Can China and U.S. governments define a new Christianity?

Who gets to define religion? Specifically, who gets to define the new Christianity? China passed a set of religious regulations about six years ago. I started to write about them a couple of times. It was never quite right though. I felt like the U.S., in some way, was going to copy what China did. As it turns out, we're doing just that.

Not in the same way. Not for exactly the same purpose.

But the one thing we'd have in common is the desire to control people by redefining what one specific religion is about.

We don't really know who or what to pray to anymore, because too much is changed. The adjacent image tells the story.

As you can see in the adjacent image, there's no cross. Just a giant question mark. The person in front of it has no idea at all what Christianity is truly about when governments, or even false Christians for that matter, get involved.

China targeted every major religion. Here in the U.S., some in the government are targeting Christians to remake Christianity in their image, and thereby control both the Christians and the non-Christians in one fell swoop.

In China, they openly want the government to control Christianity.

In the U.S., they use social media, personal desires, hatred, and the like to get some so-called Christians to be the impetus for their new version of Christianity.

Different. And yet, the same. Either way, Christianity becomes unrecognizable.

What is freedom?

Let's look at another image. This time the eagle. Here in the U.S., the eagle is a symbol of freedom. But freedom looks different depending on who we are and our point of view.

Here's the thing about freedom - of religion or of anything.  Do you see that bald eagle?  That eagle is free.  But he's probably looking for someone/something to eat.  Something alive.  And when the eagle finds his target, a little bit of freedom is lost.  A life is gone.  And the eagle remains free.

With people, freedom of religion is kind of like that.  Someone's "flying around" above us.  Someone who either doesn't like our religion, or likes theirs better.  Sometimes they hate our religion so much they want to kill it.  If they're strong enough, they can certainly take out individual people.  Even any given church building.  But can they destroy an entire religion?

We know from history that powerful people can certainly change religions.  Things that were once thought to be truth because they were in the Bible - all of a sudden they aren't so "true" anymore.  Because some powerful person changed them.  The Pope even changed the Our Father for Catholics (aka the Lord's prayer for the rest of us).  

In China, they're trying to work on both changing and killing Christianity.  Changing it, by literally taking Jesus out of His position as the Son of God.  Killing it, by creating a new version of Christianity to replace the old one. To replace God's original version.  Will it work?  Time will tell.

Here in the U.S. conservative Republican self-proclaimed Christians are turning to the streets, the polls, and the courts to force their brand of Christianity on everyone else. Is it working? Absolutely.

If China can define a new Christianity, will other countries follow?

The original version of this article included:

Will religious regulations in China to eliminate God be a blueprint for others to follow?  Can anyone beat God?  Maybe China?  Or is this another case of "The more you tighten your grip ...?", as in the Princess Leia quote from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope?  If China does succeed though, will it become a blueprint for other countries to follow?

I started to write about this a few years ago.  It concerned me at the time.  It still does, especially since it seems to be working.  Slowly, to be sure.  But China takes a long-term view of pretty much everything.  Slow is fine, as long as the goal is reached.

The articles were pretty popular too.  But they were very time-consuming to write.  Too much formatting.  Too much information in each one.  Shorter ones would have been better.

This is probably the only portion I'll leave alone - without changes. Everything else will have China and the U.S. both included, comparing and contrasting the approaches, the goals, and the successes/failures.

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First, let's look at China.

What is the goal for a new Christianity in China's religious regulations?

Obviously, from the title, at least one goal is to redefine religion in China. But are there other goals?

Part of the goal of the Chinese government is to water down Christianity to the point where it retains so little of Jesus' teachings that it means nothing.  Of course, in China, the official position of the Communist Party is that there's no God.  Therefore no Jesus.  No Salvation.  Everything comes from the Party and all allegiance is to the party.  God must be eliminated in order for that to happen.

It's like the adjacent image.  You can still see the crosses, representing Jesus dying on the cross for the salvation of all who believe in Him and follow Him.  But you can also see the Chinese flag, trying to cover up the crosses.  It's symbolic of China trying to eliminate God.

The outside edges of the crucifixion scene are completely hidden. That's the parts of Christianity that people don't fight when someone tries to take it away. They don't like those parts. Or they don't think it's worth fighting over. Suffering over. Or especially dying over. But the next thing you know, Christianity, as defined by Jesus, is nearly gone,

And it's not just Christianity either. It's any religion. So, while this is about Christianity specifically, things in it do apply to any and every religion in China.

I dare say, even atheism, which is a religion by definition, will be affected by these regulations. we'll see why and how as the series progresses.

In essence, the Chinese government is trying to put the Chinese people into the scenario of the Church in Laodicea in Revelation.  They want to, in many ways, redefine Christianity to very much reflect the state of the Laodicean church.

Things seem hopeless for them. By them, I mean both the people in the ancient church described in Revelation and the Chinese people today.  

A reason for hope in spite of new religious regulations in China

And yet, Jesus promises the right to sit with Him on His throne to those who overcome in the Church in Laodicea.  Since this is prophecy, the same promise should be outstanding to the Chinese Christians.

And so, this attempt at oppression seems tailor-made for a "new hope" for the people in China.  And even though they may start off with a watered-down Chinese Christianity, Jesus says that anyone who really tries to reach Him will succeed.  

Here's why I say that:

To the Church in Laodicea

Rev 3:14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: