Implications of the Supreme Court's decision 175,000 PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE

[bruceq]

Implications of the Supreme Court's decision

175,000 PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE

by Anton Chivchalov

Radio Liberty, 25 April 2017

 

On 20 April, Hitler's birthday, Russia became the first European country to prohibit the religious confession of Jehovah's Witnesses. Hitler also tried to do this, but did not succeed. A bit later Stalin tried, with similar results. According to the decision of the Supreme Court, for the first time since 1918 in Russia the property of a whole religious confession with countrywide reach will be confiscated, and this is hundreds of buildings, built on the voluntary contributions of believers themselves. The confiscation is an important point of the plaintiff's declaration of the Ministry of Justice. People do not request money from the government and they build houses of worship at their own expense, but the government confiscates them because it does not like how they pray.

 

The cynicism of the situation simply cannot be comprehended. Back before the decision of the court, the police and FSB throughout the country conducted raids on houses of worship, searched believers, copied their passports, photographed them, and issued warnings about their criminal responsibility for "extremist" activity. I stress again: this began before the court's decision. Now that it has been announced, throughout the country hunting season has been declared.

 

Police, the FSB, as well as an infinite number of vandals and goons of all stripes, all are out on the hunt for believers, women, children, and babas [elderly women]. In Cheliabinsk the police have already dispersed a meeting of deaf persons. In Taganrog believers have already received criminal sentences for reading the Bible. Vandals have already broken windows and even tossed grenades into houses of worship. All of this has already happened, and all of this now will be multiplied.

 

We stand on the brink of a widespread religious genocide with unpredictable consequences. "The siege has now begun, since the confession has been 'liquidated,' but Jehovah's Witnesses will not renounce the faith," lawyer Anatoly Pchelintsev notes justifiably. Really, it is impossible to ban faith with the stroke of the pen. As a result the country simply has gained 175 thousand prisoners of conscience. In Pchelintsev's opinion, some will emigrate and some will go underground. Those who will not be able to do either will be imprisoned.

 

It is amazing, but the majority of journalists and practically 100% of the public do not understand the reasons for this trial nor its consequences. The situation is understood thus: a) the Jehovah's Witnesses are a dangerous sect that commits actions that are dangerous to society; b) when they are banned, they will cease to do these actions.

 

"It is the end of the world for Jehovah's Witnesses," RT writes naively. In reality the situation is as follows: a) the only basis for banning Jehovah's Witnesses is their "extremist," that is the incorrect, literature. Nothing concerning any other harmful acts has been discussed in court, except for questions of blood transfusion, but even on this issue the Ministry of Justice was not able to provide any evidence.

 

The only basis for a ban is the disputable, in the plaintiff's opinion, wording in the literature and biblical interpretation. "It is not quotations from the Bible that are considered extremist but the interpretation of what is written in the Bible," the justice ministry's lawyer, Svetlana Borisova, declared frankly in court.

 

Further: b) after the ban, in the future believers will believe just as they believed earlier. History does not know cases when Jehovah's Witnesses changed their convictions on order of the authorities. If someone thinks that with the aid of the ban believers can be "re-educated," remade to order, this is an extremely naïve prediction. It does not work.

 

The only thing that will change as the result of the court's decision: it is necessary to imprison people. And it is necessary to imprison not a rock group of three persons and not a single Pokemon hunter, but almost 200 thousand citizens of the country. It is an incredible number of people who no single civilized state has imprisoned in modern history. It will be necessary to build new prisons and a whole network of prisons. But in any case, a whole new page in the history of state-confessional relations is beginning.

 

Attorney Viktor Zhenkov told in court a morality tale: "In this courtroom there is a person who was born in prison. Because his mama, who was in the third month of pregnancy, was sentenced as an enemy of the people to eight years incarceration simply because she was a Jehovah's Witness. She gave birth in prison and the infant spent two years in the prison's children's home. His father could not take him because he had been exiled to Siberia. In 1991 the government acknowledged that the mother was a victim of political repressions, apologized to her, and assigned a pension. And now here in the court this man, born in prison, approached me and asked: 'Does the Ministry of Justice really want a repetition of this horrible history?' And I did not know what to answer. Even now I do not know what is motivating the representatives of the Ministry of Justice and those who are directing this trial."

 

Today several people continue to say: there will not be any imprisonments; simply a legal entity is being banned; personal rights remain with the citizens. This is a misconception deriving from bad information. Already warnings have begun for believers simply for reading the Bible and prayers in their own home (!) under threat of criminal prosecution. The FSB has already begun warning that all adherents of Jehovah's Witnesses will be prosecuted on criminal articles. Earlier in Taganrog, 16 believers already received criminal articles for simply reading the Bible, and not all of them were members of the banned legal entities. The Ministry of Justice itself frankly acknowledged at the hearings that criminal cases may be initiated against believers. Religious discrimination (forbidden by the constitution) has been officially introduced into Russia: believers of some religions may assemble for prayer, and others may not.

