News about Chinese business people making fake stuff is not new. We know of fake eggs, fake milk powder, fake soya sauce, recycling used cooking oil taken from the drain and sell them again, breaching old rice grains that were not sold to make them look like freshly harvested rice and sell them again in the market etc etc. And these does not include the fake iphone, samsung phone etc etc.
As I ponder over the latest scandal of faking industrial salt as consumers' salt, I thought about the Christian population in China and wonder what kind of influence Chinese Christians have over China.
I am sharing my thoughts here where some of you might want to contribute your thoughts too. I am also aware that as I share my thoughts, I might just offend some Christian leaders (both inside China and outside China).
From the internet, it is said that the number of Christians in China ranges from 70 millions to about 117 millions out of the population of 1.3 billion. This is to say that there are about 5-9% of the Chinese in China are Christians. These numbers had grown in leaps and bounced after 1949 and is set to continue to grow further. I have also heard of some Chinese leaders who claimed that they have more than 1million believers in their group.
And I know of many Chinese Christians that talked about Back to Jerusalem movement, wanting to be involved in foreign mission and build more churches in China.
My question is 'If there are 5-9% Christians in China right now and it is forecast to continue to grow, where is the positive influence of Christians in the 7 spheres of China's society?' From my simplistic observation of what is happening in China, it seems like there are more corruption cases surfacing, lack of confidence in local products keep going up (which is why many Chinese flock to HK to purchase anything and everything that is not made in China), the moral fibre of the country seems to be slipping more and more etc etc. Something did not click here. If we are having more Christians in a nation, wouldn't that also means that we can see a clearer positive influence of Christians in all or at least majority of the 7 spheres of Chinese society?
Or, we simply have more Christians in China without a real change of their worldview? Have the leaders only focuses on spiritual equipping of Christians, building up their own churches or group but did not bring about a real change of their people's worldview. Did we (including myself), who come from the outside, who have a heart for China and wanting to equip the local Chinese also fall into the same problem i.e. focusing only on the spiritual without bringing about a real change of the worldview of the Chinese Christians? If this also the reason why I have so much problem recruiting local Christians to work with me to helping the Left Behind Children because it is seen more like a social/charity work rather than mission work per se?
And I thought about the African continent. Many churches, mission organisations and missionaries had and continue to invest much into every nation of this continent. Yet, today, Africa is still lagging behind in almost every aspect of the 7 spheres of society compare to the West and even some of the Asian nations though the Christian population had grown. Why? Is it because though many Africans had become Christians, including some who are even leaders of nation, there is no real change of their worldview?
Would China become like Africa where we can see a grow in the Christian population, but it has little impact on the society as a whole? Will we make the same mistake as focusing only on the so-called 'spiritual' equipping without seeing the greater need to have one's worldview changed like what Paul talked about in Roman 12:1-2?
I am not criticising local or foreign Christian leaders who have been putting their heart into wanting to see more Chinese becoming Christians, more churches being set up and more spiritual equipping. I am just saying as we observe or read news such as the latest on faking industrial salt as table salt, should we, as Chrstian leaders (both inside and outside of China) who work closely in equipping local Christians,ask where has we fail?
Just sharing my thoughts and observation. And my realisation that unless the worldview of my own co-workers in China is drastically changed by Father, they will not live to the full potential as someone that He can use to influence their own society.
Maybe, this is a major part of why Christ come and die for us? Not simply for that spiritual relationship with Him but a deep change of our hearts and worldview so that He can use us to truly bring about a positive influence in our own society.
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