In response to the editor’s comments about the need for Bibles in China and the original article by Mr Lafferty, the information presented is the common line of thinking for the large organisations who partner with Amity Press in China (Bibles for China, United Bible Society, etc.), the official state church in China, and some who work in China. However, this is not the only view on the need nor the only accepted view amongst those who work in this area of ministry. I would encourage readers to investigate other perspectives on the need for Bibles in China prayerfully and with an open mind. They will find that there is an entirely opposite view that can be backed up by publicly made-available articles, data, research and ministry professionals. They will find that the actual reality is far from it. Some have described the need for Bibles in China in 2017 as a famine and the fact that the need is not being met as spiritual genocide for the growing China church.
Three excellent organisations and web pages which refute the arguments that Bibles are freely available in China are from Biblia Global (https://www.bibliaglobal.org/biblesforchina/), Paul Hattaway’s organisation Asia Harvest (https://asiaharvest.org/how-many-christians-are-in-china-summary/), and the British organization Asia Link (http://www.asialink.org/files/1214/5676/6033/China.pdf). There is excellent work being done on the numbers of Christians in China by Yeng Fenggang, Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University. The jury is not out on the need and in fact careful consideration of the data and research will show the exact opposite.
In sum, while the actual size of the church can be argued back and forth (reliable numbers vary between 70 million and 150 million), the 125 million Bibles printed in China argument doesn’t hold water, as even Amity Press admits only 65.7 million of those Bibles were for domestic Chinese Christians and 59.3 million Bibles were for export in 90 different languages to 70 different countries. And that 65.7 million Bibles in China is the number printed over 30 years! Even with the most conservative estimates on the number of Christians currently in China, this number printed in China doesn’t even begin to come close to meeting the need. China still needs Bibles.
