Who's godless now? Russia says it's U.S.

[Ad Orientem]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... ys-its-us/

Brings to mind the old British pub song "The World Turned Upside Down"

[dualstow]

As Aesop said, any excuse will serve a tyrant.

[Ad Orientem]

That's a very interesting article.  A couple of my favorite quotes:

“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!’”?

and

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.”?

The number 200,000 is a joke. That covers the clergy and the monastics who were liquidated by the Communists. It doesn't scratch the number of laymen. The real figure will never be known but most reputable historians put it in the millions.

[Mountaineer]

The number 200,000 is a joke. That covers the clergy and the monastics who were liquidated by the Communists. It doesn't scratch the number of laymen. The real figure will never be known but most reputable historians put it in the millions.

Wow.  And to have 70 percent of the population self-identify as Orthodox Christians today, after a period like that, is just amazing.

God is an awesome God, in spite of our sinful human efforts to diminish Him, and will always achieve His purposes.  He always keeps His promises, regardless of how horrible current - or past - events seem to us who are incapable of understanding the greatest power that ever existed. 

Standback.  Let the flames of the naysayers begin )

... Mountaineer

[Ad Orientem]

Today in Russia is the commemoration of the millions murdered by the Communists for their religious faith.  There were special services throughout the country including in the ancient Cathedral of the Dormition in the Kremlin.

http://youtu.be/wQbDybOUYpU (short clip)

[goodasgold]

So Putin & Co. now identify themselves as Christians? Reminds me of Gandhi's comment that he loved Christianity; it was Christians he couldn't stand.

[Benko]

Atheism used to be Russia's state religion.  Now it is ours.

[Kshartle]

Atheism used to be Russia's state religion.  Now it is ours.

Communisim was their religion.

They never went atheist. Listen to what Ayn Rand had to say on the subject. She was clear that the russian's were/are very mystical and superstitious. That's never ended.

The Americans aren't atheist. They worship the state or some other diety. Very few purely rationale people here that embrace reason rather than faith.

[MediumTex]

The number 200,000 is a joke. That covers the clergy and the monastics who were liquidated by the Communists. It doesn't scratch the number of laymen. The real figure will never be known but most reputable historians put it in the millions.

Wow.  And to have 70 percent of the population self-identify as Orthodox Christians today, after a period like that, is just amazing.

God is an awesome God, in spite of our sinful human efforts to diminish Him, and will always achieve His purposes.  He always keeps His promises, regardless of how horrible current - or past - events seem to us who are incapable of understanding the greatest power that ever existed. 

Standback.  Let the flames of the naysayers begin )

... Mountaineer

My 6 year old son bumped his elbow the other day and I told him to be careful because the world is a dangerous place.

He replied by telling me that he wished there were a world that wasn't dangerous where no one ever got hurt and he could live there with Jesus and all of the other people that he liked.

I asked him where all of the people that he didn't like would live.

He said that the people he didn't like could keep living in this world and the Devil could be their God.

[Ad Orientem]

He said that the people he didn't like could keep living in this world and the Devil could be their God.

Sounds like he was talking about the USSR, or for that matter, modern day North Korea.

[ns3]

He said that the people he didn't like could keep living in this world and the Devil could be their God.

Sounds like he was talking about the USSR, or for that matter, modern day North Korea.

You really think the devil is only the god of people in the USSR and North Korea?

[Reub]

MT he sounds like a chip off of the old block.

[Gosso]

My 6 year old son bumped his elbow the other day and I told him to be careful because the world is a dangerous place.

He replied by telling me that he wished there were a world that wasn't dangerous where no one ever got hurt and he could live there with Jesus and all of the other people that he liked.

I asked him where all of the people that he didn't like would live.

He said that the people he didn't like could keep living in this world and the Devil could be their God.

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Your son has been able to easily understand the parable of the goats and sheep (Matthew 25:31-46), while I continue to struggle with and hate it.

[dualstow]

My 6 year old son bumped his elbow the other day and I told him to be careful because the world is a dangerous place.

He replied by telling me that he wished there were a world that wasn't dangerous where no one ever got hurt and he could live there with Jesus and all of the other people that he liked.

Sounds good to me, as Jesus liked the Jews! 
Seriously, though, I love Tex jr's comment. I think humans have a natural proclivity to form cliques.

[MediumTex]

When I first heard and posted what my son had said, I really didn't grasp the subtlety and depth of what he was saying.

It struck me at first as a clever and darkly humorous thing to say, but as I think about it more I am surprised at his insight and the way that he chose to articulate it.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, my son told me that people should vote for Romney because "Obama is going to send all the money to China, but Romney is going to send all the money to Texas!"  He was 4 when he came up with that one.

[Mountaineer]

When I first heard and posted what my son had said, I really didn't grasp the subtlety and depth of what he was saying.

It struck me at first as a clever and darkly humorous thing to say, but as I think about it more I am surprised at his insight and the way that he chose to articulate it.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, my son told me that people should vote for Romney because "Obama is going to send all the money to China, but Romney is going to send all the money to Texas!"  He was 4 when he came up with that one.

MT,

Impressive!  You have a treasure beyond measure.  I can hardly wait to hear somemore of his quotes. 

... Mountaineer

[stuper1]

In 2008 I was reading the book "Brighty of the Grand Canyon" to my 5-year-old daughter at bedtimes.  One night we read the chapter where Brighty the donkey comes upon a herd of wild donkeys and ends up fighting the lead donkey to see which one will lead the herd.

After we finished the chapter, my sweet little daughter looked up at me thoughtfully and very carefully picked her words, saying something like "Daddy do you remember that debate we listened to the other night between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama?  Was that something like the two donkeys fighting?"  I was absolutely floored that she could even remember their names and that her young brain would somehow connect them to the donkeys.

[Mountaineer]

i couldn't have resisted ......  "yes...kind of like that dear, but they are closer to being a couple of jackass's than donkeys"... 

Oh my, that is almost exactly what I said to my wife when I read that post to her. 

... Mountaineer