By: John Grant
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“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.â€?Â
John 1:3-5
Last fall the 50 millionth Bible rolled off the presses at the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, China. That’s right….. here in China. The establishment of Amity Press was truly one of God’s miracles. During the horror of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s and 70’s, all churches in China were closed, most demolished. Bibles were banned, confiscated, burned and destroyed. Who could have imagined then, that a Bible press would be allowed in less than twenty years.
Amity press was established with donations from supporters of Bible societies around the world. It was a dream for China’s Christians. The government could close the churches and burn the Bibles, but they could not extinguish the Word and the faith from the hearts of Chinese Christians.
As God said, there will always be a remnant. Of the 50 million Bibles printed, 42 million have been distributed in China, more than any other single book. What was once banned is not the nation’s number one best seller. China is growing in population, but also in Christianity. Today twenty three percent of the world’s population lives in China and it is estimated that nearly one hundred million are practicing protestant Christians along with another twenty five million Catholics. There are now nearly as many practicing protestant Christians in China as in the United States. Today, there are many churches being built.
While we were in China, we had many wonderful experiences, not the least of which was the dedication celebration for the opening of the Amity Press addition that will now allow the printing of twelve million Bibles a year. We also visited a local congregation and presented Bibles, as we also did at the Catholic seminary. There is such a hunger for Scripture among the Chinese and our efforts and Bibles were so welcome.
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We met with Chinese Christians to encourage them, but they encouraged us. We also met with some of the top leaders of the government who oversee SARA (Social and Religious Affairs) and got assurances of their support for the Christian movement in China.
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The Chinese constitution was recently amended to provide that the encouragement of religious activities is wholesome and healthy for the nation, something we do not have in our constitution. The Cultural Revolution was devastating for the church, but that is mostly behind them now and as God promises, there will always be a remnant.
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You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2008/06/05/jg_extinguished/
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John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney. He is an active writer and frequent speaker. He can be reached by e-mail at John.Grant@johngrant.net