Russia became the FIRST European country to officially prohibit a translation of the Bible.

[bruceq]

Court's ban of Bible defies logic and common sense

COURT BANS MODERN TRANSLATION OF BIBLE IN RUSSIA

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 18 August 2017

 

Late in the evening of 17 August 2017, the Vyborg city court announced a decision: to recognize as extremist material the translation of the Bible into modern Russian, which was seized from Jehovah's Witnesses at customs. All of the seized batch should be confiscated with the goal of subsequent destruction. This decision has not taken legal effect and will be appealed in the Leningrad provincial court.

 

Russia became the first European country to officially prohibit a translation of the Bible. The historic decision was issued by Judge Dmitry Grishin on a declaration of the prosecutor's office. During the many hours of sessions, Grishin was presented adequate opportunity to be persuaded that it is the Bible that is the object of the judicial investigation, a book which by law cannot be ruled to be extremist material. In the sessions, dozens of fragments were read from it, whole reams of various editions of the Bible were presented, and comparisons and contrasts of texts were conducted. Judge Grishin directly read dozens of texts from the Bible. The most authoritative specialists in the area of linguistics and religious studies where summoned to the trial from Moscow, who answered all questions of the sides and judge. Representatives of the prosecutor's office, who sought the ban of the Bible, were not able to identify a single biblical quotation that, in their opinion, could be considered extremist. Nevertheless, to universal amazement, the court made the decision to recognize the Bible as extremist material.

 

At the base of this lawsuit lies the expert conclusion of Natalia Kriukova, who did not introduce a single quotation from the text of the Bible but nevertheless came to the conclusion that this book is extremist material. The logic of this expert conclusion consists in the fact that this Bible is extremist material because it is used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The court ignored other scientific conclusions, expert analyses, and reviews existing in the case, which prove conclusively that Kriukova's conclusion is unscientific and contradictory, and that the Bible, which is the object of the lawsuit, really is the Bible. It is noteworthy that mathematics teacher Natalia Kriukova does not have education giving her the right to conduct this investigation.

 

Judge Dmitry Grishin is a kandidat of jurisprudence. When lawyers pointed out to him that this translation of the Bible is included in the catalogue of translations of the Bible published by the American Library of Congress, Grishin told the sides that he has engaged in his own scientific research for many days in the Library of Congress. Nevertheless, on 17 August 2017 Grishin issued a decision to prohibit the Bible, a decision which contradicts science, the law, and common sense. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 August 2017)

[bruceq]

Court decided that Jehovah's Witnesses' Bible is not Christian

COURT RULES ESSENTIAL BOOKS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES PROHIBITED

by Mikhail Telekhov

RAPSI, 18 August 2017

 

The Vyborg city court of Leningrad province recognized several books of the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist and forbidden for distribution on Russian territory, RAPSI was told on Friday in the court.

 

"A lawsuit was filed in court by the Leningrad-Finland transport prosecutor," the court specified.

 

The transport prosecutor's office explained that the court recognized these books to be prohibited: "Sacred Scripture. New World Translation," "Science Instead of the Bible," "How to Improve Health," and "The Bible and its Chief Topic."

 

The news agency's interlocutor said that these are the most important propaganda and religious materials of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses banned in Russia. "Within the framework of this civil trial, the court was able to get around the equation of 'Sacred Scripture' with the Synodal translation of the canonical Bible, which the law forbids to regard as extremist. As a result, experts drew the conclusion of the independent character of paradigms that are foundational for Jehovah's Witnesses, emphasizing that it is not related to essential principles of Christian teaching," the prosecutor's office explained.

 

It was reported at the court that after the court's decision takes legal effect it will be sent to the Russian Ministry of Justice for inclusion of the aforementioned books in the Federal List of Extremist Materials. (tr. by PDS, posted 18 August 2017)

[bruceq]

Jehovah's Witnesses' Bible does not differ essentially from Orthodox Bible

BIBLE TRANSLATION MADE BY JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES RULED "EXTREMIST" IN R.F.

