Fundamental
Evangelistic Association
selected
articles from:
©FOUNDATION
A MAGAZINE OF BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISM
Dennis W. Costella, Editor; Karel Beyer, Production Manager; Matt
Costella,
Copy Editor
M.H. Reynolds, Jr. (1919-1997), Founding Editor
The Church In
China
By M.H.
Reynolds, Jr.
©FOUNDATION Magazine, January -February 1982
A timely, relevant article concerning the history and the present plight
of the church in China and the role of the Communist government.
Taken from the January-February 1982 Foundation magazine.
I
N 1949, COMMUNISM CONQUERED mainland China. Soon thereafter, the
Bamboo Curtain was dropped over this vast country—a barrier that has effectively
hidden the church in China from the rest of the world for decades. Now, the Communist
leaders of China have decided to give the world a peek under the Bamboo Curtain. Now, the
free world hears reports that the church in China is thriving under a new kind of
communism—a better kind of communism which has replaced the older and more brutal
brand. We are told that the church in China is once again enjoying religious
freedom—a freedom they had supposedly been guaranteed all these years under the
Communist constitution. We are being asked to believe that the church in China needs no
help and wants no help from other believers around the world.
What are we to believe? Is it possible to
separate fact from fiction? It is possible to determine the present condition of the
church in China and to know how it has fared since communism took over? Has Chinese
communism truly changed for the better? How much credence should we give to recent
eyewitness reports from U. S. church leaders (including evangelicals) who have received
"guided tours" now being freely offered by Communist Chinese leaders and their
religious cohorts?
If we wish to be of help to true believers in
China today, it is essential for these questions to be correctly answered. Finding answers
to these questions is not impossible, and the facts are available to those who want to
know the truth. It does require, however, that we face the facts concerning what the
church in China has endured since communism seized control in 1949. It also requires an
understanding of the true nature and philosophy of communism, especially its attitude
toward religion. But most importantly, it requires that we reject the false propaganda
that is continually parroted by Chinese church leaders who have sold out to communism.
The simple truth of the matter is this: The
church in China does not enjoy genuine religious freedom, nor has it ever enjoyed such
freedom since communism gained control decades ago!
Changing Tactics, But Not Goals
A realistic assessment of the church in
China must begin by recognizing that the goal of communism never changes. That goal is
control of the world-world communism through world revolution! Although that goal has
never changed, communism has often changed its tactics in working toward that goal.
Sometimes, it preaches peace. Sometimes it threatens war. Sometimes it will appear
tolerant or even friendly to the church. Sometimes it will institute efforts to obliterate
all religion. But one thing is certain: Even though it operates under the title of
communism, Marxism, Leninism, socialism, economic determinism or some other name; and,
even though it is at work in China, Cuba, Africa, Latin America, North Korea or anywhere
else; and, even though it appears to be in conflict with some other form of communism in
another area of the world, it is all part of the same satanic, political, social, economic
and religious program that seeks to defy God and rule the world. It is anti-God,
anti-Christ, anti-Bible, anti-Christian. It is a system that promises liberty but produces
slavery. Communism is not a friend of the church, nor is it a friend of mankind. It is a
satanic agent of deception. If we fail to recognize its true intent, we will open the door
to further deception and certain disaster.
"None Are So Blind..."
The old adage, "None are so blind as
they who will not see," is certainly true when applied to those who refuse to see the
threat of communism. No other system in the history of mankind has been responsible for
murdering more people. No other system has held more human beings in captivity. For over
sixty years, communism has overrun and enslaved one nation after another. Yet, there are
some who have thus far escaped its tentacles but have refused to recognize its diabolical
nature. The recent communist rape of Afghanistan and the wholesale communist slaughter in
Cambodia have been quickly forgotten. Though some are dismayed over the iron hand of
communism in Poland, they have ignored or refused to see communism at work in Nicaragua
and El Salvador. Refugees who have been fortunate enough to escape from communist tyranny
in many parts of the world have done what they could to warn the free world about the true
nature of communism. Sadly, most people in the free world have ignored these warnings.
