A series of rumors were popular and widespread among Chinese Christians. Canaan Xiu, the starter of these rumors, claimed that he used to preach to Wen Jiabao during Wenchuan Earthquake. He even bragged that Premier Wen Jiabao was baptized by him.
Recently he released a confession and acknowledged to Christian Times that these ridiculous words were false.
Canaan Xiu said such words in his confession: I repent in front of God at the presence of all the brothers and sisters. I don't want to live under the shadow of lies anymore. I feel exhausted.
Canaan Xiu has lied to Christians for so many years. Although he finally admitted his mistake, the bad influence of the false testimony is astonishing. Quite a number of Christians used to praise God for those false testimonies.
There is also a widespread rumor about China's first astronaut Yang Liwei. An experienced reporter of Asia Week wrote an article, "Yang Liwei saw the glory of God." In April last year, a state media disclosed that Yang Liwei prayed to God when confronted with danger in space. The article also said God blessed Yang and helped him out of danger.
Although Asia Week claimed that they haven't interviewed Yang Liwei and the article was not released by them, the false testimony sprung up like mushrooms.
The spread of false testimonies shamed the church and ruined the reputation of Christians. In some non-Christians' opinion, the habit of telling lies is a feature of Chinese Christians. The false testimony also prevented people from believing God. As Christians, we should reflect on the false testimony. We also owe those kind people an apology.
To be frank, the starters of rumors are nasty. However, in term of communication studies, believers who accept and spread those rumors can hardly absolve themselves from the blame.
The rumors are often related to the famous people in China. A typical Christian rumor in China is that Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, sang hallelujah to worship God. I have seen the video of Peng Liyuan's performance. She was just singing to show her high soprano voice because she used to be a famous singer in China. The performance had nothing to do with God.
Another typical rumor is that Pastor Liu Sutong is the son of Marshal Liu Bocheng. Actually, Liu Sutong's father was just the subordinate of Marshal Liu Bocheng. Some people even said that a Christian scholar called Zhao Xiao is the secretary of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, which has been denied by Zhao Xiao himself.
The Christians who pursue and admire false testimonies pay little attention to God's sovereignty and ability. They don't care about the authenticity of the testimony, either. As long as the testimony is related to the famous people, they will spread it with excitement. In their opinion, these famous people just add to the glory of God. Actually, they are degenerating God's glory. They thought those false testimonies can build up their confidence. They would brag that they have the same religion with the famous people. How pathetic they are!
Moreover, I have found that these widespread false testimonies are very easy to be seen through. I studied the testimony of Canaan Xiu and watched his video. He said Premier Wen Jiabao was baptized by him in the church of Haidian District in Beijing.
Marxism is the main ideology in China, which promotes atheism. How could the former premier of China be baptized in the church publicly? Xiu also bragged that he had a good relationship with Wen Jiabao and Wen entrusted billions of dollars in cash to him. Xiu said he often carried these money to Zhongnanhai, which is the credential political center in China.
Can such a huge sum of money be given to a common person? What's more, so much cash can weigh a lot. Can Canaan Xiu carry the box into Zhongnanhai on his own? There were so many loopholes in his words which violated the common sense. However, the Christians in the video catered to him frequently with Amen.
Yang Liwei is the major general of the. Liberation Army. The army also sticks to atheism and is absolutely controlled by the Communist Party of China. He couldn't receive the interview of a foreign media easily. Even if Yang addresses in public, he should talk about the Chinese dream instead of God's testimony. However, many Christians are proud of the false testimony and believe it without any suspicion.
Although Christianity has a history of over 200 years in China since it was introduced by Morrison in 1807, the impact of Christianity on China's society are still very weak. Many Christians in China only pray and read the Bible all day. They don't know how to act like a normal person. They lack common sense. They don't have a healthy mind or independent personality.
Such phenomenon can be traced back to the atmosphere in Chinese churches. Common sense and rational thinking are despised here. They just blindly follow everything they heard at the church without questioning and thinking. Nobody wants to be regarded as heresy. Believers are like spiritual babies. They only rely on their "spiritual" parents, which are churches. In this kind of distorted spiritual environment, the spread of false testimonies is inevitable. Believers are gradually isolated from the society.
Some people say that Chinese churches and Christians are the hope of the 21st century. In my opinion, this is a joke. Christians in China are so easy to be deceived and the church of China still has a long way to go. Christians should learn to be more rational and think independently. We should always judge any testimony with common sense. Otherwise, Chinese Christians and churches will never become mature and always stagnate at the beginning stage.
The reason why Jesus came to us in the form of a human body is that he wanted to bring about a new life instead of a new religion. He didn't mean to confine us in the cage of religion and keep us away from the real world. To be the disciples of Jesus, we should be a normal person with an independent personality. Only in this way can we devote ourselves to the construction of the Kingdom of Heaven!
About the author: The author is a post-80s Christian with critical thinking. He grew up in the Loess Plateau of Shanxi Province. He began to believe in God in Wuhan in 2006. In 2007 he was baptized in the south of Fujian province. Now he is settled in Hefei, working as a university teacher. He serves in a family church.
Translated by Emma Ma
