Chinese pastors arrested

China’s recent crackdown on over thirty pastors from the unregistered Zion Church, including leaders like Pastor Jin Mingri, shows the ongoing clash between faith and state control. These arrests, targeting independent "house churches" across multiple provinces, reveal how China’s government sees unsanctioned Christianity as a threat to its authority. This raises big questions: Why does Christianity unsettle powerful governments? And in America, have we lost the bold, disruptive spirit of faith that challenges worldly power? Has our church been tamed by the system, missing something that China’s underground believers still hold tight?

Why Christianity Threatens the State

Christianity has ideas that can shake up any government demanding total loyalty, especially ones that control every part of life. It’s not that Christianity is against all authority—Romans 13 says to respect leaders as God’s servants. But some core beliefs make it hard for controlling states to handle:

• God Over Government: Christians believe God is our master. When the apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), they set a precedent for choosing faith over state when the two clash. In China, where churches must register with the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement and follow Communist Party rules, independent believers who refuse are seen as rebels. They build communities that don’t answer to the government’s script, which feels dangerous to those in power.

• No Worship of the State: Early Christians got in trouble with Rome for refusing to worship the emperor. Today, when governments push nationalism or leader worship, Christianity’s focus on God alone can expose those as empty. This challenges regimes that want to be treated like gods.

• Equality and Justice: The Bible teaches that everyone is made in God’s image and equal in His eyes (Galatians 3:28). This has fueled movements against oppression, like ending slavery or fighting for civil rights. For a government like China’s, which relies on control and hierarchy, these ideas can stir up trouble by giving people a reason to demand fairness.

• A Bigger Hope: Christianity says God’s Kingdom outlasts all earthly powers. Believers are “aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11) here, focused on a divine future. This makes them hard to control, especially when they’re willing to suffer or die for their faith, like the early church did. Persecution often makes these communities stronger, not weaker, which scares governments trying to stamp them out.

These ideas don’t always cause trouble—in free countries, they might just push for better laws. But in places like China, they directly challenge the state’s grip.

Where America’s Church Lost Its Edge

American Christianity has a history of both standing up to power and cozying up to it. But over time, especially since the 1900s, many churches have lost the radical spark that made faith a challenge to empires. Here’s how:

• Mixed Up with Patriotism: After World War II, parts of the church, especially evangelicals, tied faith to American pride. The 1980s Moral Majority turned Christianity into a political tool, not a voice against injustice. Today, some push “Christian nationalism,” acting like America is God’s favorite, which makes the church look like it’s propping up the system instead of questioning it.

• Too Comfortable: In America, religious freedom and wealth have shifted focus to personal success—think megachurches or prosperity preaching. This is far from the sacrifice and community focus of early Christians. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this “cheap grace,” where faith costs nothing and loses its bite.

• Tied to the System: Churches benefit from tax breaks and government ties. This can quiet their criticism of things like war or inequality. Long ago, when Rome made Christianity its official religion, it tamed the church. America’s done something similar, making faith a cultural prop instead of a challenge to power.

• Divided by Politics: Today’s church often picks political sides, turning faith into a team sport. Unlike early American Christians who fought slavery or war, many now focus on culture wars, losing the bigger call to confront all kinds of power abuses.

There are exceptions—some churches work with the poor or immigrants, keeping that bold spirit. But overall, America’s comfort has dulled its edge.

Has America’s Church Been Tamed?

China’s house churches, with millions of believers, meet in secret, spread the gospel, and face jail for rejecting state control. They’re like the early church—small, tough, and ready to suffer. Their arrests show how their independence threatens China’s push to make religion serve the state.

In America, freedom and wealth have made the church comfortable, more about buildings and votes than radical faith. We’ve become too cozy with the culture, losing our distinct call to put God’s Kingdom first. China’s believers, forged in hardship, hold a fire we’ve let fade—a faith that thrives in the margins and dares to defy empires.

This isn’t about wanting persecution or to purposefully seek unrest, but about rediscovering a faith that challenges power, not serves it. America could learn from China’s example: untangle from politics, stand with the outcast, and live for a Kingdom bigger than any nation.

That’s the Christianity that shakes the world.

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