They have chosen, instead, to believe that a negotiated solution with communism is
possible. Peace treaties with communism have proven to be more than meaningless-they are
dangerous. Those who believe that peace for the world and for the church will be obtained
through treaties with satanic systems or with Satan himself are blind indeed-they will not
see! People who believe that Chinese communism has changed for the better are believing a
lie! It is essential to listen to the leaders of Free China (Taiwan) who, from bitter
personal experience, know the true nature of Chinese communism. Taiwan's Free China
Weekly for February 1, 1981, quoted Y. S. Sun, Premier of the Republic of China, as
follows: "It is impossible for the free world to co-exist with the Chinese
Communists, because they have made communization of the whole world their final
goal." An editorial in this same edition stated the situation clearly and truthfully:
It is part of Communist psychology to talk, then fight, then
talk again. The objective is always the same: that of settling things the Communist way.
Strangely, those who view the Chinese Communists and what they say in the world rarely
connect this with the reality on the mainland. Everyone knows that Red China is a tyranny.
It has always been a totalitarian regime and must always be one. Everyone knows there is
no freedom on the Chinese mainland. Everyone knows that Red China has one of the lowest
standards of living in the world. Everyone knows or ought to know that Red China has been
externally aggressive ever since it usurped the mainland in 1949. At the very outset, it
fought the United States and other members of the United Nations in Korea. India was
invaded. The Chinese have participated in wars or insurrections involving Burma, Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. The 1958
Battle of Kinmen was intended by the Chinese Communists as prelude to the crossing of the
Taiwan Straits. When correspondents build up Red China as a world power trying to set the
international scene right, they are creating a terrible misconception. The pressing need
is for the world to look at what the Chinese Communists have done and are doing. Their
words are lies laid one atop another to deceive or frighten others into carrying out their
will.
History of the Chinese Church
The church in China has suffered throughout
its entire history. When missionaries took the Gospel to China in the mid- I 800s, their
early progress was slow. Many obstacles existed. But faithful men and women of God,
believing that they were under orders to preach the Gospel to every creature, persevered.
God blessed their testimony as the Chinese people began to heed and believe the Gospel
message.
In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion produced many
martyrs for Christ, both missionaries and Chinese believers. In 1922, violent
anti-Christian demonstrations occurred in several cities. As early as 1927, Gospel work in
China met with opposition from communism which was, even at that early date, carrying
forward its revolutionary tactics which eventually culminated in its seizure of the
mainland. In 1937, the Japanese occupation brought further disruptions and persecutions to
the church in China. But none of these trials are comparable to the intensity and duration
of suffering endured by true believers since communism gained control in 1949. For the
past 33 years, faithful servants of Jesus Christ have suffered and died for Christ in
China. And it appears that the suffering of true believers is not over yet! The present
"relaxation" of communism's religious oppression may only be the calm before
another storm!
Satan's Twins-Communism and Religious Liberalism
From the time communism first reared its
ugly head to this present hour, religious liberals and communists have had much in common.
Liberal religionists have helped to pave the way for communism to overrun one country
after another and have actually themselves become the betrayers and persecutors of true
believers. There is no clearer demonstration of this than in China. Around the turn of the
century, religious liberalism (then called "modernism") invaded the schools and
pulpits of America. Soon, this modernism was exported to China through liberal
missionaries, theological teachers and religious publications. As early as 1920, Bible
believers found it necessary to establish The Bible Union of China, which had the purpose
of "uniting the loyal men and women in opposition to those who have proven untrue and
unfaithful to the evangelical test." The King's Business, which reported the
formation of The Bible Union of China, quoted a missionary who had been in China for seven
years. This missionary said:
Modernism is insidiously and openly being propagated in
China. This is a known fact. The books translated for use in the grammar and high schools
were often permeated with the most 'advanced' and 'modernistic' teachings of the West,
and, in addition, a message was at times being preached, not of salvation through Christ's
atoning blood, but salvation through works as a part of and the result of social service.
