The digital media revolution has undeniably brought cultures and nations closer together, granting people around the world instantaneous access to information about what is happening on the other side of the globe. Yet greater access to information does not engender greater understanding. Rather, the proliferation of information appears more likely to lead to greater misunderstanding, with facts and “alternative facts,” multiple interpretations of events, and competing narratives all vying for attention. As AI becomes more prominent, this effect is only multiplied.
This tension comes to the fore in two articles published by China Christian Daily, a Mainland China news source featuring the voices of a range of believers in China and abroad. One article, written by a Nigerian pastor who is a keen observer of the church in China, considers how his fellow Africans view their Chinese brothers and sisters. The other, written by a Christian in China, comments on the reaction of Chinese believers to the death of US political activist Charlie Kirk. Both have much to say about mythmaking and the impact of social media on Christian narratives, which often reveal more about the values and fears of those who propagate them than the realities they intend to portray.
For Oscar Amaechina, the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network in Abuja, Nigeria, the relationship between Christians in his country and those in China reflects his fellow Nigerians’ attitude toward suffering.
“Nigerian Christians who are under intense persecution sometimes view the Chinese church through simplified narratives. These narratives become ‘myths’ with tidy stories that explain complex realities but obscure important subtleties.”
The church in China, according to Amaechina, represents for many Nigerians the suffering church of Smyrna, depicted in Revelation 2:8–11.
“But,” he points out, “the truth is that despite restrictions and arrests of pastors and members of house churches, Christians in China are not killed. In Nigeria, thousands of Christians are killed because of their faith.”
Success Myths
Myths about China also shed light on Nigerian beliefs about what constitutes a “successful” church.
“In Nigeria,” Amaechina says, “we sometimes measure the vitality of a church by the crowd and the visible manifestation of the activity of the church. Faith can be deep and fertile in small, unseen communities, as is the case in many house churches in China.”
“What they do not know,” he continues, “is that growth can be numerical without corresponding depth. In China, growth under constraint has produced distinctive discipleship strengths and capacity, which has produced Christ-like maturity in the lives of the Chinese Christians.”
Who is a Martyr?
For his part, Samuel Nie, a Christian writer in China, sees a theological problem in mythologizing the truth about persecution.
Reflecting on Chinese believers’ response to the tragic shooting of American political activist Charlie Kirk, Nie cautions against being quick to label the controversial figure a martyr who died for the cause of Christ. Nie points to the uniqueness of Christ’s salvific death on the cross, arguing that to equate any other person’s death to that of Jesus blurs the core of the Christian faith. To regard someone else as Jesus is to lose the real Jesus.
Nie acknowledges that Kirk discussed faith publicly and worked with church leaders, yet he cautions, “There is, so far, no evidence that Kirk’s death was directly related to his faith. To directly call him a person who ‘died for the gospel’ is logically unsound.”
A Complex Reality
“Although such an interpretation is comforting,” Nie says, “when we too quickly categorize his death as a form of ‘martyrdom,’ we become unwilling to probe the complex reality.”
This “complex reality” includes the different ways in which Kirk was viewed; for some, he was “a courageous fighter, a young mentor who dared to challenge ‘political correctness’,” while for others he was “an agitator and even a liar.”
“Kirk was complex,” says Nie. “He had charisma as well as prejudice and courage, but also falsehood.”
As a result, Nie concludes, “We prefer to use a sacred label to cover up details that might be uncomfortable.”
The Algorithm Speaks
Nie argues that when technology determines the relative importance of content, one’s choice of words can take the discussion into a whole new realm. In the case of Kirk’s murder, Nie notes, “Comments on the incident went into an uproar on social media platforms like WeChat groups and WeChat Moments. Some write, ‘A defender of the truth martyred for the Lord.’”
He recalls the aversion he felt when he first heard the news and began reading the social media posts, “not doubting their sorrows, but that they speak up rather too quickly—before the facts can settle, the incident is attached with various personal interpretations.”
“The logic of social media only accelerates this process,” Nie argues. “If a person’s death is merely an accidental tragedy, its reach will be limited. However, once it is narrated as ‘martyrdom,’ it will instantly promote sensation. Emotions are stirred up, the media’s algorithmized notifications are accelerated, and groups are rapidly gathered.”
From Mythmaking to Mission
Christians in both these cases are appropriating stories of events happening on the other side of the globe to support their own persecution metanarratives, furthering their assumptions about what is true. The illusions of immediacy and proximity afforded by social media cloud the inherent complexity of the situations they attempt to describe, resulting in myths that take them further away from reality.
“The more we mythologize,” Nie says, “the more we lose our sensitivity to the truth.”
Pastor Amaechina hopes that by examining these myths, Christians will be able to avoid false comparisons and “apply practical lessons for mission, resilience, and discipleship.”
This does seem to be happening among some Nigerian believers.
“Christians in Nigeria read hardship as part of discipleship, and this helps them to see the Chinese church as partners in afflictions. They stand in solidarity with the Chinese church. I have attended several prayer meetings where there were calls to pray for the Chinese church. . . . Nigeria’s own experience with interreligious tension and occasional state pressure gives Nigerian Christians in the north the feeling that they have something in common with the Chinese church.”
The Chinese example has also inspired them to consider new approaches to ministry.
“In terms of resilience under pressure,” he says, “Nigerian Christians, especially the Pentecostals, identify the Chinese house churches‘ creativity and their tremendous growth despite restrictions, and want to adopt the Chinese house church model.”
The journey from mythmaking to mission entails putting aside our chosen metanarratives, seeing with fresh eyes and listening with fresh ears, not only to the facts as we perceive them but also to the narratives of those in the stories as they interpret their own reality. It involves embracing complexity, acknowledging both what is said and not said, and resisting the urge to flatten out uncomfortable details that don’t fit our preconceived notions of the truth. Only then will we be in a position to enter into genuine dialogue with Christians whose experiences are very different from our own and to learn from them how they see God advancing his kingdom in their midst.
