The Deadly Cancer within American Evangelical Churches (Part I)

I’ve noticed that the overwhelming majority of the Chinese immigrants I know work for the government because those jobs come with security and good benefits. This in part explains why traditionally Chinese immigrants have been inclined to vote for Democrats.

But that wasn’t the case in this most recent election.

Over the past few years, many politically motivated Chinese podcasters have been emerging on YouTube and other social media platforms, attracting countless Chinese viewers. Nearly all of the podcasters I have come across are immigrants from Marxist China, and all of them were staunch supporters of Donald Trump. Having read numerous comments, I got the impression that the viewers were in downright agreement with the podcasters, concertedly recognizing the writing on the wall: America was on the verge of becoming exactly like the society from which they had fled. Therefore, they were not going to sit around and do nothing in this “make or break” election.

It’s been amazing to me to see the difference between that community and that evangelical Christians, who tend to hold conservative views and vote Republican, in our most recent election cycle. Where has the Church gotten it wrong?

Enthusiastic Chinese

One Chinese immigrant who has an import/export business with China, knew that Trump winning would hurt his business because of the tariffs Trump has proposed — but he voted for Trump nonetheless. He said he did this for his children because he believed Trump could stop the fast spread of Marxism in America, restore common sense, and make America great again. In contrast, a vote for Harris would put his children in harm’s way, making them relive the life characterized by insanity and evil that every Chinese immigrant abhors.

By no means was he alone.

Nearly every Chinese immigrant is familiar with the concept called the Four Modernizations of China — the modernization of industry, agriculture, the military, and science and technology — introduced in the mid-1950s by the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP drilled it into the mind and heart of every Chinese, making it a symbol of a strong China.

One of the podcasters shared a similar expression: the Four Modernizations of the Biden/Harris America. It included modernization of legalizing crime, illegal immigration, illegal drugs, and choosing one’s sex.

Chinese immigrants instantly recognized the sarcasm. The description painted a grotesque picture of America under Biden and Harris, which made their blood boil. For them, the question was no longer “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” but “Do you want your children to live in a place worse than the land you came from?”

Yes, those Chinese Democrats voted for Trump. Not only the moms and dads, but also the children of voting age, the uncles, the aunts, and the grandparents. In one extended Chinese family (more than a dozen people), everyone voted for Trump, including an octogenarian grandma. Even Chinese who were not qualified to vote did their share, urging all their fellow compatriots who could to vote because the consequences of another four-year Democratic administration under Kamala Harris would bring catastrophe beyond repair.

Apathetic Christians

Contrast this with the obvious apathy of the evangelical community, even in the face of impending disaster, and we might get to the root of the deadly cancer that has been eating away at our churches.

I have been speaking out on social media since the George Floyd incident in May 2020, expressing various concerns about Marxist ideology in our society. My fellow Christians in my immediate community gave me very little support. In fact, some considered me a nuisance who was political, unloving, un-Christlike, and disturbing other people’s peaceful, beautiful online environment with my words. Many have distanced themselves from me over the last four years.

I used to think that the fact they had never lived in a Marxist society was the reason my American friends didn’t see what I saw. But I no longer hold this view.

There are about 1,700 Chinese churches in America. If a person’s background plays a major role in their willingness to stand against evil, including Marxist ideology, then every Chinese church whose members include immigrants from mainland China would have played an active role in fighting Marxism in our society.

However, with the exception of one pastor, all the Chinese podcasters I’ve come across are non-Christians. The pastor/podcaster is the one who has been describing what is taking place (or not taking place) in Chinese congregations nationwide; it is, shockingly and tragically, identical to the other evangelical churches that chose to be silent when faced with the abjectly evil platform of Kamala Harris — thereby allowing Satan to shake his fist at God through transgenderism, abortion, and a host of other evil practices.

More Righteous Than We Are

It troubles me that people who are on the road to eternal punishment if they were to die right now have demonstrated more righteous anger and moral courage than Christfollowers have when facing evil and injustice.

It troubles me even more that we — having both the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life – have manifested indifference and cowardice when confronted by anti-God doctrines in our society. Has the living Word of God, the Bible, dulled the moral reasoning and courage that God has built into us, making us apathetic and timid? God forbid!

Why did so few pastors remind their congregations to vote in this crucial election that potentially could throw America into the darkest period in her history? It would have taken less than a minute to make that announcement, but few bothered to exert even that minimal effort. Is it a surprise that only half of American Christians decided to vote?

In the past 50 years, many evangelical churches have recoiled from politics, believing that Christians should refrain from participating in worldly events except when preaching the Gospel to the lost. For them, church and state should not mix, just as Spirit should not mix with flesh, nor holiness with worldliness.

This widely held belief sounds super-spiritual, doesn’t it? But in reality, it is the reincarnation of ancient Gnosticism that valued spiritual elements and depreciated earthly matters. Nearly two thousand years ago, the Church fathers unequivocally condemned it as heresy. They knew that only when Christ appeared, both fully human and fully God, that He could make salvation available to all mankind. Gnosticism posed a great threat to the Church — denying Christ’s human nature and rendering His salvific action void.

Today, this ancient heresy has reentered the Church under the guise of being apolitical–and though it has a different focus and uses different tactics, it has done great damage to the Church. Since we are responsible for the situation, we must reexamine ourselves and ascertain what has gotten us into this plight. In Part 2, I will explain how Gnosticism has become the dominant force in evangelical churches and how it has fundamentally transformed them.

Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the U.S. and studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor at Christian colleges and seminary. She and her husband live in northern California and have two grown children.

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