500,000 Visitors. 20,000 Bibles.

The gap in these two numbers pretty much sums up the friction between the way China and international critics view the religious situation in China.

If you evaluate the two terms separately "20,000 Bibles in China for the Olympics" sounds great.  The Chinese government will be distributing 20,000 Bibles legally printed through the Nanjing Amity Printing Co, at the Olympics.  These Bibles will be a given to visitors and placed in hotel rooms, representing a complete contrast to earlier rumors that the Bible would be banned completely from China's Olympic Games.

Furthermore, the reality that China will be distributing thousands of the over 50 million Bibles that have been printed and distributed nationwide is a remarkable change from the time of the Cutlural Revolution.  If you were to compare China's religious landscape of 40 years ago with that of today, you would see a staggering difference.

Despite this accomplishent, some people will focus on the "500,000+ visitors who are coming to the Olympics."  20,000 Bibles clearly aren't enough to give a Bible to every individual.  Similarly, on a broader scale, China's tens of millions of Bibles that have been printed and distributed over the years simply aren't enough to satisfy the demand.

The gap between these numbers really isn't surprising.  From a logistical perspective, China only has one press authorized to print Bibles, even though it just moved into a new facility and has become the world's largest publisher of Bibles.  Since many Chinese Christians who will not be at the Olympics want Bibles, the press needs to keep up with its orders nationwide.

Additionally, not all of China's Olympic visitors are going to be demanding their own Olympic Bible.  Some might bring their own, and others might simply not want one.  Considering the officially stated numbers of China's religious followers are three times lower than the findings of an East China University poll, underestimating the demand for Olympic BIbles isn't a huge shock. 

Even though many changes within China haven't been fast or dramatic enough for many of its critics, it's impossible to deny the fact that the church in China has and continues to grow.  China's Christian community remains one of the most dynamic worldwide, and while Chrisitan resources in China might not seem plentiful, they're being invested wisely.