Does Russia need Jesus?
Posted by truthtalklive on 9 April, 2009
Today Stu interviews John Summerville with Trans World Radio (TWR)! Russia needs Jesus: The doors for ministry throughout Russia are quietly closing. Missionary visas for many evangelical ministries working in Russia are not being renewed. Even TWR’s licenses to broadcast within Russia are being denied, and over the last 2 years TWR has lost over 700 radio stations broadcasting across 11 time zones.
GIVE THE GIFT OF CHRISTIAN RADIO NOW!
Please Donate Now!
Call 1-800-456-7897
69 Comments on “Does Russia need Jesus?”
I am not familiar with ministry in Russia, but always keen to see the gospel furthered. A few years ago we tried to get a short mission to Russia together but it fell through because some people wouldn’t agree to go with each other. I hadn’t planned to go myself that time, but I would like to learn the language.
A portion of my modest missions giving goes toward a missionary and church planter in Romania, a former Soviet-bloc nation that has joined the EU. Through him I’ve come to know about two different ministries in Ukraine, another former Soviet-bloc nation that is torn between an alliance with the west that Russia appears to aggravate, and relations with Russia which appear to many as having less real promise. Georgia is another state in which the pro-west government has fallen out of favor because of costly tensions with Russia.
There is no doubt in my mind that this region of the world is greatly affected by the European and Russian economies and which one they ally themselves with. Both were until late last year exceedingly prosperous with Russia’s growing at a much higher rate while oil and gas prices reached record highs. For economies like Romania’s that had adopted Euro currency, the strength of that and the massive engendering of credit created a veritable bonanza. Under such circumstances, my observation and that of those ministers I know working there is that the gospel finds tremendous freedom but less and less interest — essentially people and governments don’t care to interfere because they are preoccupied with enjoying mammon and persuing more of it, and likewise they are disinterested in and unreceptive to spiritual matters for the same reason.
The observation of many is that tough times tend to turn people’s hearts toward spiritual matters and they become more recepitive to the gospel. That has not been my own observation and I don’t know if it is true or not.
With respect to Russia, their economy is wrecked but I believe not as severely as their neighbors with massive debt and fewer resources. I also believe Russia’s economy will recover quickly compared to their neighbors. Energy prices are likely to recover early compared to those in other sectors and Russia’s growth should resume its rapid pace making it an attractive partner to neighbors who may find a Russian alliance less resistive than one with the European Union which itself is under stress to maintain unity under the pressure for its members to recover independently.
If they are able to manage it, oil-importing nations can greatly stimulate their economies with depressed energy prices, particularly oil and gas. The US in particular can also exert pressure on many of the nations seen as most hostile toward it: Russian, Iran, and Venezuela. Those nations and their present leaders are very wary of the US and its economic, foreign policy, and military agendas. Because of this, it’s no wonder that US-supported evangelism is received with suspicion and scrutiny. Psychology and Ecclesiology play on populations with significant influence, and when western churches like the Roman Catholic and the US-based Evangelical Movement pack their agendas with political and economic manipulation, social engineering and cultural warfare (see the recent discussion on one man’s prediction of the collapse of Evangelicalism), it should be no wonder that they’re being shown the door.
I am convinced that God can raise up men from Russia to preach the gospel untainted by the deceptions of its enemies. He is no respecter of persons. My prayers are for those workers.
The whole world needs Jesus. Why does Russia need him any more than the US?
So, what happens to animals when they die? Do they go to heaven, or is just humans? What about human like things? Did Homo Erectuses… Homo Erecti… go to heaven? What about Neanderthals? They had bigger brains than we do! (no I’m not suggesting they were smarted than us)
What about non-human sentient beings out in the big scary universe? Do they spend an eternity burning for something that they couldn’t have known about?
Tripp: Exactly.
Alex: I think your post belongs on the Creation/evolution site.
Takes too long for me to load the page. And its kind of relevant, talking about other countries/species/planets “needing” Jesus.
Maybe the Moderator will start another thread for the creation/evolution debate so we can continue without the delay.
But to
answer your question Alex, animals can’t be ‘saved’ like humans and go to heaven, but neither do they go to hell, I believe they just die and they are buried. If all the animals that ever lived went straight to heaven, there would be more animals than people!! I don’t even know if there will be any animals in heaven anyway….will check that one out.
Any human…..and I believe homo erectus was human, then he would have gone to heaven if he had a belief in God. Neanderthals also would go to heaven if they had a belief in God. I believe these people were around after Adam and in fact were human descendents of Adam. They were certainly not ape-like men.
