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Chinese Christians Outnumber Communists

MONDAY AUGUST 1 2005 2:42 PM

Submitted by Michael_J_Totten. Edited By Michael_J_Totten.

Wouldn't it be just wrong if China were ruled by a Christian dictatorship? I mean, it's bad that enough China is ruled by any kind of dictatorship. But a Christian dictatorship in a non-Christian country seems like it would be on the "more wrong" end of the wrong spectrum.

But as it turns out there may be more Christians in China than there are members of the Communist Party, which just goes to show how unrepresentative the current system really is. (Logins, as usual, available at BugMeNot.com)

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong's China turned on itself, torturing and killing hundreds of thousands of people. But the seeds were sown for an unexpected upsurge in Christianity.

In a social revolution that has prompted a heavy-handed response from the Government, religion is spreading through town and countryside and Chinese communities abroad.

Protestantism and Catholicism are among the approved faiths, the others being Buddhism, Taoism and Islam.

Buddhism and Taoism claim most worshippers but the state-sanctioned churches count up to 35 million followers. More significant are the underground or "house" churches, which are believed to have up to 100 million members, many more than are members of the Communist Party.

59 Comments

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Idjit

HOPEFUL

I'm lost

AUG 01, 2005 02:44 PM

And of course, Jesus probably would have been a communist, which makes the whole thing that much more confusing.

RandomNerd

Albany, NY

January 2005

AUG 01, 2005 02:49 PM

If you ask me, Jesus would have made an okay Buddhist

Michael_J_Totten

Iraq

February 2004

AUG 01, 2005 03:00 PM

Idjiit said:
Jesus probably would have been a communist

A social democrat, perhaps. But a communist? With gulags and mass graves and re-education camps and secret police? Please.

WaTed

United Kingdom

September 2002

AUG 01, 2005 03:04 PM

Is 'Communist' now a competing religion?

Are being Communist and Christian mutually exclusive?

Is there a point to this half-witted 'news' item that doesn't involve the manipulation of statistics to prove the point of the person making the point?

Idjit

HOPEFUL

I'm lost

AUG 01, 2005 03:04 PM

Michael_J_Totten said:

Idjiit said:
Jesus probably would have been a communist

A social democrat, perhaps. But a communist? With gulags and mass graves and re-education camps and secret police? Please.

That's communism? That sounds like totalitarianism to me.

Anton

Australia

September 2003

AUG 01, 2005 03:26 PM

Michael_J_Totten said:

Idjiit said:
Jesus probably would have been a communist

A social democrat, perhaps. But a communist? With gulags and mass graves and re-education camps and secret police? Please.

That isn't communism, no matter how often you say it.

jake_lex

Lexington, KY

February 2003

AUG 01, 2005 03:29 PM

You know, you don't just run down to the DMV and register Communist in China. It's a neat little headline, I guess, but I'd hazard most religious groups have more members than there are official members of the Party in China.

freshprncebelair

Ellicott City, MD

June 2004

AUG 01, 2005 03:38 PM

Idjiit said:

Michael_J_Totten said:

Idjiit said:
Jesus probably would have been a communist

A social democrat, perhaps. But a communist? With gulags and mass graves and re-education camps and secret police? Please.

That's communism? That sounds like totalitarianism to me.

Well, I definitely don't think he would have been a communist for the whole attitude that change must be achieved by violent revolution.

He would have been a fan of slow, progressive change such as the Europeon style of socialism.

headphones

I'm lost

May 2005

AUG 01, 2005 03:48 PM

For historical comparison, look up the Taipeng rebellion...

However by far the most serious rebellion was the Taipeng rebellion of 1850-1864, which is estimated to have cost 20 million lives. Hong Xichuan who believed he was the Son of God and the younger brother of Jesus led it. He preached a mixture of some Christian beliefs and some communism. His followers sold their property and put the money in a common fund. Land was distributed among his followers. He also banned foot binding, smoking opium and wearing the queue. His followers also destroyed Buddhist and Taoist temples. He took Nanjing in 1853 and led a long rebellion. It took the Qing more than a decade to crush it. Furthermore other rebellions broke out in China. It took another 4 years to put down bandits in the north called the Nanin. There were also rebellions by Muslims in outlying areas. These were not defeated until 1873.

here

fountainofdreams

Mokena, IL

January 2005

AUG 01, 2005 04:01 PM

anubis_rising said:

Idjiit said:
And of course, Jesus probably would have been a communist, which makes the whole thing that much more confusing.

B.S. - Christ never saw the State having a role in developing society. If Christ had any modern philosophy he would be a libertarian ... no force, no coercion, charity, spontaneous order, and free markets.

He seemed to have a severe disdain for taxation, bureaucracy, and authority if memory serves me correctly.

oh, give me a fucking break. not every wonderful person in history was a libertarian. Christ, if he actually existed and wasn't just a creation of the bible (which although he probably existed, much of his story in the bible was contrived), was different from anything/anyone now. it's being fucking presumptious to make claims about a man 2000 years dead.

Thistle

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

AUG 01, 2005 04:29 PM

anubis_rising said:

Idjiit said:
And of course, Jesus probably would have been a communist, which makes the whole thing that much more confusing.

He believed that the rich should give everything they have to help the poor and that richness in and of itself was a sin. He espoused charity and love for others above everything else. Those aren't exclusively libertarian principles.

fountainofdreams

Mokena, IL

January 2005

AUG 01, 2005 04:32 PM

anubis_rising said:

burning_bright said:

anubis_rising said:

Idjiit said:
And of course, Jesus probably would have been a communist, which makes the whole thing that much more confusing.

I am not the one who started with the speculations of his political theory in a 21st century world.

But continuing the train of thought, of even if Christ was a fictional character, the way that character is written suggests all of the above. Don't believe me ?

Check out this extremely well written paper which details Christ's resistence to government coercion, taxation, and details his belief in charity, peace, and markets.

[Edited on Aug 01, 2005 by anubis_rising]

well, neither am i. i'm just saying that pinning modern definitions on people from an entirely different geopolitical climate is absurd. he may have believed all those things, or he may have not, but that doesn't automatically make him a libertarian.