I recommend you go read a few short posts my teammate has written about smuggling Bibles in China. They are a worthy read, as he talks frankly about some of the overlooked aspects of this issue.
And, for your consideration, here’s some of the stuff that’s been rattling around upstairs as I read his posts.
1. Is there no point at which we submit to the law of China?
I’m a law-breaker in this country. I preach to Chinese people in unregistered churches that we planted. Obviously I agree with the Bible smugglers in at least one way: as Christians our primary loyalty is to God, and that overrides any other loyalties in our lives, including the laws of the land. But aren’t we as believers obligated to live by those laws that aren’t in conflict with the directives of God?
But the Bible smuggler protests: ‘Their laws about Bible distribution are in conflict with God’s commands!’ Are they? Is it against God’s commands to go to the Three-Self Church and buy a Bible? Is it against God’s commands to have to go into the next town to get a Bible? Is it even against God’s commands to have to wait for a week or a month to get a Bible?
Simply put, just because you disagree with the policies or politics of China, does that mean that you have no obligation to obey any of their laws? This is obviously not what we want to teach to the Chinese people in the churches here. All the reasons given for not acquiring Bibles legally boil down to the supposed inconvenience of it. Smuggling Bibles in China is the result of nothing short of refusal to jump through any hoops to purchase a Bible. This, of course, ignores the fact that money itself is a hoop. The border guard is a hoop. The customs form is a hoop. Rephrased: the Bible smuggler refuses to jump through any of the hoops that the government asks him to jump through. Which, by the way, are far easier to navigate than the X-rays at the airport!
2. You can raise support to do just about anything
You can get large amounts of manpower and money to do something for which there is no need. This thought I offer primarily as a word of caution to missions-loving churches and pastors back home. China is far away. The missionaries telling you about the need are sincere. These are two ingredients for an ineffective missions strategy: unfamiliarity and sincerity. Before you agree to smuggle Bibles into China, you ought to ask a few questions, as my teammate pointed out so well. Who are these Bibles for? How much is it costing to print and move them? Is there no other way to buy this many Bibles in China?
I have no doubts about the sincerity of those sneaking Bibles across the border. But I also think they are seriously in the dark about the current situation in China. As someone who heard all kinds of stories about Bibles in China before I came, I have been very pleasantly surprised at the inexpensiveness and availability of God’s Word here.
3. Demand is not the same as need
Much is made of the supposedly huge need for Bibles in China. But how exactly is this need manifested? Usually some evidences of demand are given: the number of Bibles printed, sold, or distributed. But that’s not need! Does the number of coffees Starbucks sold last week have anything to do with the need of coffee in the world? All that number shows is the demand for coffee. The same is true of Bibles. In America, for instance, over 20 million Bibles are sold every year. That’s the demand. But the average American household has four Bibles. That’s the need (or lack thereof). Bibles go out by the millions into China every year. But that has nothing to do with how many people are in need of Bibles.
But even if we concede that there’s a large demand for Bibles in China, is there any evidence that the demand is greater than the supply? The phrase often employed is ‘they can’t print them fast enough.’ All that means is that they’re selling them all. By the same line of reasoning, someone could say that ‘Starbucks can’t make coffees fast enough.’ In one sense, the person might mean, ‘Starbucks sells a lot of coffee,’ which would be true. In another sense, the person might mean, ‘there’s many people who want Starbucks but can’t get it,’ which would not be. Are there really thousands of Christians in China longing for the Bible who can’t get it?
There is one subset of the population that we would all like to get Bibles to. That subset is the intersection of those who want to read the Bible and those who can’t get one (because of financial or supply-related reasons). And this group of people is just not as numerous as some apparently think. Bibles are cheap. Free, if you can get to a computer. Besides all this, there is no evidence that those Bibles being smuggled in are landing in the hands of this small sliver of China’s population.
