Epigraph:
Jesus said “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)
President Xi Jinping. The Muslim Times is promoting secularism in every country of the world, without proper balance between religious freedom, human rights and patriotism, the majority is always at odds with the religion of minorities and also all religions and sects can be at daggers drawn and have been over the centuries
With wider crackdowns on religion, Xi’s China seeks to put state stamp on faith
Source: The Washington Post
By Anna Fifield
BEIJING — The services at the Zion Church will be different from usual this Sunday. A lot different.
Instead of having 1,300 or so congregants pack into their usual space in northern Beijing, the members of the church will walk the streets in small groups, listening to a downloaded sermon on their cellphones.
Pastor Jin Mingri was forced to disseminate his sermon this way after the Chinese authorities shut down his church earlier this week, declaring it illegal.
“This is part of a comprehensive war against religion,” Jin said in an interview. “The Communist Party has begun to see religion as a competitor. It’s not just [Protestant] Christianity, but also Catholicism, Buddhism and Islam. They want all of us to pledge our loyalty to the party.”
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22: 15-21)