China (MNN)—Kurt Rovenstine, of Bibles for China, disagrees with recent claims that China is one of the countries leading a trend of banning the Bible, as reported in a recent article.
“The way these articles are framed and the statements that they make, I think you have to be able to dig a little bit deeper to find out what is really the issue,” says Rovenstine.
So what is true?
In the article referenced, China is mentioned alongside Saudi Arabia and North Korea as some of the most dangerous countries to possess a Bible—Rovenstine notes this misrepresents the reality. China is not in the top three for limited access, but it is on the list of countries where access to the Bible is most restricted.
The article also claims the Chinese government is “removing the Bible from online retailers and replacing it with a ‘sanitized’ version.”
“We’ve not seen any of that,” says Rovenstine. “Nobody who’s claiming that has ever shown us that or actually produced one of these compromised Bibles.”
Most significantly, he notes the Bible is not banned in China—but it can be difficult to get one.
“Right now the Bible is relatively accessible. I mean, we still have a great number of requests and opportunities to do Bible distribution.”
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China via Facebook)
Having a Bible or buying one is not illegal in China. People traveling to China can also bring their Bible, even as a gift for someone within the country. However, they can’t be purchased just anywhere, and printing of the Bible is limited by the government. Bibles for China works with Amity Printing Press, which has approval to print a limited number of Bibles a year.
“They’re printed by the millions,” says Rovenstine. “That’s not enough, but we want to make sure that what is being printed is accessible to those who may not have the opportunity to possess a Bible.”
There are still several challenges with distributing the Bible in China. There simply are not as many Bibles available as there are people who want access to one, and the underground church faces greater challenges than the registered church. On top of that, there is still a need to reach areas of China that are more rural or have lower economic positions. Rovenstine notes there are some places the Bible could be available but not accessible simply because it hasn’t been translated into different minority languages.
“There’s still challenges, absolutely, but there’s still opportunity that we need to be pursuing and taking advantage of, until those opportunities are not available to us anymore.”
He asks believers to continue supporting Bible translation and distribution around the world.
“Over a million Bibles that Bibles for China has had the privilege of helping to distribute are in the hands of people just like me who are reading those Bibles, and the Holy Spirit is working on their lives in those moments. I thought that’s really cool, that the Bible is doing its good work, and we need to make sure that good work is available to anybody who has a desire for that.”
How to Pray:
- Pray for the good work of Bible translation and distribution.
- Pray Bibles for China continues to have opportunities to do the work they’ll called to—that roadblock and logistics would be eased, so they can continue to put Bibles in the hands of those who desire them.
- Pray God would soften the hearts and attitudes of those in China who are making decisions around distribution.
Header photo courtesy of Bibles for China.
