Born Again Movement
The Born Again Movement (重生派 Chongshengpai) B.A.M., or Word of Life Church, or All Ranges Church (全范围教会 Quanfanwei jiaohui, "Total Scope Church") of China is a Christian religious movement founded by Peter Xu Yongze in 1968 during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when all churches were officially closed by the Communist government under Chairman Mao. The B.A.M. is a Henan-based house church network whose membership may run into the millions. In 1998 there were an estimated 3 million followers independent of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement churches in China. The magazine '' Christianity Today'' reports that “Spinoffs from BAM, one of the fastest-growing religious groups in China, have an estimated 20 million followers, nearly twice the size of the registered church, which was re-established in 1979”. Xu had taught that weeping was an essential evidence of repentance, though in recent years this has had less emphasis in the movement. Concern over this ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dyna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Koresh
David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, Koresh claimed to be its final prophet. His Apocalypticism, apocalyptic Biblical teachings, including interpretations of the Book of Revelation and the Seven Seals, attracted various followers. Coming from a dysfunctional family, dysfunctional background, Koresh was a member and later a leader of the Branch Davidians, a movement originally led by Benjamin Roden, based at the Mount Carmel Center outside Waco, Texas, Waco, Texas. Here, Koresh competed for dominance with another leader, Benjamin Roden's son George Roden, George, until Koresh and his followers took over Mount Carmel in 1987. In the early 1990s, he became subject to allegations about Polygamy#Religion, polygamy and child sexual abuse by former Branch Davidi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Persecution Of Christians
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of being martyred for their faith, ever since the emergence of Christianity. Early Christians were persecuted at the hands of both Jews, from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Romans who controlled many of the early centers of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Since the emergence of Christian states in Late Antiquity, Christians have also been persecuted by other Christians due to differences in doctrine which have been declared heretical. Early in the fourth century, the empire's official persecutions were ended by the Edict of Serdica in 311 and the practice of Christianity legalized by the Edict of Milan in 312. By the year 380, Christians began to persecute each other. The schisms of late antiquity and the Middle Ages – in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Organizations Established In 1968
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Amer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christianity In China
Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years. While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its existence begins to surmount with the attestation of the Syriac-speaking ethnographer Bardesanes at the end of the 2nd century. Presently, verifiable evidence of Christianity's existence in China can only be dated back to the 7th century. The significant lack of evidence of Christianity's existence in China between the 3rd century and the 7th century can likely be attributed to the barriers placed in Persia by the Sassanids and the closure of the trade route in Turkestan. Both events prevented Christians from staying in contact with their mother church, the Syriac Antiochian Church, thereby halting the spread of Christianity until the reign of emperor T'sai-tsung, or Taizong (627-649). Taizong, who had studied the Christian Scriptures which ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of The Largest Protestant Bodies
This is a list of the largest Protestant denominations. It aims to include sizable Protestant communions, federations, alliances, councils, fellowships, and other denominational organisations in the world and provides information regarding the membership thereof. The list is inevitably partial and generally based on claims by the denominations themselves. The numbers should therefore be considered approximate. Protestant bodies being considered in this article are divided into: *transdenominational bodies with more than 50 million members *international bodies with more than 10 million members *national bodies with more than 5 million members *non-national bodies with more than 5 million members In 2010, the most numerous international bodies accounted for more than a half of worldwide Protestant population,In this comparison, the Pew Forum's figure of 800 million Protestants is used. Mentioned international bodies together accounted for some 420 million people in 2010. while the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Born Again
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by baptism in the Holy Spirit, it is not caused by baptism in water. It is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Quaker, Baptist, Plymouth Brethren and Pentecostal Churches along with all other evangelical Christian denominations. All of these Churches strongly believe Jesus's words in the Gospels: "You must be born again before you can see, or enter, the Kingdom of Heaven." Their doctrines also mandate that to be both "born again" and "saved", one must have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The term ''born again'' has its origin in the New Testament. In his first epistle, Apostle Peter describes the new birth as taking place from the seed which is the Word of Go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Allen Yuan
Allen Yuan Xiangchen (; 1914 – August 16, 2005) was a Chinese Protestant Christian pastor. He was acclaimed by Open Doors as "a towering figure in China's house church movement" and known for his resistance against participation in the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which resulted in imprisonment for more than twenty-one years. Ministry Yuan's ministry began in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender. He was assisted by a Norwegian missionary. Yuan opened a prayer room in Beijing so that he could preach. When the government set up the Three Self Patriotic Movement to organize churches under party control in 1950, a year after the communist revolution, Yuan and many other pastors refused to join. Along with Wang Ming-dao and Watchman Nee, in 1958 Yuan was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for "counter-revolutionary crimes." Voice of the Martyrs quoted him speaking about his imprisonment at Heilongjiang, Northeast of China:Yuan was released in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Samuel Lamb
Samuel Lamb or Lin Xiangao (; October 4, 1924 – August 3, 2013) was a Protestant pastor in Guangzhou, China. He was a leader in the Chinese house church movement and known for his resistance against the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). Biography Lamb was born in a mountainous area overlooking Macau. His father, Paul Lamb, was the pastor of a small Baptist congregation. In the 1940s, Lamb worked with pastor Wang Mingdao.Kindopp, Jason (2005). "Samuel Lamb" i''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture'' edited by Edward Lawrence Davis. Routledge, p. 314. . Lamb was imprisoned for more than 20 years (1955–57; 1958–78) for his refusal to join the TSPM. In spite of " honey-bucket" duty at labor farms or backbreaking work in coal mines at labor camps, Lamb continued to teach. In 1978, Lamb was released from prison and, in 1979, he restarted the church in 35 Da Ma Zhan, Guangzhou. Because the attendance grew quickly, he then moved the meetings to 15 Rong ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua is a ministry-level institution subordinate to the State Council and is the highest ranking state media organ in China. Xinhua is a publisher as well as a news agency. Xinhua publishes in multiple languages and is a channel for the distribution of information related to the Chinese government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its headquarters in Beijing are located close to the central government's headquarters at Zhongnanhai. Xinhua tailors its pro-Chinese government message to the nuances of each audience. Xinhua has faced criticism for spreading propaganda and disinformation and for criticizing people, groups, or movements critical of the Chinese government and its policies. History The predecessor to Xinhua was the R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament. Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century Hellenistic Judaism in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus' apostles and their followers spread around the Levant, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the South Caucasus, Ancient Carthage, Egypt, and Ethiopia, despite significant initial persecution. It soon attracted gentile God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |