Chinese Christians arrested during Easter raid

Chinese Christians arrested during Easter raid

Marshall Ramsey II, Worthy News US Correspondent

Beijing, China - On what is perhaps the holiest day of the Christian faith, Easter Sunday, dozens of Chinese Christians were arrested when they tried to hold worship services without government approval.

Members of the Shouwang, or 'watchtower', church were arrested Sunday after being told that they would be unable to use their church building. As many as 20 to 30 followers were taken into custody, said Jin Tianming, pastor of the congregation.

Pastor Tianming, himself under house arrest for conducting worship services without Chinese government sanction, wrote in a letter that he believes Satan, also called Lucifer, and the Devil, is using the Chinese government to try to destroy God's church.

"The devil Satan has taken advantage of the authority God has granted to the national government and is seeking to destroy God's church. His devil's claws have finally been revealed. Satan get thee behind me!"

Worshippers seized during the raid were taken away in buses, some defiantly signing hymns. Church leaders called for the congregation to worship outside the building even if it meant arrest and prosecution.

GOVERNMENT REGISTRY REQUIRED

Christians in China are free to worship the Lord Jesus Christ if they register with state-approved churches, but many Christians refuse to do this, believing it means the government gets to control what is said behind the pulpit.

The number of underground Christians in China is estimated at 40,000,000, with some estimates going as high as 80,000,000.

Up to 500 members of the Protestant house church movement have been detained in recent weeks. The arrests are being billed as a continuation of the government's attempts to repress dissention.

In China, any opinion that differs from the government is seen as a sign of rebellion. A similar political climate exists within the United States: Anyone who disagrees with President Obama's policies is seen as racist.

Shouwang church has grown to 1,500 members since being founded in 1993. They claim to have been blocked from taking possession of a building they purchased in 2009 for a price of 2.5
million British pounds.

"The Chinese government are playing a very dangerous game," said Mark Shan, a spokesman for ChinaAid, a Christian rights group based in the US. "They are pushing the church into a corner and other Christians, when they see how Shouwang have been treated, may react in the same defiant way." Activists have stated that the protests that China is seeking to keep quiet may actually strengthen other members of the underground church movement.

(www.telegraph.co.uk contributed to this article)