4. Literature isn’t in as short supply as men are
Let me strongly emphasize that I am for every human on the planet owning a Bible. But let’s also remember the uniqueness of our historical moment. For the larger part of church history, very few owned Bibles. Is it a good change that we can now have our own Bibles? Of course. I’m only pointing out that putting a Bible into the hands of every person is not a necessary prerequisite for the work we are trying to do. If every person in China had a Bible, that would be a good thing, but that accomplishment alone would achieve very little in the area of disciple-making. The Great Commission meter will barely register the change.
What is needed in China is for men who have been trained in the Scriptures and who will boldly and tirelessly proclaim it to those around them, whether they have Bibles or not. Send a million Bibles into China, and you’ll probably never know where most of them went. But send a hundred men like this into China, and you won’t have to worry about the results!
The truth is, there might be some little village in China somewhere whose believers fit perfectly into the subset I described above. But in the city we live in, there are plenty of Bibles. And guess what? While we’re thankful for the sufficient supply of God’s Book, there’s still a famine of his Word in this city. The Word proclaimed is our goal. The Word printed is our tool. So send all the Bibles you want to that little village somewhere in China. But send a Gospel preacher, too, for he is the disciple-making catalyst.
The Gospel in China 
Brother, I agree with your comment, that the greater need is for one hundred men to go into China, but the greatest need is to equip the Chinese to do the work themselves. Christianity didn’t “explode” in China until the persecution came and all the missionaries were expelled. While it is true that the largest printer of Bibles is now in China; most of those Bibles leave China for other parts of the world. Yes it is true that you can go to a Three Self Church and buy a Bible, but there are 20 million people living in Beijing, only 12 Three Self Churches and over 7,000 house churches…not very practical for them to go to the Three Self Church to get a Bible. You are right that demand is not the same thing as need, and many Missionaries sensationalize the needs in China…because it “sells”. I have Chinese friends that are obtaining Bibles for the outlying villages, and getting them in bundles of 100-150 at a time, meeting the immediate needs of the people. We need to be careful of characterizing this in a general way.
Tracy,
Thanks for your comment.
I couldn’t agree with you more about equipping the Chinese men. When I said 100 men, I was thinking of Chinese men, though I understand how you took my meaning to be foreign missionaries. Sorry about the mistake, and thanks for giving me a chance to clarify on that.
I do disagree with you about the supposed impracticality of buying a Bible in Beijing. I don’t think there’s very many people who would even suggest there’s a Bible shortage in Beijing. For the most part, people are concerned about little remote villages. For example, the city we live in is not the size of Beijing, but it’s half the size, and the number of 3-self churches is proportionally smaller, too. And there’s no shortage of Bibles in this city. If there were, they could be ordered online from anywhere in China. We did this recently when we wanted to buy a nicer Bible for a Chinese brother’s ordination.
Again, just for the sake of argument: if we concede that it is extremely impractical to get a Bible, is that reason enough to break the law?
And just another thought: how many Christians is 7,000 house churches? 300,000? How many Bible retailers are needed to meet the demands of 300,000 Christians? How many Christian bookstores are in your American city?
Great post. My wife and I participated in a Chinese ministry at a US college. Needing bilingual bibles for the ministry, we actually found that it was much more cost effective to buy them in China and bring them back with us to America.
Ha – that’s great! You should start a new smuggling ministry! But you make a great point when you bring up cost. I don’t know how much money the average Bible smuggled into China costs, but when you factor in overhead, I just don’t know how it could be any cheaper than the ten kuai we pay here!
Great insights, very helpful to get an insider perspective. I’d really like to hear your thoughts about teaching materials, books, and training of pastors. What do you see as the needs, what is being done or currently available, and what might be lacking?
So those living in remote villages who do not speak or read Mandarin should just trek on over to the nearest city, register in the 3 Self Church and buy a Bible. Is that your counsel?
Hey Joe,
That is absolutely my counsel.