And there are no other sentient beings in the Universe. ”How do you know?” is your next question.
Because the Bible tells me so!! But if you don’t believe in the Bible you are likely to believe there is life out there somewhere. And if you believe there is no God and there is life out there then they (who don’t exist!) don’t have to worry about heaven or hell would they?
“Because the Bible tells me so!!” Which verse, exactly?
“I believe these people were around after Adam and in fact were human descendents of Adam. They were certainly not ape-like men.” In 6,000 years???? How could homo sapiens go to homo erectus and neanderthal and back in 6,000 years? Really, Maz, this is a new level of absurdity even for you. Better to just deny the existence of Homo erectus and Neanderthal man, or you are REALLY going to get your pseudoscience/theology all in a tangle. Well, more in a tangle than it already obviously is. I’m pretty sure your fellow YECs simply write early hominid fossils off as just being apes, I recommend that position for you, too. Its wrong, but at least its consistent.
Kash: I am not going to start another round with you on this thread aswell, sorry.
Kash: I just noticed your post #8. Are you serious???!!! You believe in sentient life on other planets?!
Why not? Space is unfathomably big. I think that since their is life on our planet, its not such a big assumption to say that life could exist on other planets outside our solar system.
Typical of humans to assume they are the only ones in the universe…
Wasn’t it Sagan who said If we’re all alone, it’s an awful waste of space. We don’t know, statistically speaking we don’t know how probably the development of life is. But there are probably thousands if not millions of earthlike planets out there so Id say whatever the odds, there is probably much more intelligent life in the universe.
“You believe in sentient life on other planets?!” No, but I wouldn’t rule it out, either. I was just curious where the Bible addresses the question of life on other planets, as you claimed it did.
Very true Chris, but I think millions might be a conservative estimate for the number of Earth like planets.
I think I just found a new favorite thread[smile].
I like where this is going.
Maz has said in the past how she studies the universe.
I want to know how she fits the belief of “There is only one intelligent species[humans] on the only life producing planet[Earth] in the whole universe!” into a universe with almost limitless possibilities AND mysteries.
Her “universe” is hardly limitless or mysterious.
Hmmm.
Alex: #12. If I was an atheist I would think that aswell. In fact I was fascinated with space as a child…still am…..I understand where it came from and what it is now, but then I use to believe that the books about alien life out there could be true, and would have been as excited as the next atheist to find that there was life somewhere else. But I know different.
John: Because God made this Universe and He made us. One planet……in the beginning God created the heavens and THE EARTH. Ok, there maybe planetary bodies going round other stars, but this earth is unique. Our God chose to make us and have a relationship with us HERE. The heavens are there to glorify our God and show us just how BIG HE IS!!!! NOT the universe. HE is the One Who created the vastness of the cosmos, that shows me how tremendously powerful and eternal He is. And I shan’t continue in any evolutionaey sense on here because that is not the subject in question.
BTW….JESUS IS ALIVE!!! Hallelujah!
Wait, you used to be fascinated with space, and now you’re ready to chalk up all existence to a human engineered God? I think if you have at least a partial understanding of the vastness of the universe (since no one can truly grasp how massive it is) then you can infer that life is a naturally occurring phenomena under certain conditions that are bound to be met somewhere else in the universe.
This makes me think that God can not possibly be anthropomorphic.
I’m not particularly concerned with aliens or their existence. They would live so impossibly far away that there is really no reason to worry about them. I’m more concerned with life, even if it be single celled organisms. My theory (which I stole from a Bill Bryson book) is that things tend to organize themselves in some fashion, and that life is just a special kind of organization of elements and molecules, just like a star is a special organization of elements. I think that certain elements, under certain conditions can organize themselves into life! It happened on Earth, its not so presumptuous to think that it couldn’t happen some place else.
Alex: ”I think if you have at least a partial understanding of the vastness of the universe (since no one can truly grasp how massive it is) then you can infer that life is a naturally occurring phenomena under certain conditions that are bound to be met somewhere else in the universe.”
O I realise just how VAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAST THE UNIVERSE IS!!! When you think how far away just one light year is, that is the distance light can travel at 186,000 mps, then you get just an incling of the unimaginable distance from one side of the galaxy to the other, let alone the Universe it is within. And because I believe God created this vast Universe, I can then appreciate how unimaginable powerful and great He is. But God is eternal, this Universe to Him (as far as size goes) is a period at the end of this sentence. Yet He is a God that loves us, He created us so that He could have a relationship with us…..the more I think about this the more wonderful God becomes. Then when you think about the cross, you can only be amazed at His love, this God that fills all eternity.
