Heavens, Asia's going Christian

Arts & Sciences Culture & History
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Interesting projection…

[quote]Heavens, Asia’s going Christian
By Michael Vatikiotis, Southeast Asia, Mar 2, 2006

SINGAPORE - The official guide to churches and Christian organizations in Singapore runs to more than 390 pages. With names like God@work, Great Shepherd Assembly and City Impact, there are 44 registered churches from the US-based Assemblies of God alone in Singapore. A Christian from Myanmar, a Korean Christian, even a Thai Christian can find services in their own language - though for the most part Chinese is the language of the Christian faith here.

Singapore is one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in Asia, along with Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. In fact, Asia is projected to become one of the largest Christian populations in the world, on pace to eclipse Europe in the next 30 years. The US State Department estimates there could already be as many as 100 million Christians in China, even though the official tally of believers is below 50 million.

The US-led “war on terror” has focused worldwide concern on the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as a precursor to violent militancy. Moderate or secular behavior among Asia’s Muslims is considered the long-term antidote to religious fervor. But in the wider context encompassing Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, the trend in Asia is anything but moderate or secular. Across the region, charismatic sects are springing up and drawing young people to religious faith. And new Asian converts to Christianity are arguably outpacing the spread of Islam.

The new believers are often Asia’s upwardly mobile, although the dirt-poor and desperate still flock to Christianity’s promise of eternal salvation. Far from embracing materialist and consumer values and completely abandoning religion, middle-class Chinese residents of Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong all regularly flock to Pentecostal or charismatic churches."(excert from article)
atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_ … 2Ae03.html[/quote]

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McDonalds isn’t the only crap America is exporting to the World.

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?[/quote]
Some Christian tenets are good, like “Do unto others” and “Blessed are the peacemakers”. Others are crap, such as “Homosexuality is evil” and “Believe in Jesus or burn in hell”.

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?[/quote]
Some Christian tenets are good, like “Do unto others” and “Blessed are the peacemakers”. Others are crap, such as “Homosexuality is evil” and “Believe in Jesus or burn in hell”.[/quote]

well, which part is being exported??

serious question. I dont know.

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?[/quote]

Well, since you ask, perhaps Jesus was a decent chap, but for the most part I find Christianity to be a superstitious crutch for a bunch of weak and hypocritical losers who wish to cram their beliefs down the throats of all who disbelieve, not that it’s much worse than most organized religions. No offense intended.
:angel:

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?[/quote]
Some Christian tenets are good, like “Do unto others” and “Blessed are the peacemakers”. Others are crap, such as “Homosexuality is evil” and “Believe in Jesus or burn in hell”.[/quote]

Blessed are the cheesemakers. All manufacturers of dairy products really.

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Really, you think the tennets of Christianity are crap?[/quote]

Monotheistic religions TEND, by nature, to be intolerant of conflicting beliefs, and to foster blind obedience and closed-mindedness. One of the great strengths of most of Asia, so far, is its tolerance for a multitude of faiths. It is sad to see that as Islam became entrenched in some parts of Asia, tolerance has decreased. The same is certainly true of some Christian regions, like the American Bible Belt. So the importation of ANY monotheistic religion into Asia is a potentially negative development.

Like other ancient monotheistic, book-based faiths, Christianity also has an unfortunate tendency to codify out-of-date social values and proscriptions, and to the extent to which it is organized, it tends to be corrupted by organization and power politics.

That said, Christianity also tends to promote some very positive values, some of which are generally lacking here, such as a universal (rather than guanxi-based) perspective on ethics, and there are some branches within Christianity which tend to be more tolerant of other faiths. Furthermore, these comments are certainly not an indictment of the individuals who have found personal meaning, value, or hope in their faith, and for whose choice of faith I have the utmost respect. Perhaps the tolerance for other faiths and the social values already present in Asia will merge harmoniously into the imported religion, creating a better form of it? :rainbow:

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At least a few of the Chinese Christians I have met have been of the opinion that there is one God for Chinese people and another for white people. Despite years of religious study they haven’t thought it through enough to wonder about the rest of humanity and most don’t really understand the whole “faith in Jesus” thing but prefer instead to focus on the social aspect of church life and feeling somehow vaguely guilty much of the time.

Oh well.

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This article says that converting people into a religion is the analogous to the spreading of a religion. While Christianity might be a more evangelical faith trying to “spread” the word, Islam is “spreading” in terms of their share of world population.

According to data from the World Christian Encyclopedia, Asia is currently 22.5% Muslim with 832,878,936 adherents while 8.5% Christian with 312,849,430. Their projections for 2020 based on current growth rates will be 25.7% Muslim and 9.8% Christian, at which time 1,219,867,230 vs. 464,800,100. That means that according to current growth rates, there will be 386,988,294 more Muslims and 151,950,670 more Christians. The rate of growth is higher for Muslims than Christians.

For further reference please refer to the following. Asia is already much more Islamic than the world in general and the spread of Islam is more pronounced in Asia due to this fact:

[quote=“http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/facts/fm0010.html”]Islam is the fastest growing major religion in the world today. From a population base of 200 million in 1900, Islam grew more than fivefold during the twentieth century. The change in Muslim/Catholic demographics over the past thirty years is striking. In 1970 there were 554 million Muslims in the world, and 666 millions Catholics; by the Great Jubilee of 2000, Islam could count 1.2 billion adherents, and Catholicism almost 1.1 billion. 1.3 billion Catholics in 2025 will find themselves in a world with 1.8 billion Muslims.

