On January 28, Guangzhou Channel of Phoenix New Media, one of the popular media in China, interviewed Rev. Feng Hao, president of Guangzhou CC&TSPM. The interview covers the following topics: the number of Chinese Christians, building churches near Confucian temples, science and the Bible, religions and wars.
Feng believes that China will have a more tolerant attitude towards religions under the circumstance that the opening up runs more deeply until 2025 when the population of Chinese Christians may reach or exceed that of American, becoming the county that have the largest population of Christians.
Regarding the event that recently two Confucian Scholars, also members of CPCCC call a ban on churches in Qufu, Feng says it is correct to build churches if the church complies with the regulations and is under approval by the authority. While it is acceptable that some may hold objection at once. But the two members of CPCCC are biased to allow other culture or religion not to enter into Quku just because it is the origin place of Confucius. As members of CPCCC, they should try more to understand and tolerate it, not arousing necessary disputes.
About the conflict between science and the Bible, Feng says religions are not opposite to science. Faith doesn't mean denying science as great scientists like Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein were Christians. As science and archaeology are developing, what we see is that more things accord with the Bible while it will take a long time for the world to admit that.
On the topic of religious persecutions, conflicts or even wars, Feng explains that except religions, they have something to do with other reasons like politics which provokes the mutual distrust between religions and causes conflicts with religious doctrine. In China, no war happens among the five major religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam) that stay in peace admitted by the government, which may tell the doctrines of religions are good. The key is to see if the policy of the country works or other factors or reasons are mixed there.
Besides, Feng introduces the situation of churches in Guangzhou in detail. Meanwhile, he pointed out that the churches will put "reasonable place layout", "constructing pastoral staff teams" and "enhancing the construction of pastoral staff" as the direction of the key ministry in 2016.
Guangzhou CC&TSPM hopes that society can gain more positive and deeper understanding about churches, and the gospel can be widely preached via different media channels.
Rev. Feng Hao graduated from Nanjing Union Theological Seminary in 1985 and served as a preacher in Zion Church, Guangzhou. Since 2001, Feng has been the general secretary and president of Guangzhou TSPM.
