I have recently been thinking about the topic of bible smuggling in China. I have been asked about it a lot and it has been the topic of many recent conversations. (I have wrote about it before here). It is a sensitive subject because there seems to be two contradictory sides that are causing much confusion to “senders” as to what the real situation in China is.
It would not be unheard of for a church member to hear a missionary talk about the need of smuggling bibles into China and then hear another missionary say something completely opposite, such as, “we no longer need to smuggle bibles into China because you can freely buy bibles in a Christian bookstore.”
The person sitting in the pew is confused and doesn’t want to judge that one of them is wrong. The likely result is to set the subject aside and simply be happy throwing money at missions to check off the box on your tithing envelope.
I want to take a couple post and talk about this subject of bible smuggling in China.
First things first, let me give some clarifying statements so there will be less confusion throughout this series of posts:
Now, with these clarifying statements being understood, let’s answer two important questions:
Is it legal for a Chinese person to buy a bible in China?
Yes! A Chinese person can legally buy a bible from a government approved Church and some Christian bookstores located inside China. Also, they can buy bibles online. Bibles are being legally and illegally published in China. Bibles are inexpensive, affordable and fairly easy to obtain.
What formats can Chinese people access the Bible?
Besides buying a traditional Bible, a Chinese person can freely access and read the Bible on the internet through many unblocked websites. They can access the Chinese audio Bible for free download on many websites, as well as access podcast, CDs, and audio players that contain the Word of God. The digital age has really put an end to the days where people only have a few pages of the Bible where they are reading with candle light.
Now, you are probably thinking that if the answers to these two questions are true and accurate then why are people still smuggling bibles into China. Good question, right? …(Continued in Part 2)
January 31st, 2012 at 11:57 am
Mark,
I am glad that you have chosen to tackle this subject… I look forward to your other posts! God bless!
February 1st, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Thanks for the comment Aaron, so after three post what do you think?
February 5th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
My occupational preference leads me to think in terms of investment, i.e., what type of return should I expect from my missions giving…
No doubt, it seems to be far easier to send $$$ to China to a missionary on the ground, who can purchase Bibles internally and distribute more effectively, than to have my donation diluted by 1. multiple trips back and forth between two countries & 2. the cost to purchase Christian chinese literature outside of the country.
In a day and age where there is much deceit, I believe it to be more prudent to send money to a missionary on the field of China. More effective. Better return.
I think it was JT who said it would better to have 100 men in China preaching the Gospel than 10,000 more smuggled Bibles.
February 6th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Aaron, thanks for your insight. I think if we all looked a things with more of an “investment” eye then that would give us more caution to where our money is going and to be better informed.
Men preaching the Bible is what China needs. We have Bibles, now we just need men to preach it. May God raise up more laborers.