I don’t know who told you that someone has to register in the 3-self church to buy a Bible. That is not the usual way that things are done. We buy them by the case without leaving so much as a name. And if that was a problem, you could order one online and have it shipped anywhere in the country. I also don’t know who told you that people in remote villages don’t speak Mandarin. But if they didn’t, what Bible are you going to smuggle to them, anyway? If they can’t read Mandarin, they just can’t read! So giving them a Bible is not going to accomplish what you hope. Who are these believers you’re talking about?
Well then, I suppose those thousands of Bibles I have just brought into China and Viet Nam printed in Hmong might just as well have stayed in the warehouses from which they were shipped. Then too, I suppose that they may just as well have never been printed because according to your assertion, they can’t be read.
Beyond these rather pedestrian concerns however, is the larger issue you must confront: How must a believer respond when men make rules, issue guidelines, policies, procedures (call them what you will); they limit free access to God’s word; just how should a believer respond in such cases?
My judgment is that since God is Sovereign, no man may issue such a restriction regarding access to God’s word because man has no authority to go above God in making his own rules. Those who would presume such authority for man are rebels and have no moral authority which could justify their actions. As Peter said: You judge whether it is better to obey man or God.
Hey Joe,
I certainly appreciate your passion for getting the word of God to people who need it. But I am fairly certain that you did not meet thousands of Christian Hmong who do not have the Bible in their own language. I have no doubt that you brought that many Bibles in and that you were assured that they were greatly needed.
No one is limiting access to God’s Word in China. It is legal to own and buy Bibles. I know that you believe that I have yet to confront the ‘larger issue’ – but I assure you, everything I do in China is illegal (planting churches, training pastors, personal evangelism). So our team has made up our minds about what to do when men make laws contradicting the mandate of the Sovereign Lord.
Bible smuggling in China, however, is sticking it to the government just to stick it to them. It has nothing to do with choosing God’s orders over man’s rules. The Great Commission does not mandate that we get a copy of the Bible to every human. It does mandate that we get the Gospel preached to every human. You want to choose God’s rules over man’s? Come plant a church among the Hmong people. I will back you all the way!
I repeat, my brother, if it is shown that there is a group of Christians who want a Bible but cannot get one, let us do all we can to get one – by the government’s way if feasible, by our own if not. But as long as you are bringing Bibles over to be used in evangelism, or Bibles to be used by some mysterious house church network that you’ve never seen, I would advise you to change your strategy.
(by the way, it took me all of five minutes online to find a Bible in their language – audio, too!)
Vengador
Just a couple of fine points without getting too laborious or repetitious. Your last paragraph basically summarizes my experience. I have found a group of Christians who are in need of Bibles in their own language. These people, who you assume I have never met, who meet in “mysterious” house churches (that I myself have seen and worshiped in) have assured me that had our team not brought Bibles to them, they would never have had access to them. The reasons for the limited access are varied but according to their testimony, very real.
So my question to you is this: Whom should I believe? You? I’ve never met you. For all I know you could be some fictitious blogger living in New Jersey. Or, should I believe the testimony I have received in face to face encounters in remote mountain villages where there is no internet and where the villagers have no money to purchase Bibles even if they could?
One last point; you presume that my intent in delivering Bibles is to merely “stick it to” the authorities in these Asian countries. If that were my intent then indeed it would be reckless and even sinful. You presume to know my motives and such presumption is in itself wicked. God is my judge and my conscience bears witness to my motivation. I’ll trust that confidence over your judgment.
Vengador, in summary, I believe that you are completely missing the point of delivering the word of God to as many as possible, whoever they are and where ever they are. The Great commission goes way beyond preaching by foreign nationals. I believe it extends even to getting the word of God in the hands of those who do not have it in their own language or whose access to it is limited, for whatever reason. That is why I go and why I will continue to invest my time, energy and money in this ministry.
Joe,
My brother – continue forward, and may God continue to bless your work.
I certainly do not believe that you are trying to just stick it to the authorities.
Nor would I ask you to believe me over reputable believers in China.
