The story of the woman caught in adultery, as told in the Gospel of John is a powerful story of mercy, forgiveness and divine authority.

In the official textbook Chinese Professional Ethics and Law, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used the story as an illustration but the plot has been heavily altered to better adapt to its philosophy.

In the textbook, the modified passage now reads: “The crowd wanted to stone the woman to death as per their law. But Jesus said, ‘Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’ Hearing this, they slipped away one by one. When the crowd disappeared, Jesus stoned the sinner to death saying, ‘I too am a sinner. But if the law could only be executed by men without blemish, the law would be dead.

’”This malicious distortion seriously misrepresents and defiles the image of Jesus Christ in Christianity.

The textbook infers that if only people without sin can enforce the law, the law will become powerless. It implies that because illegal behaviours of Chinese judicial officials in law enforcement are unavoidable, they should be tolerated.

Christians in China are protesting against the textbook.

The CCP has pressured the Christian community in China for years, trying to reinterpret the biblical doctrine and theology to conform to the socialist values Xi Jinping advocates. Until now, however, Chinese officials rarely, so openly presented an altered biblical passage in an official textbook.

Sources: China Aid, Open the Word

• Ask the Lord to strengthen His church and to guard it against subtle and blatant heresies of any kind.
• Ask God to use this shocking distortion of His Word to encourage people to examine the Gospel for themselves.
• Pray the nation of China will be flooded with His precious Word and the transforming power it brings.

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