Unfortunately, too many believers in both
China and the United States, even though they recognized the difference between
Fundamentalism and modernism (liberalism), were unwilling to pay the price of cleaning
house theologically. The inevitable result was liberalism's continued growth and eventual
control of a majority of Protestant denominations in America. Also included in this
control were the colleges, seminaries, mission agencies and publishing houses. The church
in China suffered the same fate. Liberals in both countries expressed increasing sympathy
for communism and Communist causes. Therefore, it was not surprising to find that liberal
Chinese church leaders welcomed, with open arms, the Communists when they took over in
China in 1949. Some of these liberal Chinese church leaders went so far as to say,
"God is working alongside these Communists." They were so confident that
communism was the means by which God's Kingdom would be established on earth that they
conveniently forgot the bloody hands of the Communist Chinese leaders who were responsible
for putting to death several million of their own Chinese countrymen in communism'
s march to power. The exact number of those who died in the Communist seizure of China may
never be known, but there is no doubt that the greatest mass murders of all time were
carried out by the communist Chinese leaders. In spite of this murderous carnage, the
Communists obtained full support from most religious liberals in China! Without doubt,
religious liberalism and communism are satanic twins.
The Early Days of the Church in China Under Communism
In 1960, Mr. Leslie T. Lyall, a faithful
missionary to China under the China Inland Mission from 1929 to 195 1, wrote a book
titled, Come Wind, Come Weather. His book tells, in simple, well-documented
fashion, the true story of the Chinese Communists and their use, misuse and abuse of the
church in China from 1949 to 1960. Actions taken by the Communists against the church were
always dependent upon what best suited their purposes at the moment. Mr. Lyall's book
bares the Communist-liberal intrigue which eventually decimated the church and sent many
faithful believers to an early grave. In the preface, Mr. Lyall explained his purpose in
writing the book:
This book is not concerned with politics, with economics,
with sociology, or with ideology-except indirectly. It has one aim-to set out in an
unbiased documentary manner the way in which the Communist government has handled the
Protestant church in China.
The more we study the documents and statements of the official church leaders, the
clearer we see that the direction in which the Protestant church has been moving since
1950 has been dictated by the People's Government. It has not been determined, as some
think, by the spontaneous, freely chosen policies of the Christian church itself. On the
contrary, a carefully planned and cleverly executed government scheme to immobilize the
church without destroying it entirely and to render it ineffective while apparently
leaving it "free" has been imposed. The state legislature and the state police
have worked closely with the officially recognized Protestant organization: those whom the
organization has denounced or condemned have been arrested by the state police, tried by
"People's Courts" and punished in various ways by the state authorities....
Many people throughout the world are still seeing the church situation in China through
a propaganda smoke screen which the Chinese authorities have ingeniously put up. Anyone
who travels among the churches in the homeland soon becomes aware of this. There is a
general idea that things are not so bad for Christians as was expected.
It is therefore in the interest of truth and of the greatest concern to missions and
churches in other Asian and African countries living beneath the long shadows of Communism
that the facts should be made crystal clear. For China may well be a blueprint of the
methods which Communist authorities will adopt elsewhere.
Mr. Lyall's words were prophetic, indeed!
Days of False Optimism
Even before communism came to power in 1949,
its propagandists gave assurances that they would not interfere with the church. When they
seized power, the Communist leaders pretended to be neutral concerning religion and
promised full religious freedom to everyone. They promised not to interfere in the
internal affairs of the churches in exchange for the help of the churches in building a
"new China." It all seemed too good to be true. But, in fact, it was not true.
The church in China was deceived by the gloved hand of communism and was soon to feel its
iron list.
Religious Freedom in China-The Beginning of the End
In May 1950, Premier Chou En-lai and his
colleagues called four Chinese church leaders to Peking for a three-day conference. These
churchmen, led by Mr. Y. T. Wu, were ecstatic over the "unprecedented compliment and
recognition" accorded them by the new Communist government. They jumped at the chance
to cooperate and were flattered by the prestige gained through this conference with top
leaders of the new Chinese Communist regime. In retrospect, it is obvious that these four
church leaders, all liberals, were hand-picked by the Communists. The Communist leaders
correctly assumed that these liberal churchmen would readily participate in their plan to
destroy the church spiritually and to politicize all of its activities. Following this
conference in Peking, Wu presented a so-called "Church Manifesto" to other
church leaders. It was actually a manifesto of betrayal, the broad terms of which had been
drawn up in the Peking conference by the bloody-handed Communist tyrants. The manifesto
pledged that the Christian church was to "rid itself of all traces of imperialism; to
give first loyalty to the people's government; and to maintain unquestioning obedience to
the communist party" (emphasis ours). In reality, this document amounted to
nothing less than a complete sell-out of the church to communism. It was the beginning of
the end for modem missionary efforts in China. Great political and religious pressures
were exerted on Christians in order to secure their signatures on this document. Those who
refused to sign were marked for persecution, imprisonment or death. Those who signed
thereby committed themselves to "expel all foreign missionaries" whom the
Communists considered to be imperialists-this action being taken in spite of missionaries'
faithful service to the Lord and to the people of China. In the name of Chinese
independence, communism was laying the foundation for complete control of religion in
China.