I do fear that you are misled, but I appreciate your willingness to err on the side of ‘get Bibles to people’!
As I said, the Miao (as the Hmong people are called in China) have perfectly good access to the Bible online at least, and in other ways, I have little doubt.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for contributing your view to the discussion.
Well stated. One other point to take into consideration is the dialect that the Chinese Bibles are being printed in. It is not used much anymore and is difficult to understand. Therefore, it isn’t a whole lot better than giving someone a Bible that they can’t really understand. God’s Word is powerful and effective because it communicated truth, but a Bible in an old, unused dialect cannot convey God’s truth.
Hi Kale thanks for the comment.
You bring up a good point, but this is one of the major misconceptions in the issue. The Chinese Bible is not printed in an obscure dialect, nor is it difficult to understand. It is a bit out of date – it’s about a hundred years old. But it is the standard Bible used across the Chinese-speaking world, used in every church that I’ve ever been to in China. The overwhelming majority of Chinese Christians who read their Bibles read the CUV with perfect comprehension. It is my experience that when a Chinese person says that they can’t understand the Chinese Bible, they are saying it in much the same way an American might say they can’t understand the Bible. The Bible is talking about a lot of topics that unbelievers really aren’t familiar with, so it’s only natural that they can’t make any sense of it. But Christians have no real problem with the CUV.
Don’t you think there’s a place a both? Why does it have to be one or the other? Back in the 80’s, my father partnered with 12 Missions to get seminary material translated in to the different Eastern European languages and those that specialized in delivery (smuggling) helped get the translated and published material in – everyone did their part.
I’d say you’re both right….and you’re both wrong.
I would say (as a beginner of ministering in China) that no one can claim to have a full understanding of every corner of China. It sounds ridiculous, but the people I’ve met in China who have worked there for 30 years say that everything you’ve heard about China is true somewhere…. and untrue somewhere else.
I have only spent a few months in 3 provinces of China, yet I saw that the economic, cultural and spiritual situations in all three were vastly different…..even in regards to Bible availability.
I know my friend has been part of the modern Uyghur translation of some books of the Bible. I also know that I bought a Chinese Bible in one province for a reasonable price.
I’m only a young person, but I do know that even when I’m 30 or 60 or 80 years old….. I will never be able to understand or know everything about China. Because when I meet those who are 30 or 60 or 80 years old….. they say they still don’t know everything.
So, basically, to say that Bible availability is a certain way in China…..is a huge generalization that can only be true sometimes.
Hey Nicole,
Thanks for your comment. And I appreciate your skepticism about carving opinions into stone, and your admonition to all to continue to grow in wisdom.
But a word or two of caution…
1. While the oft-repeated line about everything being true somewhere in China does hint at the truth, it seems to imply that Chinese society varies wildly from place to place, and that you can never be sure of anything in China. That is certainly too broad. While there may be slight deviations, there are definitely some things that can be usefully asserted as characterizing China at large.
2. Unless your few months in China enabled you to speak the Chinese language fluently, there are a couple facets to the issue that would be difficult for you to appreciate. The availability of the Bible’s text online, the ability to order Bibles, the feasibility of travel for Chinese people, and the relative cost of a Bible would number among those factors.
3. I have no doubt that Bibles are not equally available everywhere. My only contention in this post is that it is hard to imagine a scenario in China where the best way to get Bibles to those places where they are not readily available is by smuggling them in from outside China’s borders!
Yes, this post is a generalization. Most all rules are. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore them when making our ministry plans.
Thanks again for the input!
Thanks for being pretty fair about my comment 🙂 I appreciate input that recognizes the important of the comment before critiquing.
I think your first point is important 🙂 Thanks!
In your second point, I’m not sure if it’s focusing on how difficult it is to get a Bible or how easy it is.
Either way, I do have a measure of fluency in the Chinese language if you were wondering.
On your third point, I am actually uncomfortable with Bible smuggling on the whole because I would rather get one from within China, but I was challenged a few days ago on that belief.
