Hong Kong

[earthfriendly]

Not directly related to Hong Kong or China. But seriously, the amount of censoring that we see. Your opinion is "no good" , you better "correct" it to make it more "pleasant". With this kind of environment, who would be inclined to speak candidly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/techn ... .html?_r=0

[earthfriendly]

When you cocoon people with heavy censorship and limiting their exposures.....

"Some ministry workers say they find Chinese students’ lack of experience with religion an advantage because it makes them more receptive to the gospel. "

https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/11/le ... versities/

[TMD]

"Some ministry workers say they find Chinese students’ lack of experience with religion an advantage because it makes them more receptive to the gospel. "
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/11/le ... versities/

aka easily brainwashed ?
Somebody posted this earlier:

What a culture eh! So easy to control

I guess these newly minted converts will be heading back to China promoting creationism and the adams&eve story ? bravo

[earthfriendly]

Not just China. Has anyone noticed the high conversion rate to Christianity in SG? Friends, relatives that were previously Taosist + Buddhists are now Christians. It is the latest cool hip thing in SG. To be Christians. Why are some people more easily swayed than others? That is the question!

[ecureilx]

Not just China. Has anyone noticed the high conversion rate to Christianity in SG? Friends, relatives that were previously Taosist + Buddhists are now Christians. It is the latest cool hip thing in SG. To be Christians. Why are some people more easily swayed than others? That is the question!

Which denomination?

Those gospel / hard sell Marcel / prosperity churches ?

RC membership hasn't improved unless you count in the migrant population.

[Strong Eagle]

Not just China. Has anyone noticed the high conversion rate to Christianity in SG? Friends, relatives that were previously Taosist + Buddhists are now Christians. It is the latest cool hip thing in SG. To be Christians. Why are some people more easily swayed than others? That is the question!

That's because it is Imperial Christianity, the church created by the Romans. Rigid hierarchy and lots of rules. Good rewards "out there" for following all the rules, bad punishment for not following all the rules. You don't need to think for yourself (as a matter of fact you get in trouble for that), you just need to follow the rules to get what you want.

You get to discriminate against other people in the name of Jesus... discrimination is not bad... it's good... God is telling you to do it. You get to join your little clique of friends and sit around with satisfied smugness that your religion and beliefs are superior to those who don't believe like you do. What's not to like when Imperial Christianity appeals to all of the baser human instincts?

[TMD]

Not just China. Has anyone noticed the high conversion rate to Christianity in SG? Friends, relatives that were previously Taosist + Buddhists are now Christians. It is the latest cool hip thing in SG. To be Christians. Why are some people more easily swayed than others? That is the question!

...OR one can say SG are pretty open to try out various forms of faith and practices. And they are free to convert without having their nanny state poking into their private life - try in places like Malaysia or India, you will more likely to encounter less-than pleasant experience over religious matters.

[TMD]

That's because it is Imperial Christianity, the church created by the Romans. Rigid hierarchy and lots of rules. Good rewards "out there" for following all the rules, bad punishment for not following all the rules. You don't need to think for yourself (as a matter of fact you get in trouble for that), you just need to follow the rules to get what you want.

Imperial Christianity created by the Romans ?!
I though some historians consider the fall of the Roman empire was party attributed to Christianity itself.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lis ... -rome-fell

You get to discriminate against other people in the name of Jesus... discrimination is not bad... it's good... God is telling you to do it. You get to join your little clique of friends and sit around with satisfied smugness that your religion and beliefs are superior to those who don't believe like you do. What's not to like when Imperial Christianity appeals to all of the baser human instincts?

hmmm..that might explain why the increasing tension over LGBS issues in SG and why Christianity failed to become main-stream in places where secularism forms its core value system for millenniums. ...that "greater than thou", that "smugness" simply turns them off..

[calugaruvaxile]

i just love how the locals have faxing clue about christianity, but they are ... uhm ... christians )). as far as i have gathered, to them "christian" means "protestant", as opposed to "catholic". trouble is if you are "ortodox" . this results systematically in a "system error"

[calugaruvaxile]

oh btw, in sg the church is kind of a club. provides entertainment and match-making (dating, that is). sometimes people get connections to get better jobs, etc. religiously speaking, it's just hypocrisy in its purest form.

[Strong Eagle]

Imperial Christianity created by the Romans ?!

Absolutely, positively. Earliest Christians emerged in about 50 AD. There were numerous different sects, none with a written bible, all, to varying degrees incorporating the Tanakh as part of their scripture. By the end of the first century Christianity was recognized as a religion separate from Judaism.

But Christianity was not at all homogeneous. There were many different belief systems based upon the different teachings and understandings of the apostles. Nevertheless, there grew a rough governing structure such that the elders could make decisions that were binding on all the various sects.

In 311, Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. In 325, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, where he basically instructed all the elders of the sects to get their act together, to start behaving and believing as a single unified body... or else. This is where the Christian church formally declares Jesus as the Son of God, and publishes the Nicene Creed, a document that formalizes the beliefs of Christians. This is where the roles of the church hierarchy are also defined.

In 381, the Holy Spirit is added to the Nicene Creed, and Rome, via an edict by Emperor Theodosiu, adopts Christianity as the official state religion, and makes it superior to all others. Thus began the dance of power between church and state, a power relationship that essentially remained unchanged as Christianity spread throughout Europe, with heads of the church anointing kings and heads of state granting great powers of control to the church... at least until King Henry VIII essentially told the Pope to piss off when he founded the Anglican church.

That's the short version. Modern Christianity is most definitely a Roman construct.

[Barnsley]

i just love how the locals have faxing clue about christianity, but they are ... uhm ... christians )). as far as i have gathered, to them "christian" means "protestant", as opposed to "catholic". trouble is if you are "ortodox" . this results systematically in a "system error"

This one still makes me chuckle , Catholics not being Christians

An ex-colleague was marrying a Catholic , and she wouldnt have it that he was a Christian

Even when I show her that the Catholics are the largest bunch of Christians in the world , still a no

[sundaymorningstaple]

I'm married to one of them as well! OTTRC!

[Barnsley]

The Pope has questioned Sir Donald of Trump's "Christian-ness"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pop ... c5505402d1

Do Catholics in the region outside of Philippines even recognise the Pope as head of their church?

Some must be wondering what the Pope fella is on about when he himself is not a Christian under the local definition

[ecureilx]

The Pope has questioned Sir Donald of Trump's "Christian-ness"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pop ... c5505402d1

Do Catholics in the region outside of Philippines even recognise the Pope as head of their church?

Some must be wondering what the Pope fella is on about when he himself is not a Christian under the local definition

Well, there's a growing church in PH that claims their dear leader is the messenger of Jesus - try beating that. And they are growing at a fast pace.

And, in Sri Lanka, when the pope visited, more than enough non Catholics (including other denominations) were there to greet and meet him.