Satan's Opposition
Satan's opposition to the Word of God takes different
forms in different countries.
In Cuba, bibles are
ground up for paper and the leather covers used for purses. In Pakistan, bible printers are
bombed and have grenades thrown at them. In Turkey, they have their
throats slit. In Saudi Arabia, those who try to bring in bibles are
beheaded, while in North Korea the penalty for simply possessing a bible
includes execution by
steamroller.
In other countries, the opposition is more shrewd and deceptive.
In China, for example, the government-owned Amity Press prints and supplies
bibles to the pro-government Three-Self Patriotic Churches. Foreigners who visit these
bookstores, especially in the large cities, can leave with the impression,
as desired by the Chinese government, that bibles are readily
available throughout China.
In reality, the availability of bibles varies widely from province to
province, from region to region within those provinces, and over time. Many
rural areas that are far from the eyes of foreigners go without bibles, and
privately printing, distributing or giving away bibles remains a crime
punishable by death in China.
The Chinese government even uses bibles as a bait
to lure members of the underground house
churches to surface. Those who buy bibles in bulk are often tracked by
government agents until their house churches are discovered and ordered to join the
official Three-Self Patriotic Church.
Those who refuse and express a desire to believe in Jesus as per the bible are often arrested, beaten,
imprisoned or sent to labor camps. Christians in the underground house churches
are aware of this, and as much as they want bibles, avoid the Three Self
Patriotic Church bookstores
for fear of exposing their house churches.