For Chinese believers, persecution and oppression are not abstract concepts to be discussed. they are real.
This lived experience for Christians in the unashamedly communist People’s Republic of China became a muse for actor Brett Warbel, who starred in and directed the film Disciples in the Moonlight, set in the American Midwest and exploring what would happen if Christianity and the Bible were outlawed in America.
But to understand the heart of Varbel’s film, viewers need to understand what is happening to Christians in China.
There is evidence from the Pew Research Center that evangelism in China was on the rise in the second half of the 20th century, but has since slowed down. Nevertheless, the Chinese Communist Party, alarmed by the large number of Christians in the country, seems to have taken to heart the old, albeit heretical, adage: “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
As reported by CBN News, in addition to destroying church buildings and arresting pastors, the regime of Chinese President Xi Jinping has begun a decade-long process of sinicizing the Bible, injecting it with communist propaganda and recasting Jesus as a murderer and sinner.
For example, it is a reimagining of the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. In a New Testament passage, religious leaders bring a woman to Jesus who has committed a sin. In response, Jesus tells the crowd that only those without sin can stone her. One by one, the men leave, leaving only Jesus and the adulterous woman. He then forgives her and says, “Sin no more.”
However, the Chinese Communist Party’s edited version of that passage says:
Jesus once said to an angry crowd of people who were about to throw a stone at a woman who had sinned, “He who is without sin among you, let him who is without sin cast the first stone at her.” When his words reached their ears, they stopped advancing. When everyone had gone out, Jesus personally stoned the woman and said, “I am a sinner too.”
Varvel’s film, currently streaming on Angel, largely depicts that sinister reality.
“It’s not just that the Bible has been outlawed,” Varvel said on CBN’s “Faith in Culture.” “But the content has been changed, all the offensive language has been removed, and now we have a government-sanctioned, approved text being distributed, and basically we have to submit a copy of the Bible for what we call (in the film) the ‘Enlightened Bible of Truth.'”
Mr. Varbel, a devout Christian, argued that given freedom of speech and religion, there were “glimpses” of persecution of Christians in the United States.
Most of all, he said, the film made him imagine what it would be like if that level of persecution came to America.
“Despite the freedom we currently have, what are we doing with it?” Varbel asked of U.S. believers. “I can’t tell you how guilty I was when, during the development of this project, I invited my wife and children into the living room one night and gathered all the Bibles in the house and placed them on the coffee table.”
In the end, he continued, they had 17 Bibles in their home.
“It was a sobering moment when I realized how much I take for granted,” the actor said. “And how I don’t act enough on my faith and my freedom. I hope this movie (movie) gets that adrenaline rush in the arms of believers and makes them bold about their faith and not ashamed of what Jesus has done for us.”
Mr. Varbel went on to refer to Romans 1:16, written by the apostle Paul, and said, “I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ. It is the power of God working that will save everyone who believes, first of all the Jews and also the Gentiles” (NLT).
“It takes a lot of pressure off us, because it’s not us who are going to change someone’s life. It’s the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, and we just have the opportunity to be faithful and be messengers of God. And that’s why I tell people, ‘Under the Moon. That’s what I want you to learn from ‘The Disciple’: Understand that God’s Word is absolutely true, that’s where all the morals are, that’s where the instruction manual is.’ It’s lifelong, but it’s also how we know the God of the universe. ”
He encouraged the audience to “be serious about God’s word, be serious about our faith, and not be ashamed of it.”
You can watch our full conversation with Varvel in the video above.
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