Posted on 09/24/2011 2:02:25 PM PDT by AfricanChristian
Nairobi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Chinese companies are building churches in Africa for all the various Christian denominations, taking over a job in the past occupied by Europe, and more recently by U.S. companies. At the Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, for example, the Zhongxing Construction company is building a new building for the offices of the archdiocese of Nairobi.
"We worked with them previously, and we had a positive experience. We held a public competition, and they presented the best offer," said an official of the diocese. In the past, countries that sent missionaries to Africa also built places of worship. "Our brothers in faith, along with their companies helped to build churches. Now China has become a world power and wants to have a grip on Africa too”, said Ugandan Anglican Bishop Stanley Ntagali of Masindi-Kitara diocese in an interview.
In Kenya, the Chinese are building houses for the staff of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, as well as erecting a church for a national Pentecostal group, Evangelist Ministers of the faith. Another company, Fubeco Ltd (China Funshin) is building, the Catholic church of Our Lady of the Rosary, in Kiambu near Nairobi. The same company had built Luther Plaza, the headquarters of the Lutheran Church of Kenya. China, moreover, is a leading partner in trade with Africa, in 2009, surpassing both France and the UK. And in the construction sector regularly beats competitors offering lower costs.
(Excerpt) Read more at speroforum.com ...
China isn’t playing.
You’ve heard of “Greeks bearing gifts”? Take that and multiply that by 1.3 billion... and make it slightly more inscrutable.
I've heard that from a numerical standpoint, there are more Christians in the China than the United States.
So God Bless them.
While we have been focusing all our attention on the throwbacks from the Middle East, the Chinese have been stealing all our potential markets in Africa and Latin America. My, my, do we ever have some stupid people running our government.
There is a huge need for new churches in Africa right now, because of the huge numbers of black converts from Islam to mostly Anglicanism, as well as Catholicism, and other Protestant faiths. African blacks have finally figured out that Muslims think of them as just disposable slaves.
In any event, some of the Anglican archbishops there are now as powerful as kings. Though fortunately they do not abuse that power, and are politically, socially and morally conservative.
There is a huge irony here as well, because the leftist Episcopal (Anglican) church in the US drove out most of its conservatives, who are joining African missionary Anglican churches in the US, so that they are under the African archdioceses. But these congregants are collectively very wealthy, and are sending their money to Africa at just the right time to help them build churches.
As you might imagine, this whole situation is horrifying to the Saudis, who are tracking the hemorrhaging of Muslims from the ummah.
But the bottom line is that for the Chinese to build these churches is just fine. As long as their work is quality and fast.
Counter Islam and gain good will with locals for the cost of a few building supplies. A cheap, double header for the Chinese.
Politicians reflect the electorate. Americans can identify with the Middle East because of Israel and 9/11, they know about China because most of the stuff from Walmart comes from there, they also know about Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia and Vietnam.
But they can't identify with either Africa or Latin America, so American politicians can safely ignore these regions.
This has nothing to do with countering Islam, it is simple economics.
For example, my Church had a similar project. We tried to get an American contractor to do the job and his quotation almost gave us heart attack. We were advised to try the Chinese and the Chinese invited the Senior Pastor to check things out. The Chinese quotation was more than a million dollars less and they did a very good job.
(My Pastor was really impressed when he went to China).
Chinese Christians are also sending missionaries into Central Asia. The church is on the move.
A most interesting article. I’ve heard there are 250 million Christians in China. That’s a number well over the critical mass to overthrow a government.
My theory, and that’s all it is, is that there are enough Christians to overthrow the commie government, so the ChiComms are placating the Christians to keep them happy and satisfied for the time being.
Building Christian churches in Africa is a good way to placate your Christian adversaries.
China, or at least some large part of it, is slated to become a Christian nation. And there ain’t a damn thing the ChiComms can do about it.
Tianamen Square was a preview. The next demonstration will be 100 times larger and the end of Commie China.
I assume that China is wanting to placate African Christians, since they are actively buying assets in Africa such as farmland and mines. China is for China, that’s it. Their ulterior motive is for their own expansionist megalomaniac dreams.
China is already having huge problems with internal rioting and protests, they spent more last year for “internal security” than national defense. Chinese poor and middle class people have reached the “I’ve freaking had enough” point.
“China is already having huge problems with internal rioting and protests, they spent more last year for “internal security” than national defense. “
That’s an interesting tidbit I didn’t know about. Thanks.
It fits into my theory that the ChiComms are going down.
“China is already having huge problems with internal rioting and protests, they spent more last year for “internal security” than national defense. “
That’s an interesting tidbit I didn’t know about. Thanks.
It fits into my theory that the ChiComms are going down.
I hope for your sake that the Chinese built well and didn’t use sub-standard or contaminated materials. Their reputation in the U.S. is not good. Perhaps at the moment they’re trying to impress their new African customers, and their work will be of better quality than we often see.
Given the Red Chinee tendency to warp and twist religion to suit their purposes (note their attempts to have the State appoint Catholic bishops without input from the Vatican), I’m still dubious. I’d suggest recipients of Chinese-printed Bibles take a close look at them to see if anything... untoward has been inserted in the native African language for which they’ve been printed. Similarly, I’d be very curious to hear whether the Chinese are maintaining some sort of vested control in the churches they finance; for example, having some role in selecting the pastor, educational curriculum, etc.
On the surface of it, sure, it’s great the Chinese are supporting the greater Church in Africa. However, “the devil is in the details” and I’m frankly skeptical as to whether the angle the Chinese (that is, those in positions of influence, not the local/home renegade churches) are pursuing is healthy to Christianity at-large.
Where did you get the statistics? 250 million, that’s either exaggeration or bluffing.
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