China is in the midst of amazing changes. Beyond the economic shift that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, beyond the positive changes that the further opening of the country has brought, the Church in China is signalling a massive change in this, the world’s largest population. Christians in China now almost certainly exceed 100 million. They are present in all regions of the country and come from all walks of life. They love their country and have ambitious visions to see it transformed by the power of the gospel. The government, traditionally a ruthless persecutor of the Church, now recognizes the positive social impact Christians can make and increasingly accepts the reality that the Church in China is there to stay – and will play a major role in shaping the country’s future.
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
10 Nuclear Powers
1. United States
2. Russia (formerly part of the Soviet Union)
3. United Kingdom
4. France
5. China
6. India
7. Pakistan
8. North Korea
9. Israel (so they say)
10. We don't know who else - Iran?
Silk Roads
Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is over 600 pages long and I am not very good at reading long books. One of my sons and his wife gave it to me as a present, however (last birthday maybe even Xmas 2016?) so I felt under some obligation, thankfully. The book is subtitled A new historoy of the world and so it has been worth wading through in order to fill up several gaps in my knowledge. It also takes a middle eastern and central asain viewpoint in the main and so is new in that sense also. It is good to eb reminded how much on the edge we are out here in Britain. Iwas slightly surprised to be reminded how involved Britain and then the USA has been in thhat part of the world. I have already forgotten much of the detail of fairly recent events in Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Do geta hold of it if you like big books or if you just like history.
10 oldest countries in the world
This is highly debatable I suppose but here's a stab.
1. Egypt 3,150 – 3,500 BC King Menes started this country and also started a reign of pharaohs that ruled the country for over three thousand years. The great Pyramids and the Sphinx remain as testament to this country’s ancient history.
2. India 3,000 BC This country was established by a civilization that started in the Indus valley and has since expanded to be today, the seventh biggest by area and the second biggest by population. In its history, India has given the world calculus and other mathematical formulae.
3. Ethiopia 2,500 – 3,000 BC This country is famous for its wilderness but evidence shows from ancient Egyptian texts, that it was one of its biggest trading partners and actually names the country.
4. China 2,100 – 1,600 BC It is believed that the Xia Dynasty was the first in China as there is no evidence of an earlier one. Some of this country’s history can be seen by a visit to The Great Wall of China or The Forbidden City in Beijing.
5. Iran 625 – 559 BC This country that would later become the birth place of the Persian Empire was started by the unification of the local tribes by Medes. Some historical sites are Qom and Persepolis.
6. San Marino 301 AD This city state may be one of the smallest countries in the world but that does not mean that it is not also one of the oldest. It was established by St Marinus who settled there to avoid persecution. Some of itshistory can be witnessed by looking at the old Walls of San Marino.
7. France 486 AD There are many historical sites in this country which has had such an influence on the rest of Europe. It was first established by a unification made by Clovis the first king of France.
8. Bulgaria 632 AD The first Bulgarian Empire was established with Pliska as its capital by Asparukh. Some of its historical sites include the Rila monastery and the Kazanuk Tomb. It has more recently been linked with the invention of the first electrical computer.
9. Japan 660 AD The Japanese nation is said to have been started by its first Emperor, Jimmu. The country is rich in history and perhaps the best place to witness some of that history is at Himeji Castle.
10. Turkey 900 AD This country was established on the sight of the Trojan War by the Seljuk dynasty of Turks as they migrated and later became the birth place of the Ottoman Empire.
(Greece is not here because it was split between Macedonia and Greek city states. Hungary adn Armenia are sometimes listed.)
Blue Plaques in Swansea
I was in Swansea again over the weekend. I believe there are at least 14 blue plaques in the city. I saw these two. The first is at the station and the second is near by on Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Pete Ham was a member of Badfinger, the first act apart from the Beatles to appear on the Apple label. Sadly, he became a member of the 27 Club when he committed suicide in 1975. A posthumous album of his home recordings is called Golders Green, noting his residence when the recordings were made (the other was called 7 Park Avenue for the same reason - there is no blue plaque there; it's round the corner from me).
As for Griffith John, he was by contrast a pioneer missionary to China, who translated the Bible into Chinese languages. A new bitesize biography of him by John Aaron has recently appeared.
