The Jews of China and the Lost Tribes of Israel

According to YnetNews, a group of Chinese Jews living in Kaifeng may be the descendants of Jews who came to China from Persian and Iraqi. Some scholars have identified them with a remnant of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Others, believe that their presence in China is a fulfillment of Isaiah 49:12.

The following are excerpts from the article published in YnetNews:

However, a thousand years ago, Kaifeng was the capital of the Chinese empire, the largest, richest and most advanced in the world at the time, with 600,000 residents that made it the most populated city on earth.

Ancient Kaifeng had a Jewish community – a small but thriving one, whose story is unique in the history of the Jewish people. For the 800 years of its existence, Kaifeng's Jews never suffered from persecution or discrimination. The Chinese authorities, as well as the general population, welcomed their Jewish neighbors, viewed them as citizens in every respect and allowed them to observe their religion with complete freedom.

It is not clear when exactly the first Jews came to China or when the Jewish community in Kaifeng was formed. In the prophecy of the redemption in the book of Isaiah it states: "See, they will come from afar – some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Sinim ("Chinese")" (Isaiah, 49:12); but biblical scholars agree that the verse does not speak of China per se. Some claim that the Jews of Kaifeng are descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes. Others theorize that they came to China in the second century following the downfall of the Jews in the Bar Kokhva revolt (132-135CE).

DNA testing done over the past few years on the descendents of the Kaifeng Jews, proved them distant relatives of Armenian, Iranian and Iraqi Jews. Most of the researchers, as well as the Kaifeng descendents themselves, tend to suggest that the original Jews in China were merchants from Persia that came by way of the Silk Route (in today's southern Turkey) to the city of Xian in central China.

Historical references and archaeological findings have proven that the Persian Jews first arrive in China in the eighth century; and since the long, difficult journey made family life difficult, the solution was to establish a permanent base in China. The location of choice was Kaifeng – China's capital from 927BC to 1127AD.

There has been much speculation about the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Several claims have been made about the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. I have written several posts discussing other claims about the Ten Lost Tribes. If you are interested in knowing more about these claims, check here, here, here, here, and here. I do not give much credence to this claim of the Jews of China in the same way I have been skeptical about previous claims.


Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: China, Israel, Jews, Lost Tribes

China: No Worship Services During the Olympics

The Baptist Press is reporting that China is forcing unregistered churches to refrain from celebrating worship services for three months. The following is an excerpt from the Baptist Press:

WASHINGTON (BP)--The Chinese government has forced pastors of unregistered churches to pledge there will be no worship services at their congregations' meeting sites during a three-month period surrounding the Summer Olympics, a human rights group reported Aug. 13.

The pastors also were required to promise they would not organize or attend any religious gatherings that were not approved by the Communist regime, according to China Aid Association, an American-based organization that monitors religious persecution in the world's most populous country.

The report provided additional evidence of ongoing religious repression in China, reinforcing critics' claims that the regime has not lived up to its commitment to improve its human rights record when Beijing was named in 2001 as the host city for this year's Olympic Games. Unregistered congregations, which are not approved by the government, are among the religious groups under pressure from the Chinese regime.

China Aid Association reported on Beijing's latest strong-arm tactic and provided an English translation of the document pastors were coerced to sign.

The form included a statement committing each signer to "refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from" foreign religious entities. It also said "activities at the gathering sites will be shut down for three months (July 15 -- October 15)."

Read the complete text by visiting the Baptist Press online.

The Chinese promised many things in order to be selected for the 2008 Olympics. Now that they are the host nation, they are reneging on some of their promises. Christians everywhere must pray for our brothers and sisters in China.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: China,

Christianity in China

USA Today is reporting that an owner of a Christian bookstore in Beijing is being held in secret detention since November 28 because of his faith.

According to the report, businessman Shi Weihan was arrested because of his faith and refusal to register their unapproved "house church" with authorities. His arrest comes as the Chinese government is struggling to convince critics that it has expanded religious freedom and tolerance.

China is trying to show the world that religious groups are free to worship, provided they register with the government. However, Chinese police regularly arrest thousands of Christians who are affiliated with unsanctioned religious groups. Recently, government officials denied reports that Bibles would be banned from the Olympic Village at the 2008 Summer Games in

Read the news report by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: China, Christianity, Persecution

Religion in China

The Associated Press has issued a new release reporting that Pastor Cai Zhuohua has been released from prison:

BEIJING (AP) — A leader of China's underground Protestant church has been released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for distributing Bibles and other religious literature without a business license, an overseas monitoring group said Sunday.

Pastor Cai Zhuohua returned to his Beijing home on Sept. 10 in good physical and mental condition, the China Aid Association said in a statement.

The association, based in Midland, Texas, said Cai had been told not to speak about his prison experience and to report to a local police station once a month.

China's sole legal government-controlled church maintains a monopoly on the printing and distribution of religious literature and other church materials.

