Enjoy this vlog on some new initiatives we are undertaking here at the China Resource Center:

Based on some of the comments I’ve been getting to the ‘Illegal’ product posts I’ve written, I think this would be a good time to write a little bit about The Bible in China. It is a topic that I’ve had a deep interest in for many years and as I’ve learned about the situation, I’ve developed a series of three questions that I think we need to ask ourselves as we look at The Bible in China. As you watch this You Tube video where I detail my three questions, remember my perspective on China in general, and The Bible in China in particular. It’s easy to focus on what is not happening in China, but please try to focus on what is happening in China. There is a Printing Press in China that is printing 700,000 Chinese Bibles every month. These Bibles are available for sale to any Chinese person who wants one. If the need for more Bibles increases, they have the capacity to print more. Bibles are available and they are available at a low cost, making them affordable for most Chinese.

Well I finally got a response from Todd Nettleton. I thought I would give you his response, then my response to his email:

‘Thanks for your note!  The t-shirt was designed by an outside company that has cooperated with VOM on developing some products. China is not listed on the shirt, though it is included in our list of restricted nations and on the banner (which says “This Message is illegal). The shirts are designed to help people to have conversations about restricted nations where governments or radical groups seek to limit or control the spread of the gospel message, Bibles, Christian broadcasts, and other Christian activities. Hopefully it will help people tell others about persecuted Christians.

Would you be arrested for wearing the shirt in China? I doubt it. But is Christian activity controlled and harassed by the government? Absolutely. Is Bible distribution controlled? Yes. So while the shirt is not illegal, the message it represents often is.

I forwarded your note on to some of our marketing team; if they have other comments I will pass them along.’

And now my response to his email:

‘Thank you for your response. A quick thought for you this morning: I have an issue, of course, with the use of the word illegal. Taking your points about China, Christianity is monitored and controlled, but certainly you would agree with me that none of it is illegal. They’re printing 700,000 Chinese Bibles a month at Amity Printing Company, so certainly the Bible is not illegal. Millions of Chinese worship the same God you and I do openly and without restrictions and far less than 1% of all Christian activity in 2008 saw any kind of harassment or persecution….. So the message of the Gospel is not illegal. And I would contend that the message of the shirt is not illegal. Looking up the definition of the word illegal may help us here: ‘not according to or authorized by the law.’ Please show me a law in China today that makes the message of the shirt illegal. Does the Chinese government still have a ways to go when it comes to evenly administering those laws that deal with religious freedom? Absolutely. But I think what they need from us right now is our encouragement in areas where they are improving and our help, which comes through engagement, in areas where they still have a way to go. My call to VOM is to take China off the list on the banner because none of what the ‘illegal’ product line purports to be illegal in China is actually illegal. The message isn’t illegal, the shirt isn’t illegal and the book isn’t illegal.’

I’m praying that VOM will tell the truth about China………