Why Russia's new ban on Jehovah's Witnesses is so troubling

[TomSea]

Why Russia's new ban on Jehovah's Witnesses is so troubling
By Kevin J. Jones

Moscow, Russia, Apr 21, 2017 / 08:01 pm (Aid to the Church in Need).- The Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned as an extremist group in a Thursday Supreme Court decision that observers feared signaled a further step back for religious liberty.

“For Jehovah's Witnesses, this is going to be a frightening time,” Lorcan Price, ADF International legal counsel in Strasbourg, told CNA April 21.

“It effectively means that holding their beliefs and manifesting them is tantamount to a criminal act in Russia. They risk new levels of persecution by the Russian authorities.”

Price saw the move as continuing the reversal of positive trends in post-Soviet Russia.

“What we're seeing really is the slide back into the type of attitude that characterized the worst of oppression in the 20th century by the Soviet regime in Russia,” he added. “It’s obviously very sad and disheartening to see that happening again.”

Continued: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/why-russias-new-ban-on-jehovahs-witnesses-is-so-troubling-72451/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29&utm_term=daily+news

[geronl]

They do not worship the government or Putin, this makes them extremist. Sort of the way a conservative who doesn't like Trump is regarded.

Russia also bans sharing the faith outside the walls of a church, which JW's are never going to obey.

[The_Reader_David]

They do not worship the government or Putin, this makes them extremist. Sort of the way a conservative who doesn't like Trump is regarded.

Russia also bans sharing the faith outside the walls of a church, which JW's are never going to obey.

Actually, it's because they are Arian heretics who deny the divinity of Christ, and thus represent an affront to Holy Orthodoxy.

[berdie]

Actually, it's because they are Arian heretics who deny the divinity of Christ, and thus represent an affront to Holy Orthodoxy.

So does the Russian government  really have any interest in religion? As long as taxes are paid...why would they care?

I only heard about this Friday morning on the news and was somewhat amazed.

[Smokin Joe]

Next thing you know, they'll chase the Hare Krishnas out of the airport.

[The_Reader_David]

So does the Russian government  really have any interest in religion? As long as taxes are paid...why would they care?

I only heard about this Friday morning on the news and was somewhat amazed.

They do, if only for pragmatic reasons.  They would like religions to be limited to those that had traditionally existed inside the Russian Empire -- Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam -- with Orthodoxy dominant.  They don't really interfere much with long-established protestant groups (like the Mennonites who are descended from those Tsar Peter "the Great" invited to come to Russia), but want to keep out upstarts like the JW, Mormons, and Scientology, esp. when they are either heretical Christians or pseudo-Christian.  They have religious education in state schools, and the Patriarchate of Moscow has considerable influence (so that, for instance, the Russian state has been slowly trying to get rid of the Soviet anything-goes approach to abortion, and has taken its well-known stances on behalf of traditional sexual mores against homosexuality).  There are Orthodox chaplains in Russian military units down to a surprisingly small level. 

Putin himself is a believer, albeit with the sort of piety shown by some of the less moral Emperors and Empresses back in the days when a Christian Emperor reigned at Constantinople, who, nonetheless for all their personal dalliances and ruthless statecraft were (and in some cases still, in retrospect, are) regarded as supports of the Church.  Putin is surprisingly well regarded by Orthodox monks, including some Athonite monks known for their spiritual insight.

[r9etb]

Actually, it's because they are Arian heretics who deny the divinity of Christ, and thus represent an affront to Holy Orthodoxy.

Are you suggesting that this makes it OK for Russia to ban them?

[ABX]

They do not worship the government or Putin, this makes them extremist. Sort of the way a conservative who doesn't like Trump is regarded.

Russia also bans sharing the faith outside the walls of a church, which JW's are never going to obey.

I'm sure their refusal to pledge an oath or vow to the government has a huge part in this. In the current Russian Oligarchy, it is State first and foremost, even above religion. Religion serves the state.

[Cripplecreek]

They do not worship the government or Putin, this makes them extremist. Sort of the way a conservative who doesn't like Trump is regarded.

Russia also bans sharing the faith outside the walls of a church, which JW's are never going to obey.

Russia has a long history of religious repression under the guise of govt approved Christianity. Their brand of govt Christianity is no more valid than that of the Nazified churches of 1930s Germany.

[Restored]

"Opiate of the masses"

[ABX]

"Opiate of the masses"

Now in government approved prescription form. Alternative Opiates will be banned.

[geronl]

Putin himself is a believer, albeit with the sort of piety shown by some of the less moral Emperors and Empresses back in the days when a Christian Emperor reigned at Constantinople, who, nonetheless for all their personal dalliances and ruthless statecraft were (and in some cases still, in retrospect, are) regarded as supports of the Church.  Putin is surprisingly well regarded by Orthodox monks, including some Athonite monks known for their spiritual insight.

Putin outlawed the sharing of faith outside the walls of church, even illegal inside your own home. Putin is a believer in himself. The Russian Orthodox Church is a government tool and nothing but.

[mrclose]

Actually, it's because they are Arian heretics who deny the divinity of Christ, and thus represent an affront to Holy Orthodoxy.

You should speak about something you have knowledge of.
Parroting what you have heard from others is not knowledge.

Going just on your thinking ... would doing the same (banning) of the Jewish people be acceptable in your eyes?
Consider that many Jews don't believe in the divinity of the Christ!

[mrclose]

1808  "“and the word was a god”"  The New Testament, in An Improved Version, Upon the Basis of Archbishop Newcome’s New Translation: With a Corrected Text, London.



1864  "“and a god was the Word”"  The Emphatic Diaglott (J21, interlinear reading), by Benjamin Wilson, New York and London.



1935  "“and the Word was divine”"  The Bible—An American Translation, by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed, Chicago.



1950  "“and the Word was a god”"  New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.



1975  "“and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word”"  Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Siegfried Schulz, Göttingen, Germany.



1978  "“and godlike sort was the Logos”"  Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Johannes Schneider, Berlin.



1979  "“and a god was the Logos”"  Das Evangelium nach Johannes, by Jürgen Becker, Würzburg, Germany.


   

[The_Reader_David]

Are you suggesting that this makes it OK for Russia to ban them?

No, I'm saying there is a religious basis for antipathy toward them.  Though I must say, given Arianism's history (the Vandals who sacked Rome were Arians, and there was no end of trouble with them ecclesiastically for several centuries back in the day), I am somewhat sympathetic to preventing a revival.

[r9etb]

No, I'm saying there is a religious basis for antipathy toward them.  Though I must say, given Arianism's history (the Vandals who sacked Rome were Arians, and there was no end of trouble with them ecclesiastically for several centuries back in the day), I am somewhat sympathetic to preventing a revival.

So you're not OK with it, but you really wouldn't mind it after all.

 

This is what religious intolerance does to people.

[Frank Cannon]

I could get behind a ban here if it will keep the silly bastards from coming to my home to convert me.

BTW how in the hell can you not believe in birthdays, but celebrate anniversaries? They are the same thing!