The only situation in which I’m more comfortable with my brothers and sisters engaging in smuggling is because I know specific ethnic groups in China that don’t have it in their heart language.
On the whole, I appreciated that you can tell I don’t want to carve any opinions into stone. I don’t like it when believers would insult one another on ministry issues….. I know it happens all the time, but it’s just wrong.
Vengador
I have enough experience with Bible smuggling organizations to know that they require certain proof of who the Bibles are going to (testimonies etc.) Also, normally there is only 1 degree of separation between the organization and the distributing pastor or Christian worker (meaning there is usually a trusted contact or contacts that works directly with those pastors.)
So that leaves me with a question, you seem to be indicating that there is not this great need for Bibles… who is misleading the organization and why are they misleading them? Further, the organizations I know of have a strict policy where if anyone sells a Bible they do not receive any more…
Finally, I do not have the greatest understanding of the economic or cultural situation in China but it does not seem difficult for me to imagine LOTS of places and people with no access to internet, no ability to buy Bibles (or ability to go to the city.) And from what I understand they frown on it if you try to buy 100 or 200 at a time.
Hey Drew
I appreciate your comment – and I apologize for taking some time to get around to responding to it. I am also glad to hear that you are closely involved with missions endeavors in China!
Not surprisingly, I do have a couple areas of disagreement with the points of your comment.
First of all, I think it’s wonderful that there are Bible smuggling organizations that do require proof of who the Bibles are going to. My cautions in this area would be as follows:
– the fact that the org.’s that you know require proof hardly means that all of them, or even most of them, do the same
– the fact that some proof comes back (testimonies, etc.) will never correspond to the total investment made (10,000 Bibles don’t yield 10,000 testimonies)
– the fact that there are testimonies of appreciation does not mean that they are testimonies of met needs! (if you send 1,000 Bibles to our churches in the Northeast, we will gladly send you many appreciative testimonies!)
– the fact that there is one degree of separation between smuggler and distributor guarantees nothing about the recipients (meaning, Bibles may ultimately end up five degrees or more from the smuggler)
– the fact that the smuggler knows the distributor also means little – most smugglers don’t speak Chinese – which means they know precious little about their contacts
Second, Chinese church leaders may be misleading them. I know we have a tendency to whitewash Chinese Christians, and portray them as nearly sinless saints. But there is always the danger of a church leader, whatever his nationality, seeking gain by deception. But there is no need to go even that far in this situation. If you ask me, ‘do you need Bibles in your churches in China?’, the answer is yes! We do need Bibles! But we don’t need them smuggled! Mark, a teammate who is starting a church in another city, was this month gifted a large number of Bibles (which he – a foreigner – purchased in China – several hundred of them at once – and no one frowned) by way of a monetary gift from a supporter in America! Of course we need Bibles! But to need Bibles is not the same as needing to smuggle Bibles! Bible smugglers will always find hands ready to receive – but the burden of proof is on them to show that those hands could not have received a Bible any other way!
Third, regarding the places without access to Bibles, why do they want Bibles? If there are Christians there, how did they get there? If the Gospel can travel to a place, then the Bible can, too! If they’re so remote they have no access to the Bible, then they most likely have had no access to the Gospel, either! But I repeat, if the existence of such a place can be shown, where Christians want the Bible and cannot get it, let us by all means get them Bibles. But even then, no mention of smuggling need be made. Tell me, and I will get them Bibles from inside China! Can’t beat that offer!
Your assertion that most smugglers don’t speak Chinese is without substantiation and is certainly not consistent with my experience with half a dozen organizations in the Hong Kong area that provide Bibles across the border. Every one of these organizations with which I am familiar have liaison persons who facilitate shipments into the interior.who either are Chinese or who speak Chinese fluently (both Mandarin and Cantonese). It is however, certainly a fact that the mules themselves may have little or no Chinese speaking ability; that much is granted.
