@stealthcalling a Jehovah's Witness a hostile witness is hi-friggin-larious!
@steve2You know, maybe you're right. My unbalanced mind forgot all the human rights violations. Let's go down the list of the scandal that is the Russian Government:
- Surgically removing a deemed "rebel" from his/her family and the public eye. Insidious to the point they'll annouce his/her death.
- Brainwashing the masses with mind-control regiments and the endless years of psychological and emotional abuse to keep order.
- Severest punishments ordered on those who question or negatively criticize the government.
- Turning Families into spies against each other.
And their shadow play:
- Censorship as well as banning "propagandist" materials critical of the movement (in many cases, the "propaganda" is destroyed.).
- Secret Committees that use exclusive, confidential information that would be disastrous if revealed to the public.
- Coded messages and secret languages delivered via clandestine operatives.
- Lying for gains (personal and monetary) as well as espionage.
- Embezzlement of Charitable Funds & Heavily Misrepresented Allocations of donations.
Yes, Russia has a sordid history of human rights violations....wait...wait just a second!
This list of squalid tact--it's doesn't apply just to the Russian Government. In fact, it applies to the Watchtower Society! OH. MY. GOODNESS. Who would have thought.
The fact of the matter @steve2 is that Russia isn't lining up Witnesses in the streets and gunning them down by the dozen. It's not arresting Witnesses for being Witnesses. There is no real mistreatment here, especially when you take Matthew 5:38 into account. There is also Matthew 7:12 which you can use separately or pair well with 5:38's oaky Savignon flavor.
Unlike the United States, The European Union, and many other countries, Russia defined what they viewed as a religion and what is to be viewed as an extremist cult. Here in the states, the legal definition of a religion is "any belief structure that fills the spot in an individual where there is usually God." It's reworded a hundred different ways in a hundred different books, but in the United States, you don't even have to believ in God to be in a religion. You just need to believe in whatever it is you believe in.
The majority of the world is on a sensitivity binge and refuses to further define a division between acceptable and unacceptable religion. So any charismatic person with a knowledge of the workings of human error and faith can claim they are God and get a tax break. And I know why you would support lack of a definition.
@steve2 would say: "if you let governments define religion, they can use their personal choice of religion as the standard, and there wouldn't be freedom from religious persecution."
But that's not the case. Define a religion by the lack of contradiction in it's beliefs as well as noting the difference in doctrine from the source material. As Russia has done already. If you are sitting on a book that you are telling thousands to millions is the infallible word of your God, then there should be zero error or contradiction. No margin of inaccuracy. Your religion is what your book says it is without speculation.
But the WTS doesn't have that road block, so they can buy land across the world tax free. Yeah, they are a shady real estate company, remember? They can dodge restrictions legitimate corporations are legally forced to obide by. How expensive IS Russian property? I bet the WTS can afford alot if they were allowed to recruit in Russia.
But they aren't. The Russian Government deemed the Watchtower "extremist" and blacklisted certain publications from the Society they view as extremist. It's a law in Russia. A law, get it? The WTS acknowledges the "superior authorities" as worldly Government and must follow the laws of that region. I mean, it was their excuse for encouraging brothers to bribe military officials in Mexico. "It's the policy of the region."
During Prohibition, if you bought or sold alcohol, you were arrested. Currently, in the States, there is this pesky SOPA bill that will prosecute and imprison people who link or stream copyrighted material online. No matter what the opinion of the law is, you have to follow it or you go to jail.
The Russian government listed about 40 publications that are illegal to distribute or possess. 40 publications out of thousands. That is all that government levied against Witnesses. No violations of human rights. Just protecting Russian minds from indoctrination that is harmful to the spirit (or what have you).
How many books has the WTS banned? I know there isn't a list or given number. The answer is "anything not written by the FDS."
How many human rights does the WTS violate? You're in Australia, so with all that Victoria court drama, you know personally that it's a long list that includes allowing child molestors to hurt kids.
But what do I know? My thinking is "unbalanced." Unhinged, even.
~Ryan Kent
