Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Russia: The U.S. Is Becoming 'Godless'


At a glance, this article appeared to be another example of Vladimir Putin poking the west as he loves to do, but a deeper reading reveals some difficult truths. The article contains a few quotes from the leader of the Orthodox church which are particularly painful. 




Who's 'Godless Now? Russia Says It's The U.S.
 



At the height of the Cold War, it was common for American conservatives to label the officially atheist Soviet Union a “godless nation.”

More than two decades on, history has come full circle, as the Kremlin and its allies in the Russian Orthodox Church hurl the same allegation at the West.

“Many Euro-Atlantic countries have moved away from their roots, including Christian values,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent keynote speech. “Policies are being pursued that place on the same level a multi-child family and a same-sex partnership, a faith in God and a belief in Satan. This is the path to degradation.”

In his state of the nation address in mid-December, Mr. Putin also portrayed Russia as a staunch defender of “traditional values” against what he depicted as the morally bankrupt West. Social and religious conservatism, the former KGB officer insisted, is the only way to prevent the world from slipping into “chaotic darkness.”

Mr. Putin’s views of the West were echoed this month by Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, the leader of the Orthodox Church, who accused Western countries of engaging in the “spiritual disarmament” of their people.
In particular, Patriarch Kirill criticized laws in several European countries that prevent believers from displaying religious symbols, including crosses on necklaces, at work.
“The general political direction of the [Western political] elite bears, without doubt, an anti-Christian and anti-religious character,” the patriarch said in comments aired on state-controlled television.
“We have been through an epoch of atheism, and we know what it is to live without God,” Patriarch Kirill said. “We want to shout to the whole world, ‘Stop!’”
Other figures within the Orthodox Church have gone further in criticizing the West. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a church spokesman, suggested that the modern-day West is no better for a Christian believer than theSoviet Union.
Soviet authorities executed some 200,000 clergy and believers from 1917 to 1937, according to a 1995 presidential committee report. Thousands of churches were destroyed, and those that survived were turned into warehouses, garages or museums of atheism.
“The separation of the secular and the religious is a fatal mistake by the West,” the Rev. Chaplin said. “It is a monstrous phenomenon that has occurred only in Western civilization and will kill the West, both politically and morally.”


5 comments:

Stephen said...

Stocks are AGAIN SHOWING signs
of strength tonite.....as noted
earlier. No REAL evidence yet
can be seen that THE END is really
that near.

Bulls are still BUYING stock on
dips.

and until that changes, well,
the game with the bull goes on.

I am starting to have SERIOUS
DOUBTS in fact that the trib will
even begin this year, really.

Bulls are still not giving up
control with markets.

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>

Sandra said...

Wow Stephen, "serious doubts" that the trib is begin this year. It can now happen at any moment. Look up for no one knows the day or the hour of our redemption. All the signs tell us to look up. Don't look at the mammon of this world as a symbol of our redemption or a time piece. I encourage you to look up and trust in God's Word. Stephen, this is not an attack but a express of encouragement from a loving sister in Christ Jesus.

Sandra

Stephen said...

Sandra I understand you, but after
being in this WORLD over 60 years
and nothing has happened yet makes
me depressed and sick.

If only i could truly believe that
HE will come soon....but that is
very hard, I have been let down
too many times in the past.

so I get to the point where I
just assume it will not HAPPEN
when I am here in this world.

that's all

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

harnessandleash said...

Not that the US isn't slipping deep into a depraved state of affairs (in most any direction you want to look), BUT, getting a lecture from Russia on morality is the epitome of absurd. Russia is a country that uses a known heroin drug lord to help influence Asian countries to vote for Russia in order to win the 2014 winter Olympics.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/alleged-heroin-kingpin-helped-russia-win-olympics-sochi/story?id=22295531

I keep running into the word "convinced" lately. Just finished a discussion with an atheist about a book on Amazon & she ended by telling me, "You haven't convinced me." At some pint we all have to rest on our "faith" & not walk by "sight"-- always looking for the things of this world to prove to us what we want to believe. "By faith Abraham… by faith Moses…" on & on in the scriptures faith is emphasized. "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Heb 11:1)

I think we're all a little weary from waiting to go "home," but the truth is we're told to watch. We're doing what Jesus said to do, but if we walk by sight only, the waiting gets very tedious.

Sandra said...

I understand completely, it is hard not to become discouraged but we need to press in even harder and hold on to our faith in Jesus Christ and His living Word! That is why we need to encourage each other daily to look up.

Sandra