Christianity finds a fulcrum in Asia

[MugenOne]

Not so fast Islam, Christianity is conquering the heart and mind of 1.4 billion Chinese. That doesn’t not include Africa and other Muslim.

%between%China is poised to become a driving force on yet another front, one that would have seemed impossible just a brief while ago: the global spread of Christianity. By the middle of this century, Chinese may comprise the world’s largest concentration of Christians, and the largest missionary force in history. If democracy is ever to flourish in China, it will be at the behest of its fearless grassroots evangelists.

Thanks Be to God!

atimes.com/atimes/China/IH07Ad03.html

 

[GuanYuWarGod]

That “Asian fulcrum” has already been present in the Philippines for the last 300 years. Filipino Catholics number tens of millions and nearly all are devout. The Catholic Church is very well loved and some bishops are more popular than certain politicians even. The Philippines has had some history of abuse by Spanish friars and priests in its colonial past. Despite that, they do not take it against the Church (unlike many in ther countries that have had similar cases) as abuse by the Catholic Church itself, as the abuse was done by Spanish individuals and Spanish government supported friars who had gained power and therefore despite their priesthood, are not acts by the universal Church as a whole. China however is a great potential load at the end of the lever.

 

[patrick457]

Guanyu,Let me correct your statement a bit:

While a majority of Filipinos are Catholics, the main problem is lack of Catechesis; thus many Filipinos either know little or none of their Faith. New sects (Either Protestant or Pseudo-Catholic cults) usually take advantage of it.

Another is the low number of Apologists to defend their Faith since people are taught to ‘be nice to others who are of a different religion’. While a nice advice, it leads many, even some clerics to relativism.
Filipinos may be devout, but many are doing thing that are considered superstitious or either they do not fully understand what they are doing.

At least most people don’t blame the Spanish abuses against Rome, but a Bishop, Teodoro Aglipay decided to break from Rome and to found his own Church during the closing years of the 19th Centurybecauseofit: The Philippine Independent Church or the Aglipayans.They are similar to Anglicans and Episcopalians in that they are ‘High Church’, but separate from Rome.

 

[Milliardo]

I agree to both posts above about the Philippines; on the one hand, many Filipinos are devout Catholics. However, many also don’t know the Faith very well, although I can say many are sincere in devotion despite the lack in knowledge about the Faith. That is why many are easy prey to Protestant proselytizing. Those who are very devout aren’t taken in by these denominations though. Still, there is great need for Apologetics since many Filipino youth are easily taken in by Protestants, especially by Evangelicals.

However, that being said, one cannot deny that many Filipinos are making the Church alive again, especially in Europe where many have become migrant workers. They’re the ones keeping many Catholic churches there open, and many Europe-based priests who come here are grateful because without these workers, many parishes there would’ve closed down a long time ago.