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Putin's Untold War on Christianity
RELEVANT Magazine ^ | 2018 | Tyler Huckabee

Posted on 10/24/2018 5:01:01 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

Let’s start with the basics.

If you are a Russian citizen in 2018, it is currently illegal for you to share the Gospel with a friend in your home. It’s illegal for you to invite others to your church. VKontakte— the Russian equivalent of Facebook—can’t be used to spread anything that might be considered “evangelism.” In fact, all religious dialogue has been banned outside of churches and other religious sites.

On the street. Online. Even in your own home.

How did we get here? How did a country that seemed to be bucking decades of Orwellian control slip back into authoritarianism, and why haven’t more churches in the West spoken up on behalf of their fellow Christians abroad?

The answers are twisted up in a murky web of politics, nationalism, Putin’s aforementioned knack for propaganda and a healthy dose of good, old-fashioned fake news...

This is not the most recent or even most brazen of Russia’s recent attempts to curtail religious freedom within its borders, but it is illustrative of the Kremlin’s new attitude toward religion. The Russian Orthodox Church is deeply intertwined with Russian identity, closely connected to national politics and given broad legal preference over minority religions in the country. While the Soviet Union famously attempted to stamp religion out completely, Russian President Vladimir Putin has embraced the Russian Orthodox Church and, critics say, trans- formed it into another arm of his infamous propaganda machine.

(Excerpt) Read more at relevantmagazine.com ...


TOPICS: History; Religion
KEYWORDS: christendom; christianity; evangelism; hewasraisedbykgb; putin; putinsbuttboys; russia; vladtheatheist; vladtheimploder
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Rev. Franklin Graham says he is cancelling an evangelical summit in Russia after the government passed a new law placing severe restrictions on Christian evangelization.

"We were looking forward to this significant event being held in Russia because no one knows modern Christian persecution better than the church that suffered under communist rule. However, just a few weeks ago Russia passed a law that severely limits Christians' freedoms," Graham posted on Facebook in announcing the cancellation of his World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians. (August 2016) CBN News

1 posted on 10/24/2018 5:01:01 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

To read later.


2 posted on 10/24/2018 5:10:36 PM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Wow! I thought all that was over with in 1989. The early 90’s saw a huge rebirth of religion in what was the former Soviet Union. Churches and monasteries sprung up like wildfire. Now, under Putin, Russia walks backward.


3 posted on 10/24/2018 5:14:08 PM PDT by MrChips ("To wisdom belongs the apprehension of eternal things." - St. Augustine)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

So they have a state church. You have no right to go there and “evangelize” (steal sheep) if they don’t want you to. Perhaps they rightly recognize this as an attempt by foreign groups to meddle in their internal affairs.


4 posted on 10/24/2018 5:14:37 PM PDT by ichabod1 (He's a vindictive SOB but he's *our* vindictive SOB.)
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To: ichabod1
"Perhaps they rightly recognize this as an attempt by foreign groups to meddle in their internal affairs."

Maybe it's islam that worries the Russians… If that's the case, I don't blame them......

5 posted on 10/24/2018 5:46:14 PM PDT by unread (Joe McCarthy was right.......)
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To: unread

No, Islam has protected status in Russia. Please do your research.


6 posted on 10/24/2018 5:49:46 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: ichabod1

Not only does Islam and some traditional forms of Buddhism common to the Russian Far East have protected status, but the Russian Orthodox Church has done little to sidestep the rehabilitation of Stalin and the Soviet mythos surrounding events such as World War II. “Victory Day” is the holiest day in the modern Russian calendar. Polls show young people credit Stalin with victory, but over half know nothing about his repressive acts which killed millions of his own people.


7 posted on 10/24/2018 5:56:58 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: unread
They are fine with Islam.

However if you are Catholic or Pentecostal or Baptist you are on the PNG list.

Please understand that these are not "new" churches but ones that have been in Russia for at least 100 years.

8 posted on 10/24/2018 5:59:29 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold.)
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To: ichabod1; unread

Particularly passionate about this as I know of Americans (and even Korean Protestants, Polish Catholics, etc...) who were instrumental in helping build up the spiritual life of post-Soviet Russia: not only in proselytizing/building churches but also visiting prisons, caring for orphans, rehab for alcoholics, care for HIV patients and drug users...

Now such activities by law can be considered the equivalent of spying or extremism.


9 posted on 10/24/2018 6:03:20 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Gospel of Jesus christ forbidden, satan’s church is league with Putin.


10 posted on 10/24/2018 6:03:42 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
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To: BeadCounter

Following


11 posted on 10/24/2018 6:03:57 PM PDT by peter the great
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To: ichabod1

Americans have also inspired and helped build up the pro-life movement there as well.


12 posted on 10/24/2018 6:04:50 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

The holiest day of the year in Russia is Pascha. Russia is Orthodox territory, and Putin is right to back that in preference to evangelical sects. America should be as Christian as Russia. Stop spreading misinformation.


13 posted on 10/24/2018 6:17:14 PM PDT by Romulus
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To: Romulus

I forgot to mention that largely due to the bloodshed and persecution of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful and clergy in occupied Crimea and Donbass (but also centuries of oppression) - Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has granted autocephaly (autonomy) to the patriarchates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — relinquishing Moscow’s spiritual hold over Kiev.


14 posted on 10/24/2018 6:25:18 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Probably a the lions share of it has resulted from Hillary and Obama weaponizing USAID and other NGOs to start a color revolution in Russia after the 2011 elections.
We were going for all the marbles and ramped it up during the anti-homo laws in Russia.
Putin expelled most NGOs and forced the others to register as foreign agents. There were a lot of protestant/evangelical missions there doing good work, but they got swept up in the same net with the NGOs pushing gay rights and trying to start a color revolution on behalf of Hillary’s banksters.

