(Worthy News) - Bibles have become a target of government raids in China, where the communist regime is now attempting to eliminate all 'pornography and illegal publications,' forcing some believers to consider hiding stashes of Bibles in the mountains.
Raids took place "all over the country" in December, according to Bitter Winter, affecting both officially recognized Three-Self churches and underground churches, and leading to fines as high as $1,400 for those caught possessing Scripture.
An official Seventh-Day Adventist church that had 100 so-called "pirated" Bibles stolen from it by government agents reported that "believers don't bring their Bibles to the church anymore, fearing the government might take them away."
“They read from the sacred text at home after each service, according to chapter numbers the preacher gives them during sermons,” a source told Bitter Winter.
Though China is only 23rd on Open Doors USA's World Watch list for Christian persecution, Open Doors CEO David Curry says it is exporting the high-tech "system of persecution for the future" to tyrannies worldwide.