guno
Gold Member
- Banned
- #41
Here is the story:Thanks for the link. It does not appear that this law is against Protestants as advertised, but largely a matter of missionaries more or less getting permission to do their thing.A New Russian Law Against Protestants?
It actually appears to be aimed at Islamic proselytizing. I'm sure that Jeremiah would support a law that limits the ability of Islamics to proselytize.
Hypocrisy for the win.
This law went into effect on July 20,2016 - listen to the broadcast - he's in Romania right now....
Russia's Newest Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church
âThe Russian Orthodox church is part of a bulwark of Russian nationalism stirred up by Vladimir Putin,â David Aikman, history professor and foreign affairs expert, told CT. âEverything that undermines that action is a real threat, whether thatâs evangelical Protestant missionaries or anything else.â
Sergei Ryakhovsky, head of the Protestant Churches of Russia, and several other evangelical leaders called the law a violation of religious freedom and personal conscience in a letter to Putin posted on the Russian site Portal-Credo. The letterreads, in part:
The obligation on every believer to have a special permit to spread his or her beliefs, as well as hand out religious literature and material outside of places of worship and used structures is not only absurd and offensive, but also creates the basis for mass persecution of believers for violating these provisions.
Soviet history shows us how many people of different faiths have been persecuted for spreading the Word of God. This law brings us back to a shameful past."
Stalin-era religious restrictionsâincluding outlawing religious activity outside of Sunday services in registered churches and banning parents from teaching faith to their kidsâremained on the books until the collapse of the Soviet Union, though the government enforced them only selectively.
Some have questioned whether the government could or would monitor religious activity in private Christian homes.
âI donât think you can overestimate the Russian governmentâs willingess to exert control,â Aikman told CT. If history is any indication, the proposed regulations reveal a pattern of âcreeping totalitarianismâ in the country, he said.
The so-called Big Brother laws also introduce widespread surveillance of online activity, including requiring encrypted apps to give the government the power to decode them, and assigning stronger punishments for extremism and terrorism.
The proposal is an âattack on freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and the right to privacy that gives law enforcement unreasonably broad powers,â the humanitarian group Human Rights Watch told The Guardian.
If passed, the anti-evangelism law carries fines up to US $780 for an individual and $15,500 for an organization. Foreign visitors who violate the law face deportation.
Russia has already moved to contain foreign missionaries. The âforeign agentâ law, adopted in 2012, requires groups from abroad to file detailed paperwork and be subject to government audits and raids. Since then, the NGO sector has shrunk by a third, according to government statistics.
âIn Moscow, we shared an office with 24 organizations. Not a single foreign expatriate mission is there now,â Rakhuba previously told CT. âThey could not re-register. Missionaries could not return to Russia because they could not renew their visas. It is next to impossible to get registration as a foreign organization today.â
While Russiaâs evangelicals pray that the proposed regulations are amended or vetoed, they have gone underground before, and theyâll be willing to do it again, Rakhuba said.
âThey say, âIf it will come to it, itâs not going to stop us from worshiping and sharing our faith,ââ he wrote. âThe Great Commission isnât just for a time of freedom.â
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unfortunately after this story the law did go into effect - as of today - all petitions to Putin to stop it have been ignored.
Russia's Newest Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church
Good!! now Jews an other minority religions don't have to be pestered and harangued by fundamentalists , wish they had it here, in Israel it is also against the law to proselytize to Jewish minors in israel , in addition
Ultra-Orthodox fight to restrict Christian missions in Israel
at least the catholic church stopped doing it
Catholics shouldnât try to convert Jews, says new Vatican document
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