videos below indicate, religions make the perfect foil as well (such as the Falun Gong did and still do) when needed for political reasons or distraction.

- They can't fight back, and while everyone's looking this way, they're not looking at the corruption at one's own feet.....

K&R

[sulphurdunn]

7. Nero and Caligula

did pretty much the same thing for the same reason, only it was bloodier.

[defacto7]

5. China has always had problems with organized religion

but being a Muslim in a lot of places takes guts.
.......being a Jew a lot of places guts.
.......being a Hindu a lot of places guts.
.......being a Buddhist a lot of places guts.
.......being a Sikh in the US and a lot of places takes guts.
.......being atheist in a lot of places takes guts.
.......being gay in a lot of places takes guts.

Maybe we should say there is simply a lot of hate in the world and the word persecuted doesn't belong to a select group.

[dembotoz]

6. /\/\/\/\ yes/\/\/\/\

[Android3.14]

3. The Christian thing to do at this point

Is offer refuge to those persecuted Christians in China. That's what a Christian nation, an ethical nation, and even a progressive nation would do.
Modus tollens in all three cases, apparently .