Sheep and Goats

Category: Russia

  • Dissent on the Margins

    Since I am retired and do nothing but write, I am putting together a short Ebook (which gets longer all the time) on the Russian ban, the letter-writing campaign, and things leading up to it. This one will be a freebee, unlike the others I have written  – ‘free’ is more in keeping with the spirit of things. They should all be free, but unfortunately, writing is my sole gig. It’s either that or Mickey D. for me.

    En route to gathering material, I came across a book entitled Dissent on the Margins, which is about the history of our people in Russia, published in 2014. The author, Emily Baran, is not a Witness, nor a cheerleader for us, but she gets it right with regard to her facts – she relates them accurately and impartially. She has been quoted on jw.org. Her book has given me much context, preventing what might be some clumsy missteps, and I recommend it.

    It’s pricey, but less so as an Ebook. And worth it, if you’re into history and non-biased commentary. Whereas my books are largely anecdotes and experiences, my ‘research’ mostly just nailing down the specifics of things or events I already know about, she actually has done the academic kind. Her book is heavily footnoted with materials both from Witnesses here and in Russia, as well as government archives.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • Our Russian Brothers Always Knew it Was a Long Shot

     “For a fact, the king to whom I am speaking so freely well knows about these things; I am convinced that not one of these things escapes his notice, for none of this has been done in a corner,” says the apostle Paul at Acts 26:26. So it is with the Russian ban on true religion. It has not been done in a corner. The Governing Body did not permit it to be done that way. Nobody who knows anything cannot have failed to hear of this.

    The entire affair, which our Russian brothers always thought was a long shot, is publicized so that as few as possible can say they were unaware. Let them declare themselves on one side or the other of Christianity. Let the American Dream Church and the Independence Day Church, always intricately involved with the world, continue to pretend that they represent Jesus. All know who are truly following his command to ‘put down the sword.’ All know who are truly proclaiming ‘this good news of the Kingdom’ and living by its requirements even today.

    Someone worries that other nations, far from being outraged, may take this as a template for banning Witnesses in their country, too. If it should happen, let it happen with maximum publicity, as this is receiving. How literally is Psalm 2:2 to be fulfilled? Let all publicly take their stand. Let it become clear before all who are God’s loyal ones and who are those who would fight against him. At some point the experiment of human self-rule must end. Has it not proven itself an obscene failure?

    Our Russian brothers always thought it was a long shot. Rarely does the judicial branch in that country stand up to the executive branch, regardless of the evidence. It is the witness given that is most important. All have come to know that there is a nation in which every citizen cares personally about every other citizen. Our Russian brothers will forever know that their courageous stand, which they are prepared to continue, triggers massive traffic to jw.org – how could it be otherwise? as heretofore uninterested persons check to see if it is truly extremist. Of course, they will see that it is not. How will they respond to that?

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • We Cannot Stop Speaking About the Things We Have Seen and Heard

    Many times in the repressive days in both Germany and the United States our brothers blitzed areas with preaching campaigns both thorough and quick. Suppose that our Russian brothers were suddenly to intensify their service to God? Either separately or on cue. There are 175,000 of them, after all, and for the time being, they have the sympathy of the world behind them. (how often does that happen?)

    It is not for us to say what they will do. It is their neck on the line, not ours. But they have been dealing with police harassment for some time, they did not expect to win this trial, and they know such harassment will intensify. 'Might as well supply a reason for it to intensify,' perhaps they will reason.

    Many of our people in Russia, perhaps all of them, will be reflecting on Peter's words to the religious leaders of his day: 

    "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.”  (Acts 4:19)

    It's not that they would not. It is that they could not.

    ……

    Persecution against Jehovah's Witnesses always originates in the religious realm. That realm, in turn, may stir up other elements, such as the politicians. One can't go wrong considering how matters went down soon after Jesus' death. Acts 4 makes for good reading. Read it all. (and the rest of the Bible while you are at it) Here are a few excerpts from chapter 4:

    Now when they saw the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and ordinary men they were astonished. And they began to realize that they had been with Jesus…"So that this does not spread any further among the people, let us threaten them and tell them not to speak to anyone anymore on the basis of this name.” With that they called them and ordered them not to say anything at all or to teach on the basis of the name of Jesus. But in reply Peter and John said to them: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.”

