I do not claim to be an expert on JW dogma, perhaps it started out differently, perhaps it IS different elsewhere, but this is the situation unfolding specifically in Russia. As long as it remains so, I will agree with the courts decision to ban them.
Despite being predominantly Christian Orthodox, Russia is home to many different religions, none of which are under the threat of being banned. Instead of screaming “government oppression”, perhaps Jehova’s Witnesses need to re-evaluate their own actions here.
Dr. Massimo Introvigne: “The only relationship between Jehovah’s Witnesses and violence is that they have been victims of violence.”
Sociologist and Former Representative of the OSCE on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, Discrimination
nVladimir Vasilyevich Ryakhovskiy: “It has always started with Jehovah’s Witnesses and then spread to everyone else.”
Member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights
nDr. Hubert Seiwert: ‘All accusations against JehovahËŠs Witnesses presented at the many court hearings were unfounded.’
Professor at the Institute of Religious Studies at the University of Leipzig
The first person to be charged was 38-year-old Viktor Krasnov from Stavropol in southern Russia, who claimed “there is no God” in a heated online dispute with two Russian Orthodox Christians in October 2014. “If I say that the collection of Jewish fairytales entitled the Bible is complete bullshit, then that is that. At least for me,” Krasnov also wrote.
During the first two decades of the Soviet era, some 200,000 members of the clergy were murdered, while millions of other Christians were persecuted for their faith.
In March 2016, Krasnov’s apartment was raided by police. A judge ordered a month-long examination in a psychiatric ward to determine if he was fit to stand trial. He was ultimately deemed fit to stand — despite the judge’s assertion that “no one in their right mind would write anything against Orthodox Christianity and the Russian Orthodox Church” — and his trial is ongoing.
The landmark case represented a startling turnaround in Russia’s history.
During the first two decades of the Soviet era, some 200,000 members of the clergy were murdered, while millions of other Christians were persecuted for their faith, according to a 1995 Kremlin committee report. Although a limited Orthodox Christian revival was permitted by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin during World War II, anti-religion propaganda and selected discrimination against believers continued up until the mid-1980s.
Quote: [ why only pick on the JW?]
WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH 