Ugh, and here it is. This one’s from ABC. Not much in the way of new information here, and not exactly what I would call stellar reporting, especially considering all of the snark toward the end of the article that is largely invalidated by the retraction they had to issue (scroll down to the end of the page).
It does bring up some interesting points about how Chinese non-Christians are interacting with the growth of Christianity though. The main focus of this article is on bible-printing, but I have a strong suspicion that isn’t the only business sector benefiting from Christian patronage. First of all, if the single company that is licensed to print bibles in China is making a killing currently, it’s only going to be better for them, especially if they have the foresight to expand into the market of other Christian-interest books aside from the bible. Secondly, if America is any indication there is a pretty broad market for Christian paraphernalia such as crucifixes, statuettes of Jesus, cross necklaces, and suchlike, and considering that most of what Americans Christians buy of that ilk is probably all made in China anyway, it could probably be sold locally by Chinese manufacturers to Chinese Christians for a much quicker and more profitable turnaround.
Given China’s economic drive, it seems likely that however the government reacts to the recent upheaval the business sector will react in the manner most profitable to itself, and that will probably be a strong influence on the outcome of this whole situation. As I’ve said earlier, the Shouwang church and related “home churches” have stirred up the Chinese government in a way that it probably won’t like, but at the same time, they may already have stirred up the Chinese economy in a way that is much more favorable to them.