The Emergence of the Three-Self Christian Patriotic Movement
Communism moved ahead with its plan to use
the church in China for its own purposes. The next step came in April 195 1, when 158
church leaders were brought to Peking at government expense ostensibly to confer about
"the disposal of the properties of American-subsidized missionary groups in
China." However, the true purpose of this meeting was revealed by the Communist
official and government spokesman who presided at the conference. He said, "The
mission of this conference is to cut off thoroughly all relations between the Christian
church in China and American imperialism and to help the patriotic Christians to promote a
new movement for independence, self support, and independent propagation of the Faith, so
as to realize the decision of the government administrative council" (emphasis
ours). An immediate result of this conference was the formation of a new organization
called Oppose-America, Aid-Korea, Three-Self Reform Movement of the Church of Christ in
China. This group was supposedly the voluntary creation of the Chinese church. In truth,
it was created by the Communist dictators as another political/religious propaganda force.
The lengthy title of the organization was later abbreviated to the Three-Self Reform
Church, and still later, the word reform was replaced by the word patriotic. Eventually,
it became widely known as the Three-Self Christian Patriotic Movement (TSCPM) and became
the vehicle of betrayal and persecution of true Christians in China. Remember this name
because, in its resurrected form today, this organization is once again being employed by
Chinese communism and liberal Chinese church leaders to betray Bible-believing Christians
in China. At the same time, it is also being used to deceive the free world concerning the
present condition of religion under Chinese communism.
Y.T. Wu—Betrayer of the True Church
The first president of the TSCPM was Y. T.
Wu. Long before communism invaded China, Wu was an ardent student of Communist theory and
took a strong pro-Communist position on many issues. Thus, his known sympathy for
communism and his key position in the YMCA of China made Wu the logical choice to lead the
newly formed TSCPM (created by Communist Chinese leaders to carry out the religious
policies of the Communist government). Wu had always been uncomfortable with evangelical
doctrines, and there is every reason to believe that he was a Christian in name only. This
much is certain-Wu was a traitor to the cause of Christ. The blood of many Chinese martyrs
is on his hands.
"I Love the Communist Party"
In 1958, Wu wrote an article for the TSCPM
publication, Heavenly Wind. His article was titled, "My Recognition of the
Communist Party." One paragraph, reprinted in Come Wind, Come Weather, is a
classic example of the diabolical affinity between religious liberalism and communism. Wu
wrote:
Without the Communist Party there would not have been the
Three-Self Movement of the Christian church, nor the new life of the church, and we
Christians would not have received education in socialism and the opportunity to change
our political standpoint and become one with the people as we march happily on the road to
Socialism .... I love the Communist Party .... For over a hundred years imperialism had
been using the Christian church to advance its aggressive designs .... And even today in
the minds of not a few Christians there still remain the destructive poisons of
imperialism and anti-Party, anti-Socialism thinking. As a tool of imperialism the church
had become a force in the service of reactionary rulers. The church greatly needed
cleansing, for without that cleansing there would be no future for her in New China. And
so for several years now the Three-Self Movement has carried on this work of cleansing the
church, but this was a work which could not have been carried on without the support and
direction of the Party.
What further proof is needed to demonstrate
the subservience of the Three-Self Christian Patriotic Movement and its first president,
Y. T. Wu, to godless communism? What further proof is needed to convince Christians that
the TSCPM and Wu, even though supposedly representing the church in China, actually sold
them out to the Communists?
