The Bible business (November 20, 2013, Global Times)
To meet the spiritual needs of the rapidly growing number of Christians, China printed more than 105 million Bibles from 1987 to 2012, of which 60 percent were distributed to churches inside the country and 40 percent were delivered overseas. In this factory, employees operate machines round the clock for three shifts a day. Its warehouse stores millions of different versions of the Bible which are ready to be delivered worldwide at any time. The special King James Version which was used for Prince William's wedding in 2011 was made here. China, the world's biggest atheist country, has now become the world's largest Bible-printing state.
Taylor Gorman
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November 21, 2013
The Church Today (November 11, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In Section Two of the article, posted here, the author talks about the church-consciousness (ecclesiology) of Chinese Christians today. He argues that Chinese believers have a weak understanding of what the church is, and gives reasons for this. He also describes some of the characteristics of churches in some smaller and medium-sized cities in China. Finally, he talks about the importance of building community within a church and gives some suggestions as to how that might be done.
Taylor Gorman
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November 14, 2013
Western and Chinese Church History (November 5, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In this article, The Chinese Church: Past, Present and Future, translated from the journal ChurchChina, author Gao Zhen explores the history of the Chinese Church, examines the issues and challenges facing the church today, and looks ahead.
Taylor Gorman
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November 7, 2013
Urbanizing Chinas Ethnic Minorities (August 14, 2013, Andrew Stokals)
Chinas urbanization push has been in the headlines recently. Of course after 30 years, Chinas urbanization is not exactly fresh news. But recent reports of opposition to Chinas urbanization plan underscore just how integral urbanization is to the most pressing issues facing China now: 1. Maintaining economic growth through consumer spending, 2. Reducing the income disparity between urban and rural areas, 3. Growing Municipal and local government debt. One area that receives less attention is the issue of forced urbanization in ethnic minority regions, such as those home to Tibetan and Uighur populations.
Taylor Gorman
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October 31, 2013
House Church and TSPM: Surprising Admissions in China's Official Press (October 22, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
A recent article appearing in Global Times, the English-language mouthpiece of the authoritative People's Daily, raises interesting questions about how China's leaders view the relationship between the official and unofficial church. Entitled "Estranged Brethren," the article deals forthrightly with the longstanding division between Christians in churches under China's official Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and those who worship outside the TSPM umbrella.
Taylor Gorman
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October 24, 2013
From the Global Times: Estranged Brethren (October 16, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
On October 10, 2013, the Global Times, one of Chinas English language daily newspapers published an article titled Estranged Brethren, about the division between the official Three-Self church and the House Church movement. Articles about religion in general, and Christianity in particular, are far and few between in the Chinese media, and articles that reference the house churches are even more rare. This article is particularly noteworthy for its discussion of the background of the division, its discussion of the Shouwang Church in Beijing, its relatively sympathetic treatment of the house church position, and references to calls for changes in Chinas religious policies.
Taylor Gorman
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October 17, 2013
Urge for Faith: Postmodern Beliefs among Urban Chinese (September 2013, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Historical events following Mao's death left an ideological vacuum in China. This has created a strong need for faith, even an urge, so as to avoid the risk of further social disruption and political instability. While postmodernism, with its relativity and lack of absolutes, is trying to fill this void, it also leaves people questioning and open to exploring faith.
Taylor Gorman
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October 10, 2013
Confucius, the Bible, and Preaching (October 1, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
This article is an interesting Christian response to Yu Dans popularization of Confucianism, arguing that what she preaches is really a watered down version of Confucianism watered down to make it more palatable. The author then wonders if the Church is in danger of doing the same thing watering down the Gospel in order to make it popular.
Taylor Gorman
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October 3, 2013
The Postmodern Generation and the Church in China (Fall Edition, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Thinking with Their Hearts: Postmodernism in ChinaAs Dr. Pan points out in this issue of ChinaSource Quarterly, "Disillusionment with faith, hope and love leads to confusion for this new generation of young people, but it also creates opportunity for spreading the gospel. Postmodern man fails in his search for life-stabilizing and soul-anchoring faith, as well as in his quest for goodness and for finding a future hope that modernity provided with modernism as the basis. Yet, man craves the satisfaction of these three crucial needs " The upside of postmodernism is that it leaves people asking the right questions. Online in blogs and weibo posts a new generation surveys China's social landscape with its food scandals, official corruption, unbridled consumerism and rampant abuse of women and children, and asks, "What's wrong with their hearts?"
Taylor Gorman
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September 26, 2013
China's Debate: Must The Party Follow The Constitution? (September 18, 2013, NPR)
One way to start, he says, is to live up to the promises made in China's 1982 constitution. In many countries, that's just assumed. In China, it's at the center of a bitter debate between reformers and conservative Communist Party members over the future of the country's political system. Increasingly, scholars like Zhang are using China's own constitution against the ruling party to try to make the government more accountable to the people.
Taylor Gorman
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September 19, 2013
At Sina Weibo's censorship hub, China's Little Brothers cleanse online chatter (September 11, 2013, Reuters)
Reuters got a glimpse of the Sina Weibo censorship office in Tianjin, half an hour from Beijing by high-speed train, one recent weekend morning. A dozen employees, all men, could be seen through locked glass doors from a publicly accessible corridor, sitting in cramped cubicles separated by yellow dividers, staring at large monitors. They more closely resembled Little Brothers than the Orwellian image of an omniscient and fearsome Big Brother. "Our job prevents Weibo from being shut down and that gives people a big platform to speak from. It's not an ideally free one, but it still lets people vent," said a second former censor.
Taylor Gorman
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September 12, 2013
A Novel Approach to Chinese History (September 1, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
If you're a China buff, here are 10 books I recommend for learning about Chinese history through what I'm calling a novel approach. I've placed them chronologically in terms of Chinese history and instead of telling you much about the story, will share a bit about why you need to read it from a historical perspective. History, in this case, consists of both the well-known "big" events, and the lesser known daily events. Together, they are woven together to form the fabric of a society, culture, and people.
Taylor Gorman
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September 5, 2013