 

It is encouraging that ever more believers of other confessions understand that tomorrow they will come for them. Baptists, Pentecostals, and even Orthodox have spoken out openly in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses, and they have sent their appeals to the president. For many, their eyes have been opened to what is happening. It is necessary to open them faster; it may not make it.

 

Immediately after the decision of the Supreme Court there began to be discussed in the corridors of power which religion will be next. "All organizations who exist in our country, with the exception of traditional confessions, should be examined to find protection of the interests of traditional morality, traditional values of Russia, in institutions of respect for the family, concern for neighbors, and love of the fatherland. In my view, very many organizations today do not accord with this criterion," said the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Development of Civil Society and Affairs of Public and Religious Associations, Sergei Gavrilov.

 

Has everyone gotten the signal?

(tr. by PDS, posted 26 April 2017)

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

10 minutes ago, bruceq said:

"... All organizations who exist in our country, with the exception of traditional confessions, should be examined to find protection of the interests of traditional morality, traditional values of Russia, in institutions of respect for the family, concern for neighbors, and love of the fatherland ..."

I don't think most Witnesses ever consider that to the Russians, "Family" is extremely important ... during the Gulag years family was the only thing there was, as the tyranny of the Soviet Empire was a corrosive fog that eroded everyone. They saw neighbors rounded up and shipped to Siberia, in winter, dumped on the side of railroad tracks in the wildernesses, and with no food, or tools, told to build a city.   MUCH cheaper than prisons .  Work camps in the wilderness WERE the prisons.

THEY HAVE LEARNED what tyranny is and the only refuge is Family, and neighbors.  Wikipedia says this about the Soviet Gulags:

" The Gulag Archipelago (Russian: Архипелаг ГУЛАГ, Arkhipelag GULAG) is a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the Soviet forced labor camp system. The three-volume book is a narrative relying on eyewitness testimony and primary research material, as well as the author's own experiences as a prisoner in a gulag labor camp. Written between 1958 and 1968, it was published in the West in 1973 and, thereafter, circulated in samizdat (underground publication) form in the Soviet Union until its appearance in the Russian literary journal, Novy Mir, in 1989, in which a third of the work was published over three issues.

GULag or Gulág is an acronym for the Russian term Glavnoye Upravleniye ispravitelno-trudovyh Lagerey (Главное Управление Исправительно-трудовых Лагерей), or "Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps", the bureaucratic name of the governing board of the Soviet labour camp system, and by metonymy, the camp system itself. The original Russian title of the book is Arkhipelag GuLag, the rhyme supporting the underlying metaphor deployed throughout the work. The word archipelago compares the system of labor camps spread across the Soviet Union with a vast "chain of islands", known only to those who were fated to visit them.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Federation, The Gulag Archipelago has been officially published, and it has been included in the high school program in Russia as mandatory reading since 2009."

THEY HAVE LEARNED  about families being ripped apart and scattered to the wind, for senseless administrative cruelties to keep the system supplied with money, labor, and suppression of dissent ... so when they learn that Jehovah's Witnesses in disciplining their "flock" also destroy families, extended families, and entire social networks for the same reasons ... they look at it as cruel and unusual, and destructive to the fabric of society as a whole.

The fact that Jehovah's Witnesses NEVER behave in an extremist manner toward the Nation as a whole is not that important, as they can see the seeds of past terrors lying beneath the surface, waiting to infect the fabric of the Russian Federation as a whole.  They have learned from history ... their pogroms of the past killed over 20 MILLION Russian citizens in THEIR witch hunts.

When we, as disfellowshipping is practiced today, to discipline ONE PERSON .... destroy his relationships with mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, and cut off all communications with them ... it is worse than being arrested on fabricated charges and being sent to a wilderness work camp to freeze or starve.

It is cruelty BEYOND physical hardship.

I have and have read all three volumes of The Gulag Archipelago, and understand this nature of the Russian people.

They were sheep, and they were led to the slaughter by their leaders to consolidate their power and authority.

This is what is called in every political and religious system that has ever existed, or exists now ... NORMAL.

When will WE ever learn /

When will WE ever, Ever, EVER learn?

The reason Jehovah's were banned in the Russian Federation was because we DESERVE TO BE BANNED.

Such CRUELTY flying the false flag of righteousness the Russians know all too well.

 

.

 

[JayDubya]

?

[bruceq]

"The reason Jehovah's were banned in the Russian Federation was because we DESERVE TO BE BANNED.

Such CRUELTY flying the false flag of righteousness the Russians know all too well."

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

This is the exact line of reasoning Dvorkin used as the anti-cult apostate who is now controlling that element of the Ministry of Injustice of the Russian Federation. And everyone not just JW know he was wrong.  Birds of a feather flock together.

Of course they want Jehovah's Witnesses to conform to everyone else and become "mainstream". Why else did they not ban any other religion. So if the Witnesses follow your suggestion and get rid of disfellowshipping what make them any different than other religions who also practice tolerance for wrongdoing in their religions. The Russian Orthodox Church and the rest of Christendom  have quite a track record over the centuries of showing love to neighbor with their clergy and  laity full of fornicators and adulterers and ...No wonder Jehovah;s way is different only Satan would say otherwise since he wants his people embedded into the mix with God' people.

