China Herald: Bible

Monday, April 09, 2018

Ban online bibles signals broader crackdown - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

Bibles have been legally available in China, both in print and online. But a recent crackdown by the authorities on online bibles might signal a wider crackdown, writes journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, for the New York Times.

Ian Johnson:

The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores. The advent of online retailers created a loophole that made the Bible easily available. This was especially important in China given the growing dominance of online shopping.

The closing of that loophole follows new government religious regulations that have effectively tightened rules on Christianity and Islam, while promoting Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion as part of President Xi Jinping’s efforts to promote traditional values. The moves also come as China is engaged in negotiations with the Vatican to end the split between the underground and government-run Catholic Church.

This would end a nearly 70-year split between the Chinese government and the global church, which Beijing traces to the Vatican’s historically strong anti-Communist stance. Observers said the new measures could be a sign of a broader crackdown. At a news conference Tuesday outlining Beijing’s approach, a government spokesperson said the Vatican would never be allowed control over the clergy in China. That came after a recent government reorganization in which a hard-line Communist Party department took over management of religious policy. “It sounds like the opposition force within the Chinese authorities who oppose the Vatican-China relations have their voice,” said Yang Fenggang, head of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. “It clearly shows that they worry or are concerned about Catholics as well as Protestants.”

More at The Star.

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Monday, November 01, 2010

Cautious about any organized religion - Zhang Lijia

The Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion and Mer...

Image via Wikipedia

Celebrity writer and non-believer Zhang Lijia explains her attitude towards Buddhism, and religion in a rather personal interview with ExpressBuzz. I'm cautious about any organized religions, she explains.

Like most skeptics, she asks where God was when the most destructive earthquake in the 20th century took place in Tangshan, China, on July 28, 1976. More than two lakh people died, including Lijia’s cousin. “If there is a God how could He allow such things to happen? Why is He so cruel? Why does He allow good people to die like this?”

Lijia says that when you look at the concept of God rationally, there is no evidence that He exists. One reason for Lijia’s doubts is because Communism was forced down the throat of the people for many decades. “As a result I am cautious about blindly believing in any organised religion,” she says. But thanks to her curiosity, she has read many religious books including the Bible. “I find it difficult to believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary,” she says. “It lacks logic.”