Unbelievable
Had to double-check this one
PLEASE SEE the nearby column that U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) wrote for The Washington Post. For the most part, he tells an often-told story: Authorities on mainland China are harassing Christians, torturing Muslims from Uighur, burning Bibles and taking down crosses, generally making it difficult to practice any religion on the mainland, prohibiting kids under 18 from attending church—
Wha-?
That one—not allowing those under 18 to attend church—was a new one to us. And quite unbelievable. That is, we had to check that for ourselves. Do the bosses of The Party consider church as harmful as cigarettes or porn these days? Should the lessons learned in the pews be kept away from minors until they are old enough to reason out the harmful effects? One notable communist once said that religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the opium of the masses. But maybe it’s just the beer of the masses, and nobody should be able to get it legally until adulthood.
Sure enough, we confirmed Rep. Smith’s information through British newspaper The Daily Mail. The story wasn’t new, having posted last summer. But the ChiComs have tightened their grip by banning children from joining religious groups.
According to the paper: More than “100 churches in Wenzhou, [in] China’s Zhejiang province reportedly received a notice from government officials informing them that young people will be banned from entering churches … . Minors are also reportedly banned from participating in religious activities. Members of the church were told not to participate in religious activities and churches were not allowed to organise a youth summer camp.”
Sweet baby Jesus.
But it all makes sense. You have to catch them early, to teach them the benefits of communism, which every child learns in the schools. And why allow the churches to confuse that by teaching about the power of another Authority? That would only complicate matters. It’s so much easier to prevent the kids from hearing what The Party thinks of as superstitions until later, if ever.
The best way to prevent these Christians (and members of many other religions) from increasing their tribes is to get to the next generation before the churches do. Unbelievable? Unfortunately, the more we learn about the ChiCom government, these stories become all too believable.