South China Church is an Evangelical denomination of China. In 1990 or 1991 it formed as an offshoot of Peter Xu's "All Ranges Church" which is also known as the Born Again Movement. Its former head Gong Shengliang was sentenced to a death penalty, but this sentence has since been commuted to life imprisonment. The South China Church is a banned church deemed a cult by authorities. The main criticism outside of that is that they are fundamentalist and charismatic. The official hostility to the church has garnered it support among several groups concerned with religious persecution. It is an "underground church" so membership figures are uncertain, but most estimates state it has tens of thousands of members.
Read more about South China Church: Imprisoned Members
Famous quotes containing the words south, china and/or church:
“A friend and I flew south with our children. During the week we spent together I took off my shoes, let down my hair, took apart my psyche, cleaned the pieces, and put them together again in much improved condition. I feel like a car that’s just had a tune-up. Only another woman could have acted as the mechanic.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)
“It all ended with the circuslike whump of a monstrous box on the ear with which I knocked down the traitress who rolled up in a ball where she had collapsed, her eyes glistening at me through her spread fingers—all in all quite flattered, I think. Automatically, I searched for something to throw at her, saw the china sugar bowl I had given her for Easter, took the thing under my arm and went out, slamming the door.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“That poor little thing was a good woman, Judge. But she just sort of let life get the upper hand. She was born here and she wanted to be buried here. I promised her on her deathbed she’d have a funeral in a church with flowers. And the sun streamin’ through a pretty window on her coffin. And a hearse with plumes and some hacks. And a preacher to read the Bible. And folks there in church to pray for her soul.”
—Laurence Stallings (1804–1968)