Portal-Credo.Ru, 19 August 2017

 

The Vyborg city court of Leningrad province on 17 August recognized one of the translations of the Bible ("New World Translation" adopted by Jehovah's Witnesses) as "extremist material," a Portal-Credo.Ru correspondent reports. At the same time, in Russia there is a law in effect, adopted in 2015, that prohibits recognizing the Bible "as extremist materials," while the question about translations is not dealt with in the law.

 

The New World Translation does not fundamentally differ from the Synodal translation, which is most widely distributed in Russia. In their translation, the Jehovah's Witnesses only tried to downplay the "trinitarian" fragments and also to use the name Jehovah as often as possible.  An expert conclusion, on the basis of which the court issued its decision, recognized as "extremist" in particular the fragment of the Old Testament where God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is described.

 

The judicial act, unprecedented in human history, was made by Judge Dmitry Grishin, a kandidat of jurisprudence and past chairman of the department of civil law of the A.S. Pushkin Leningrad University. "To recognize 'Sacred Scripture—New World Translation' as extremist material," the verdict says. "To recognize as extremist materials the brochures 'The Bible and its Main Theme,' 'Science Instead of the Bible?' and 'How to Improve Health. 5 Simple Rules.' To confiscate the batch of the aforesaid literature."

 

The court's decision has not taken effect and it may be appealed within 30 days. Reporting from the courtroom was posted on the website of the Jehovah' Witnesses in Russia. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 August 2017)

[TrueTomHarley]

1 hour ago, bruceq said:

Judge Grishin directly read dozens of texts from the Bible. The most authoritative specialists in the area of linguistics and religious studies where summoned to the trial from Moscow, who answered all questions of the sides and judge. Representatives of the prosecutor's office, who sought the ban of the Bible, were not able to identify a single biblical quotation that, in their opinion, could be considered extremist. Nevertheless, to universal amazement, the court made the decision to recognize the Bible as extremist material.

The judge knew what he had to do.

I am sorry to hear it, and not just for the right reason. I am sorry to hear it for Russia's sake, too - which should be none of my concern.

I am saddened to see a 'great' nation so clearly paint itself as Neanderthal-witted,  and contemptuous of universally and clearly recognized truth. 

[bruceq]

The most important extremist

 

10.10.12

If you examine the laws and regulations on extremism and other religious and ideological violations, Jesus Christ violated them all. Only a few examples:

Proclaimed the inferiority of citizens on the basis of attitudes toward religion: "He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but on him is the wrath of God" (John 3:36). 

Propagandized excellence on religious grounds: "He will send His angels and collect His chosen from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the edge of the sky" (Mark 13:27). 

I considered only my religion as true: "I am the way and the truth and the life; No one comes to the Father, except through me "(John 14: 6). 

He insulted the religious feelings of believers: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that shut the Kingdom of Heaven to men, for you yourself do not go in and do not enter those who do not enter" (Matthew 23:13).

He humiliated the dignity of citizens: "(Jesus) found that oxen, sheep and pigeons were sold in the temple, and money changers were sitting. And having made a scourge of ropes, he drove out from the temple all, [and] both sheep and oxen; And scattered money from the money changers, and overturned their tables "(John 2:14, 15). 

He threatened his opponents with physical violence: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he sits on the throne of his glory, and all nations will be gathered before him; And he will separate them from the others, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats ... Then he will say to those on the left: "Go from me, you cursed, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25: 31-33, 41) .

Jesus even destroyed families: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and besides his very life, he can not be My disciple" (Luke 14:26) . 

... and took away the apartments: "Jesus said to him:" If you want to be perfect, go, sell your property and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and then come and follow me "(Matthew 19:21). 

