Eastward shift of Christianity to post-Communist world
by Justin D. Long
When the walls came down around Cuba, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union,
China and Asia, it was expected by all that Christianity would surely
suffer. Though Christians in these areas have undergone terrible
persecution and suffering, and many were martyred, it is amazing that in
all actuality Christianity, by and large, has =not= suffered. Instead, the
total quantity of believers has grown.
- Christianity in China has exploded from 2 million in mid-1970 to over
70 million today, despite an absence of Western missionaries and incredible
pressures from the government.
- Over 56% of Russia is Christian, with most affiliated with the
Orthodox church.
- There are large underground churches in many east Asian nations which
are growing rapidly, particularly in Vietnam and North Korea.
Many in the West would like to claim "victories" for this phenomenal story,
but in reality the West is only partly responsible: the majority of the
success lies squarely with the national church, which has endured decades
of repression. Unfortunately, for many of these post-communist churches,
the "fall of the wall" has led to an uncontrolled, disorderly, virtual
invasion of Western mission forces, many with little respect for the
national churches. It's little wonder that the national churches have in
some cases moved against Western mission groups - how would the West react
if the situation were reversed?
In any event, what could not have been predicted in the 1980s is now upon
us. The walls around many lands have lifted, though in some they have
grown tighter. Unfortunately, we forgot when we were praying for the wall what
other freedoms the church would have to deal with: the swelling
tide of materialism. The East has been poor long enough, it has decided,
and is embracing "freedom" with a vengeance--testing Christian discipleship
perhaps far more than Communism ever could.
- Organized crime rules much of Russia, and the black market is one of
the few operating markets in the nation.
- East Europe and Russia are the new "big" markets of cigarette companies.
- Pornography and prostitution are rampant.
- Economic unrest is becoming more and more a problem as people long to
buy the nice things they see in Western lifestyles.
Some formerly Communist countries - notably Islamic nations - are
restricting access to the West in order to protect their Muslim population
from Western degradation. One individual commented to me that Central Asia
was far more open under Communism than now under Islam. In a way, I can
hardly blame them.
Hundreds of millions of Christians live in formerly Communist nations. How
we react to them is testing all of us, and our record to date is not a very
good one.
The Questions
- How do we react to the national church? Some of their clergy stood up
bravely to Communism, some fell to pressure. Now, some are reacting poorly
to Western missionaries, and some have an attitude of cooperation. What is
our attitude?
- How do we separate Christian mission from Western capitalism? When
Coca-Cola and Christians enter a town at the same time, how do we keep from
being lumped together?
- How do we keep from over-prioritizing or under-prioritizing the
Communist countries? On the one hand, these nations don't need the same
level of attention that unevangelized regions of the world do. Many parts
of Communist nations have been saturated with the Gospel message. But
neither should we neglect them--discipleship is still a need. So where is
the balance?
- How do we mobilize and equip missionaries from these lands to enter
other World A countries? There are many historical and cultural barriers to
cross. What is the Western and European role in the process?
- What role do African, Asian and Middle Eastern Christians play in former
Communist lands? How can the Korean students who dedicated themselves to
missions at GCOWE-2, for example, affect former Communist lands? Or should
they?
- How should Western churches repair their sullied reputations? How should
Westerners "mend the fences" with the national churches? In some areas
Westerners are being kicked out - what sort of corrective action should we
take? What would Jesus do?