Let's take a look at a government that had God forcefully removed from it for several decades. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Crusades. Different time period. Just so we clarify that up front. And no, the argument that the Orthodox Church was friendly with the Czars does not justify the slaughtering of priests, nuns and bishops merely for their faith. It simply does not.
From "The Twentieth Century"
1917 The first phase of the persecution of the Orthodox Church in Russia began. Much of the persecution in this period was conducted in a non-systematic manner by individual Bolshevik “war lords.” Lenin intended to destroy the Church by abolishing private property, and thus eliminating the Church's income.
Between 1917 and 1935, 130,000 Orthodox priests were arrested. Of these, 95,000 were put to death, executed by firing squad.
1921 The second phase of the persecution of the Church in Russia. The Orthodox Church was stigmatized as a subversive element loyal to the old tsarist regime, while other religions were tolerated. (Which religions? We never hear about those. I am in doubt that they were Christian based.)
1928 Third phase of the Soviet persecution of the Church. The New Economic Policy was discontinued in April, with the result that the Orthodox Church was considered a private enterprise, subject to excessive taxation. Clergy were not allowed to vote or serve in the armed forces, but were taxed for failing to do so. These taxes, in addition to the tax (up to 81%) on private enterprise, often resulted in taxation of the clergy in excess of their income.
1928 As an example of Soviet persecution of the Church, the Raifa monastery in Kazan, Tartarstan was shut down in this year. The monks were executed. The monastery itself became a labor commune.
1929 The Soviet government began a serious crackdown on religion. All forms of religious “propaganda” were forbidden. The expression of religion was restricted to the space within the church structure. Clergy with incomes in excess of 3000 rubles per year were forced to vacate nationalized urban housing. Clergy and their families were disenrolled from state insurance programs, including medical care. A five-day work week was introduced in order to prevent worship on Sunday. (Do you know how much 3000 rubles is??? In today's exchange, that's about $120. Can you imagine what it was in 1929? Probably less than the average family would have had to live on during the depression in the United States!!!)
In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in the Russian Republic fell from 29,584 to 200-300. Approximately 40,000 Orthodox clergy and millions of laymen were killed for their faith between 1917 and 1940.
2000 Some historians estimate that as many as 50 million Christians were put to death during the twentieth century, primarily in Communist Russia and China.
I think this should make every American stop and reexamine ourselves. Is this what we want for our country? If I was a person wanting religion banned here, these numbers would make me feel ashamed. Really!
"During the Bolshevik Revolution, millions of Russian Priests, Bishops, Nuns, Monks, and faithful were slaughtered by the Communists. Among the martyrs was Patriarch Tikhon who died for Christ in the wake of being tortured and beaten by Leninist thugs. The reemergence of the Russian Orthodox Church after having been completely eradicated under the rule of Stalin proves that Orthodoxy will triumph over any crisis. In our own day, Serbian Orthodox Christians are being slaughtered in Kosovo."
-Theodoros Georgiou Karakostas, Orthodoxytoday.org
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
All freedom was banned. The secular humanists were killed too. Dictators destroy any organizations because they empower people. Do we atheists want to destroy your right to believe? No, but we don't want it in school and gov't. We want to keep America secular like it always has been. Iran is a theocracy as as bad as Russia and China.
I read part of the Texas law on Texas Freedom Network's website when I had a free moment. It seemed pretty cut and dried to me.
Saying you don't want our beliefs in school and government is just about like saying you don't want any beliefs in the public arena. Period. No expression at all. From what I've been taught, "no belief" is almost like a belief system in itself, so should I be offended and go to the courts over that? If you take away religion, you still have nationalism, fascism, etc. Taking religion away doesn't solve the world's problems.
Who? Where can I find this information? Just how many secularists were killed in comparison? What were they doing that was "in violation" of the atheist secular belief system being imposed upon the Russian people at the time?
And this discussion has absolutely nothing to do with Iran, although now that you mention it, that's often a convenient excuse to throw back at Christians isn't it? "If you don't like America move to Iran." That makes a lot of sense.
Well I can tell you to move to China too couldn't I? I have actually suggested that to Mr. Croft so mark me guilty on that count. I've even suggested that he take his God-free curriculum into the home and take his kids away from the terrible influences of God in the school system. But he insists on being the "champion" doesn't he? I am very interested in how this plays out so I will definitely be keeping my eyes on that story to see how it plays out.
He tells his kids that "they stand up by not standing up." How do you really think that makes them feel inside?
Post a Comment