CYSK 15 J Hudson Taylor
 |
| Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
E People
Imagine having a name that sounds like a letter. Yet, in China there is a tiny flower in God’s garden of humanity called the “E” people. They number only 41,500, and most of them live in China’s Guangxi Province.
A missionary doctor who died in 1927 lamented about the E: “Men and women are toiling without a Bible, without a Sunday, without a prayer, without songs of praise. They have rulers without justice, homes without peace, marriage without sanctity, young men and women without ideals, little children without purity or innocence, mothers without wisdom or self-control, poverty without relief or sympathy, sickness without skillful help or tender care, sorrow and crime without remedy, and worst of all, death without Christ.”
Today the situation is not much different; Operation China tells us that there are no believers among them.
Let us remember that we do not struggle against flesh and blood. It is our duty to pray against the deception that veils the hearts and minds of the E. Jesus has been given all authority over heaven and earth and scripture says that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven in His name.
A missionary doctor who died in 1927 lamented about the E: “Men and women are toiling without a Bible, without a Sunday, without a prayer, without songs of praise. They have rulers without justice, homes without peace, marriage without sanctity, young men and women without ideals, little children without purity or innocence, mothers without wisdom or self-control, poverty without relief or sympathy, sickness without skillful help or tender care, sorrow and crime without remedy, and worst of all, death without Christ.”
Today the situation is not much different; Operation China tells us that there are no believers among them.
Let us remember that we do not struggle against flesh and blood. It is our duty to pray against the deception that veils the hearts and minds of the E. Jesus has been given all authority over heaven and earth and scripture says that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven in His name.
(From today's Global Prayer Digest)
10 biggest employers worldwide
| The world's largest employers, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Employer | Employees | Headquarters |
| United States Department of Defense | 3.2 million (including civilians) |  United States |
| People's Liberation Army | 2.3 million (not including civilians) |  People's Republic of China |
| Walmart | 2.1 million | United States |
| McDonald's | 1.9 million (including franchises) | United States |
| National Health Service | 1.7 million |  United Kingdom |
| China National Petroleum Corporation | 1.6 million | People's Republic of China |
| State Grid Corporation of China | 1.5 million | People's Republic of China |
| Indian Railways | 1.4 million |  India |
| Indian Armed Forces | 1.9 million | India |
| Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) | 1.2 million |  Taiwan |
Pray for Asia
Operation World urges us to pray today for Asia
Answer to Prayer
China is in the midst of amazing changes. Beyond the economic shift that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, beyond the positive changes that the further opening of the country has brought, the Church in China is signalling a massive change in this, the world’s largest population. Christians in China now almost certainly exceed 100 million. They are present in all regions of the country and come from all walks of life. They love their country and have ambitious visions to see it transformed by the power of the gospel. The government, traditionally a ruthless persecutor of the Church, now recognizes the positive social impact Christians can make and increasingly accepts the reality that the Church in China is there to stay – and will play a major role in shaping the country’s future.For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
Challenge for Prayer
The Himalayas region simmers with tension. The conflict over Kashmir is the most intractable of problems, with Pakistan and India (and China) holding conflicting claims over territory. The Kashmir dispute has profoundly shaped Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policies, has provoked an arms race between Pakistan and India and has already resulted in four wars. China and India are in dispute over territorial claims not just in Kashmir but also in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Strife also exists over India’s hosting of the Tibetan government-in-exile and in Tibet itself. Add to this the Nepal Civil War of 1996-2006 (and continuing tensions), and you have a region filled with potential flashpoints.
For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
DMLJ 23 Taylor on Pastor Hsi
Foreword
I count it a real privilege to asked to write a Foreword to this great book, and to have my name associated with it. It affords me an opportunity of expressing my profound admiration for everything that I have ever read by its distinguished author. Likewise I can thus express my sense of gratitude to the China Inland Mission for deciding to issue this Life of Pastor Hsi, which had formerly been in two volumes, in one beautiful and compact volume.
A Foreword is really unnecessary, and any attempt to underline or to call special attention to the salient features of the book is quite otiose, as all this is done by the book itself. Certainly no one who has ever read a book by Mrs. Howard Taylor will need any kind of "appetiser".
