It’s a plan to “criminalize Christianity, with Bible reading and prayer considered ‘hate speech’ – a ‘crime’ punishable with prison time,” according to a new report from NewsAddicts.

The report explains, in blunt terms, “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s World Economic Forum-controlled government is planning to outlaw Christianity with the introduction of an amendment to the Criminal Code that could see believers face jail time for expressing historic Christian teachings.”

The problems are found in Canada’s Bill C-367 that “will make it illegal to reiterate parts of the Bible, stripping away the ‘good faith’ defense for what is deemed by the state as ‘hate speech’ or ‘antisemitism.’”

Explained the report, “Traditional Christian practices such as celebrating Christmas or attending church service will be considered crimes that carry severe penalties.”

The procedure is simple. The changes in the law will remove a defense to hate crimes charges that allow statements if individuals “genuinely believe in and were merely expressing religious teaching” from the Bible.

Christian persecution is about to be introduced in Canada:

If passed, Bill C-367 could land Christians in jail for quoting the Bible or expressing a faith based opinion if the Canadian government deems it “promotion of hatred or antisemitism”.

This is an absolute disgrace. pic.twitter.com/Bq8zT8N3J9

— Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) February 22, 2024

Warning! Canada's Bill C-367 to repeal Section 319(3)(b) of Criminal Code – a protection against "Public Incitement of Hatred" if established upon "… opinion on a religious subject or belief in a religious text;" Enforcement of this & related legislation (Bill C4) is coming.

— Joseph Boot (@DrJoeBoot) February 22, 2024

The legislative scheme states its plan specifically: “The enactment amends the Criminal Code to eliminate as a defense against wilful promotion of hatred or antisemitism the fact that a person, in good faith, expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion or a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.”

The result if ratified will be the willful and knowing persecution of Christians in Canada, an expert said.

It was Joseph Boot, chief of the evangelical think tank Ezra Institute, who said, “If ratified, Canada’s anti-Christian legal apparatus created over the last decade will overtly persecute Christians with the force of criminal law.”

He warned heavy fines or jail time will be imposed on those participating in “evangelism, preaching, counseling, statements in the workplace, on social media, and in books that condemn homosexuality or transgenderism on biblical grounds.”

And, the report said, Gab CEO Andrew Torba warned, “Christians who maintain traditional orthodox perspectives about Jews – views that have been part of our faith for 2,000 years, are the primary obstacle to the Ruling Regime.”

The bill, while still pending in parliament, is expected ultimately to pass.

WND’s original reporting on the issue first arose in 2008 when an official with the National Religious Broadcasters Association warned about Canada’s “hate crimes” laws targeting Christians.

At that time, what used to be called MacGregor Ministries, which offered lessons on how to recognize and eliminate “faulty fads” in Christian churches, made a forced move into the U.S. and created another name because of government threats in Canada.

A spokeswoman for the ministry said, then, “When a group such as Jehovah’s Witnesses said of our doctrine we’re worshipping a freakish three-headed God (the Trinity), we should be able to respond. We say, ‘Here’s the doctrine of the Trinity and here is where it is in the Scripture.’”

But those opinions, she explained, would be found in violation of Canada’s hate crimes laws.

The spokeswoman said the government ordered a complete change, or a shutdown, so the ministry moved.

“There was nothing we could do that would please them,” the spokeswoman said. “They wanted us every time we criticized something to say, ‘So Christianity is equal to Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses… Just decide for yourself.’”

At the same time, WND discovered the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, one of the largest Christian publishing and broadcasting organizations in the nation, was reviewing and editing its broadcasts to avoid offending Canadian “hate crimes” censors.

The ministry stated, “In particular, our content producers are careful not to make generalized statements nor comments that may be perceived as ascribing malicious intent to a ‘group’ of people and are always careful to treat even those who might disagree with us with respect. Our Focus on the Family content creators here in the U.S. are also careful to consult with Focus on the Family Canada whenever questions arise. Focus on the Family Canada, in turn, monitors the content produced in the U.S. and assesses this content against Canadian law.”

Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

Obviously 20 million is hardly a “few”, but compared to China’s population of 1.4 billion, it ‘s barely a blip. Still, that’s more Christians than most European countries, these days, and whereas Europe is becoming less religious, China is becoming more so. And that’s just on the low end. If China actually does have 130 million Christians, that means its Christian population is larger than any European nation’s total population. That also puts its Christian population in third behind Brazil, with 180 million, and the United States, with 213 million.

But a 110 million gap between the low and high ends is ridiculous even when you take into account China’s massive population. That’s because counting Christians in China is actually pretty damn hard due to the differences between Eastern and Western perspectives on religion. It’s too complex a topic to really get into, but the gist is that a person in China can practice Christianity and/or worship Christ without necessarily considering themselves a Christian.

Another reason it’s hard to count Christians in China is that the Chinese government really, really doesn’t like them.

According to the Pew Research Center:

Counting Christians in China is difficult for several reasons. Officially, only churches authorized by the government are allowed to operate. But, in reality, many Christians worship in unauthorized venues known as “underground churches” (dixia jiaohui 地下教会) or “house churches” (jiating jiaohui 家庭教会). These Christians may be reluctant to reveal their identity. Likewise, members of the Chinese Communist Party, who are prohibited from holding a religious affiliation, might not disclose their Christian affiliation.

Just this week, the South China Morning Post reported that “Beijing’s top political adviser”, Wang Huning, has called on Christian groups within the nation to ensure strict management of their religious affairs. What “strict management” means in this context is that Christians keep Xi Jinping happy by altering their religion to be more Chinese, more patriotic, and more socialist.

According to the South China Morning Post:

He called on the leaders to guide Protestant figures and believers to be patriotic and to enhance their identification with the nation, Chinese culture, the party, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Leaders of Christian groups “should adhere to the direction of sinicisation of Christianity” and “interpret the doctrines that conform to the development and progress requirements of contemporary China, the core values of socialism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture”, Wang said.