An "Evangelical" Joins the Communist Party
Religious liberals were not the only ones
infected by the deadly virus of Communist philosophy and propaganda. A number of
individuals who claimed to be evangelical also succumbed to Communist brainwashing. The
Rev. Marcus Cheng, president of the ChungLing Theological Seminary, was well-known and
highly respected in evangelical circles at the time of the Communist seizure of China.
Surprisingly, Cheng willingly became a part of the Communist-inspired TSCPM, serving as
one of its vice-presidents. And, while one might justify his actions on the basis that he
was ignorant of the true nature of communism, there can be no justification for his later
statements which indicated a full endorsement of the Communist Party. In an article
titled, "The Stages of Change in My Political Thinking" (quoted in Come Wind,
Come Weather), Cheng wrote:
I finally awakened. Only Marx and Lenin and the science of
revolution are the tools which will set humanity free .... From the heart I can sincerely
say that I fervently love Communism and accept the teaching of the Communist Party and the
teachings of Mao Tze-tung ... even as I accept astronomy and the fact that the earth is
round or the statements in the Bible that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west
.... There are some Christians who, when they hear of my change of thinking and that I
have joined the Communist Party, and further that I have joined the Soviet-Russian
Fellowship, think it very strange. Others freely abuse me .... Going through the Studies
and seeing the facts has caused me to hate and oppose and despise America more than ever
and through the same power be drawn closer to the pure, loving friendship of Russia.
Clearly, just as there were those in the
church in China who were "Christian" in name only—like Y. T. Wu—so,
there were those who were "evangelical" in name only like Marcus Cheng.
Concerning the mutual participation of liberals and evangelicals in the TSCPM, missionary
Leslie Lyall discerningly comments:
An advanced liberal and a conservative evangelical! Who would
have suspected that such strange "bedfellows" would ever be found together? But,
in a predominantly liberal committee, it served the cause of the ThreeSelf Movement well
to include such a prominent evangelical leader as Marcus Cheng. To some extent it disarmed
the suspicions of evangelical churches everywhere and made them more inclined to throw in
their lot with the Movement.
Thank God, not all Chinese Christians were
deceived. The faithful Christians refused to compromise. Many of these suffered tremendous
persecution and even death, but they would not elevate Chairman Mao above Christ or agree
to prostitute the church to godless communism.
The Velvet Glove of the TSCPM
The initial activities of the TSCPM followed
the pattern of its creator, the Communist Party. The TSCPM's "velvet glove"
approach stressed voluntary participation and non-interference concerning the internal
affairs of the church. Admittedly, the purpose of the TSCPM was to "unite the
Christian church in China" and to free it from "foreign domination." But it
disclaimed any intention of violating the full freedom of believers in working toward
these goals. At the second conference of the TSCPM, held in August of 1954, its president,
Y. T. Wu, made the following declaration:
The purpose of the Three-Self Movement is to unite the
Christian church in China. Self-government does not mean to unify or modify the
organization of the various churches .... Self-support is not to interfere in the finances
of any church.... The purpose of self-propagation is not to unify or modify the creeds....
We should respect the differences that exist among the churches in creed, organization and
ritual.
The Iron Fist of the TSCPM
In 1956, only two years after Wu's pious
affirmation of non-interference, the "iron fist" replaced the "velvet
glove." China's Communist dictators introduced communal systems in all rural areas.
The TSCPM was ordered to effect absolute union of all churches. To facilitate this forced
union, many churches were closed. Only four out of eighty churches in Peking remained
open. Shanghai, which had over two hundred churches, was left with about twenty. Local
committees of the TSCPM forced denominational leaders to turn over all their property and
control of their programs to the TSCPM, after which, the denominational leaders
"voted themselves out of existence." Following the orders of their Communist
leaders, the TSCPM gained full control of all Protestant church property and programs.
