Christianity in China among Han-Chinese and ethnic minorities

The official religion of the People’s Republic of China is state atheism, based on scientific Marxism. Nonetheless, religion as a private matter can be professed and there are plenty of religions, both native and foreign. Native religions include Confucianism, Daoism, Luoism, Sanyiism, Zailiism, Yiguandao, and Tiandiism. Local Han-Chinese folk religions and folk religions of ethnic

Success is not always only in our hands

It is often said that when we work hard, we will be successful, and if we do not work hard then we will fail. But it is also a matter of fact that some people work very hard and due to several factors do not become that successful, while others gain success with little effort,

Is Christianity in North Korea illegal?

When talking about Christianity in a context of North Korea, Western sources always point out that Christians are generally persecuted and that there is no actual church. That the latter is wrong was pointed out by me in previous articles, but nonetheless, religious persecution including the persecution of Christians is a real and serious issue.

The North Korean version of Chondoism: Is man a God?

“The key doctrine of Tonghak is that man is God. Choe Je U advocated that man is the most intelligent of all things in the universe and therefore there is no need for him to have a god above him; man himself and his mind are the very god and the will of the god.”

Buddhists in the DPRK: Creating a Pure Land on Earth

The essence of Buddhism is to live a compassionate life and to gain an awareness of loving-kindness towards all human-beings, eventually reaching enlightenment. Of course, as pointed out previously by me, reality and practice are not always identical and there are Buddhist fanatics who are regarding Buddhism to be an exclusive teaching regarding it the

Choosing a happy life – Is it possible?

The Ancient Greeks defined the purpose of life to be felicity which is called εὐδαιμονία in Greek. It is made up of the noun δαίμων meaning ‘god-like fate’ and εὐ, the adverb of ἀγαθός meaning ‘good’, thus meaning ‘good fate’. It served as the life goal in the whole Antiquity and was called the beautiful

Only you know what makes you happy!

Gavin Sexton brilliantly points out that when we ask the society how to become happy beings, we always receive answers which are focused on the ‘outside’, such as: become honored in society, establish a financial stability, search for a good job, etc. [Gavin Sexton: Bin ich gut genug? – Selbstwertgefühl stärken mit der Inside-Out Methode.

Enlightenment and the Kingdom of God

“The kingdom of God comes not with outward show. It comes through the gentleness of the inspiration of His word, through the inward working of His Spirit, the fellowship of the soul with Him who is its life. […] He does not approve of any self-satisfied endeavor to display superior goodness. He desires that their

The need for a digital democracy

Helmut Krauch makes clear that on the one hand, we live in a world in which we make experiences, our everyday life, and on the other hand, we often flee in a world of consumption to distract ourselves from all the negative which bothers us [Helmut Krauch: Computer-Demokratie. Düsseldorf: VDI-Verlag, 1972, p. 1 f.]. He

[PDF书] 《关于朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的历史和政治信息 （一）》(作者：Timo Schmitz)

欢迎大家下载我新一本关于朝鲜民主主义人民共和国的书。这本书收录了我近两年用中文写的关于朝鲜的文章集。主题包括朝鲜历史（1800 年代 – 1924 年）、政治系统、主体思想的内容、宗教自由的情况和朝韩统一问题。