To attempt to praise this book would be almost an impertinence, but I may be permitted to say that I regard it as a classic and one of the really great Christian biographies. The ultimate way of judging the true value of a book is to discover its effect upon our personality as a whole. Many books entertain and divert, others provide intellectual stimulation or appeal to our artistic sense, but the truly great book affects us more vitally, and we feel that we shall never quite be the same again as the result of reading it. Such is the effect produced by this Lite of Pastor Hsi. To read it is to be searched and humbled - indeed at times to be utterly humiliated; but at the same time it is stimulating, and exhilarating and a real tonic to one`s faith. In all this of course it approximates to the Bible itself.
This one word which describes the whole atmosphere and character of the book is the word apostolic. One feels this about the character of Pastor Hsi himself. and as one reads about his labours and the results to which they led in the formation of little churches, one is constantly reminded of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Whatever view one may hold on apostolic succession, no-one can deny that in this account of Pastor Hsi, and the churches in his district of China, we are reading of something that is a direct continuation of what happened in the early days of the Christian church. I have often felt that the history recorded in the Acts is but an extended commentary on Paul's inspired statement that the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation". I felt exactly the same as I read this book. It thrills with power and the only explanation of the extraordinary things which it records is what the New Testament tells us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. it is indeed nothing but a record of what He did to and with Pastor Hsi, what He taught him and enabled him to do.
As for the man himself, he was by any standard a great man. His personality fascinates and attracts, indeed there was in him that quality of lovableness which is always a characteristic of true greatness. As a natural man he was gifted with unusual intellectual power and an enquiring mind. Moreover, he was cultured and well educated and deeply versed in the learning of his won country. He was a strong character and a born leader with perhaps a tendency, not unusual in such men, to be masterful and imperious and utterly impatient of incompetence. Likewise, he had great courage and determination and an assurance born of the realisation of his own qualities.
A Foreword is really unnecessary, and any attempt to underline or to call special attention to the salient features of the book is quite otiose, as all this is done by the book itself. Certainly no one who has ever read a book by Mrs. Howard Taylor will need any kind of "appetiser".
To attempt to praise this book would be almost an impertinence, but I may be permitted to say that I regard it as a classic and one of the really great Christian biographies. The ultimate way of judging the true value of a book is to discover its effect upon our personality as a whole. Many books entertain and divert, others provide intellectual stimulation or appeal to our artistic sense, but the truly great book affects us more vitally, and we feel that we shall never quite be the same again as the result of reading it. Such is the effect produced by this Lite of Pastor Hsi. To read it is to be searched and humbled - indeed at times to be utterly humiliated; but at the same time it is stimulating, and exhilarating and a real tonic to one`s faith. In all this of course it approximates to the Bible itself.
This one word which describes the whole atmosphere and character of the book is the word apostolic. One feels this about the character of Pastor Hsi himself. and as one reads about his labours and the results to which they led in the formation of little churches, one is constantly reminded of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. Whatever view one may hold on apostolic succession, no-one can deny that in this account of Pastor Hsi, and the churches in his district of China, we are reading of something that is a direct continuation of what happened in the early days of the Christian church. I have often felt that the history recorded in the Acts is but an extended commentary on Paul's inspired statement that the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation". I felt exactly the same as I read this book. It thrills with power and the only explanation of the extraordinary things which it records is what the New Testament tells us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. it is indeed nothing but a record of what He did to and with Pastor Hsi, what He taught him and enabled him to do.
As for the man himself, he was by any standard a great man. His personality fascinates and attracts, indeed there was in him that quality of lovableness which is always a characteristic of true greatness. As a natural man he was gifted with unusual intellectual power and an enquiring mind. Moreover, he was cultured and well educated and deeply versed in the learning of his won country. He was a strong character and a born leader with perhaps a tendency, not unusual in such men, to be masterful and imperious and utterly impatient of incompetence. Likewise, he had great courage and determination and an assurance born of the realisation of his own qualities.
