How Xi Jinping’s China is making the Christian faith stronger

A new “translation” of the Bible is underway in China. In its campaign to “sinicise” Christianity (under a government work plan for “promoting Chinese Christianity” whose goal is “thought reform”), the Communist Party has adopted a plan “for ‘retranslating and annotating’ the Bible to find commonalities with socialism and establish a ‘correct understanding’ of the text”, according to The Guardian.

The revision of the Bible is the latest in Beijing’s intensifying campaign against Christianity, after crackdowns on churches, the jailing of pastors and some authorities banning Christmas festive decorations and related retail sales. But is it reasonable to believe that the party’s ill-conceived modus operandi will be successful?

China bulldozing churches, replacing holy imagery with Communist

Thus far, Beijing’s anti-church campaign has been an abysmal failure. Christianity in China is thriving under persecution.

Perhaps President Xi Jinping should think twice about rewriting the Holy Scripture. Under his leadership, the party is actually propagating the faith it has sought so vigorously to destroy.

Brian Stuckey, Denver