What is religious freedom supposed to mean in China and America? We have to start off with what freedom is “supposed” to mean. But even “supposed to” is in the eye of the beholder and the mouth of the speaker. It’s like a twist on an old joke, but the reality is this: How can you tell when a government is lying? It passes a law that claims to benefit everyone.
What should happen to undocumented people / illegal aliens? That’s a hard question. Or is it? For some it’s not. You know exactly what should happen. You think.
It happened again. Gun violence in America. In a school. Today, it’s about Nashville. Tomorrow? It’ll be another school. Some people cry out to stop the violence. Others cry out to keep the assault style weapons that are so often used in these mass killings. Will we ever stop gun violence in America?
Do politically active Christians understand the armor of God? Judging by the words from Ron DeSantis and people’s reactions to those words, I’m sad to say that, in far too many cases, the answer is no. In fact, I’ll go further and say that politically active Christians who support DeSantis and the words coming from him don’t understand Christianity. They don’t understand some core statements from the Bible on Jesus or what He commanded His followers.
My body my choice! It feels like it’s being used for lots of things these days. Not getting vaccinated. And by extension, not vaccinating kids. Getting an abortion. And by extension, in a similar manner, not having kids. Of course, there are arguments made on both sides of both issues. We’ll look at both. However, I want to add another dimension. Christianity. Why? Because it makes things much more clear. And, by extension, much more volatile.
Was Jesus politically active? Or did Jesus avoid politics? Would you believe – yes and yes? Yes, Jesus was politically active? But Jesus avoided politics? How can that be? And more importantly, why does it matter?
How does Christian love lead to white supremacy? I ask this question because of a recent headline in Time, titled It’s Time to Stop Giving Christianity a Pass on White Supremacy and Violence. Since I’m Christian, I had to ask one very simple question. What does Christianity have to do with white supremacy? I know it’s not a new thought. But is it a valid thought?
Never again will I destroy all living creatures. That’s what God said. You know, back in Genesis, the first book in the Bible. Of course, that means He did destroy all living creatures once. However, let’s not forget what happens in Revelation, the last book in the Bible. God won’t destroy all living creatures. That doesn’t mean destruction isn’t coming though. Further, it says nothing of the earth itself. Is it time? Have we grieved God to the point where He’s finally going to end this fallen creation?
How do religion and society fit together? Should religion and society fit together? And if those weren’t already tough enough questions, who gets to decide the answers? Religious leaders? Social activists? The government? But hang on a minute. Just when it seems like it can’t possibly get worse, it does. What if religion, everything related to society in general, and the government are all controlled by the same people?
Do you think that’s impossible? It’s not. It’s happening. Right now. In China, they’re well on their way to making it happen. The Communist Party is continuing to strengthen its hold on pretty much everything about official religion and Chinese society. Here in the U.S., many would like it to happen. Who exactly will be in control isn’t officially decided yet. But it appears that the government is winning, with Christians bowing down to the President.
Citizens have freedom of religious belief. That’s the English translation of something from China’s Religious Affairs Regulations. But is it really true?
Remember, China is a Communist country. And an officially atheist one as well. We must be forgiven if we doubt those fine-sounding words. Especially after reading part 1 of this series.
Remember, Article 1 of these regulations included the text, “increase the level of legalification in work on religion” as one of the stated goals for putting them into law. How does that even make sense?
