FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE OR FREEDOM
WITHOUT CONSCIENCE?
by Mikhail Cherenkov
Cherenkov.blogspot.ru,
July 2016
On 20 July, a set of repressive laws,
known as the
"Yarovaya Package," took effect in Russia.
Despite the protests of religious
leaders, the laws
were nevertheless signed by President Vladimir Putin. Joint
prayers and
collective appeals to the president by evangelical Christians
were ignored.
A new epoch has begun for Russia and
Russian
believers, in which, under cover of antiterrorist rhetoric,
religious freedom
is being destroyed, fear is being sown, and the search for
domestic sectarian
enemies and the struggle with them are being encouraged.
From now on, not everyone can choose to
explain one's
faith to a neighbor or to share the gospel with a passer-by.
Indeed, monitoring
and censorship will reign on the Internet. Unbearably enormous
fines threaten
both individuals and religious organizations.
We do not know how these laws will be
applied. But it
is already now clear that they are fulfilling their goal: they
are creating an
atmosphere of fear and suspicion in society and they are giving
the government
the right to effectively restrict freedom—despite the
constitution and
international norms.
Believers have already been quite
quickly faced with a
very serious choice—to obey God or the Russian "law," to bow to
Christ or to Putin, and the price of this choice will be very
high. It is like
in Russian fairy tales—the hero stands at a crossroads, but
every choice is
fraught with threats and there is simply no safety. This is a
typically Russian
situation: there is a kind of choice, but it is necessary to pay
much for it,
sometimes with one's conscience and sometimes with one's head.
I recall how Christians did not trust
the soviet
"perestroika," and then the fall of communism. All the time they
were
expecting that freedom will cease and persecution will return.
Now these
alarming expectations are coming true before our eyes. Russia
has completed its
historical cycle, moving from the thaw and chaos to a harsh
dictatorship. For
those who value freedom more than bread, and fidelity higher
than life, the
time of hardships has begun. Freedom of conscience has become
extremely
precious. Increasingly, remaining at liberty is possible only
for those who
have sacrificed freedom of conscience and conscience itself.
Actually, Russian evangelical churches
find themselves
behind a new "iron curtain," which closes off society from the
outside world. They need our support. It is especially important
to support the
new generation of leaders, who are competent and dedicated,
daring and bold,
free and creative, and ready to minister under any conditions.
Simply put, they
are those who understand everything but are not afraid. Only
they can see in
what is happening a new possibility that God is giving. The door
for evangelism
is still open, or ajar. Therefore the time of active mission is
continuing.
Pray for Russia, its people and its Christians, for its
political and religious
leaders. For those who are called in such a difficult time to
serve God's
mission in this enormous and very troubled country. (tr. by PDS,
posted 3
August 2016)
Russian original posted on website of Religiia
i
Pravo, 29 July 2016
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