According to China Aid Association’s latest annual report, religious persecution in China more than doubled last year. The increase comes as no surprise, as 2014 was marked by a wave of attacks on church buildings, particularly in the city of Wenzhou and around the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. The general social tightening that has come to characterize President Xi Jinping’s rule contributed to the pressure on religious believers, as did heightened tensions between the regime and ethnic minorities in Western China.
Brent Fulton
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May 1, 2015
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Ideas
The destruction of churches and widespread pulling down of crosses in Zhejiang province during the past year have served to highlight the dilemma facing China’s Christians, whose numerical growth has, for the past several decades, outstripped the availability of suitable venues for worship.
Brent Fulton
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April 29, 2015
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Stories
As urbanization has redrawn the landscape of China, its effects have been far reaching, altering not only the physical geography but also the social fabric in multiple dimensions.
Brent Fulton
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April 6, 2015
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Ideas
Is China’s church facing a nationwide crackdown?
Brent Fulton
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March 30, 2015
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Ideas
While many would applaud the church’s “post-denominational” character as evidence of the unity of the church in China, others today are asking whether a return to denominations is not only inevitable but should, in fact, be welcomed.
Brent Fulton
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March 25, 2015
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Ideas
As China’s elderly population mushrooms and its working-age population shrinks, Christian families find themselves caught in the middle of this demographic divide. Cultural expectations and legal requirements put the onus on them to care for older family members, but neither the government nor the society at large are adequately prepared to support this effort.
Brent Fulton
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March 20, 2015
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Ideas
Last year members of the Almighty God sect savagely attacked a customer in a McDonald’s in northeast China after she refused to give them her cell phone number. Formerly known as Eastern Lightning, the Almighty God sect has emerged as one of the most active cults in China.
Brent Fulton
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March 16, 2015
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Ideas
The editor's point of view...
Brent Fulton
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March 13, 2015
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Scholarship
Grab your calculator – China’s leaders are at it again!
To usher in the Year of the Sheep, President Xi Jinping has placed his indelible stamp on Chinese history by unveiling the Four Comprehensives.
Brent Fulton
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March 9, 2015
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Ideas
Christians throughout history have seen themselves engaged in a battle that is ultimately spiritual in nature. Forces arrayed against them, political or otherwise, are physical manifestations of this unseen battle, which will ultimately conclude with the return of Christ.
Brent Fulton
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March 2, 2015
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Ideas
For first-generation urban Christians in China, social expectations regarding marriage present difficult dilemmas as they seek to remain faithful to biblical teaching regarding the family.
Brent Fulton
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February 27, 2015
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Ideas
With a plethora of Christian leader development programs on offer in China, it is difficult to know which are appropriate, not to mention which will ultimately prove effective.
Brent Fulton
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February 9, 2015
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Ideas
