Introduction:
In this excellent book, David Aikman focuses on the importance of China as a rising power in world religion and raises some intriguing points especially with regard to China also being an ally against radical Islam. Interestingly enough it appears that global politics is also changing in the way religion seems to be the driving force behind everything these days and this is reflected in the book by Aikman.
Review:
The book starts out by pointing out that at least one third of China’s huge 1.4 billion population will be Christian. This brings several factors into account. For many years, Christians were a persecuted religion in China which delved into the atheist but as time went by, Christians began to be accepted into the social mainstream. This has considerable consequences for politics in China in the sense that these Christians can also start delving themselves into power politics thus having a hand on what is the largest population in the world.
Naturally Aikman discusses the implications of this policy which sees Christians getting much more involved in local politics. China has huge clout in the sense that it has massive economic power but there is also the spiritual aspect of 400 million Christians who are practically the whole population of Europe which could easily form part of this community in the next three decades.
The most interesting part of the discussion is that persecution and encouragement actually exist side by side in China. This is due to the fact that the government actually encourages its own form of the Christian religion where it can obviously continue to control and connect into its own facets. How these co-exist side by side is interestingly argued by Aikman who delves into various problems that this creates. For Aikman, there is the great philosophical question of who is right and who is wrong on the question of persecution and the imposition of state religion into local politics and the local populace. The Church in China seems to be quite powerful in the sense that it has quite strong backing from official channels and that has a certain leverage on what might happen in the future especially in relation to the West.
Chinese Christians as allies of the US
Interestingly enough, Aikman argues that Chinese Christians see themselves as allies with the United States on various issues, primarily against the spread of Islam. With the total conquest of capitalism in the country, China appears much more poised to take over global leadership and even religion wise this is having an effect on what goes on in the world. Chinese Christians also see themselves as consistent allies with Israel over the Islam question due to a number of factors but principally due to the fact that all this instability in certain regions creates economic repercussions which are not welcome for China. Other than that, the global influence of the Chinese economic powerhouse will be negatively affected by Islamic dominance as this creates an instability which cannot be undermined.
The beginnings of Christianity in China
Aikman recounts what happened when St Francis Xavier came to China in the 16th century and started off Christianity by converting several people into the faith. He is circumspect about the early beginnings of the Christian faith which was obviously not always easy and comments extensively on what happened in those early years.
Aikman then turns to the Communist years where anti Christian persecution was the order of the day with Mao tse Tung the chief architect of these rabid and violent persecutions. Aikman is very descriptive on the violence towards the Christians which came in all shapes and sizes and this situation was a rather terrible one at the time.
Aikman also recounts the huge bravery of those Christians who worked underground to keep the flame alive at huge personal risk. Some of these accounts are rather harrowing in their intensity but they also demonstrate the sheer personal determination to keep everything alive in the dungeons of Communist China. I was really gripped by Aikman’s text in this regard as he creates situations where one cannot fail but admire these great people who single handedly kept the Christian religion from total oblivion.
Aikman’s arguments on the post-Mao era are also quite interesting as the thaw which appeared across all strata of Chinese society was singularly affected by the government’s attitude towards organized religion. Although persecution did continue up to a point, the thaw also affected religion which was also seen as a possible outlet for reaching out to other parts of Chinese society which perhaps were not so singularly affected by the thaw.
The taming of the Chinese lion by the Christian lamb.
David Aikman also comes up with an interesting comparison about the taming of the Chinese lion by the Christian lamb. With the liberal, economic reforms currently sweeping China, the rise of Christianity is certainly an important factor, Aikman argues that the rise of Christianity continues to factor in several differences in the country which has risen from the ashes of hard line Communism into what can only be termed as a global economic powerhouse.
Aikman also analyzes what is happening in the deep echelons of the Communist Party where this is getting more and more influenced by Christian ideals which act as a buffer against the more extreme elements of the party. This creates an intriguing balance in the sense that economic reforms can continue but the influence of the Christian religion on the population and also on world affairs is powerful enough to warrant severe consideration by Chinese foreign policy makers.
The flowering of Christianity today in China
As already discussed, Aikman’s book focuses on the importance of Christianity in today’s China which is continually developing at an ever faster pace. This has created a situation where Christians are continually involved in more of the country’s affairs and as previously mentioned, this is also having a considerable effect on the Communist Party elite. Although persecution still remains rather rampant in China, there does seem to be a thawing in the relationship between state and organized religion. Aikman continues to argue at length on the importance of religion as a buffer against what could perhaps be termed as economic extremism and the way this is singularly affecting the country’s development as a nation.
However, the book also seems to concentrate much more on the issue that Islam is now the prime enemy of Christianity and that the Chinese political elite now see this as the greatest threat to their dominance of the world. The most interesting observation by Aikman is that this situation is creating a demand for influence by the country’s Christians who are also forging much closer ties with the United States and Israel on these issues. Political hegemony is also something which is closely discussed by Aikman and he is constantly insisting on the importance of this more than special relationship between the US and Israel and how the Chinese have to fit in.
Conclusion: a book for all seasons
David Aikman’s ‘Jesus in Beijing’ is definitely a book for all seasons in the sense that it focuses on the rise of Christianity in China against all odds and the implications for global politics by this rise. Aikman’s narrative is not only intriguing and interesting but is also essential reading for all those who wish to understand better the rise of this religion in what can be termed as a totally atheist country. Aikman’s arguments are excellent in every sense of the word and he manages to portray the intriguing and developing situation with regards to China and its acceptance of the Christian religion.
Notwithstanding all this, the main argument which arises out of Aikman’s book is that one cannot be totally au courant with what is going on around you if you don’t have a religion to support you. China is fast moving in this sector and will always be a prime economic power but the fact that religion is now playing an important part in its economic development is also very much overlooked. Jesus in Beijing opens up new vistas and boundaries on this issue and should be accepted as one of the best books around on this subject.
Works Cited:
Aikman D; Jesus in Beijing; New York, Regenery Publishing 2003, Print
