{"id":50331,"date":"2024-06-11T14:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T05:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=50331"},"modified":"2024-06-11T11:54:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T02:54:18","slug":"vomk-report-306","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2024\/06\/11\/vomk-report-306\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: NEW CHURCH HYMNS PRAISE THE COMMUNIST PARTY, NOT GOD"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50329″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea, a new hymnal in Liaoning Province may provide a glimpse into the future of church music in China.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Voice of the Martyrs <\/span>Korea <\/span>Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook F<\/span>o<\/span>ley says that t<\/span>he <\/span>hym<\/span>nal is a collection of 50 songs and poems with titles like <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Bless the Motherland,\u201d \u201cThe Joy of Your Nation<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> \u201cPromoting Sinicization of Christianity<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>and <\/span>\u201cThe Beauty of the Four P<\/span>rongs<\/span>\u201d<\/span>, which praises the Chinese flag, Constitution, Communism, and traditional Chinese culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says the new hymnal reflects the Communist Party<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>ongoing <\/span>efforts to <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Sinicize<\/span>\u201d<\/span> Christianity.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Traditional Christian hymns contain the words and theology of the Bible<\/span> and give praise to God<\/span>, but the hymns and poems in this <\/span>collection<\/span> contain <\/span>political slogans and give praise to the Communist party and to the country,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley. <\/span>She says the hymnal still <\/span>retains<\/span> some lyrics based on Christian beliefs but blends these with the core socialist and traditional Chinese values that the Communist <\/span>P<\/span>arty is now requiring churches to promote. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>There are titles like <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Learning to be Tolerant and Forgiving<\/span>\u2019<\/span>,<\/span> \u2018<\/span>Enlightening in the <\/span>B<\/span>eauty of Life<\/span>\u2019<\/span>,<\/span> and <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Building Christian Families<\/span>\u2019<\/span>,<\/span> which emphasizes the concepts of unity, progress, peace, and tolerance.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50326″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The hymnal is the work of <\/span>Rev. Hou <\/span>Yujie<\/span>, <\/span>the <\/span>chairman<\/span> and president of the official Liaoning Provincial Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee in Yingkou, Liaoning Province<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says the <\/span>new <\/span>hymnal<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s publication comes at a time when traditional Christian hymnals are increasingly being banned by the Communist Party.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201c<\/span>In recent years, officials have banned local churches from using the traditional hymns<\/span> including the popular <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Spiritual Songs<\/span>\u2019<\/span> collection<\/span> a<\/span>nd <\/span>Lu Xiaomin<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>\u2018Canaan Hymns<\/span>\u2019<\/span>,<\/span> which is a collection of gospel hymns commonly used in house churches<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative F<\/span>o<\/span>ley. She says that <\/span>Chinese officials have set up <\/span>\u2018<\/span>cultural activity centers<\/span>\u2019<\/span> in <\/span>the government registered <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Three<\/span>–<\/span>Self<\/span>\u201d<\/span> churches, <\/span>where visitors can watch <\/span>operas<\/span> and learn <\/span>calligraphy<\/span>, <\/span>painting, and photography<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>These activities are designed to make churches more <\/span>\u2018<\/span>useful<\/span>\u2019<\/span> to the wider community, <\/span>with <\/span>programs <\/span>that have <\/span>nothing to do with praising the Lord<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley<\/span>.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Rather than shutting churches down, the Communist Party is trying to find ways to shut Christ out of churches or to move him to the margins of their activity <\/span>so that promoting Communist values can be the main focus<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50322″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”(file photo) The choir of Chengdu Fountain of Life Church sings during a Sunday worship service. The church is one of the oldest urban house churches and was raided by government officials in March 2021.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]S<\/span>h<\/span>e says projects like the new <\/span>Liaoning Province<\/span> hymnal should remind the church around the world of the importance of praying for and partnering with <\/span>China<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>house church Christians.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It is in the house churches of China that Christ rather than Communism is still being <\/span>preached and <\/span>praised,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Within a generation, it is likely that house church Christians will be the only ones in China who still know the hymns and worship songs that are fundamental to our faith. <\/span>And it is <\/span>very likely<\/span> that many house church Christians will be singing those songs in prison, as they pay the high price for keeping the true faith alive in C<\/span>h<\/span>ina.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s daily shortwave radio broadcasts into China and its work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/china<\/a><\/span> or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Account Holder: (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note \u201cChina\u201d on the transfer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50329″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea, a new hymnal in Liaoning Province may provide a glimpse into the future of church music in China.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":50328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50331"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50345,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50331\/revisions\/50345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}