As the world prepares to celebrate Christmas, Chinese Communists have announced plans to rewrite the Bible so that it falls in line with the Party ideology.
The bizarre requirement was reported by respected French newspaper Le Figaro yesterday evening, quoting their correspondent in Beijing, and it apparently extends to all major religions, including Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
Apparently, China wants all the major religions to review their holy texts and to adapt them to the “era of president Xi Jinping “.
As well as being president, Xi Jinping is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
China recognises all the major religions, but the country is known for its Big-Brother surveillance and policing religion is just one aspect of this.
The Chinese authorities, according to Le Figaro, have asked the representatives of all the main religions in the country to review the Chinese translations of their religious texts so that they conform with “the requirements of the new era.”
The report in French news stemming from Beijing highlights “Jesus Christ’s parables” will have to fall “in line with the Communist Party, failing which they run the risk of being purged from the bibles available to the faithful.”
The Bible and Christianity are apparently not alone in being targeted, with the authorities setting their sights on all major religions, requiring a “sinicisation” of the Quran, the holy book of the Islamic faith, and the sutras found in Buddhism.
The bizarre requirement, which French newspaper Valeurs Actuelles noted “even the Soviets had not dared” to put forward, took place during a meeting on November 6.
The authorities apparently want “a complete reevaluation of existing translations of religious classics”. If some texts are found not to confirm, they will have to be “modified and translated again.”
The representatives of the various religions practised in China were reportedly summoned to the meeting after China’s 4th Plenum.
Reuters describes China’s Plenum as a meeting of the country’s roughly 370-person Central Committee “to discuss improving governance and ‘perfecting’ the country’s socialist system”.
The Chairman of the assembly, Wang Yang, reportedly underlined “the fundamental importance of the interpretation of the religious rules and doctrines” so as to be able to “gradually form a religious ideological system with Chinese characteristics.”
Controlling and censuring religion is nothing new in the Communist country, with a portrait of the Virgin Mary even being replaced in a Catholic church with one of Xi Jinping. However, this new measure appears to go quite a bit further.
Xi Jinping, 66, has been in power since 2012 and is widely viewed as a strongman who has centralised power in the planet’s most populated country.
© The Sydney Morning Herald
Sorry, had to post this.
Funny, Russia rewrites history and China rewrites the Bible. The dopers and invaders have gone full Nazi!
He just gave Hong Kong another reason to protest.
It’s a hideous serf state, totally corrupt and run by an elite who live off the fat of the land whilst the others have next to nothing and must depend for survival on horrible jobs that are little different from slave labour.
A relative of mine has two sons who both got 1st class honours degrees from top class universities. Both being ‘interested in communism’, probably due to the influence of Marxist professors, went to work in China in prestigious journalistic jobs. Both married chicom girls and both were somewhat put out when they realised that the girls could not wait to emigrate to England, leave their families behind and enjoy freedom.
Jin Ping is just another shitty little dictator. The communist party in that shithole has total power over absolutely everything. If you want get even a remotely viable job, you have join the party and grovel to any of the apparatchiks who have a modicum of power. If you happen to be an attractive girl, you will need to provide blowjobs if you want to get anywhere.
Although they might achieve their aim of altering VHLs, they will never truly manage it as the true faithful will always keep theirs hidden as they always have when oppressed.
I remember when Bibles were smuggled into places like vatnikistan by some quite brave people to keep the faith alive, that will always happen, so will other religions smuggle their VHLs in.
I haven’t heard anything funnier than this, ever.
And funnier now than 3 months ago when it was posted ;))