China (MNN) — The Chinese government often restricts the selling of Bibles or other books online. Read one such report in a Monday, June 7 prayer request here.
But Eric Burklin with China Partner says this is nothing new, and Chinese Christians have found ways around these restrictions. “Most churches in China, by the way, have a Christian bookstore downstairs usually, in the front foyer area or in the back. So anywhere you find a church in China, you can find a Christian bookstore. You can get Christian books, and you can buy Bibles. You can buy crosses, or you can buy necklaces. I mean, it’s amazing what you can actually purchase.”
Burklin says many Chinese Christians are not feeling nervous about the restrictions being placed on their expression of faith. “The Chinese people don’t sense that kind of crackdown, as much as maybe we might sense it from the outside. To them, this is nothing new under the sun. The government has always been oppressive. I remember several years ago, there was a pastor who told us, ‘We’re grateful for the freedoms that we do have. Now I remember the days,’ he was saying, ‘When my parents were in the Cultural Revolution, and they had to literally hide and could not have even any Bible study or even read a Bible. Everything was secret and underground in those days.’”
Praise God for the faithfulness and love of Chinese Christians. Ask God to give them wisdom as they seek to be good citizens and serve Jesus as their lord.
(Header photo courtesy of China Partner on Facebook)