    …After being released, they went to their own people and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. On hearing this, they raised their voices with one accord to God and said: “Sovereign Lord, you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, and who said through holy spirit by the mouth of our forefather David, your servant: ‘Why did nations become agitated and peoples meditate on empty things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers gathered together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one….And now, Jehovah, give attention to their threats, and grant to your slaves to keep speaking your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing and while signs and wonders occur through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

    And when they had made supplication, the place where they were gathered together was shaken, and they were one and all filled with the holy spirit and were speaking the word of God with boldness.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

     

  • Possibly He Did Not Want, Even for an Hour, to be Chief Spokesman for the Devil

    On day 2, the Russian Presiding Judge became surprisingly active, Mark Sanderson of the Governing Body said. He questioned closely the Ministry of Justice on just what might happen if Russian Witnesses were to continue reading their extremist publications. Virtually everything Jehovah's Witnesses publishes is on the government's list of extremism literature, even the children's book. The Ministry of Justice assured him there could be dire consequences. What of the rights of 175,000 Russian citizens? the judge wanted to know. 

    It was not the only time he was to do his job. On Day 5, he questioned the Ministry of Justice as to the legal basis for shutting down Jehovah's Witnesses and confiscating their property. The Ministry of Justice declined to identify one. Other times, too, he was quite proactive and often was it observed that he was surprisingly impartial. Russian brothers were not surprised at the outcome. They had never expected to win. We here are are used to judges acting independently of the executive branch. They are not. It doesn't happen there. Nor are the brothers there unaccustomed to dealing with police harassment, which they expect to intensify.

    Several said that the judge appeared sad as he granted the Ministry of Justice's petition to ban Jehovah's Witnesses, after reviewing 43 volumes of submitted evidence in a single hour. He knew what he had to do. But possibly he was a man with a conscience.

    Possibly he did not want to, even for a single hour, be chief spokesperson for the Devil.

    Still, he did a lot. He was very bold. Not many are ready for their 15 minutes of negative fame. Even Peter chickened out. By pointed questions throughout the trial, which the MOJ was totally unprepared for, likely expecting to be unchallenged, he exposed them for not having a leg to stand on. In this he aids future appeals as well as  present worldwide review. He did a lot, even if he ultimately declined to throw himself under the bus. Not many persons would.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • What is an Extremist Organization

    The special broadcast from the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, in the aftermath of the verdict, built everyone up. Mark Sanderson, of the GB, present throughout the trial, summarized the atmosphere even more so than the actual proceedings.

    Early indications that the trial would be little more than a sham to rubberstamp a decision already made were spotlighted – 18 of the defense teams's motions instantly denied, for example, letting all know that videotaped evidence exonerating us would not be seen by the court. Embassy officials of other nations were able to see it, of course, as is everyone else, since it has been displayed for some time at jw.org. Their turn was to come, as the court also denied to hear testimony from them on the JW record.

    The brothers were pleased, nonetheless, for the witness given, that six of our people provided clear, cogent testimony reflecting the true nature of our worship and work.

    Toward the end, our people were able to remind the court that it was not really them before the Russian authorities. Rather, it was everyone, defense and prosecution alike, arguing before the Supreme Court of the universe.

    Russian brothers gave assurance of their intentions to serve Jehovah steadfastly regardless of their new circumstances, and to do it with the Christian trademark of never returning evil for evil.

    Moved by this broadcast, ISIS world headquarters rehearsed their own special broadcast to be made in the event they, too, should ever get into hot water with the Russians. They, too, tried to line up interviewees to upbuild their crew. They were thwarted in this, however, because any person that stepped forward was instantly blown full of holes by ISIS members with AK-47s.

    This happened because ISIS is an extremist group.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • Look For the People Individually Praised but Collectively Maligned

    To follow Christ is now illegal in Russia. The government has given their verdict. Surely it has been played out as at Acts 26:26: ‘this thing has not been done in a corner.’ It has been played out so that all know and can take a stand.

    It is Jesus at John 15:20: ‘Keep in mind the word I said to you: A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you.”

    It is the Acts 28:22 words applied to first century Christians: ‘truly as regards this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.’

    Who among the many faiths inherit the mantle of Acts 28:22? Look for the people individually praised but collectively maligned.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • Can Putin Withdraw Himself from the Headlock of the Church?

    From Jeremiah 26:7-16:

     "And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah.

     "So when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him and said: “You will surely die…

     "The priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people: “This man deserves the death penalty, because he has prophesied against this city just as you have heard with your own ears.”…

     "Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets: “This man does not deserve the death penalty, for he spoke to us in the name of Jehovah our God.”   
    ……….

    It is always this way. The princes have no problem with it. It is the priests and the prophets that oppose religious truth.

    Perhaps it will be that way with Putin, if he can withdraw himself from the headlock of the Church.

     

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • Tell the House Church to Go to Hell!

