gratitude & hoopla: Sam Storms on Chairman Mao

gratitude & hoopla

"Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace." G. K. Chesterton

20.10.05

Sam Storms on Chairman Mao

Another nice aspect of Enjoying God Ministries is the newsletter. Storms is likely to write on any number of subjects. An archive of past messages can be found here. Most recently, Storms discusses a major new biography of Mao Tse-Tung (also discussed by Al Mohler in an equally fascinating article here). Commenting on Mao's apparent lust for bloodshed, Storms writes:
Perhaps one of the most intriguing insights of the authors is their conclusion that Mao was not driven primarily by idealism or ideology. He was not an especially intellectual man and his personal habits were quite revolting. What characterized Mao most vividly was his passion for violence. In reading portions of this biography of Mao I was reminded of something I read about Stalin. It was said of him that he believed every human problem could be solved by death. In other words, whatever the dilemma, whatever the obstacle, it could most likely be overcome by killing someone. Mao carried this philosophy to the extreme.
Storms goes on to draw a possible connection between Mao's reign of terror and the growth of Christianity in China today:
It's breathtaking to think of the contrasts between, on the one hand, Mao's brutal and unspeakable tyranny and, on the other, the widespread revival that is currently sweeping China. Reports have it that as many as 25,000 people a day are coming to faith in Christ all across China. I have no way of knowing if there is any connection between these two phenomena, but perhaps the decades of political, cultural, and religious oppression tilled the soil in which, by God's providential grace, the seeds of spiritual awakening have now sprouted.
Finally, Storms urges two activities on his readers: "first, read this book (if you have the time and energy); and second, pray for the church in China (take the time, and God will give you the energy)."