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→Asian century and its implications
A review of his book declares and please note the bold font added for emphasis which indicates the Chinese Christians are generally not Darwinists:
A review of his book declares and please note the bold font added for emphasis which indicates the Chinese Christians are generally not Darwinists:
{{Cquote|Who are these Chinese Christians? It would be absurd to say they are an organized body with uniform beliefs and opinions on everything, yet Aikman’s book leads to certain generalisations. They regard themselves as truly patriotic, tending to support their government politically, with the exception, perhaps, of being very pro-American and pro-Israel. Both preferences stem from their religious, rather than their political beliefs. Their theology particularly with the “house church” Protestant Christians, is Biblical and fundamentalist, and the churches with which they are linked in the United States are their equivalents. To some extent the reason for this is that fundamentalists see evangelism as an urgent matter – to save souls from hell – in a way that their “liberal” co-religionists, with their less exclusive attitude to the matter of salvation, do not. Such help, spiritual and material, as does come from foreign Christians, will tend to come from such evangelicals, who are mostly Americans. Part of the fundamentalist package, millenarianism – the belief in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to reign for a thousand years, regarded as probably an imminent event – includes a necessary, though uncertain role for the Jews. Other features widespread amongst Chinese Christians are the “speaking in tongues” and claims of miraculous healing and exorcism. Aikman does not mention it but it seems fair to add that '''such Christians will reject [[Evolution|Darwinism]]'''. If, as seems likely, they adhere to the Christian morality brought to China by the missionaries, they will also preach chastity before marriage and fidelity within it, and abhor homosexuality and abortion. All these are positions that have long been compromised or abandoned in Western Christendom, but in China would be welcomed by any government as desirable virtues, apart from, presumably, the last.<ref>[http://www.samizdata.net/2004/03/christianity-in-china/ Christianity in China]</ref>}}
{{Cquote|Who are these Chinese Christians? It would be absurd to say they are an organized body with uniform beliefs and opinions on everything, yet Aikman’s book leads to certain generalisations. They regard themselves as truly patriotic, tending to support their government politically, with the exception, perhaps, of being very pro-American and pro-Israel. Both preferences stem from their religious, rather than their political beliefs. Their theology particularly with the “house church” Protestant Christians, is Biblical and fundamentalist, and the churches with which they are linked in the United States are their equivalents. To some extent the reason for this is that fundamentalists see evangelism as an urgent matter – to save souls from hell – in a way that their “liberal” co-religionists, with their less exclusive attitude to the matter of salvation, do not. Such help, spiritual and material, as does come from foreign Christians, will tend to come from such evangelicals, who are mostly Americans. Part of the fundamentalist package, millenarianism – the belief in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to reign for a thousand years, regarded as probably an imminent event – includes a necessary, though uncertain role for the Jews. Other features widespread amongst Chinese Christians are the “speaking in tongues” and claims of miraculous healing and exorcism. Aikman does not mention it but it seems fair to add that '''such Christians will reject [[Evolution|Darwinism]]'''. If, as seems likely, they adhere to the Christian morality brought to China by the missionaries, they will also preach chastity before marriage and fidelity within it, and abhor homosexuality and abortion. All these are positions that have long been compromised or abandoned in Western Christendom, but in China would be welcomed by any government as desirable virtues, apart from, presumably, the last.<ref>[http://www.samizdata.net/2004/03/christianity-in-china/ Christianity in China]</ref>}}
== China held the largest secular event in history ==
[[File:Ncvjgfu.jpg|thumbnail|right|175px|[[Mao Zedong]] ]]
Although the 2012 [[Reason Rally]] was billed as the largest secular event in world history, strictly speaking that is not accurate. [[Communism|Communist]] countries have embraced [[state atheism]]. And [[Marxism|Marxist]]-[[Vladimir Lenin|Leninism]] along with [[Maoism]] explicitly adhered to the [[atheist worldview]] and communist countries have engaged in [[militant atheism]] and religious persecution (see: [[Atheism and communism]]).<ref>[http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/19567-china-s-communist-party-reaffirms-marxism-maoism-atheism China’s Communist Party Reaffirms Marxism, Maoism, Atheism]</ref> China [[Atheism and communism|still engages]] in religious persecution. Communist countries had large/massive rallies. For example, at [[Tiananmen Square]] during the [[Cultural Revolution]], the atheist [[Mao Zedong]] greeted 1,500 [[Red Guards|Red Guards]] and waved to 800,000 Red Guards and spectators below.
<ref>(Chinese) [http://dangshi.people.com.cn/GB/85039/14329784.html 倪天祚, "毛主席八次接见红卫兵的组织工作" 中国共产党新闻网] 2011-04-07</ref>
During the Cultural Revolution, a new form of militant atheism made great efforts to eradicate religion completely.<ref name="Revolt">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mofX6zdChgcC&pg=PA132&dq=china+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=I_z2TZmePMGW0gGr_5CHCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFgQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=china%20militant%20atheism&f=false|title =The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics)|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|quote=Seeking a complete annihilation of religion, places of worship were shut down; temples, churches, and mosques were destroyed; artifacts were smashed; sacred texts were burnt; and it was a criminal offence even to possess a religious artifact or sacred text. Atheism had long been the official doctrine of the Chinese Communist Party, but this new form of militant atheism made every effort to eradicate religion completely.|accessdate = 2011-03-05}}
</ref><ref name="Contrast">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jn-kcJc47m4C&pg=PA129 |page=129 |title =Religion and Modern Society: Citizenship, Secularisation and the State |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|author=Bryan S. Turner|quote=The contrast between religion in American and militant atheism in China could not have been more stark or profound. While the Red Guards under Mao Zedong's leadership were busy destroying Buddhist pagodas, Catholic churches and Daoist temples, the Christian Right were equally busy condemning the communists.}}</ref> Under this militant atheism espoused by Mao Zedong, houses of worship were shut down; Buddhist pagodas, Daoist temples, Christian [[Church|churches]], and Muslim [[mosque|mosques]] were destroyed; artifacts were smashed; and sacred texts were burnt.<ref name="Revolt"/><ref name="Contrast"/> Moreover, it was a criminal offence to even possess a religious artifact or sacred text.<ref name="Revolt"/> The death toll in 20th Cenutry China attributable to Mao Tse-Tsung's "[[Great Leap Forward]]" is estimated by reputable sources "to be as high as forty million."<ref name="Leap">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rbgK8wA7ubgC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=China+number+of+people+perished+militant+atheism&source=bl&ots=bN8QWuhcq2&sig=X2BB0iKRJbWNA8DlHzJeT2yS6to&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZZNXUOP1KcaDywHEvYCIDg&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=China%20number%20of%20people%20perished%20militant%20atheism&f=false|page=125|title=No, We Can't: Radical Islam, Militant Secularism and the Myth of Coexistence|publisher=Chosen Books|date=1 October 2011|isbn=0800795202|author=Robert Stearns|quote=Reputable sources estimate the death toll in twentieth-century China to be as high as forty million, attributed directly to Mao Tse-Tung's "Great Leap Forward."}}</ref> However, following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, many former policies towards religious freedom returned although they are limited and tenuous, as religion is closely regulated by the government.<ref name="Revolt"/>
Historically, the [[Atheist Population|atheist population]] has tended to lean leftward in their politics (See: [[Atheism and politics]] and [[Secular left]]). According to the [[University of Cambridge]], the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."<ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref>
== See also ==
== See also ==