PMT 2014-157 by Emily Rauhala (Time magazine)

[Note: This article is published on Time magazine’s website. I am posting only the first three paragraphs but am urging your to follow the link and read the full article. As America is in full-scale spiritual, moral, social, political, and economic decline, postmillennialists need to recognize that God does not need America, and that he is moving elsewhere in the world in remarkable ways. Unless God pours out his Spirit on churches in America, it may be that he will promote the progress of the gospel in surprising places in the world.]

The pastor places a palm on the man’s head. As he closes his eyes, gentle hands tilt the man backward, below the surface, then guide him up. He emerges cleansed of sin and spiritually committed to Jesus Christ.

It’s a scene that plays out every Sunday, somewhere. This time the rite took place below a makeshift altar, in an unmarked building, on the outskirts of Beijing. When the man rose from the makeshift baptismal tub he joined a community tens of millions strong and growing by the year: Chinese Christians.

Though Christianity has deep roots in China — it dates as far back as the 7th century — it is hard, in the present day, to get a clear picture of the community. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is wary of organized religion, and has alternately tried to crush, discourage, or co-opt Christian groups. But having survived the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, the faith is now flourishing: a 2010 study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated there are 23 million Christians in China. In 2011, Pew Research put the figure closer to 67 million, or 5% of the population.

Continue reading the article at: http://time.com/3508291/china-underground-churches-catholicism-catholics-christianity-christians-kevin-frayer/

Tagged: China, Christianity's growth