God created us specially, to have that relationship with Him as a Father with His children, and I do not believe He created life anywhere else….or then He would have to send another Savior to that planet….etc.etc.etc. But that is another story which at best can only be hypothetical.
”
This makes me think that God can not possibly be anthropomorphic.”
But He was, a Man, the Word made flesh Who dwelt among us. And still is, yet, He is now a resurrected man with a resurrected, glorified body, He resumes His rightful place beside the Father, yet He is God the Son. And don’t ask me to try to explain the Trinity, I’m not going to attempt it because there are aspects of God that are unexplainable.
The bottom line is, if you believe evolution happened here, then it could possible happen somewhere else. If it all came by chance here, then it is possible it came by chance somewhere else, perhaps in a different way. But evolution did not happen…..here or anywhere…..God created everything by His own power, and His Word. I could ask the Theistic evolutionists…… how did the Word manipulate evolution, if indeed that is the way you believe it happened?
Kash: Concerning the question of water and vapour in the sky.
Job 26 v 8, ”He binds up the WATERS in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not torn under them.”
Job 36 v 27,28. ”For He makes small the drops of water; they pour down rain according to their VAPOR, which the clouds do drop and distill upon man abundantly.”
Psalm 135 v 7, ”He causes the VAPORS to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of his treasuries…”
Anyone else have comments about what I’ve said on this thread? I’d like multiple opinions heard.
Maz, Your verses just show that there was a Hebrew word for vapor, so why wasn’t it used in Genesis if that is what was meant? Also, I notice you stopped Job 36 short of verse 29 (I’ll even use KJV): Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? Or in ASV, Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, The thundering of His pavilion?” Do we still think that thunder is God roaring from His pavilion? Does that change the value of Job as part of the Old Testament canon? I don’t think so. Same with Genesis, for me. The fact that they reflect the cosmology of that time takes nothing away, and can add much to one’s understanding.
Alex, remember that people like Maz define and understand sciencesand the universe through their personal theological belief systems and tend to exclude anything else that does not conveniently fit into their theological views. It’s a bummer, but that’s just how it is.
It is interesting to think Maz, that somewhere, theistic Aliens may be preaching and arguing with their own kind the very same theological opinions for themselves that you have posted within your post number 20[grin]. If all of humanity was to make contact with a space-faring Alien species, would it not be an absolute riot if the aliens turned out to be like intergalactic Jehovah’s Witnesses?
How would they cope with the discovery of us? How would the Maz Hermans of this world cope with the discovery of them? Things would really get interesting.
Alex, what do you think about the possible existence of things like alternating universes/worlds?
Kash: There is no pleasing you is there. Believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want…..the Word of God.
John: I have also found that evolutionists tend to ”exclude anything else that does not conveniently fit into their” evolutionary views.
John: I’v actually had 4 J.W’s visit my house in the last month…..that’s unusual because they usually steer clear of me……basically because I know too much about their doctrines and a lot about my Bible for them to hoodwink me.
As far as alternating universes I have no earthly (or unearthly) idea. I think it is a REALLY cool thing to speculate about, but I have no idea how we could possibly discover them (if they exist).
I would just like to say that there are a great number of things about the universe I don’t understand. Like how there are supposedly 11 dimensions. Once you get past 4 or 5 I get really confused.
Alex post 30
Yeah, me as well. The more I learn and discover the more confusing and weird the universe seems, and the more ignorant I discover I am on a good many more subjects. But hey, at least I can RECOGNIZE that about myself[grin].
Maz, post 28
Maz, Evolutionary scientists, aw heck, I’ll just say REAL scientists[smile,wink] tend to exclude information and ideas that are not supported by evidences and information that they all can thoroughly review/test and confirm in many different ways. This is not necessarily a bad thing, Maz. It may be frustrating to those people who come forward to the scientific community with completely innovative ideas or unconventional information/evidences, but if it’s “true”, or even proves to be extremely likely/possible in some way according to what is already well known and proven to be “true”, then “it” will get the attention and respect that “it” deserves, if not immediately then eventually. As I said once before to on a past evolutionary site here, if Ken Ham and his minions have evidences that prove their theological assumptions on a 6,000 to 10,000 year old universe where men co-existed with dinosaurs and all this world was flooded, and then repopulated with the life on Noah’s Ark to be true, then please, stop hoarding it all in the bowels of the Creation Institute and share it with the rest of the scientific world!
[snicker]
John: I can assure you, there are many things I am ignorant about, that’s why I read a lot, I am hungry for knowledge about the Universe and how it works. But some things I am confident I know about, about creation is one of them.
