(Express) - Chinese authorities have ordered a church to remove the first of the 10 commandments, as Xi Jinping’s communist regime continues to crack down on religion.
According to members of the government-approved Three Self church, on November 1, around 30 officials from the central “patrol inspection team” for religious supervision arrived at the church in Dongcun village in Henan Province’s Luoning county to conduct an inspection.An official rigorously searched the church before pointing to the first of the Ten Commandments displayed on the wall. According to Bitter Winter Magazine, an online news organisation which specialises in civil liberties in China, the official said: “This must be removed.”
The government officials then immediately wiped off the Commandment.
Churchgoers took down the Ten Commandments sign that day, under pressure from the authorities.
The first Commandment says: “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Members of the church were left furious at the removal of the commandment.
One said: “This isn’t appropriate. They’re falsifying the words of God! It’s resisting the Lord!”
A communist official from the “patrol inspection team” said: “Xi Jinping opposes this statement. Who dares not to cooperate? If anyone doesn’t agree, they are fighting against the country.
“This is a national policy. You should have a clear understanding of the situation. Don’t go against the government.”
The same church had its cross demolished last August.
One church member said: “Back in August, the church’s cross was forcibly dismantled by the government. Now, the Ten Commandments have been converted into the ‘Nine Commandments.’
"In China, practicing your faith is difficult.”
While another complained: “They are trying to corrupt our faith and make us betray God.”
This is another example of the regime’s ongoing war against Christianity under the banner of “Sinicization”.
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