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joshthecartoonguy — Cross of China
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Published: 2012-01-11 21:32:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 578; Favourites: 18; Downloads: 3
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Description
Found object and torchThis cheap wood cross was found in an arts n' crafts place. I started by burning the wood, then I discovered that the word "China" was all that could be made out on the sticker on the back after torching. I found the Chinese origin of the Cross ironic, considering the country's bad reputation for human rights and the struggle of the Christian church there.
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Comments: 12
wow, its kinda sad that we depend on china for so much, if u look anywhere its most likly says "mad in china" somewhere...
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Nice! The burn marks look very nice - and the label still half on it makes a nice effect, too.
I don't think it's ironic really. Seeing all the "made in China" stickers can be a reminder to pray - to pray that the people making these crosses at the factory will wonder what the cross means, or will be curious when they pass by a church. Did you know that most Bibles are printed in China nowadays? And Chinese people are hungry for the Bible. It's the no. 1 bestseller there. I know someone whose old mother was illiterate until, in her old age, she taught herself to read in order to read the Bible.
The church is growing and growing, and God is doing miracles there - which Western propaganda doesn't talk about because, let's admit it, persecution is so much more news-worthy. It's still not perfect, the church still has limited freedom, e.g. one has to be registered, so if a pastor is registered in one province, she can't preach in the next - I know a Chinese Christian whose aunt was put into prison because she preached in a province in which she wasn't officially allowed to. Her reaction: she was praising the Lord for the opportunity to preach to all the prisoners! The problem is mainly that the government doesn't trust organisations which are connected to foreign countries / foreign leadership (they fear foreign influence, which is why the catholic church in China has trouble because of the connection to the pope). But I think China is not a "terrible case"; there's so much to thank God about, and so many wonderful things happening there.
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Interestingly ShangDi was worshiped as the High God of the ancient Chinese. Also known as Tien (Heaven), He was worshipped as Creator God for thousands of years.
Recently, religious practices are alowed, but still often tightly controlled by comunist government authorities. Chinese over age 18 in the PRC are permitted to be involved with officially sanctioned Christian meetings.
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That's the problem is the official sanctioning. Who knows what kind of hoops you have to jump through to get governmental approval to assemble.
I've read a couple books theorizing about ShangDi, ancient Chinese characters and their possible connection with the stories in the Old Testament. I've heard some Bible translators even use the name ShangDi in Chinese translations of the Bible.
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China really does need prayer- They haven't been real open to the truth (Even though that's all over the world) We'll pray too
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China is actually much more open than many people in the West think! Millions of Chinese are coming to Christ, are squashing themselves into too-small churches, there's not enough Bibles to go around for the people who want to read them. The Bible is in fact the no. 1 bestseller in China. My father was in China once to give lectures about Christianity at a university, and when he asked people whether they were Christians, many said "Not yet."
There is much reason to praise the Lord for what He is doing in China. In my opinion, there is much more spiritual hunger and openness to Jesus in China than in Europe.
But you're right, prayer is still needed. But there's lots of reasons to thank, too.
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Are you serious? o.o I've heard the direct opposite of what you're telling me- No offence to you of course 
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Yes - the direct opposite is more widely known, because it was true for quite some time!! And persecution is still a lot more newsworthy than any good news. Bad news is always more "popular". There is still persecution, but not nearly as heavy as it used to be, and I think it's very strange and not really right that in the West one hardly hears about the good things God is doing in China. It's like we prefer complaining about the world, instead of praising God. We pray a lot and when God hears our prayers, we don't believe it's really happened, or it isn't talked about.
Here's a Bible Society vid giving an impression of the spiritual hunger in China: [link]
I know a few Chinese Christians, and I've heard all sorts of stories, and I must say it's not like anything I've heard of or experienced in the West. I live in Switzerland where everything is really secularised and they don't even expect you to really preach the true Gospel in church anymore; church is just tradition. It's in China where people are really interested and want to hear.
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I agree on that part. The world is so offended with us that all they do is complain about us. They don't seem to realize (or care) when we do something that benefits.
I Know some Chinese Christians myself 
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It's on there twice, too. Interesting observation...
And the burn marks look awesome.
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Thank you for the comments!
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You're welcome! ^^
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