I wonder if Jesus would have gotten off fine just by living today? And why is the Bible still not listed as extremist literature? 

http://chivchalov.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post_10.html#more

[bruceq]

Expert analysis used in trial of Bible absurd

BIBLE IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES' TRANSLATION RULED EXTREMIST

SOVA Center for News and Analysis, 18 August 2017

 

On 17 August 2017, the Vyborg city court granted the lawsuit of the Leningrad-Finland transport prosecutor for finding to be extremist the publications "Sacred Scripture. New World Translation" (that is, the Bible of the Jehovah's Witnesses), 2015 edition, and also brochures "The Bible and its Main Theme," "Science Instead of the Bible?" and "How to Improve Health. 5 Simple Rules." The court's decision has still not taken legal effect and may be appealed, the website of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia reports.

 

The edition of the Bible was seized by Vyborg customs in July 2015. In February 2016, the prosecutor's office sent to the court a lawsuit for finding the publications extremist, and its consideration began in April 2016.

 

In the course of reviewing the lawsuit, on the basis of a petition of the prosecutor, a complex linguistic religious studies judicial expert analysis was conducted. It was carried out by experts of the Center for Socio-Cultural Expert Analysis: kandidat of pedagogical sciences Natalia Kriukova and kandidats of political sciences Alexander Tarasov and Viktor Kotelnikov.

 

Most of the questions placed before the experts regarded the presence in the texts under review of signs of extremism and the wording of relevant legislation was reproduced in these questions. This is a violation of the rules for conducting judicial expert analysis, inasmuch as only a court has the right to answer such questions. At the same time, from the text of the conclusion it follows that the main goal that guided the experts was to answer the questions posed by the investigation in the affirmative.

 

The obvious insubstantiality, impotence, and blatant absurdity of their own arguments did not embarrass them. Thus, to the question whether these materials contain a rationale and justification of the necessity if overthrowing the constitutional structure of the Russian federation, the experts answer: yes, inasmuch as it follows that the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the moral depravity of the existing state of things; the imminent end of the world; the victory of Jesus over the devil after seizing the world and destroying all rulers, evil people, and demons; the accession of Jesus; and the start of a new world system. To the question whether the materials presented contain calls for the disruption of the territorial integrity of the Russian federation, the answer again is in the affirmative: yes, inasmuch as Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the inevitability of a change of government with the end of the world and where there is a change of government there is the conquest of territories there. Whether these materials cause religious strife and hatred: yes, inasmuch as they speak of the divine election of Jehovah's Witnesses and the falsity of other religions (of whom are used the collective terms "Babylon the great" and "great whore"). At the same time, the experts cited Old Testament episodes of original sin and the destruction of Babylon, Canaanites, and apostate Israelites after the death of Joshua, and they cited God's blessing of the new Christian assembly and followers of the Christians. To the question whether these materials contain statements about the natural and biological superiority of Jehovah's Witnesses over adherents of other religions, the experts also answer in the affirmative, citing the very same arguments. Among other things, the experts considered as causing religious hatred the criticism of the Catholic church consisting in the fact that the Jehovah's Witnesses' brochure about science in an article about Galileo says that the Catholic Inquisition sentenced him to life-long arrest unjustly and Pope John Paul II admitted this. Whether the Jehovah's Witnesses in their material call for genocide and mass repressions and the establishment of inequality, discrimination, and committing hate crimes, according to the opinion of the experts: yes, after all they believe that God rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah and that disaster awaits at the end of the world.  It is amazing, but the experts in their reviews of texts did not find calls for terrorism (in contrast to mass repressions) or obstruction of the exercise of voting rights by citizens and of legal activity by governmental agencies.

 

The experts of the Center for Socio-Cultural Expert Analysis gave a positive answer to a question of the investigation about the presence in Jehovah's Witnesses' materials of manipulative linguistic and psychological techniques aimed at the formation of negative attitudes toward representatives of other religions. Such things they found in a "special form of presentation of material" (use of inserts, citations, and illustrations with commentary), the use of specific terminology ("vigilance," "last days," "day of darkness and gloom," "little flock," "fiancé," "bride," "wedding," etc.), the formation of positive stereotypes with regard to Jehovah's Witnesses and the "image of the enemy" with regard to representatives of the sinful world that is external to them, "exhortation in the form of infection" (citing examples of a righteous and pious life), "substitution of concepts" (the text contain calls for studying the Bible in the Jehovah's Witnesses' translation, which in the opinion of the experts is not a Bible), and "exhortation in the form of persuasion."