When we look at him, however, after his conversion as as he developed in the Christian life, we see a change which as I have already said can only be explained by the miraculous power of God’s regenerating grace. The outstanding characteristic was his spirituality. He was truly a man of God in the real sense of the word. His simple, childlike faith which yet was strong and unshakable was astonishing. He took the New Testament as was and put it into practice without any hesitations or reservations he disciplined himself and his life in a most rigorous manner. The result was that everywhere we are impressed by his humility and his extraordinary balance and sanity. Indeed his humility and his self-control and discipline at certain times move one to tears, especially when one remembers what he was by nature.
What is the great lesson taught by this biography? There are many, but if I were pressed to single out one which is pre-eminent, it would be that we are shown here that the Christian is most accurately described as the fight of faith. Pastor Hsi had no difficulty in understanding what Paul means when he says that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph vi 12). He not only believed in the Holy Spirit but also in the reality of evil spirits, and he fought them not by trying to cultivate the passivity of the mystics and the quietists but by "putting on the whole armour of God" and using it with all his might.
Much light is cast in this book on several subjects which are of great interest and importance and which have often led to contoversy. For instance, Pastor Hsi was a great believer in the value of fasting when he gave himself to a season of prayer. Prayer and fasting seemed to him to go together. Is it possible that the real explanation as to why so many of us do not take the question of fasting seriously is that we have never taken prayer as seriously Pator Hsi did?
Again on the vexed question of faith healing there is a great deal to be learnt from this book. Pastor Hsi believed in it and practised it, and there are some remarkable cures reported. But his attitude to this was essentially different from that of many in this country and the U.S.A. which make much of this subject. There was in him a complete absence of the spectacular and the flamboyant, and he was particularly careful not to make loose statements and exaggerated claims; indeed it is here that his his sanity and balance stand out most clearly. He believed in using drugs and other means, and he organised a great system of refuges for the opium addicts. He was acutely aware of the dangers connected with the whole subject and always proceeded in a most cautious manner. It is particularly interesting to note hoe he became increasingly cautious as the years passed. the effect of all this is that one does not have the usual feeling that most of the purported results can be explained in terms of psychology. One feels rather that they are true, unmistakable cases of faith healing which can be explained in no other way.
It is exactly the same with the question of demon possession. Here again valuable evidence is provided which establishes the reality of this condition as a clinical entity and which shows that there is but one effective treatment.
There are also other matters of absorbing interest, but Pastor Hsi's ultimate rest was not in the cultivation of his own holiness, not in faith healing or the exorcising of devils or in any of the other phenomena of the Christian life: it was in his Lord who had died for him and had revealed Himself to him in his love and mercy and grace. He desired to know him better and to serve Him more truly.
We thank God for the memory of Pastor Hsi. We thank God for Mrs. Howard Taylor, who has recorded the facts of the Pastor's life so beautifully and faithfully. Our prayer is that God may so use this book to all who read It that we all may be likewise filled with Pastor Hsi's love for our blessed Lord, and may become so conformed to Him that He may be able to use us in the work of his kingdom even as he used the great Chinese scholar.
What is the great lesson taught by this biography? There are many, but if I were pressed to single out one which is pre-eminent, it would be that we are shown here that the Christian is most accurately described as the fight of faith. Pastor Hsi had no difficulty in understanding what Paul means when he says that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph vi 12). He not only believed in the Holy Spirit but also in the reality of evil spirits, and he fought them not by trying to cultivate the passivity of the mystics and the quietists but by "putting on the whole armour of God" and using it with all his might.
Much light is cast in this book on several subjects which are of great interest and importance and which have often led to contoversy. For instance, Pastor Hsi was a great believer in the value of fasting when he gave himself to a season of prayer. Prayer and fasting seemed to him to go together. Is it possible that the real explanation as to why so many of us do not take the question of fasting seriously is that we have never taken prayer as seriously Pator Hsi did?
