Mark's Notebook


	Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:8

You don't get arrested unless you break the law

Christianity Today

Thursday 5 January 2006, 11:56 am
Keywords: Christian Topics , News Articles

by Sheryl Henderson Blunt

Evangelist Luis Palau says he did not mean to "create problems" for Chinese house church members when he urged them to officially register their churches in order to "receive greater freedom and blessings from the government."

"Rev. Palau is either unaware of the problems that registration can cause, or perhaps he is aware that if he makes remarks too critical of China's government, it could severely restrict his ministry there," said Paul Marshall, senior fellow at Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom. "Registration can require revealing all the church's members to the government and exposing all of the church's activities. If the government then wants to crack down, it has all the information it needs."

At a November press conference in Beijing, Palau said, "You don't get arrested unless you break the law." Palau has since said he regrets making the remarks. More recently he conceded, "It's not my role as an evangelist to suggest that churches in China should register."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/002/4.22.html