– China burns bibles & closes churches in latest crackdown
As the Chinese government cracks down on religious congregations, officials are burning bibles and forcing Chinese Christians to sign contracts renouncing their faith.
New footage emerging from the Henan province in central China also reportedly shows crosses and bibles being burned.
A Christian pastor from the city of Nanyang in Henan confirmed there was a raid on September 5.
The pastor, who did not want to be identified for fear of persecution, said several people entered the church as soon as it opened and started to remove items.
Bob Fu of China Aid said shared the video on Twitter and said: “China CCP starts burning the Bible and crosses in Henan.
“Last time burning Bibles campaign happened in late 1960s by dictator Chairman Mao’s wife Jiang Qing in Shanghai. She was arrested in 1976 but Christians grew to millions. Will Never be successful.”
The crackdown on the Christian faith comes as part of a government campaign to demand loyalty to the atheist Communist party.
Fu added: “The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief.”
This suppression of religious freedom coincides with President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power, which makes him the most powerful leader of China since Mao Zedong.
The government is now reportedly escalating its’ most severe crackdown since religious freedom was granted in 1982.
the largest house church in Beijing, Zion church was closed on Sunday by about 60 government workers accompanied by police cars and firetrucks, according the church’s pastor Ezra Jin Mingri.
Jin said officials declared the gatherings illegal and closed it after freezing his personal assets for not complying with their demands.
Despite all the government activities, there are still millions of Christians in China who belong to underground churches.
Source: The Sun