Unified rules concerning ritual, regulations and church order were introduced and
enforced. All literature and books, including hymnals, were required to receive Communist
approval before being used. Any teachings unfavorable to church union or socialism were
labeled "poisonous thoughts" and were not tolerated. It was decreed that no more
preaching "about the Last Day or about the vanity of this world" would be
allowed. In Come Wind, Come Weather, Lyall records the revealing words of a new
political hymn added to the approved hymnbook of the new church in China:
Thanks to the Communist Party and President Mao,
For after Liberation, the Church has been united;
We are no longer divided into denominations;
We are no longer divided into those who have and have not;
We have self-propagation, self-support, and self government;
We are not now oppressed by imperialism;
Our standard of living has been raised;
We live in a society which is free and happy.
Notice that this hymn does not mention God,
Christ, salvation, the Bible or heaven. It is simply Communist propaganda. Hymns like this
were forced upon the church by Communist tyrants as a means of brainwashing the church and
"reeducating" it for their own evil purposes. These new hymns were not simply
approved by the Communists. They were ordered! Chairman Mao and Premier Chou En-lai wished
for it to appear that Chinese churches were purging themselves of poisonous thoughts and
relationships, so they worked through the TSCPM which presumably represented the voice of
the church. In reality, the TSCPM was the religious arm of Chinese communism. It was not
designed by the church-it was created by the Communists! It was not designed to liberate
and protect the church it was created to subvert and, ultimately, to destroy the church.
The True Church Suffers
It is impossible to fully chronicle the
extreme suffering and persecution of those who opposed the subversion of the church in
China. Many took their stand against communism's atheistic tyrants and their supposedly
Christian lackeys. A few faithful church leaders discerned the evil nature of communism
and warned believers. They urged Christians to see communism as an enemy of both China and
the church.
Others, who were at first deceived by the lies
of communism or who were intimidated into cooperation with communism's use of the church,
soon recognized their mistake and refused to have any further part in making the church a
Communist tool. For a time, the voice of dissent was tolerated to a degree. But as soon as
Communist control of the nation and of the church had been solidified, the Communist
Chinese leaders began their crackdown on the faithful remnant of believers. Those who
would not compromise the truth faced extreme persecution and even death.
The Accuser of the Brethren
The Bible tells us that Satan is the great
"accuser of the brethren." It is not surprising, therefore, that these agents of
Satan, the Chinese Communists, should devise such a program in their effort to silence the
voice of truth-the voice of dissent. Working through the TSCPM, the Communist tyrants of
China instituted a diabolical program of "accusations" against all who opposed
their policies and philosophy. Principles involved in the technique of
"accusation" were introduced during the organizational meeting of the TSCPM in
1951. The official who presided at this meeting, an atheistic Communist, declared that the
new church in China must be purged of all reactionaries, pro-imperialists,
counter-revolutionaries and other corrupt elements. Individuals in the churches were
expected to expose and "accuse" others, especially their pastors and leaders who
were sympathetic to or tolerant of the so-called "corrupt elements." The
"accused" were arrested and brought to trial before a "People's
Court." Fear gripped the churches as a great wave of arrests and mock trials swept
the nation. Churches not producing their quota of "accusations" were suspect. If
no one was found within a church to "accuse" a faithful pastor or leader,
outsiders were brought in to testify against him. In many cases, Communists forced
Christian leaders to "accuse" themselves, insisting that they list and admit to
detailed "sins against the new China." Under these extreme pressures, many
family members gave lying testimony against their own relatives and then watched with
seared consciences as their own flesh and blood went to prison or to death. Many who were
forced to play the part of Judas later committed suicide. Others, repenting of their
betrayal of fellow believers, repudiated the accusations they had made and suffered the
same imprisonment or death as those they had falsely accused. The faithful church once
again became the suffering church. As this tragic situation continued year after year,
believers who were faithful to Christ and His gospel were forced underground. Eventually,
only churches that had completely sold out to communism were permitted to remain open.
Finally, during the so-called Cultural Revolution, all churches were closed-even those
that were subservient to communism.
A Lying Spirit in the Mouth of the Prophets
In the ensuing years following the Communist
seizure of China, Communist Chinese leaders consistently used the lying prophets of
apostate Christianity to decimate the church and to deceive the free world concerning
events occurring behind the Bamboo Curtain. Contact with the free world was infrequent.
