What the "Worldly" media has to say about the proposed Russian ban of JWs

NikL

Interesting to read the reports from around the world. I doubt many JWs have read any of them.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-government-jehovahs-witnesses-extremist-group-lawsuit-supreme-court-a7634671.html

Russian authorities threatened to close Jehovah’s Witnesses administrative centre last March, when they issued a formal warning to the congregation that the “religious association will be subject to liquidation” if it failed to eliminate within two months the violations identified by the government as “extremist”.

What is extremist in Russia viewpoint?

In 2006, Russia changed its legal definition of “extremism”, removing the element of violence or hatred but stating the “incitement of….religious discord” as the criteria.

They kind of fit the bill there.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39304984

The authorities object to pamphlets deemed to incite hatred against other religious groups, mainly for proclaiming Jehovah's Witnesses as followers of the only "true" faith.
One quotes the novelist Leo Tolstoy, describing the doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church as superstition and sorcery,

Seems to me the problem is Russia's definition of extremist views. If it is a problem that is. I am no certain.

Some other articles...

from Ghana...

http://www.myjoyonline.com/world/2017/March-26th/jehovahs-witnesses-mobilize-global-response-to-threat-of-ban-in-russia.php

Reuters...

http://www.reuters.com/article/russia-religion-jehovah-s-idUSKBN16O1II/

World religion news...whatever that is...

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/jehovahs-witnesses-respond-russias-religious-ban

Irishdub

would you consider this extremism ?

ALL those who read the Bible, WITHOUT associating with the Watchtower org are slandered as being *like satan* !

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2fYNzAbUpqFdWRPMFdIX294M1E/view?pref=2&pli=1

Flag Link

blondie

http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2265

http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2264

Village Idiot

The Russians under Vladimir Putin are persecuting most Protestants. They bulldozed a Pentecostal church and banned house meetings for prayer groups.

http://www1.cbn.com/video/russian-winter-descends-on-evangelicals

blondie

That's the whole picture that many ex-jws seem to miss, Village Idiot. This is not just a WTS issue but any group evangelizing or trying to convert.

I am 100% with those that are against this ban. The way to handle the destructive aspects of high control religious adherence is not through bulldozing human rights. Of course you can point to the hurt and pain caused by people following practices like shunning and we know that the rhetoric about governments and other religions is adversarial but you are about to see the criminalisation of 150000+ people simply for their beliefs, most of which have zero impact on the community as a whole.

Putin is cracking down on all sorts of minorities and so called undesirables. The government is full of those chomping at the bit to bring back all the worst aspects of Russian life 40 years ago in an effort to maintain their grip on power. Only this weekend they have arrested the opposition leader for protesting about government corruption.

I am more than happy to see the WT leadership brought down a peg or two through the exposure of their hypocritical power plays in the court of law or through things like the ARC.

I have woken up to TTATT but there is no way I would wish to see my wife or friends criminalised overnight. What is happening in Russia however has to be seen in the bigger picture. For those Witnesses in Russia my opinion is that we have to put aside the desire to see the organisation suffer to understand that some fundamental human rights are being attacked in a way that is dangerous to anyone else deemed to be on the wrong side of Russian government opinion.

konceptual99

would you consider this extremism ?
ALL those who read the Bible, WITHOUT associating with the Watchtower org are slandered as being *like satan* !

I'd consider it religious rhetoric, nonsense. There is far worse preached at pulpits throughout the conservative bible belt in the US week in and week out.

Far more concerning is the unwillingness to create a public and cohesive child abuse policy, the maintaining of the hypocritical and illogical stance on blood, the shunning of those that don't want to be Witnesses any more, the use of tax laws to maximise income with no community benefit and so on.

These all need addressing but are they such a danger to the Russian state that 150000+ people need to be turned into criminals?

steve2

Absent from JW org is any acknowledgement that evangelical and Pentecostal Christians are also hounded and persecuted by Russians whilst the "authorities" passively stand by.

tepidpoultry

Does anyone at headquarters think that millions of letters are going to

move the Russian political/judicial machine in their favour? I think not,

I see this campaign as a way to solidify themselves in an immediate

"urgent" cause and remind everyone that they are fufilling prophesy by

being persecuted,

The question as I see it is: Are they really being persecuted "for

righteousness sake" or ironically, for being the persecuters of others,

:0)

zeb

"mainly for proclaiming Jehovah's Witnesses as followers of the only "true" faith. "... Didn't anyone tell them that Jackson of the governing body under oath said that it would be presumptuous to say the gb are the only link to god or words to that effect.

http://www.jw-archive.org/post/127953088228/why-did-geoffrey-jackson-member-of-gb-say-under

What the "Worldly" media has to say about the proposed Russian ban of JWs

Share this