Communism and Christianity

I've been reading a lot of books about China lately, and it's occurred to me that communism could possibly be one of the best things that has happened to Christianity in the 'Middle Kingdom'. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a communist in any sense of the word, but I do believe that some of the results of its rule in this particular country have been very helpful to Christians. In the West it is hard for someone to grasp how communism could possibly be beneficial. The cons seem to certainly outweigh the pros. But in keeping with the trend throughout history where God has used the foolish, weak, unimaginable, or even evil (think Joseph being sold into slavery) to accomplish His plan, I believe that the same thing is happening in China right now. 


There are a few things that have been very beneficial, especially for Christianity, that communism in China has accomplished. For starters, before the communists came to power in China in 1912, there was no standardized language in China. The push for a standard language throughout the country resulted in greater literacy, better profits for the literature world, as well as further uniting the country. With a standardized language a Bible would be able to have a far greater impact than one written in a minority language. A single Bible would be able to be read by people throughout the country rather than one particular region. 


During the time following 1912 the government both built and repaired thousands of roads making it that much easier for people to travel bringing whatever books, ideas, or beliefs they had with them, including Christianity.


The written language was also reformed during Mao Zedong's reign at this time. This further increased literacy rates making it easier for people to learn how to read. Those of us that do not speak or read Chinese as a mother language are very grateful for this. Characters that used to be very complicated such as this 廣,  now became much simpler, like this 广. By further increasing the literacy rate, more people would be able to read the Bible which helps to further Christianity.


Education throughout the country was also improved at this time which, like the simplification of Chinese characters, also led to higher literacy rates as well as the resulting benefits. 


When looking at the results, one can't help but notice that they are very similar to what happened to Christianity during the Pax Romana, the most peaceful time during Roman rule. The standard language, abundance of roads, lack of tragedy, and relative peace enabled Christianity to spread and flourish throughout Europe where it has maintained a foothold throughout much of history. At the moment it seems as if history is repeating itself.

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