It’s kinda unfair for a lot of people, but it is a foreseeable result from Hillary and Obama.


15 posted on 10/24/2018 6:56:52 PM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I don’t believe this article. And I am tired of Christians going to Christian countries to convert Christians. The Russians support Putin, let them decide what is safest for their country,


16 posted on 10/24/2018 6:58:17 PM PDT by DaleGrrl
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To: All

Putin is nothing but a tin-pot dictator.

He is Saddam Hussein with a little bit better economy.


17 posted on 10/24/2018 7:15:08 PM PDT by rbmillerjr
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To: All

There is a chance, Russia could become Muslim-majority in not that far into the future.

So, they attacked a Christian nation in Ukraine.

Call them Nazis all you want, you’re no better than liberals.


18 posted on 10/24/2018 7:36:05 PM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: DesertRhino
It’s kinda unfair for a lot of people, but it is a foreseeable result from Hillary and Obama.

Yep, Obama, Clinton and the deep-state thought separating Russia and Ukraine would be like overturning Libya - a cake walk. They started a war in the Ukraine, and then walked away. Now the consequences are still playing out. Maybe the split in Christians there already existed, but maybe too time would have improved it also. Not after Obama tipped it over.

19 posted on 10/24/2018 8:34:22 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: Romulus; DaleGrrl; ichabod1
The holiest day of the year in Russia is Pascha. Russia is Orthodox territory, and Putin is right to back that in preference to evangelical sects. America should be as Christian as Russia. Stop spreading misinformation.

That is simply not what the scope of the law includes, but, well, why not read the article, or here.

The Yarovaya law (rus. Закон Яровой), also Yarovaya package/bag, refers to a pair of Russian federal bills, 374-FZ and 375-FZ, passed in 2016.[1] The bills amend a pre-existing counter-terrorism law and separate laws regulating additional counter-terror and public safety measures. It is known to the public under the last name of one of its creators—Irina Yarovaya.

The amendments add a new provision to Russia's Religion Legislation, stating that "missionary activity" may only be performed "without hindrance" at churches and other religious sites designated by the chapter. It is explicitly banned from residential buildings. "Missionary activity" is defined as

The activity of a religious association, aimed at disseminating information about its beliefs among people who are not participants (members, followers) in that religious association, with the purpose of involving these people as participants (members, followers). It is carried out directly by religious associations or by citizens and/or legal entities authorised by them, publicly, with the help of the media, the internet or other lawful means".[12]

Missionary activities may only be performed by authorized members of registered religious groups and organizations. A group becomes ineligible to perform missionary activities if they have been banned under a court order for practicing extremism or terrorism, or have been liquidated. Foreign missionaries may only perform missionary activities after registering for a permit from a recognized religious organization.[12][13][14][15] Citizens are also required to report unauthorized religious activity to the government or face fines.[13]

According to experts, the law is likely to be interpreted in a way so as to block churches other than the Russian Orthodox Church evangelizing to ethnic Russians.[14] Religious denominations with a smaller presence in Russia have long been viewed with hostility from government officials and Russian Orthodox religious authorities.The harsh new restrictions on minority religious groups were in addition to already-existing requirements under a 1997 law that mandated registration and administrative procedures which many religious groups found onerous and expensive to comply with.[29]

Faith McDonnell of the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C., said: "The law doesn't do that much to defend from terrorism and only prevents Christians and others who are not [Russian] Orthodox from preaching and proselytizing."[31] U.S. State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson wrote that: "We believe that these new amendments will not better protect Russia’s citizens, but are rather part of a troubling Russian trend of intimidation and harassment of civil society and political activists."[31]

The law exempts the government-allied Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church from the measures that it applies to all other religious groups. The autonomous Russian Orthodox Church opposed the law; Archbishop Andrew Maklakov, administrator of the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church of America, stated: "As the Russian Federation has drifted back to its Soviet roots more and more over the past 25 years, it has increasingly sought to harass, persecute, and destroy any religious organization that it might consider competition to its own 'state church.'"[31]

Most of the act's amendments came into effect on 20 July 2016.[4] Amendments that require telecom operators to store recordings of phone conversations, text messages and users' internet traffic up to 6 months were announced to come into place on 1 July 2018; however, senator Anton Belyakov has submitted a proposal to move the regulations' start date to 2023, because of the extreme amount of data storage technology needed to make fulfilling the requirements possible.[5]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to defend civil liberties in the digital world, opposed the Yarovaya package, noting that "opposition to the Yarovaya package has come from many quarters. Technical experts have been united in opposing the law. Russia’s government Internet ombudsman opposed the bill. Putin's own human rights head, Mikhail Fedotov, called upon the Senators of Russia’s Federal Council to reject the bill. ISPs have pointed out that compliance would cost them trillions of rubles."[32] The EFF wrote that because Russia's ISPs, messaging services, and social media platforms "cannot reasonably comply with all the demands of the Yarovaya package, they become de facto criminals whatever their actions. And that, in turn, gives the Russian state the leverage to extract from them any other concession it desires. The impossibility of full compliance is not a bug—it's an essential feature."[32] Human Rights Watch noted the lack of judicial oversight and stated that "these provisions would ultimately jeopardize security, while being ineffective at preventing terrorists from using encryption" as well as "unjustifiably expand surveillance while undermining human rights and cybersecurity."[10]

Now in the light of such documented info, if you still maintain that such is "misinformation," then i suspect you have a different motive than upholding the integrity of reporting.

20 posted on 10/24/2018 9:00:39 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
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