In a potential effort to continue to control religious freedom in China and make the country more culturally Chinese, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is rewriting parts of the Bible.
Kurt Rovenstine with Bibles for China spoke about the attempt of the Chinese government to keep harmony and dictate the future direction of the country.
“When China is difficult in their challenges and restrictions, and, you know, things that make life difficult for the Chinese, this particular issue seems to come to the surface, because it’s such a point of passion for the Christian people,” Rovenstine said.
The Word of God is the foundational document for Christian belief and teachings. For organizations like Bibles for China, the Holy Bible guides the direction of their ministry.
Though there’s been no official declaration from the Chinese government regarding the CCP version of the Bible, people are questioning what will happen if the CCP Bible becomes the only legal version.
“And so (Bibles for China has) had to address that, you know, we are committed to the unaltered Word of God,” Rovenstine said. “And if it ever has changed, we won’t distribute it, we’ll find a different way to do what we do.”
However, Rovenstine said it could be a ten-year process before the CCP Bible is released publicly.
“I think it’s a talking point for you know, a lot of ministries and maybe even for the government itself, not to say that it’s not happening,” Rovenstine said. “Who knows what goes on behind the walls of the think tanks and working groups of the Communist Party.”
Though the specifics of the CCP Bible are difficult to come by, Bibles for China is taking it very seriously.
“If the only legal Bible in China is the CCP version, that’s totally unacceptable, and I think is an indication of the distance between the church and the communist government,” Rovenstine said.
Rovenstine assures that the Bibles distributed by Bibles for China will always be the unaltered Word of God, and they are watching the situation closely.
Read more about Bibles for China’s work in China here.