Having read this thread twice now, I still wonder, what is your specific problem with the activity of literally thousands of Christians from around the world who come to places like Vietnam, China, Laos, Cambodia, etc delivering Bibles to people who report that they do not have Bibles in their own language? I simply can not plumb the depths of such thinking.
I myself have traveled to meet with pastors and Christian leaders who live in areas so remote that the trails leading to their villages are impassible during certain times of the year. I have seen their poverty with my own eyes. I took the time to understand (through an interpreter) their personal reports of government interference with the free expression of religion and their personal fears of persecution, (which fact rules out registering with the official church) generated by their personal experience. I cannot make your assertions fit my experience, try as I may.
From what I have learned, these tribals have a legimate need for Bibles. They have no access to them and even if they could acquire Bibles, they would not be written in a language that is understood.and they would not be affordable. Given these determinate facts, your opposition is simply incomprehensible to me.
One more point, often the forbidden cargo is Sunday School material, MP3 devices containing sections of the Bible and Jesus Video’s on DVD’s. These too are interdicted by the authorities in these countries as contraband. While strictly speaking these materials do not qualify as the “Bible” they are useful if not essential to the propagation of the Gospel and the free exercise of religion. If you are disdainful of Bible smuggling, it seems to me that you, in order to be logically consistent, would also find a reason to object to these articles been brought in to these tribal areas. Am I correct?
As I indicated above, I struggle to comprehend how a fellow Christian who is reportedly engaged in the spread of the Gospel among the house churches in China, could find a logical basis for objecting to the activities just cited. But, as I think about it, maybe it is not so surprising because I have also encountered self-reported Christians who champion the causes of on-demand abortion and the active practice of homosexuality among believers. There is obviously a wide variance within the Church as to what is or is not biblical thinking about many issues. I have to admit, I just do not understand.
My brother,
As I have said to you before – if that is your experience, please carry on. I certainly have no quarrel with either you or the other faithful brothers you mention who are desirous of bringing the Bible to those who may not have it. And all I have said applies only to China. As I have said before, if there is a place where the Word is banned, let us work to bring them Bibles.
Once again, I submit to you that while there may be many Miao people, for example, who do not have the Bible in their language, in their area, in their price range, etc., let us get it to them! But let us also think if there is any other way before we decide to break the nation’s laws! I have little doubt that you agree that we should not break a nation’s laws unless mandated to do so by kingdom business. Certainly, then, you can understand my problem with Bible smuggling – there are other ways to get the job done. I hope you will not equate my insistence that we seek to obey a nation’s laws with a tolerance for abortion and homosexuality.
Brother, we too face pressure from the government. A police officer came to a church service a couple weeks ago. We will break those laws that we must (such as meeting as a church) but endeavor to keep all others. Surely that is not so terribly incomprehensible to you?
If you can demonstrate to me that there is a supply problem on the Chinese side of the border, then you have my blessing (for what little it’s worth) to continue bringing Bibles. Until you have done that, I fear that your Bible smuggling efforts are well-intentioned but misguided. God bless you.
Being that this is China…
I am guessing the first Bible smuggler mistook a 大妈 for a faithful Christian when she was so eager to receive a free Bible – probably not realizing that 大妈 are eager to receive anything.
When they told her they had more, she placed an order for 30 million bibles. Each new case that comes in she sells to the local paper recycling plants as scrap for 0.4 RMB per pound.
And thus and industry was born and a forest shredded.
LOL, I am a American-born Chinese Christian and have been to China multiple times.
I came to this post through your post about the peon being expelled from China post, linked by Tim Challies today.
Only glossed through this post, but LOL, I have to agree with you. I don’t think there is as much of a need in the country for Bibles as much as it is a demand. In fact, whenever I go to China, I buy tons of Bibles and bring them back to the US to give to Chinese believers here.
I was actually stopped at an airport X-ray one time and brought into a small room as I was leaving Shanghai to go back to the US!