Luis Palau Remarks in Beijing Rebuked by House Church Leaders

China Aid Association
Photo: Chinese House Church Alliance was established on November 20, 2005 in a suburb of Beijing
(Midland, Texas – Nov 24, 2005) After hearing and reading what the famous western evangelist Luis Palau preached to Chinese House Church leaders in Beijing, the House Church leaders sharply rebuked what they called his “irresponsible and misleading remarks.”
At a Nov. 19 press conference in Beijing, Luis Palau, founder of Luis Palau Evangelistic Association, urged Chinese House Church Christians to register their churches under the Chinese Communist government and to “receive greater freedom and blessings from the government.” His argument is the Chinese Communist government’s “urging of house churches to register is similar to the way churches must register in the U.S. and in his native country, Argentina”; He stated that China has changed much since the Cultural Revolution, “today, you don’t get arrested unless you break the law.” Citing his Chinese-government-given “total freedom” to express himself in his preaching within the four walls of the government sanctioned church buildings during his trip in China, Palau “feels that (Chinese) people are able to worship openly in China.”
“While we understand Rev. Palau’s passion and eagerness to get into China’s ‘charity market’, we can’t agree with his overall assessment and prescription regarding the situations of the Chinese church,” Said Rev. Bob Fu, President of CAA who met with Palau last summer at Midland, Texas, “To equate the church registration requirement by the IRS in the USA for tax purpose to forced registration under the Communist Party’s Religious Affairs Bureau for controlling purpose is total misleading. Rev. Palau’s China religious freedom remark will be much more convincing if he is allowed to do an open evangelism in the Tian’an Men Square just like what he did at National Mall in Washington DC recently. “
“It’s rather ironic that while Rev. Palau was proposing that Chinese pastors today don’t get arrested unless they break the law, when barely two weeks ago (on November 8) a Beijing house church pastor Cai Zhuohua was sentenced to three years simply because of he printed Bibles and other Christian literature,” said the Chairman of Chinese House Church Alliance (CHCA) Pastor Zhang Mingxuan. Pastor Zhang, who was arrested many times for his faith and kidnapped in a Beijing Train Station by  Chinese security agents, one day before Rev. Palau’s press conference stated, “We demand Rev. Palau retract his irresponsible remarks which deeply hurt hundreds of house church prisoners and their families.”
“I do want to let Rev. Palau know there are still 16 pastors and evangelists from our church serving in different prisons in China now,” said the US spokesperson of South China Church (SCC) Evangelist  “Sarah” Liu Xianzhi who herself served 6 years in prison  and was tortured severely until 2004 at the age of 34.” Rev. Palau is always welcome to visit our church and pastors in the prisons.” Over 1000 SCC pastors, evangelists and believers have been arrested and imprisoned since 2001.
“We really appreciate Palau and the efforts and concerns of others for Chinese Christians, but we also have to point out that genuine religious freedom could not be achieved simply by registration,”  said Mr. Ray Jian, a prominent Christian scholar, leader of a house church in Beijing, and member of a leading think tank, “What Chinese Christians really don’t need are naive ideas or even the simple-minded actions as to hope to “promote greater religious freedom through diplomatic means.” Instead, humble hearts and prayerful love are much more appreciated than simply teaching what Chinese Christians should do.”
Contact Ms. Sarah Liu (mandarin Chinese only) at 432-288-5220
Contact Rev. Palau to inform him about the true situation in China:
By Mail:
Luis Palau Association
PO Box 50
Portland, Oregon 97207
By Phone/Fax
Phone: 503.614.1500
Fax: 503.614.1599
Email: [email protected]
Issued by China Aid Association on November 24, 2005.