The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), one of the worst religious freedom violators in the world, is currently conducting a propaganda campaign sponsored by and directed at American Christians. The China Christian Council (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), state-owned religious associations that govern Protestants, are the main organizers of the China Bible Ministry Exhibition. The exhibition is touring America for the second time, from September to November, making stops in Washington, D.C. (sponsored by Wesley Theological Seminary, United Methodist Church); Chicago (Chicago Temple, UMC); Dallas (Dallas Theological Seminary); and finally Charlotte, NC (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association). Supporters include Jimmy Carter and former White House chiefs of staff Mack McLarty and Andrew Card. The exhibition also counts widespread support from major evangelical and mainline Protestant associations.
The exhibition, titled “Thy Word is Truth (John 17:17),” is a display of Chinese Bibles ranging from Silk Road origins to the current growth of Protestant Christianity in China. This Bible-centric approach suggests that the exhibition is specifically designed to appeal to American evangelicals. The exhibition is billed as a cross-cultural exchange, intended to increase dialogue in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding. Gao Feng, president of the CCC, claims, “The Bible Ministry Exhibition will be a good opportunity for people to know the situation of the Church in China. The Chinese church is really a church which is blessed by God.” In the exhibition, neither the CCC nor the American hosts make any mention of the China-sized elephant in the room: religious freedom. There seems to be a respectful, mutual agreement that neither side will talk or apparently care about grave human rights concerns. As Mr. Carter puts it, “[w]e Christians — both American and Chinese — worship the same God, believe in the same Savior, and read the same Bible.” Indeed.
Since 1999, the CCP’s repressive religious policies have continually earned it a “Country of Particular Concern” designation, the worst category for religious freedom violators, from the U.S. State Department. According to the 2011 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal agency:
While a growing number of Chinese citizens are allowed to practice their religion legally, the government tightly controls the affairs of all religious groups and actively represses and harasses religious activity that the Communist Party does not view as normal.
In other words, the majority of religious adherents who also refuse to register with state-controlled religious organizations face severe punishment and criminal penalties. If one could only Google China’s human rights violations, one would find a bevy of detailed reports from a number of reputable international human rights organizations. . . . . .
True Discernment 
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