I have an uncle (a step-uncle, really) who does precisely this, and had to flee a Muslim country for it. Seems after a couple official acts of brutal intimidation directed against him, he recognized that endangering not only himself, but potentially his family, was contrary to his vocation, and so he packed up his wife and kids (all US citizens, though the kids were born over there) and headed for the West Coast of the USA. There he bided his time, putting his kids through school; and now he has returned to the region, to the very country whence he fled some twenty years ago. From there he hopes to make forays into other areas, once he has clearance to do so. I would be more explicit about the pretence of his “official” duties abroad, but I don’t wish to get him killed any faster than he seems bent upon doing himself.
My (decidedly agnostic) mother was, understandably, appalled when she first learned of his plans, though hardly surprised. Her parents thought it was a “phase” when he became “born again”, but know better now. Being (though not as fervently) Christian themselves, they do a lot of praying for his safety, these days. He is, reportedly, thrilled to be back doing God’s work, and already has a few converts to chalk up to his efforts, though of course God gets all the credit; he is but the Lord’s instrument.
I’ve yet to decide for myself, if and when he shows up in some grainy video rebroadcast on CNN with a machete at his throat, whether or not he’ll deserve it. I tend to think not, but then again, he simply must be aware of the severity of the risks he is now taking. As DtC rightly stated above, the fact that none of the moral conundra associated with the literally life-or-death need to convert non-Christians to the worship of a God who ostensibly loves them (despite their imminent spiritual peril, lest they die before their conversion and attendant salvation) have occurred to him is nothing short of bewildering. He’s a very intelligent man, aftera all. This spiritual renewal of his (now hardly new, since he’s been “born again” more than half his life) has so infected his mind, he literally behaves like a lunatic, even though he isn’t one.
All I can say, though I don’t condone their methods, is I can understand the fear of Chinese authorities, as bent as they are on maintaining absolute power. That Born-Again religion is some powerful shit, more insidious than any narcotic any dealer could smuggle under their fences, and many times more dangerous. It would be one thing if folks like my uncle simply expired of the disease soon after contraction; but it’s usually more of a chronic condition, and highly infectious throughout its incubation. Just as the Islamic disease must compete for minds, so must the Maoist, and their repressive attitudes toward Christians reflect the nature of any parasitic species. I wonder which will finally supplant all the others, or even if anyone will be left to note the predominance of the victor who can remember the times of strife between the memes.