Beyond the Water's Edge


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- Beyond the Water's Edge -

Honest Candor

Earlier this month, Grace Jin Drexel received the heart-wrenching news that her father, Pastor Ezra Jin, was rounded up and detained as a part of the largest coordinated nationwide crackdown against an urban house church in over 40 years in China. On the charge of “illegal dissemination of information online,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imprisoned a man for the sole reason of sharing the gospel.

This is not the first time Pastor Jin has confronted the evil of the CCP. Unwilling to leave his flock, Pastor Jin has withstood continued harassment while building one of the country’s largest underground Christian churches with branches in over 40 cities. His ministry has reached over 10,000 people seeking Truth in the face of the CCP’s campaign to snuff out any opposition to its attempt to become the sole arbiter of reality.

The Chinese Communist Party often touts that the American system of governance—one built with freedom of religion as a cornerstone—is one of instability and weakness. Yet true weakness looks much more like the fear of a tyrant intent on silencing any challenges to their own manufactured divinity, including the actual worship of God. We know this because this is not the first time we’ve faced an evil empire intent making itself God; so too did the Soviet Union, and we remember what became of their regime.

On Thursday, President Trump is scheduled meet with CCP leader Xi Jinping. While the focal point of the meeting will be bilateral negotiations, this moment presents a unique opportunity to stand up for American values. Xi knows his religious crackdown is a potential bargaining chip and is using it because of his disdain for the principles we hold dear. President Trump shouldn’t allow Xi to get away with this cheap ploy. Instead, he must make clear the United States won’t be baited into abandoning our principles. During the meeting, President Trump must stand on the side of our values and call for Pastor Jin's immediate and unconditional release. In doing so, he will demonstrate that our way of life is not about power, but of liberty and virtue. Perhaps then Xi may begin to realize that history, among another more powerful entity, is on our side.

- Anne Lord, Director of Government Affairs at The Vandenberg Coalition

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