Christianity is booming not just in China, but worldwide ”“ with a singular exception, that I will come to in due course. Christianity is doing especially well in Africa where, thanks be to God, it seems to have escaped the influence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The faith is doing well particularly in places where it is under the most cruel persecution ”“ as Our Lord promised it would: Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Coptic Christians in Egypt and indeed across the whole of North Africa.
My friend Professor David Martin has written a gigantic study of Christianity in Central and South America where he sees the rise of Pentecostal Christianity as a great force for good. Individual men and women’s direct experience of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives and public worship have turned many away from drugs, crime and prostitution and returned them to responsible lives of work and thrift, personal pride and family belonging ”“ the very virtues which, of course, are despised by our atheistic intelligentsia (headquarters, the BBC) as “Victorian” ”“ or, worst of all, “Thatcherite”
The only region, in fact, where Christianity is in decline is Europe, controlled as the continent is by an atheistic bureaucracy and the satanic creed of political correctness.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing it.
Wait, did this “reverend” really call a woman an “airhead bimbo?” That was unnecessary and ridiculous.
Secondly, what sort of Christianity is really taking off in China? The “government-approved” versions and the “government-approved” churches, complete with their own government-appointed bishops? Weird that he doesn’t mention this problem. Why doesn’t he?
While I agree that suffering and persecution often makes for a stronger and more faithful Church, let’s not forget the lessons of the Old Testament. Or of Eastern Europe, for that matter. When hardship breeds religious fervor, a change in fortune can also quash it.
Also, the cultural nods that are allowed to flourish alongside the new faith can pervert true belief and be difficult to eradicate. Africa and Latin America are rife with superstition and cultural practices that run contrary to the Gospel and Christian belief. Allowing them to continue or dressing them up in Christian symbolism is not being culturally sensitive or PC — it’s promoting false teachings. I’ve seen this done and allowed to endure in the Mexican culture.
It’s wrong. And it doesn’t help the brand or help to spread the true Gospel. Invariably, what it does eventually is water down Christianity into a sort of socio-political hybrid controlled by “the people.” A good example is “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”