Chinese officials blew up a Christian megachurch

Chinese officials used dynamite and heavy machinery to destroy one of the country's largest evangelical churches this week, The New York Times reported.

Over 50,000 Christians worshiped at the Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, and it was the second church to be demolished by the Chinese government in the last few weeks.

Destroying christian churches and removing crosses and steeples is part of a larger campaign by President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, who consider Christianity a threat to the Communist Party.

State newspaper the Global Times reported the demolition of the church was part of "a city-wide campaign to remove illegal buildings."

This is not the first time Chinese authorities have set their sights on the church. In 2009, Bibles were confiscated by police and several congregation leaders were imprisoned.

“The repeated persecution of Golden Lampstand Church demonstrates that the Chinese government has no respect for religious freedom or human rights,” the founder of ChinaAid, a group in the U.S. that monitors religious freedom in China, Bob Fu told The New York Times.

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