And any evidence that shows that the earth is truly only 6000 years old will be swept right under the proverbial carpet by the evolutionists, because they don’t want THAT kind of evidence. Too often they leap upon the evidence that proves their theory and discard easily that which they don’t like. That is the nature of many in the ‘scientific’ field!!
This could be promising for missionaries in China…http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090413/ap_on_re_as/as_china_human_rights
No Maz, that is the nature of SOME within the ‘scientific’ field, and they are certainly in the minority. It is a very poor scientist indeed that resorts to such behavior, and they are always discovered, these dishonest people, and treated with the ridicule and distrust by other scientists that they so richly deserve. It just takes time.
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”-Abraham Lincoln
John:
”
No Maz, that is the nature of SOME within the ’scientific’ field, and they are certainly in the minority.”
I wasn’t saying MOST, I said….”
That is the nature of many in the ’scientific’ field!!”
”
It is a very poor scientist indeed that resorts to such behavior, ”
Indeed.
”and they are always discovered, these dishonest people, and treated with the ridicule and distrust by other scientists that they so richly deserve. It just takes time.”
No. not always, not when it suits them to turn a blind eye, as in the ‘Lucy’ statue at an American museum. They were told about the very unrealistic pose and very human looking feet and hands, which feet and hands were missing on the fossil!! But they refused to take it out of the museum or change it. Also it took 40 years for the Piltdown Man to be ‘discovered’ as a fraud!! How come the REAL scientists did’nt see it was a fake earlier? Also Haeckel’s embryo’s, or other such deceptive pieces of information……any correction on the evolutionists part is not displayed for the world to see anyway. And Haeckels embryo’s are still shown in some school text books! Any correction seen there? Do the teachers point it out in class? I don’t think so.
Recently they plastered on the front page of a British newspaper that they had found a link between ape and man. When this was discovered not to be the case, it wasn’t put on the front page…..Oh no……some very small section hidden somewhere toward the back of the paper!!! They always like to present certain evidences for evolution very publically, but when it proves not to be the case, they seem to ‘hide’ the correction. Mmmmmm.
That is correct Maz, the entire accademic and scientific world is involved in a conspiricy to try and hide the truth of Young Earth Christian Creationism. It IS as bad as you think….and “THEY” ARE out to get you[Huge Sharp Toothed Grin].
Ferox: Yes very funny!!!I
Isn’t it.
[Huge Sharp-Toothed Grin]
Really Ferox, aren’t you gonna miss our little tait-a-taits!!
Yes, immensely.
I leave this coming Friday evening.
Ferox: So soon!! I will pray that in your travels you may encounter God as a loving Father, aswell as Jesus as your Savior.
We’ll miss you, Ferox.
If you knew me better you might change your minds.
However…..thank you. I shall miss most of you as well. Joining this web site has been a very interesting experience, and I have no regrets[That I will tell you about], save for Bob Griffin not being able to hook us up with Ken Ham[Like he said he would try to do on the other site]to debate with on this website. That would have been fun……..
I shall say my final goodbyes on Friday.
Ferox: We would know you better if you told us a bit more. You leave a lot to the imagination, and you know what they can do!!
Correction: ….and you know what that can do!!
I would rather that you hold onto whatever fantasies about me that you have been nurturing, then know the truth. My gift to you.
Ferox: OK, but we have been conversing on here for some time, and I cannot believe that you are some kind of monster that has to live alone all her life because of the way she looks or the way she acts……maybe mentally or spiritually unstable. You seem to be quite well balanced….more so than some that have been on here!
Wow, such a complement.
Just out of curiosity, who has posted in the past that you think of as less well balanced then Ferox, Maz?
Aside from Dudley the Atheist[smile].
It is touching to see such sediments directed at my friend, and for that I thank you, Kash and Maz. It helps more than you may realize.
John: I don’t want to name names, but all I know is that Ferox HAS got a heart, I can feel it there within her posts……as antagonistic as she may get somtimes!!
And I am concerned about her going off on her own in isolation. Nobody, however weird should be in isolation in this world.
Thank you for your sediments Maz, but I am REALLY WEIRD.
I have special needs and desires which help to make me difficult long-term companionship with men and women. My presence has unfortunately become too much of a burden to bear, and the swamplands are falling to development more and more each year. I cannot hide here within the forest forever, so…I am off to find a bigger, wilder forest. I would go to central Africa if I could, but it is too far away. I need a place were the people are primitive, where the governments are corrupt and do not care about the hardships or death of the common man. Where life is “cheap” and communication and Law Enforcement is lousy. Do not be too concerned about me Maz. I am tough and I have my memories.
