China claims the existence of the state-controlled Three Self churches demonstrates its tolerance of Christianity, but the communist government wants all other Christian congregations to disappear, warns International Christian Concern, which assists persecuted Christians around the world.
Gina Goh of ICC writes that like Thanos in Marvel’s “Avengers” movies, the Communist Party would like to snap its fingers and make a huge portion of the population disappear.
The Chinese Communist Party reported in 2018 that China has 40 million Christians. But Goh says that because of “the discrete nature of underground churches, some experts believe that the actual number of Christians falls between 80 million and 100 million.”
That concerns Beijing, she said.
For one thing, the CCP has only about 89 million members.
“Your Party is your God versus one loving and just God, Sino-centrism versus ‘evil foreign influence,’ and socialism versus universal principles,” she writes.
The CCP “cannot afford to see its regime threatened by any mass of people it feels like it cannot control.”
Even if there’s no plan for revolution.
Last month, the government launched a new campaign against house churches called “Return to Zero.”
Its goal is to dissolve any churches not “sponsored” by the government under President Xi, who has targeted Christians in underground churches with threats and torture.
The CCP’s Central Committee has appointed a “Central Leading Group for Inspection Work” to coordinate the attacks.
The plans include absorbing house churches into Three-Self churches.
Already, government agents have gone to many house churches and warned they will be prevented from gathering unless they join the state church.
“For those large networks of house churches, the government’s attitude is to firmly strike and destroy them,” a Chinese source told ICC.
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