 

From the experts' point of view, the Jehovah's Witnesses' materials "contain information connected with the obligation or encouragement" of members of the congregation "to distance themselves from institutions of civil society," in particular, from family and marriage, inasmuch as they present the Jehovah's Witnesses' view on marriage, and other points of view are not acknowledged. At the same time, the experts refer to statements that adultery is considered a sin and the followers of Christ must not commit adultery. The authors of the expert analysis discovered in the literature reviewed "signs of encouraging the reader to refuse to fulfill duties established by legislation of the RF," specifically refusal of military service, despite the fact that Russian legislation provides the possibility of performing alternative service, and Jehovah's Witnesses perform it.

 

Finally, inasmuch as there exists in Russia a law forbidding finding the sacred scriptures of world religions and excerpts from them to be extremist, the investigation placed before the experts the question whether the given materials are "the Bible, Quran, Tanakh, or Gandjur" and whether they contain quotations from these books. The experts' answer, of course, was negative. From their point of view, "Sacred Scripture in the New World Translation" is not a Bible, inasmuch as it differs from the Synodal translation on linguistic, topical, and interpretive levels. This is expressed in the fact that it uses the concept of "Jehovah" instead of the concept of "God," the tetragrammaton is introduced into the text of the New Testament and translated as "Jehovah," the texts of the New Testament about the unity of the nature and the equality of God the Father and God the Son are "changed so that they can be interpreted in the opposite sense," the name of the Holy Spirit is written in lower case letters (which depersonalizes him and contradicts the presentation in the New Testament "as a personality and person of the Holy Trinity"), with the same goal the "verse of 1 Peter 1.11 is distorted," and the internal notation of the text has been changed, and in addition the book does not indicate that it is a Bible, although other translations, particularly the Synodal, do contain such an indication. Inasmuch as the "New World Translation" is not a Bible, the experts indicate, that means that it does not contain quotations from the Bible.

 

The fact that there exists in Russia a court that considers it possible to take into consideration an expert conclusion containing argumentation of such a level casts a shadow onto the entire Russian legal system as a whole and testifies to the most profound crisis of Russian jurisprudence.

 

We consider that recognizing as extremist both the Bible in the Jehovah's Witnesses' translation and their other publications is unjustified and we regard such prohibitions as a manifestation of religious discrimination. The means chosen by the experts and adopted by the court for getting around the law that forbids ruling the sacred scripture of world religions to be extremist is its own sorry precedent, which in the future opens the possibility of the ban of other translations and presentations of sacred books.

 

We recall that on 20 April 2017, the Russian Supreme Court ruled the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local congregations to be extremist and the decision has come into force. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 August 2017)

[bruceq]

Jehovah's Witnesses Bible is "extremist" because Jehovah's Witnesses are "extremist"

VYBORG COURT ORDERS DESTRUCTION OF BIBLE IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES' TRANSLATION

Radio Liberty, 18 August 2017

 

The Vyborg court recognized as extremist material and ordered to destroy the edition of the Bible in the Russian translation of Jehovah's Witnesses. This was reported by the portal Kasparov.ru.

 

At a session that finished late in the evening of Thursday, the court took the side of the prosecution. It was guided by the conclusion of an expert that the book is extremist if members of an organization that is forbidden in the country translated it.

 

More than 2,000 copies of the "Sacred Scripture in the New World Translation" were seized by customs in July 2015. At that time the Sova analytical center declared that despite differences with the Synodal translation, the book does not contain signs of extremism.

 

The Russian Ministry of Justice has included the Jehovah's Witnesses in the list of banned organizations subject to liquidation. This decision anticipates the closing of the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg and also of almost 400 regional offices.

 

The ban of the Jehovah's Witnesses by Russian authorities evoked criticism on the part of the U.S.A., European Union, and international rights advocacy organizations. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 August 2017)