Why not name some names Maz?
Is John one of them?
In the past on more than a couple of occasions John and I both have made mention of our suspected insanity[Huge Sharp Toothed Grin].
Ferox: If we were on the ‘Darwin/evolution’ thread I would think you had made a joke about sediments there!
But I understand what you were saying. Wherever you go, God will know, and maybe one day you will find He is far more than a religious Being ‘up there’, but can be a very close and faithful Friend aswell as Father. If you ever needed help at a tough time, remember, He will be there for you. Even in the deeepest, darkest jungle, He is there.
Ferox: No, John is not one of them. As they have left the site it really doesn’t matter now. BTW, I’v been meaning to ask how old you are…..if you don’t mind telling me that.
Ah….tell a lie….OOOOO!!!….there is one left on here. No names.
I do not know my age Maz. It was never important for me to know before, and by the time I grew curious enough about such a thing there was no way to tell. You see, there was this WHOOOOLE period of time in my past were I was not even a thinking person, and there is no one to compare myself to, no records of my life to study. Naught but speculation.
Ferox: If you are going to go off travelling across country I would guess you are still young enough to make the journey. Possibly 30′s-40′s.
Ferox has been living with me since the very early 1980′s, if that’s any help for your speculations Maz.
Ferox is ridiculously strong and fast. The main problem is racing against time….whether or not Ferox can race across America and make it into lower Central America within five months before the weather gets too cold for Ferox to bear.
We’re going to help a little by dropping Ferox off at the border of Alabama.
Maz, post 53,
I’m NOT?!? I don’t know whether to be surprised or disappointed about that[smile].
We thought for SURE that……….
Well….thanks.
John: You are a ‘pain’ sometimes, and a little annoying at others, but you’re alright! I havn’t got to the place of wanting to ignore you!
And if Ferox has been living with you for so long, why does she feel she has to leave now? It sounds like she has a good home where she is. But she did say she wanted to see more places and will perhaps feel happier when she is lost completely in some South American jungle…..but even they are not safe…..not just the resident Indian tribes, but the encroachment upon their land by the ‘civilized’ world in many places. I always loved the wilds when I was a child and imagined myself living in a forest somewhere…..but reality sets in when you grow up!!
Sorry Moderator but we do seem to have gone right off topic! But once I’v said what I need to say to Ferox before she leaves, we can get back on target! I think you will miss her too!!
Maz, do you remember what Ferox typed within the lower half of post 870 within the site “Should the Church Celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin?”?
Ferox is a ….”tormented soul”, with complex problems. We all have done whatever we thought we had to do, or could have done for Ferox.
John: Have you not read (you must have) about the ‘tormented soul’ in the land of the Gadarenes? Jesus can touch a tormented soul and change their life COMPLETELY. No one is beyond Gods reach……NO ONE!!! And I hope she can access that video (on Darwin site), it is quite powerful. (well, it is to me). I will continue to pray for her.
Maz, thank you for your sediments, however as I have mentioned before, this is not something that can be changed through through theological faith. It would be akin to attempting to convincing an Oak Tree that, through faith and acceptance in Jesus/God, it will no longer need a light source in order to survive.
You are trying to help me change what is.
This is not spiritual or mental, but biological.
We leave this evening, and as I have already told you, yes, of course I shall return to say my final fare wells. I shall try to do it before it gets too late for your English time.
Ferox: ‘Theological faith’ has no power to change a life, but the power of the risen Christ does. I know you think you are beyond redemption, but you are not. And if the Lord created the tree in the first place, He can make it grow without any light whatsoever. I’m trying to tell you that we have a powerful, supernatural, miracle working God. He created everything that exists, and think how vast this Universe it!!…..so changing you really isn’t as big a deal as you imagine.
I’m usually gone off here by about 16.30 your time, because it’s 22.30 my time. But, as I said before, I will continue to pray for you. You were much on my mind this morning. I hope your future will be better than your past.
BTW….the word is sentiments and not sediments (which are what fossils are found in)
……….[sigh]………
Ferox: Is it something I said?????
I how we are going to miss you!
Correction…..O…..how we are going to miss you!!
Ferox: I have to go now. Will be thinking of you on your travels across country. Don’t forget what I said will you!!!
May God go with you and keep you safe.
For when you return Maz, I just said my goodbyes upon the other Darwin site.
Thank you, the feeling is mutual, my little severed Army Ant head.