June 11, 2008
Recommended Reads: Funeral for panda, China's carbon footprint, and a post-quake religious boom
Photo taken behind Duolun Lu by Slow Boat to China
Sichuan earthquake
AP: China holds funeral for panda killed by earthquake
IHT: Flooding completes the doom of Chinese town below 'quake lake'
Xinhua: China's main quake lake shrinks as drainage speeds up
The Press Association: China says quake lake alert is over
The environment
AFP: China consuming twice what its ecosystems can supply: WWF
The Age: China's 'footprint' a global concern
AP: Report says China consumes twice its supply
AFP: US second to China in illegal wildlife trade: official
Religion
Donga-Ilbo: Religious Boom in China after Quake
The Huffington Post: Evangelism and the Olympics
Independent Catholic News: Catholic charities step up aid to earthquake survivors
Christian Newswire: Report on Crackdown on Chinese Christians Launched at Two Month Olympic Countdown Mark
Shanghai Scrap: Someone Opened the Door
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
As is evident by the article on the Christian Newswire, the propensity for these "evangelists" to propagandize and outright lie knows no bounds. China should be vigilant so that these groups never gain a foothold to be such a huge threat as they are in the USA.
I don't know; I don't feel particularly threatened by religious groups here in the US. I myself was raised in a very unorthodox one (Seventh Day Adventist), which is a borderline cult. Religious indoctrination is no more or less dangerous than political indoctrination.
But when it comes to times of horrific trouble, people need comfort. Many people openly "practicing" religion as a result of the earthquake were already religious; it's completely natural to express the religious part of yourself in a hard time. I don't think it means everyone is being swept up into cults.
I don't know; I don't feel particularly threatened by religious groups here in the US. I myself was raised in a very unorthodox one (Seventh Day Adventist), which is a borderline cult. Religious indoctrination is no more or less dangerous than political indoctrination.
But when it comes to times of horrific trouble, people need comfort. Many people openly "practicing" religion as a result of the earthquake were already religious; it's completely natural to express the religious part of yourself in a hard time. I don't think it means everyone is being swept up into cults.
And apologies for my posts coming in as doubles - I need some remedial blog training obviously :)
The threat I refer to is the political one here in the USA. Religious groups are actively seeking to force their beliefs upon everyone else by law. No politician can gain office without pandering to these religious groups. Nobody dares offend religious groups or they can lose their job, lose their homes or children or worse.