The practice of disfellowshipping did not originate with the Witnesses of the 20 th century. It came from the first Century. I have hundreds of books dealing with just this topic of early Christian beliefs of how they also practiced disfellowshipping. These book can be found in my ebay store "Watchtower Historical Items and Research Publication" if you want more info. 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

bruceq:

I agree that disfellowshipping is a necessary part of keeping the Congregations clean from the things you mentioned ... BUT ... can you imagine Jesus Christ doing it the way that it is practiced today?

... ONLY in a Monty Python movie reduced to the absurd.. or a Vatican horror movie such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Early "christians" also tortured people, and burned them at the stake to cleanse their souls with fire.   TECHNICALLY, when a soldier uses a flamethrower against enemy soldiers, as the Americans did against the Japanese during the battle of Okinawa, it was NOT torture to burn someone alive ... because there was no INTENT to torture.

The nuances of that well recognized legal distinction is lost on those being burned to death.

Remember: Jesus Christ did not ruin the prostitute that was about to be stoned to death by the Elders of his day ... he said "Go your way, and sin no more ...".

.

 

[bruceq]

As to policies and procedures it all boils down to loyalty to Jehovah's Organization. If this is the true religion then we should follow the ones Jehovah has taking the lead.

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

I believe (if memory serves) that it was American Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale that said "My country right or wrong... but MY COUNTRY!"

The Nazis also had that philosophy, as do we for OUR Spiritual Nation..

Remember, even David, the beloved of God, had to hide out when King Saul went nutso and was trying to kill him for his own selfish reasons ... and Saul was ACTIVELY ... the Annointed of Jehovah at the time.

"STUFF HAPPENS!"

13 minutes ago, bruceq said:

As to policies and procedures it all boils down to loyalty to Jehovah's Organization. If this is the true religion then we should follow the ones Jehovah has taking the lead.

I disagree.   When they serve the cause of righteousness correctly, your statement is true ... when incompetence and ignorance and self serving aggrandizement  is the law ... NO! 

AND OF COURSE! we will have to pay whatever price levied.

That is the theme of the 2016 movie "Hacksaw Ridge" ... illegal orders do NOT have to be obeyed.

.

 

 

.

 

[bruceq]

   Stuff does happen. For example Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?

The Israelites were leaving Egypt and told to turn back to Pihahiroth  instead of just leaving Egypt altogether. Moses led them up against the Red Sea it seemed this crazy guy we are following is not from God because he is leading us into a trap. Of course Moses was imperfect and made many mistakes but how do you know if that decision was made by a crazy old man or Jehovah was guiding his decision? Just the fact that what he did seems WRONG and what Jesus did seemed WRONG does it really make it WRONG to our Creator who may be testing your Loyalty to his direction. Perhaps he knows more than you do. Perhaps he has a purpose it what he did. Obviously then taking sides against this direction because it seems right to you, a human who also makes mistakes may perhaps put you in an alignment with God's adversaries like the anti-cultist apostates on the MOJ?

So it comes down to JEHOVAH RIGHT OR WRONG?

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

bruceq:

That is a LOT of "perhapses", and "may be", and "may puts" testings of theoretical loyalty.

That is WHY we have trained consciences .... to be able to discern the DIFFERENCE between Jesus's direction, and arbitrary made-up stuff that is NOT Jesus' direction, but corporate policy.

We each have to decide what  "perhapses", and "may be", and "may puts" testings of theoretical loyalty are REAL, and what are  merely mechanisms for control by men, for no legitimate theocratic reason.

 

23 minutes ago, bruceq said:

   Stuff does happen. For example Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?

To answer you question ... If I did not ALREADY know the symbolism ... I would have done BOTH!

Like the old saying goes (paraphrased) " Fairie Tales by a milkmaid can be disregarded ... Fairie Tales from a REAL FAIRIE deserve your attention".

Remember, the constant stream of "New Light" means that formerly we were, BY DEFINITION ... given darkness as spiritual food before .... and it was necessary to APOSTATIZE from those beliefs for "new light"

.

 

.

 

.

 

[bruceq]

"arbitrary made-up stuff that is NOT Jesus' direction" 

is in the Bible as you and the anti-cultist apostates already know.

Jesus told his followers to eat his blood and flesh which was against the Mosaic Law and common sense. Would you have followed Jesus without any explanation or would you be so bold to ask for one?

MY JESUS RIGHT OR WRONG

Please answer the question

 

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

bruceq:

Your last post presumes that Jesus can be wrong, which is FALSE.

You obviously did not read where I have ALREADY completely answered the exact question you asked previously.

SCROLL UP !

When we have a constant stream of "New Light", it means that the people that are NOT Jesus Christ .. WERE WRONG ....... constantly.

.

 

.

[David Normand]

Sadly, the vandalism has already started. I wonder though, should the vandals be arrested would they be found to be members of an extremist organization? Or are they simply acting on their own impulse. Who really is the extremist, the person who peacefully hands out Bibles and bible based information, or the group that seeks to suppress religious free speech by government action and physical intimidation?