Richard M. Nixon is not remembered for doing a lot of good. Unfortunately, what good he did is overshadowed by Watergate. Ironically 25 years later another president is caught in the adultery by seducing one of the young women on his staff and he walked away as though he had never done anything wrong. If Richard Nixon were president today he could have easily gotten away with what was done.
But on this day in 1972 Richard Nixon paid a state visit to the People's Republic of China. For good or ill this would lead to the opening of China for trade and eventually the Olympics.
Christians see Nixon's visit in a different light. He effectively opened the door to China so that we could see what was happening in this giant in regard to the church. From 1949 to 1972 the news about Christians in China was bad news. Great men like Watchman Nee were persecuted and imprisoned and eventually died for their faith. The question on everyone's mind was simple, "Is there anything left of the Christianity that was there in 1949.
Missionaries had worked in China over 100 years and had effectively planted churches across the landscape. But all missionaries were driven out in 1949. It is estimated around 5,000,000 Christians were in China.
News began to filter out of Christian activity and soon it became apparent that the church numbered around 20,000,000. All this without the help of any missionaries. Today there is an estimated 100,000,000 Christians in China and still no missionaries. The Communist government would like to put Christianity out of business, but so far has not been successful.
The battle of Verdun started today in 1916 and lasted until July. Here is Encyclopedia Britannica's description of the battle:
(Feb. 21–July, 1916), one of the most devastating engagements of World War I, in which the French repulsed a major German offensive.
German General Erich von Falkenhayn believed in a strategy of attrition and argued that Germany should bleed France to death by choosing a point of attack "for the retention of which the French would be compelled to throw in every man they have." The fortress of Verdun and its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River was the point selected. The Germans massed huge amounts of artillery and troops for the attack, which the French knew was impending but believed would occur elsewhere. Thus, Verdun was unprepared when one of the heaviest bombardments of the war rained down on the area. From the offensive's start on February 21, the Germans advanced with little opposition for four days until they reached Fort Douaumont, which they took. French reinforcements arrived just in time and with them General Henri Pétain, who took command and managed to slow the German advance by several French counterattacks. In March and April the hills and ridges west of the Meuse and north of Verdun were bombarded, attacked, counterattacked, taken, and retaken. In June the Germans again assaulted the heights along the Meuse but were unable to maintain an advantage. By July they realized that their plan to seize Verdun and undermine France's will to resist had failed with a terrible loss of men—about 400,000 French casualties and nearly as many German—and material for both sides. From October until the end of the year, the French took the offensive and regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier.
The battle of Verdun was classic of the entire war. Very little territory taken and the death of thousands of men. Today the battlefield of Verdun is a vast quagmire that no one can enter. So much shelling took place the ground has been pulverized. Should someone venture out into the quagmire, they would simply disappear into the ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment