Problems In Russia For The Church?

[volgadon]

Sounds like she is repeating some of Ed Decker's tripe.

Worse. There was a major and well-publicised legal battle in that region less than a decade ago in which an apostate accused a local church leader of all sorts of things- even as serious as claiming that she had personal knowledge of the church murdering other apostates. I remember one newspaper article cautioning people to avoid eye contact with missionaries who are all master mesmerists.

[Nathair/|\]

I've met several. Some are horribly fascist, and get along reasonably well with the government. Others aren't tolerated much at all.

That makes me very sad. I highly value religious pluralism in a society where I can learn from everybody's perspective.

[volgadon]

That makes me very sad. I highly value religious pluralism in a society where I can learn from everybody's perspective.

I've met some very interesting people. I could also provide you with links to some Russian/Ukrainian pagans on youtube and such, but I don't know of any in English.

[Nathair/|\]

I've met some very interesting people. I could also provide you with links to some Russian/Ukrainian pagans on youtube and such, but I don't know of any in English.

Alas, I have far too many other tongues I need to learn before I start on the Eastern European languages. Too bad. Russia has some wonderful tales like the Firebird and Koschei the Deathless Edited April 12, 2013 by Nathair

[volgadon]

Alas, I have far too many other tongues I need to learn before I start on the Eastern European languages. Too bad. Russia has some wonderful tales like the Firebird and Koschei the Deathless

You'd enjoy this. http://archive.org/details/russianfolktales00afanuoft

[volgadon]

Specifically, she's agitating to add language that would ban "the West [from converting] our citizens into non-traditional religions" ie anything other than Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.

Whcih ignores the fact that in the Southern Federal district alone, Roman Catholics, Uniates, Baptists, Subbotniks, Molokans, Yezidis, animists, and others have had a long time presence there.

[Freedom]

This is all old news, same ol same ol news, par for the course news in russia.

[MormonMason]

Worse. There was a major and well-publicised legal battle in that region less than a decade ago in which an apostate accused a local church leader of all sorts of things- even as serious as claiming that she had personal knowledge of the church murdering other apostates. I remember one newspaper article cautioning people to avoid eye contact with missionaries who are all master mesmerists.

Believe it or not, Ed Decker said all the same things, in public, in video, and in print, wherever he went. In Jerusalem, he put on a yarmulke claimed that BYU Jerusalem was a front for a Mormon conversion center to proselyte the Jews. He displayed a newly translated Hebrew Selections of the Book of Mormon as part of his evidence.

Depending upon his audience, he would say that the Mormons were trying to "blood atone" him, and that they poisoned him with arsenic, etc., and that he personally knew people who had been killed by the Mormon Church, and a whole lot of related BS. He claimed that Mormons would go into trances when bearing testimony and that some Mormons were masters of mesmerism and brainwashing.

Evangelicals would eat that crap up like it was a chocolate sundae. I am not surprised that people in the countries he visited and elsewhere would pick up on garbage like that.

[volgadon]

Believe it or not, Ed Decker said all the same things, in public, in video, and in print, wherever he went. In Jerusalem, he put on a yarmulke claimed that BYU Jerusalem was a front for a Mormon conversion center to proselyte the Jews. He displayed a newly translated Hebrew Selections of the Book of Mormon as part of his evidence.

Depending upon his audience, he would say that the Mormons were trying to "blood atone" him, and that they poisoned him with arsenic, etc., and that he personally knew people who had been killed by the Mormon Church, and a whole lot of related BS. He claimed that Mormons would go into trances when bearing testimony and that some Mormons were masters of mesmerism and brainwashing.

Evangelicals would eat that crap up like it was a chocolate sundae. I am not surprised that people in the countries he visited and elsewhere would pick up on garbage like that.

I know, when I said worse, I meant that Decker after all is a foreigner, but when a local says the same things...