Would those ratios look different in 2100, however, if China opens up and becomes the greatest field of Christian mission since the Americas? [/quote]

Do you think that China will become a Christian nation? Earlier attempts to Christianize her failed, but now most Chinese people have no religion due to the communist revolution. Will it be easier to convert Chinese people who do not adhere to Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and folk religions?

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[quote=“Dragonbones”]Like other ancient monotheistic, book-based faiths, Christianity also has an unfortunate tendency to codify out-of-date social values and proscriptions, and to the extent to which it is organized, it tends to be corrupted by organization and power politics. [/quote]Sounds like an apt description of any creed from religion to neo-classical economics.

Certainly, most the growth in Christian congregations is taking part in the more charismatic and evangelical denominations. Not only in Asia, but in North and South America as well. Africa, I’m not so sure about.

What the article leaves out is that there’s a strong tendency among many such dominations, to embrace the old Lutheran position if salvation “by faith alone” (and therefore, not works), and predestination (which, through a bad twist of Calvinism becomes a search for Signs of the Elect, “cleanliness is next to Godliness”, and conspicuous consumption).

All of which is really too bad, because it means that you’re free to go into your closet to pray, come out with whatever version of the Trinity suits you best (even if it includes a screaming leather fetish), bugger your neighbour and feel positively righteous about the surge of pride you feel pulling up in a bigger, shinier SUV than he. After all, your wealth must be a sign of God’s grace and favour. :unamused:

sigh As with any other religion, theology follows intellectual theory and social practice, and–for me at least–what’s going on too often tends to feel like the Disney-lite version of something that was once radical and inspirational…

That said, to be completely fair, the churches are often at the forefront on social justice issues. Ignoring that would be foolish. Plus, we could all use a little grace. But really, it sucks to see the ideals drown in the practice.

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Well there are a bunch of underground christian churches in China. Some of the are well meaning, others are near cult like money making organizations.

There was a reason the CCP stamped out religion, much about the historical nature of these religious organizations trying to overthrow the central government in China.

I find Christainity to take on quite a very interesting dynamic of the Christians vs. the Catholics in Taiwan.

One bad experience I had with a Chinese Lutheran Church was they frowned upon me having a relationship with a Buddist and not actively trying to covert her. Experiencing this type of inclusive nature of the Church made me re-evalute the importance of organized religion in my life.

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Off topic note: the “Christians vs. the Catholics” divide always makes me laugh. What are Catholics if not Christian?

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Interesting thread, for the most part, so far.
I attribute this increase in Christianity in Asia to increased communication ability via sat TV, radio and the wizardry of the internet. This has opened doors for actual missionary-type persons.
Despite having my earliest church attendance in a very rural ‘Missionary Church’ I have always had reservations about trekking out to the heathern savages, putting clothes on them and hitting them with the ol’ its “Our Way or the Hell Way” message. I am perfectly content to help them dig a well for fresh water, learn the basics of sanitation and how to grow a sustaining annual crop without using slash & burn every year while merrily worshipping the big rock just like their ancestors. Fine for me. If they want to learn about Christianity, in any of its various forms, good for them. But I’m not one for forcing it on the tribe.
It would be hypocritical to denigrate their beliefs while wishing to impose my own beliefs, or lack of belief, upon them. Now wouldn’t it?..Hmmm…? :smiling_imp:

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I’m not sure hypocritical is the right word. Arrogant, insensitive, rude, and culturally imperious do come to mind, though.

PS - your avatar really cracks me up!
:laughing:

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Given the underground nature of the movement, I wonder how many of the ‘house churches’ in China are actually orthodox Christian, and how many are syncretic/ local cultist groups a la the Taipings?

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Oh, given my experience with a few of the open house churches in Taiwan, I’d say that there are a Very High number of interesting & creative interpretations. When they take root, transplants never quite take flower the way they did back home.

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I’m not sure hypocritical is the right word. Arrogant, insensitive, rude, and culturally imperious do come to mind, though.
[/quote]

You know, I’ve never had any Taiwanese or Chinese person EVER insult my faith, however countless Westerners have. I don’t really care either way, however hypocritical, arrogant, insensitive and rude does come to mind when an “open-minded” Westerner tries to tell me that I’m not allowed to have personal faith in God or that I’m stupid because I do.

Christianity is on the rise, but it’s mostly being spread from within, not by missionaries. I attend the Shilin branch of the Taiwanese “Bread of Life Church”. It’s a huge church and growing. The Shilin branch alone has 3 services on Sunday morning and it’s jam packed. Lots of people in their 20’s, 30’s and up. I guess people want to go not only because it inspires them, and gives them hope, but also because they want to experience the transforming power of God in their lives. Religion and religious attitudes are boring and oppressive. A personal relationship with one’s creator is uplifting and free. It’s sad, but even a lot of Christians don’t know the difference. However, this spiritual connection is something that a lot of people are longing for and that is something that transcends race or culture.

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The Chinese Communist Party did not “stamp out” religion and I as far as I am aware no other communist party has attempted to “stamp out” religion except maybe those of Cambodia (Khmer Rouge) and Albania.

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Looking up to someone can be a good thing. The big JHC is such a man. His boys weren’t too bad either.

Use the book as a guildline and you’ll be fine. If you’re looking for something divine or a miracle to happen, then you’re S.O.L.

Music and Poetry have some simularities with the B-Book. Metaphors. Learn how to read between the lines.

My faith lies with myself of what I am or could be.