Eric Metaxas has a very interesting column today that examines the fascinating dynamic between Chinese Christians and Chinese Communist leadership. In the next 20 years or so China is expected to have the largest number of Christians in the world, led by students and intellectuals. Metaxas says that thus far the Communists have allowed this growth to continue for an unexpected reason:
"This harassment is by and large an acknowledgment by the Communist government of Christianity's ability to shape a culture. William Jeynes of California State University at Long Beach has written about how, on the one hand, Chinese officials are warily open to Christianity, because they see the link between Christianity and the West’s economic success."
That's right, even the Red Horde can figure out that qualities like the Protestant work ethic, honesty, high ethical standards, etc. shape a society and its economy in a beneficial way. And our geniuses in the West? Well, not so much.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the UK, recently took a lot of heat because he described Britain as a Christian nation. Metaxas notes that:
These supposed exemplars of British society went on to say that there was nothing unique or exceptional about Christianity in its contribution to British history and - spouting the usual PC drivel - that other religions had made equal contributions. Really? Name one? What's that? Oh, it's just crickets, lots and lots of crickets.
The same is increasingly true in the U.S. as well and that does not bode well for the long term health of either our society or the economy. As even the memory of the Church recedes from Western Europe the problems of stagnant economies and restive (and often hostile) immigrant populations increase, just as they will here if we continue on the same course. In the meantime, the Church is doing fine elsewhere, thank you very much, and in some very unlikely places.
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