Again on the vexed question of faith healing there is a great deal to be learnt from this book. Pastor Hsi believed in it and practised it, and there are some remarkable cures reported. But his attitude to this was essentially different from that of many in this country and the U.S.A. which make much of this subject. There was in him a complete absence of the spectacular and the flamboyant, and he was particularly careful not to make loose statements and exaggerated claims; indeed it is here that his his sanity and balance stand out most clearly. He believed in using drugs and other means, and he organised a great system of refuges for the opium addicts. He was acutely aware of the dangers connected with the whole subject and always proceeded in a most cautious manner. It is particularly interesting to note hoe he became increasingly cautious as the years passed. the effect of all this is that one does not have the usual feeling that most of the purported results can be explained in terms of psychology. One feels rather that they are true, unmistakable cases of faith healing which can be explained in no other way.
It is exactly the same with the question of demon possession. Here again valuable evidence is provided which establishes the reality of this condition as a clinical entity and which shows that there is but one effective treatment.
There are also other matters of absorbing interest, but Pastor Hsi's ultimate rest was not in the cultivation of his own holiness, not in faith healing or the exorcising of devils or in any of the other phenomena of the Christian life: it was in his Lord who had died for him and had revealed Himself to him in his love and mercy and grace. He desired to know him better and to serve Him more truly.
We thank God for the memory of Pastor Hsi. We thank God for Mrs. Howard Taylor, who has recorded the facts of the Pastor's life so beautifully and faithfully. Our prayer is that God may so use this book to all who read It that we all may be likewise filled with Pastor Hsi's love for our blessed Lord, and may become so conformed to Him that He may be able to use us in the work of his kingdom even as he used the great Chinese scholar.
D M Lloyd-Jones
Westminster Chapel,
London
DMLJ 20 Frost on Healing
Although first appearing in 1931, Frost's book appeared in 1951 with this piece from Lloyd-Jones as a sort of foreword. Lloyd-Jones owned a small library of books on the subject and was conversant with the various issues.
Miraculous Healing Why does God heal some and not others? by Henry W Frost
ENDORSEMENT
I am truly glad that the publishers have decided to reprint this excellent volume, largely perhaps at my suggestion. Ever since I first read it, I have felt that it is easily and incomparably the best book I have ever read on this subject. It is the book, therefore, which I have always recommended to those who have been anxious for help on this matter. Many times have I been asked to write myself on this theme. I have always replied by saying that Henry W. Frost has already dealt with the matter in what I regard as a final and conclusive manner. The reappearance of this book at this present time is most opportune as there is evidently a recrudescence of interest in this subject.
Some recent writings seem to suggest that the only problem is as to whether one believes or not that miraculous gifts ended with the apostolic age. But this is by no means the only problem. Dr Frost shows clearly that theological problems are also involved, and which we only ignore at our spiritual peril. The Bible frequently warns us against the danger of being deluded by evil powers. All ‘miracles’ and ‘wonders’ are not produced by the Holy Spirit, and we must know how to ‘test the spirits’ in this matter. Our Lord Himself has warned us that the ‘lying spirits’ are so clever and so subtle as to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect (Matt 24:24).
Dr Frost’s method is particularly helpful. He starts on the practical level by citing cases and examples which prove the fact of miraculous healing. He then proceeds to deal with the difficulties, both on the practical and experimental plane, and also in the realm of correct and clear thinking. Above all, he is thoroughly biblical, and not only orthodox, but truly spiritually minded. I strongly recommend this most valuable study.
D. M. Lloyd-Jones
Some recent writings seem to suggest that the only problem is as to whether one believes or not that miraculous gifts ended with the apostolic age. But this is by no means the only problem. Dr Frost shows clearly that theological problems are also involved, and which we only ignore at our spiritual peril. The Bible frequently warns us against the danger of being deluded by evil powers. All ‘miracles’ and ‘wonders’ are not produced by the Holy Spirit, and we must know how to ‘test the spirits’ in this matter. Our Lord Himself has warned us that the ‘lying spirits’ are so clever and so subtle as to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect (Matt 24:24).
Dr Frost’s method is particularly helpful. He starts on the practical level by citing cases and examples which prove the fact of miraculous healing. He then proceeds to deal with the difficulties, both on the practical and experimental plane, and also in the realm of correct and clear thinking. Above all, he is thoroughly biblical, and not only orthodox, but truly spiritually minded. I strongly recommend this most valuable study.
D. M. Lloyd-Jones
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