Cai had been sentenced for "illegal business practices" after police searched a warehouse he managed and found more than 200,000 pieces of Christian literature, including Bibles. His lawyers said he gave away the religious materials for free and denied he was running a business.

Cai had been detained about 14 months before he was convicted in November 2005. His pretrial detention appeared to have been counted toward his sentence.

The association said Cai had been deprived of religious reading material in prison, where he had been forced to work for 10 to 12 hours each day.

China's officially atheistic Communist government denies persecuting religious believers, but says all religious groups must follow the law and place love of nation above all else.

The government only allows worship in churches run by state-monitored religious associations, although millions of Christians risk harassment or worse by gathering in independent church groups, often run out of private homes.

The Chinese government is preparing for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beinjing, which begin on August 8, 2008. The Chinese government is using the Olympics as one way to show the world a modern China, a China that desires to be a world leader in the twenty-first century.

In preparation for the invasion of foreigners, the Chinese government is upgrading Beijing’s appearance by investing billions of dollars to improve the city’s facilities and by cracking down on religious elements the government fears will present a view that is contrary to the central government’s rigid agenda.

According to a State Department report issued last week, the Chinese government has recently expelled more than one hundred foreign missionaries from China.

The same report said that police and public security forces are attending house church meetings and monitoring the activities of church leaders. The Chinese government has also placed restrictions on who can travel. These restrictions may indicate that the Chinese government does not want anyone, including Christians, disrupting the Olympics.

According to the State Department’s 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom, the Chinese government has restricted house church leaders from having contact with foreigners and asked them about plans to disrupt the Olympics.

Christians all over the world must continue praying for the persecuted believers in Chrina.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: China, Persecution

Religion in China: Priests Held By Authorities

According to a news release, three Catholic priests are being held by Chinese authorities because of their refusal to join the officially-recognized Chinese religious organization.

The following report was released by Spero News:

The Cardinal Kung Foundation announced July 28th that three underground Roman Catholic priests were arrested at the home of a faithful Catholic on July 24th in the Ximeng region of Inner Mongolia. The three priests from the Hebei region of China were arrested by eight plain-clothes policemen because of the refusal to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which is recognized by the Chinese communist government but which is not recognized by the Vatican.

Loyal to the pope and their church, the trio had fled to arid Inner Mongolia in order to avoid the arrest. They are: Father Liang Aijun, 35 years old, Father Wang Zhong, 41 years old, and Father Gao Jinbao, 34 years old; all of them hail from the Hebei region.

During the initial phase of their arrest, the priests were held in a lock-up and refused water and contact with outsiders. They were then removed to an undisclosed location.

In addition, a fourth priest, Father Cui Tai, 50 years old, has been held by authorities of the Chinese bureau for public security and religion since early July 2007. He has been held at the Zhuolu County detention cell ever since. Father Cui has also refused to register with the Patriotic Association. He belongs to the diocese of Xuanhua, Hebei province.

Joseph Kung, the President of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said: "In his China letter published about a month ago on June 30, Pope Benedict, apparently referring to the Patriotic Association, said: 'the proposal for a Church that is 'independent' of the Holy See, in the religious sphere, is incompatible with Catholic doctrine.' The Pope continued to say: 'Many bishops have undergone persecution…..lay faithful….even paying a personal price for their faithfulness to Christ.' The Pope also assured the Chinese government that Catholics can also be "good citizens" and respectfully asked the Chinese government to guarantee them 'authentic religious freedom.'"

"Let us not forget that there are, as far as we know, still five bishops in jail; many other bishops are under house arrests and severe surveillance; and approximately 15 priests and some Catholic lay persons - an unknown number of them - are also in jail. While we need to 'love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us,' as Pope Benedict told us in his China letter, we also need to awaken the world to the ongoing persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in China. The freedom-loving and powerful countries of the world should take into greater consideration - consistently, and persistently, and not haphazardly - all human rights violations in China when forming and implementing their political and commercial decisions in relation to China."

"In the meantime, we urge the Chinese government to take steps immediately to stop all persecution throughout China and release all Roman Catholic bishops and clergy together with those faithful of other faith from prisons as a goodwill gesture to Pope Benedict and to restore the world confidence in its leadership."

Christians should pray for other persecuted Christians around the world.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: China, Religion, Religious Freedom, Religious Persecution

Slavery in China

A few days ago, I published a blog dealing with slavery in the 21st Century

Here is an article about slavery in China published in Times.com.

The furor in China surrounding the discovery that children and the mentally handicapped had been kidnapped and sold into slavery is showing no sign of abating. It seems increasingly likely that the controversy will mark a significant milestone in the evolution of the country's civil society. Police said they had rescued more than 500 people from forced labor in brick kilns, where they were worked 18 hours a day and beaten if they tried to escape. Some 30 arrests have been made and more are expected following a massive police rescue operation involving 35,000 officers checking 7,500 work places.

Read the article by visiting Times.com.

Photo Credit: Times.com

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: China, Slavery, Slaves