    Today, an RT.com article discusses the U.S. 1917 Espionage Act:
     
    "The government cracked down on domestic dissent by introducing the Espionage Act (June 1917), Sedition Act (May 1918) and Alien Act (October 1918)." [RT.com is mad about the U.S. striking Syria, an up-till-now ally, and likens it to the U.S. entry into World War I]
     
    This Act was famously used against Jehovah's Witnesses, sending leaders to prison. Today, Russia's own Extremism Law threatens to do the same.
     
    Okay, I know it's naive, and the following is tongue-in-cheek, but could this play out?
     
    Putin: "Yesterday, it is St. Petersburg! Now it is Syria! What a screwy world! What do I care if the Jehovahs want to preach? Get this case out of my hair! I've got things to do! Tell the House Church to go to hell!"
     
    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • I apologize to Mr. Putin

    When Putin opens my letter, he will be disheartened. He will see several paragraphs. He will want with all his heart to read it, but he has several million other letters to get through. He will toss the letter.

    He will then open the next letter and discover, as he suspected from the envelope, that it is from a child. It includes drawings, one of a sad little girl because Putin is being mean to her nice friends, and one from a happy little girl, because he has had a change of heart. Putin will smile faintly, for everyone loves children. He will put this letter aside. Possibly he will show it to his grandchildren someday.

    He will open the next letter. It will also be from me – not the same letter, but worded and reasoned upon completely anew. He will roll his eyes. “Another letter from that windbag Harley,” he will mutter, and toss it in the trash.

    How many letters will Putin get? Eight million, at a minimum, as every Witness in the world will write him. They only had to be invited once, and they instantly responded. Putin has never seen anything like it and he will not forget it. It will not necessarily melt his heart. It may make him mad. He has a country to run. He has a world infested with verbal assassins he must stay abreast of. He even has would-be physical assassins, and one of them succeeded in taking out his favorite limosine driver, a no-doubt decent man that I would hang out with were I in the area. So he may not like it that Jehovah’s Witnesses try to flood his Kremlin and paralyze him, like the Dr. Suess king mired in oobleck.

    I apologize to him. I really do. Unfortunately, the well-being of my brothers is at stake, and we feel we must get his attention somehow. He is being given bad advice by religionists. If he takes it, he will look like an utter fool on the world stage because nobody can read JW materials, online or in print, and think them extremist. Perhaps he should get mad at those who would maneuver him into such a ridiculous position.

    Most likely, the eight million is just for starters. Six addresses are listed. Many Witnesses will send their same letter to all six, bringing the total to – say, 30 million. Yuri will not be jealous that Dmitry received the same letter as he. Some comfortable in writing will compose several letters and send each to all six. Make that 50 million. Then there will be non-Witness, human rights people. These will write in numbers of far less percentage, but there are far more of them. There will be some who don’t like Jehovah’s Witnesses and support the ban. Not to mention outright opposers who will be cheerleaders for him to take harsher measures. Will that bring the total to 60 million? More? Your guess is as good as mine.

    Will letters from opposers fool him? I doubt it. He will say: “Look, I can see why Harley would write me, and all his 8 million chums. But what about this loser? Is he pretending he is somehow my friend who would warn me of a great danger? Is he not part of the general world who was last week (in the U.S.) called me a thug and a murderer?”

    Putin may have them all sunk at sea and never read one. But he cannot fail to know of their existence and will perhaps wonder: ‘what would the world be like if everyone behaved as do these JWs, transcending national, racial, and social divisions to show loving concern for their spiritual brothers?

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why

  • He May Come to Realize That With all the Threats Facing His Country, Jehovah’s Witnesses are not One of Them

    The trick will be to generate such worldwide publicity, to make every person aware, that for Putin to snuff out Jehovah’s Witnesses will be comparable to his strangling a cat on live TV. He may decide not to do it. He wants to be regarded as wise, as firm where necessary, but certainly not as an unhinged Kim Jong-un.

    To be sure, he plays hardball when he has to, but he may come to realize that here he does not have to. What with Post Offices around the world being crushed with the volume of JW letters, likely from every Witness in the world, (to him or to one of his associates) everyone except the most disconnected may become aware of the situation soon to be decided by him. Will he want to be an international pariah? All our letters will be respectful, [except some seeded in by those religious enemies who want the ban to proceed] in sharp contrast to how he is usually portrayed in the West.

    He may get fed up, not with us, but with the house church that is trying to feed him the line that jw.org is extremist, doing so for the purpose of taking out the competition. He may, on a night he cannot sleep, peruse jw.org, see that it plainly is not extremist, as every other nation in the world sees, and come to resent the house church that would have him look like a total ass on the world stage. In short, he may come to realize that, what with all the very real concerns facing his country, Jehovah’s Witnesses are not one of them.

    See: I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses—Searching for the Why