Taking the Spiritual for Granted

April 26, 2010

Most people that live in Western democracies grew up fearing and hating the word “Communist: during the Cold War. The media brainwashing that went on for decades to paint the word “communism’ as evil did a great job.

Christianity in China

A conservative, Republican, born-again Christian, evangelical friend of mine that has never visited China was proud to E-mail me and say that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China. He also told me that ‘communism’ was evil.

Taking one word and using that word as a definition for evil is wrong. Mao did evil deeds during the twenty-seven years he ruled as China’s modern emperor. Stalin and Hitler also were responsible for horrible atrocities. Words are not evil. Using a word to describe evil is dangerous. It leads to stereotyping. If what my friend said was true, than my mother-in-law, the closet Christian, would be evil since she lived in a communist country.

See “An American Shadow Over the Philippines” http://wp.me/pN4pY-6Z

 

1 Comment | China, Chinese history, politics, religion | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Christianity in China

April 26, 2010

My wife’s mother was a Chinese Christian convert. It was not safe to belong to a religion during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. To survive, she became a closet Christian. She prayed at night but never let her children know that she was a Christian.

She told her husband that having children was for God. Whatever her religious beliefs were, she kept to herself. Since she had a statue of the Virgin Mary and held it when she prayed, it should be safe to say that Catholicism influenced any form of Christianity she believed in.

I understand Catholicism. When I was a child, I was baptized a Catholic and my family went to mass each Sunday. I also attended a Catholic elementary school for a few years.

I write about what I know, and I know only a little about other cultures outside the United States.

However, I do know something about China. After all, my wife is Chinese. I have been to China a dozen times since 1999, and we have a flat in Shanghai.

After nine years of researching China, I published my first novel, which takes place in 19th century China. For the last ten years, I have immersed myself in discovering China and have learned that there is more to discover. I have barely scratched the surface.

See When in Rome, Do as the Romans

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese history, religion | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Beware “Promises” of Salvation

April 25, 2010

Here are a few excerpts from a review written by Joseph Khan on Falun Gong and the Future of China by David Ownby (291 pp. Oxford University Press) 

“…Like the Communist Party, Falun Gong shrouds its inner workings in secrecy and communicates through propaganda….” 

“…Since the emergence of the White Lotus Society in the 13th century, ordinary Chinese, particularly women and the poor, have found solace in sectarian movements whose features have remained consistent, Ownby argues. He calls the sects ‘redemptive societies’. They are organized around charismatic leaders who preach that salvation can be attained through cultivation of body and mind.

 “The republican (now in Taiwan) and Communist governments of the 20th century inherited this antireligious bias. Both permitted five religions — Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism — provided that they submitted to strict state supervision….” 

“…Li (Hongzhi) founded Falun Gong…  He claimed that people who followed his cultivation formula acquired a ‘third eye’ that allowed them to peer into other dimensions and escape the molecular world….”

See “Wearing China’s Shoes” http://wp.me/pN4pY-1p

 

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, politics, religion | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Falun Gong and Costco

April 25, 2010

Before going into the Orpheum Theater that night, I thought Falun Gong was a Christian sect. After all, there are more than forty Christian sects. But during the performance, I discovered that Falun Gong was not Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish. Falun Gong promoted individual peace and harmony through belief in several gods.

If you are curious, you may find a few members of Falun Gong outside the Chinese embassy in San Francisco. They are almost always there when we go to pick up visas before traveling to China. You may even see the pictures they have set up showing victims of torture. 

Falun Gong protesting outside Chinese embassy in San Francisco

A year later, while shopping at Costco, I discovered a table and display for a Chinese musical. The people at that table were dressed in Ming or Tang Dynasty costumes, and I was intrigued to say the least.

Then my wife whispered in my ear, “That’s Falun Gong.” I had no idea these costumed people were selling tickets to the same production we’d already seen at the Orpheum. I quickly left.

See “Controlling Opinions” http://wp.me/pN4pY-pe

 
 

 

6 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, cults, politics | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Alleged CIA – Falun Gong Connection

April 25, 2010

I cannot say that what Gao Fangpi said about the CIA supporting the Falun Gong was true.

However, take into account that in the 70s, the Dalai Lama admitted that the CIA funded his movement against China. So, why not fund the Falun Gong? After all, the CIA has supported Islamic militants in China’s northwest province and has supported the other Tibetan separatist groups (there are four). The CIA has a long and shady history of doing things like this in countries all over the world.

Orpheum Theater – San Francisco

My wife and I saw the Falun Gong Chinese New Year show at the Orpheum and were disgusted (that’s being polite).  What Gao Fangpi didn’t tell us was that the show heavily promoted Falun Gong. Nothing I read or heard over the years prepared me for the truth.

Instead, the Western mainstream media has often criticized China for not allowing the Falun Gong the religious freedoms enjoyed in the United States where freedom of religion is a fundamental right.

See ” What is the Truth about Tiananmen Square?

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga . When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

Subscribe to “iLook China”!
Sign up for an E-mail Subscription at the top of this page, or click on the “Following” tab in the WordPress toolbar at the top of the screen.

About iLook China

15 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, cults, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »