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 ...
“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? “
Because authoritarian rulers are Russia’s historic condition. That’s what Czars were. That’s what Bolsheviks were. That’s what Putin is. It’s what Russians are used to.
This isn’t unusual in the world. Cultures perpetuate themselves. Political structures reflect the underlying culture.
That was a fact that the Bush administration chose not believe when they thought that Iraq could easily be converted into a western democracy. Similar fantasies are harbored by those who think that Russia can be easily changed.
At least Putin isn’t trying to force atheism on Russia, unlike the Bolsheviks. And while Russian Christianity may not suit Tyler Huckabee, Russia wasn’t part of the Reformation and the Russian Orthodox Church has pretty much been the only flavor available since Vlad the Great converted in the 900s.
“At least Putin isn’t trying to force atheism on Russia, unlike the Bolsheviks. And while Russian Christianity may not suit Tyler Huckabee, Russia wasn’t part of the Reformation and the Russian Orthodox Church has pretty much been the only flavor available since Vlad the Great converted in the 900s.”
I wouldn’t be so sure about him not trying to force atheism onto Russia... He has done a lot to speak for Communism, which is inherently atheistic by nature as Lenin and even Stalin made clear, not to mention Karl Marx.
Besides, technically, Vlad the Great would have been Roman Catholic at that time, NOT Russian Orthodox, as his conversion occurred before the Great Schism that led to the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church being separated (the Great Schism occurred in 1054 AD. From the way you’re talking, Vlad the Great, whoever he is [couldn’t find him on Wikipedia or Conservapedia, at least, not by that name] converted some time between 900 AD and 999 AD).
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