Listener Responses from China

Topic of the Month - About Superstition and Folk Religions

Most people are Buddhists or worship idols

I live in a remote plateau of a minority tribe. There's no evangelist here. And needless to say, we have neither church building nor church gathering. Most people here are Buddhists or worship idols. Before none of us know that the universe was created by our almighty God. Thank God that some receive Jesus Christ as their Savior now. However, there are yet plenty of questions which I don't know how to answer them. The only thing I can do is to suggest them listen to your broadcast. Some are willing to pursue the truth. They pray and sing hymns regularly. And I usually read the Bible for them. Limited by my education level, I myself also don't understand some Bible verses. After receiving my letter, please pray for us the believers here and help us.

(#08230 Sichuan, response to "In Touch")

They have no foundation of truth

I observe that in China's rural areas, many poor peasants worship idols or evil spirits as they encounter misfortune or any long term suffering in life. They practice superstition rituals wholeheartedly in order to find consolation and relief. Some of them are really devoted to their belief. However, these kinds of religion have no foundation of truth or vivid teachings. They can't explain the creation of the universe, the world and mankind. Comparatively speaking, Christianity is convincing to me. In these few years, I find Christianity has been widely spread by some churches in the mainland China. More and more local people come to believe in Jesus. My cousin is one of them. She has suffered from many kinds of illness before and tried all types of practices hoping to be healed. But the situation never improved. Since she was invited to believe in Christ, she started to go to church and listen to God's word every Sunday. She recovers now and I find her happier than before. I am also amazed that she is able to read and memorize Bible verses though she has received only a few years of education. One day, I went to visit her. When we talked about religion, I found that she is really devoted and committed to God.

(#07674 Hubei, response to programs on C100, short-wave station in the Philippines)

He invited a witch-doctor to heal her

I am writing to witness how God saved our family. My father was once very poor and was addicted to pipe smoking and gambling while my mother had mental illness. She said that at that time, all others who had same illness died finally. My father tried many ways to heal her but in vain. He burned incense to worship false gods and even invited a witch-doctor to heal her. He even rolled up my mother with bamboo mat and tried to light homemade fireworks inside in order to drive out any evil spirit regardless of my mother's clothes on fire. Yet my mother was totally unaware of the incident. And of course, the illness was not cured but got worse. She has lost her consciousness.

One day my grandmother decided to take my mother to a nearby gospel church. Surprisingly, just before they almost arrived, my mother was awake. After attending worship twice, she did recover. Miracle also happened to my father. He was then able to get rid of his smoking and gambling habits. They became faithful Christians.

(#07136 Henan, response to "The Workman God Approves", "The New Generation", "Opening Up", "Spring of Joy", "Abundant Fellowship", "Light a Lamp", "Streams in the Desert" and "The Fountain of Inspiration")

My younger brother practiced Qigong

Last year my younger brother, who practiced Qigong, suddenly said he would leave home for higher training. I immediately fastened and prayed. Thanks be to God, he changed his mind the next day. He was willing to go to church and read the Bible with me. But his Qigong coach kept persuading him. This year he suddenly left home for higher Qigong training. I feel very sad."

(#14340 Jiangsu, response to "The New Generation")

My life was about to end

The burden of daily living and spiritual stress makes me ill. In search for healing, I turned to Qigong for help. However, I became mentally disordered and was taken to psychiatric hospital. The deity I later consulted even suggested that I prepare for my funeral as my life was about to end. I finally turned to Jesus Christ, and He lifted me out of the darkest valley of death. Human beings are searching for god but do not reach the true God. People are always seeking for something they can see and touch to worship, but always end up being fooled.

(#09616 Liaoning, response to programs on C100)

The best known is the worship of clay idol

There is much superstition practice here. The best known is the worship of clay idol. There are more than 20 houses in our village that keep these clay idols. They plan to build 60 more clay idols. Twice a year, large crowds gather to burn incense and papers to this false god. Since they are deeply influenced by superstition, they do not believe in the salvation of God."

(#02412 Shandong, response to "The New Generation", "Light a Lamp" and "The Workman God Approves")

Palm reading and fortune-telling become popular

Fortune-telling once disappeared after the year 1949. However, books on palm reading and fortune-telling become popular again. In villages, people build temples and repair tombs due to superstition beliefs. At the same time, high officials in the city spend their wildly, while ordinary people toil for life. Beneath the surface of prosperity is a chaos in the pursuit of ideology. It is extremely difficult to rescue people out of the dark in such a society.

(#04175 Sichuan, response to "The New Generation")

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