And when any contact was made, the same group of hand-picked lying prophets entertained
visitors or attended religious functions in other countries. Invariably, a rosy picture of
the church under communism was painted by these lying prophets. "There is no
persecution of the church in China today," they would say. "We have greater
independence, liberty and opportunities to grow than ever before." And most church
leaders in the free world believed the words of the lying prophets. Free world church
leaders discounted the "unconfirmed reports" of severe persecution of faithful
Christians in China, preferring to believe the pernicious lie that churches in China were
enjoying their "liberation." On a few occasions, religious leaders and
delegations from other countries were permitted to visit China. They were given carefully
conducted tours and were permitted to see and hear only those things which were
predetermined by the Communist dictators. When an Anglican delegation visited China in
1956, they were given such a tour. Archbishop H. W. K. Mowil of Sydney, Australia, was a
member of this Anglican delegation. He returned from China convinced that the Anglican
Church in China was not only functioning freely but was a growing force. He was completely
deceived by the deceitful lies of the lying prophets. He became an apologist and
propagandist for atheistic Chinese communism. He covered his ears to the cries of the
suffering church! Fortunately, another church leader in Australia refuted Mowil's false
report. He wrote:
The church in Communist China, or whatever is left of it, is
now so fully a party to the plans and politics of the Government that it is actually an
ally of that Government. It is playing its role in subverting men and women from the true
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its prophetic function is ended and Jesus Christ is not its king!
It is sad to note that most church leaders
in the free world rejected the truth, choosing rather to believe a lie. Of course,
Fundamentalist leaders exposed the horrible persecution of believers in China at the hands
of the Communists and apostate religionists. But few people seemed concerned. The warnings
apparently fell on deaf ears.
The True Church Survives in Communist China
Jesus Christ promised that the gates of hell
would not prevail against His church. We know that this divine promise has been fulfilled
in China in the past and will be fulfilled into the future. We must realize, however, that
during the years since communism overran China, the voice of the true church has not been
heard outside the Bamboo Curtain, except through those few who have escaped or through
information smuggled out of the country. It should also be realized that true believers in
China are in great danger even now. There is reason to believe that Communist leaders in
China have an ulterior motive in re-opening some of the "official churches" and
in their apparent tolerant attitude toward "house churches." It could very well
be that these events are Communist methods of identifying true believers who are faithful
to Christ and the Bible and, because they are considered dangerous to the Communist
program, of targeting them for future persecution. Genuine concern for the church in China
today requires this conclusion: Neither the Communists nor the Chinese church leaders
who work with them can be trusted or believed. This is especially true of Bishop K. H.
Ting who dominates the church scene in China today as no other church leader does in any
other Communist nation. As long ago as 1956, he showed himself to be completely sold out
to the Communist cause. Today, Bishop Ting presides over the Three-Self Christian
Patriotic Movement, over the newly-formed China Christian Council and over the recently
re-opened Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. He is equally at home with evangelicals and
liberals. He has a long history of involvement in Communist causes, and because he
possesses a remarkable position of religious and political influence in China, he is
dangerous to the cause of Christ and His church. All is not well in China! All is not well
in the church in China-regardless of what we might hear from Bishop Ting and others. True
believers in China need prayer as never before, and we dare not add to their suffering by
holding hands with their political and religious oppressors.
M.H. Reynolds, 1982
"O Lord God, Thou knowest!'"
Ezekiel 37:3
Here is the response of faith. "Thou knowest!" — what a pillow
for the heart to repose upon! "Thou knowest! " — what few but comprehensive
words to sum up and express the heart's difficulties and perplexities and trials.
"Thou knowest!" — what an inexpressibly sweet resting place in the midst of
life's tumultuous heavings; in the midst of a sea that knows no calm; in the midst of a
scene in which tossings to and fro are the hourly history! What an answer they contain for
every heart that can find no words to express its big emotions; for a heart whose sorrows
are too deep for language to find its way to God! Oh, that they were ever uppermost in the
soul, as the response to eve difficulty in our path! They are God's answer for our hearts
to rest upon,and our lips to utter, when eve way is hedged up so that we cannot pass.
"O Lord God, thou knowest!" Rest here, believer. Lean thy soul on these words.
Repose calmly on the bosom of thy God, and car them with thee into every scene of life.
" O Lord God, thou knowest. " F. Whitfield
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