[MormonMason]

I know, when I said worse, I meant that Decker after all is a foreigner, but when a local says the same things...

Oh, well, in that light I can agree that it is worse.

[Hamilton Porter]

Russia Population: 142 million

LDS Population: 21,000 (from the caption in the article).

It would be a shame to get banned from the country, because we've obviously got a lot of work to do.

I think Russia is a potential new tithing base for the Church.

[cdowis]

It's nothing personal. She found a potentially popular issue which would help her politically - great for her image.

[volgadon]

It's nothing personal. She found a potentially popular issue which would help her politically - great for her image.

Oh, it can be plenty personal, too. I'm not sure you realise how deep the hatred of sektanti (sectists, or as one would say in English, cultists) runs. The Russian Orthodox Church encourages a very crusading mentality.

[rongo]

I've met some very interesting people. I could also provide you with links to some Russian/Ukrainian pagans on youtube and such, but I don't know of any in English.

An elderly convert in my first area (northern Germany) had a son who was a meteorologist in Hamburg. He was also a druid ---- seriously, not as a hobby or boys playing D&D in their parents' basement. He took it seriously, too (we had dinner with him and his mother a few times), but he didn't look anything like my stereotype of a druid. I also met some Germans who, quite seriously, were trying to renew and reinvigorate old Norse religion (Odin, Thor, etc.). They didn't practice witchcraft or anything like that.

I wonder what they thought when the new Thor/Avenger movies came out (Asgard, etc.). Too popular in the general public, need to go out and find another obscure religion?

Edited April 12, 2013 by rongo

[Nathair/|\]

An elderly convert in my first area (northern Germany) had a son who was a meteorologist in Hamburg. He was also a druid ---- seriously, not as a hobby or boys playing D&D in their parents' basement. He took it seriously, too (we had dinner with him and his mother a few times), but he didn't look anything like my stereotype of a druid. I also met some Germans who, quite seriously, were trying to renew and reinvigorate old Norse religion (Odin, Thor, etc.). They didn't practice witchcraft or anything like that.

I wonder what they thought when the new Thor/Avenger movies came out (Asgard, etc.). Too popular in the general public, need to go out and find another obscure religion?

Gordon Cooper, one of the Archdruids of my Order and a good friend, coined the term "Celtic Reconstructionism, which is an attempt to recreate ancient Celtic religion as close as possible given the current state of scholarship. I also have several other friends who are part of reconstructionist groups for other European tribal religions. They don't seem to have a problem distinguishing between pop-culture versions of the myths and their faith any more than Christians have a problem distinguishing between Christianity and, say, a film like Dogma.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I remember the 1990s scare (Lebed and "pond scum"), and hope that things don't get that bad.

Is there any reason to be afraid that missionaries will be banned in Russia?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/the-daily-beast/9736259/Russias-anti-Mormon-campaign.html

As I understand it, Putin does not like any Church that does not have ties to the Russian Gov't.

[CASteinman]

Believe it or not, Ed Decker said all the same things, in public, in video, and in print, wherever he went.

I have had a communications with him a few times and found that when he was talking with anyone who had more than a generalist knowledge of the Gospel and the Church he would not or could not respond other than to walk away.

I believe he is responsible for deaths of innocent people and that he serves a master, but not God.

[MormonMason]

I have had a communications with him a few times and found that when he was talking with anyone who had more than a generalist knowledge of the Gospel and the Church he would not or could not respond other than to walk away.

I believe he is responsible for deaths of innocent people and that he serves a master, but not God.

I completely agree with you there. Someone I know once had lunch with him. When asked why he lies the way he does when he full well knows that he is lying, his reply simply was: "The end justifies the means." For some reason a particular passages in the Doctrine and Covenants came to mind about lying to catch a deceiver, and some such.

[Damien the Leper]

As I understand it, Putin does not like any Church that does not have ties to the Russian Gov't.

That's because Putin is a narcissistic and fascism obsessed prick.