by cognac 38 Replies latest jw friends
If they're banned, it'll only feed their persecution complex. JW children who need blood should get it and information should be made freely available to prospective members and those JWs who are questioning.
Driving them underground will only strengthen the current members.
Russia is a universe unto itself. Notwithstanding the communist era, politics and religion have been rather inextripably bound since the first millenium. Freedom of religious thought is one thing. There are ACTS that the WT is guilty of that they are concerned with generally. And we are looking at them with Western eyes. They are VERY much of a different culture and mindset than we here in the states-even if they have McDonalds and Starbucks and video games-a hundred years ago they still had a serf class. This ISN'T just some backward state, it is in a parallel universe.
I am not saying that their proposal is good or bad essentially. My all american response to it is that freedom of religion is a RIGHT. In the grander scheme though, and in reality, it is a right that we have in the States-and there are still limits here. No one is Russia is forced into a church that I am aware of. The state is trying to protect its people and society from what they regard as a threat to the wellbeing of all. As an american it freaks me out. As a former JW kid, I like it. As a amateur student(very amateur) of history I know enough about Russia to be uneasy. It is a big country and they make some BIG dramatic pronouncements/ mistakes that have done a lot to hurt the people of russia and I am afraid that this could blow up in the face of all russians-orthodox, catholic and protestant alike.
Excellent comment drew sagan.
Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to practice their faith (personal association), or at least, should have that right. The question then arises as to particulair forms of behavior that fall inside of that association which are possibly detrimental to society.
Personally, I belive that if a state wants to interfere with the practices of a faith, it has to deal with official policy and not overall status. Legislation that restricts the types of public punishments members of a group can inflict on children (like disfellowshipping) could be an avenue worth exploring.
Russia may be getting serious with this. Here is a report I also posted in another thread that appears current:
http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-13/Will_Jehovah_s_Witnesses_be_banned_in_Russia.html
Their danger is beyond refusing to serve in the military or to vote--if it were just that, I would see no problem. However, they initiate death threats against anyone that does not join, quoting the Bible as the prime authority (itself a problem, since the Bible itself lies). Worse, they take it out of context (initiating fraud), in order to support their beliefs that anyone not joining will die at Armageddon (a death threat). It is this death threat that gets many people interested, along with the fraud of a paradise earth.
Then, once you are in, they coerce you into staying under threat of breaking up families. If you refuse to go out all the time, you get hounded to death (and often, they will insinuate that you are not going to survive, a death threat, unless you max out your field circus. They usurp all your time, preventing you from working to the benefit of self or society. And there are so many good careers that they forbid members to pursue. All of which leads to poverty (especially when they have those sell-out drives, as they are currently doing), which further drains the economy in the state. So far, that is enough to get the religion banned.
Worse, they misrepresent themselves in court to get themselves legalized. They claim that children have normal careers (the truth is, their career is to pio-sneer or Beth Hell). They claim that they put no pressure on people to join, and that they join under free will (like a death threat amounts to free will) and stay under free will (a death threat plus disrupting families, and the endless hounding). These lies that are used to make themselves look good to the public, while they are a group that initiates death threats against members and the public, and defrauds people into joining and doing ever more.
All of which is worse of a threat against a free society than not taking blood and banning voting and military service.
On the one hand we have Russia that wants to decide what heavily censored religions it's people follow by banning ones the Russian Bigwigs decide are for whatever reason not approved of.
On the other hand we have France that thinks "well, we don't approve of these religions so lets make them pay for the privilege of being in our country. Mmm loadsa money!!!"
Neither of these are anything new to God's people banning and fining has been around since when religion first started. I think turning on religion will be something unique when it happens but that is my personal thought. The rivers of people are aready drying up as the bible predicted.
Reniaa
>> Let me ask you this: Does this country "Europe" include all European countries?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_Union_member_states
Before the USA had a central government - each State was like an independent country. And you still have state laws, state courts, state taxes. Thats exactly what's happening in Europe. The "countries" are turning into states of the "European Union" (country). They don't yet have much of a central military service, but that's on the cards to change too. Not everyone is OK with this (myself included) so they're making the transitions slowly. But as for legal things, there is already a central European government fully operational.
And I wasn't busting your balls. Just trying to educate you. I grew up with a useless US "education", and I know that unless you did your own research, your view of the rest of the world would be extremely limited. Don't take offence, I'm not saying YOU are uneducated. Just trying to correct that you didn't seem to understand that "Europe" can impose taxes and enforce it's own laws. I know a very high majority of American's don't understand this.
Driving them underground will only strengthen the current members
That is OK by me.
At least it restricts their ability to make new members.
It would be better if governments incorporated cult immunisation programs at school level. I don't see the point in protecting the masses from specific cults, when their children are under threat from numerous, similar, high control groups.
Cheers
Chris
The WTBTS is a publishing company. It did not start out even being a CHRISTIAN organization but one meant to become the New World Order with people of ALL faiths, including Jews, in it. The WTBTS printed and distributed got money from...their publications. When the united states decided they needed to start paying INCOME TAX on these publications, suddenly it all became "free" on a "donation basis" to avoid paying those taxes. And of course it was pawned off as Jehovahs Will. Nobody was told the truth of the matter.
Just like the WTBTS being a member of the United Nations for ten years...funny how they never mentioned this to the flock and yet continued to villify the UN as the BEAST...when they themselves were sucking from the teat of the beast for all that time.
Deception and destruction with a smile...your WTBTS.
