Tens of thousands of house church pastors and evangelists across China have gone into hiding as the Communist Party prepares for what seems like a “final assault” on Christianity in an attempt to eradicate it from the country, according to missions group Asia Harvest.
In its final newsletter for 2020, Asia Harvest said pastors have disconnected from their phones and computers so that government authorities can no longer use those devices to track their movements. These pastors have also reportedly destroyed the microchips inside their ID cards so authorities cannot track their locations using those devices either.
“Each person in China must have an ID card. It is impossible for a person to catch a flight or train, open a bank account, get a job, or rent an apartment without using their card. Each ID card contains a computer chip which is also used to track people’s movements,” the newsletter added.
While Asia Harvest declined The Christian Post’s request for an interview, CP has reported on many of the key concerns regarding rising persecution that are mentioned in its newsletter, including the regime’s attempts to “corrupt the Gospel” by rewriting biblical accounts.
One example of this is a communist textbook that’s being used in Chinese schools that falsifies the biblical account found in John 8:3–11. The textbook claims that Jesus murdered the woman who was found in adultery and then referred to Himself as a sinner, too.
The textbook, published by the government-run University of Electronic Science and Technology Press, states: “The crowd wanted to stone the woman to death as per their law. But Jesus said, ‘Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’ Hearing this, they slipped away one by one. When the crowd disappeared, Jesus stoned the sinner to death, saying, ‘I too am a sinner. But if the law could only be executed by men without blemish, the law would be dead.’”
By doing this, the regime hopes to “control the Church and ultimately render it powerless and subservient to the communist system,” Asia Harvest added. “The government has openly announced plans to ‘reinterpret’ the Bible and other religious texts, so they will have ‘socialist characteristics.’”
