There are reports of an active campaign in China to burn Bibles.

The Associated Press reported on September 10 that China is accelerating a crackdown on Christian congregations in Beijing and other provinces. They are destroying crosses, burning Bibles, shutting down churches and forcing people to sign documents renouncing their faith.

These are reports from pastors in China.

The Chinese Communist government wants strict loyalty to the Communist Party and its devotion to atheism. President Xi Jinping is “like a new Mao Zedong,” according to reports.

This is the biggest wave of oppression since China wrote religious freedom into their constitution. The churches that meet in homes are being targeted in particular and yet in the face of opposition, the number of Christians is growing in China. Apparently, many of the 1.4 billion citizens of China are warm to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The authorities don’t like that.  Christians are in jail for their faith and pastors operate under the constant threat of imprisonment. The Internet is censored in China and Christians can’t read the Bible online.

The irony is that Chinese scholars are starting to realize that the success of America is due more to Christian influence than any other factor.

As President Trump and America redefines our financial relationship with China, religious liberty should be a factor in our decisions.