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Volume 5 - 1989
Amongst the harshness and drabness of life under communism, in Eastern Europe, one is struck by the resolute steadfastness and biting sense of humour of the people who have endured two generations of socialism. Here are some examples of their local brand of humor: “There are FIVE CONTRADICTIONS in every communist country: “Nobody works. — But the 5 year plan is always accomplished. “The plan is always accomplished” — but the market is always empty. The market is always empty — but “the people always have enough to eat.” “The people always have enough to eat” — but they are not satisfied. Nobody is satisfied — but we all applaud”
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Volume 5 - 1989
Late in 1987, communist dictator, Ceausescu revived an 18-year-old blueprint to radically restructure Rumania. The new systematization law is reminiscent of Mao Zedong’s disastrous attempt to crowd China’s peasants into communal farms. The Communist Party has begun the huge project to destroy 8 000 villages and replace them with 500 concrete-block “Agro-industrial centres” by the year 2000. The official aim is to “increase agricultural efficiency and open more land to farming.” The local people declare that the real aim is to eliminate social and cultural differences between urban and rural communities. Volume 5 - 1993
Since 1988 the small Christian nation of Nagorno Karabakh has been blockaded, bombed and besieged by the Muslim state of Azerbaijan which surrounds them. The people of Nagorno Karabakh are Armenians who since the third century have been a Christian republic. They have survived occupation by the Romans, the Persians, the now extinct Caucasian Albanians, the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks, the Mongols and the Russians. Volume 1 - 1990
The most disgraceful aspect of Romania’s recent history is the subservience of many of the church leaders. It was not just that they were guilty of silence during over 40 years of persecution. Rather, it was the enthusiastic way many religious leaders sang Ceausescu’s praises and publicly supported communist policies. Last August religious leaders published an extravagant telegram of praise for the Marxist dictatorship. Celebrating the 45th anniversary of communism in Romania, they declared that Ceausescu had taken the Romanian people to “the highest level of civilization.” The dictator was glorified as the “most popular son of our nation,” and “the greatest hero” in history. The church leaders praised the mass murderer’s “supreme wisdom” and his “unique” achievements for peace and justice. Volume 3 - 1989
A Russian pastor describes the problems still encountered under perestroika in the USSR: “Change is in the air and there are rumours of increasing freedom, but there has been no change in the laws on religion. For churches the situation varies from area to area — some officials are just as hostile as before and short-term arrests and fines are the result. At work Christians continue to have their wages docked and they don’t get the same extra benefits or bonus payments as other workers. Sometimes they are forced to work overtime at weekends etc., when otherwise they would be involved in church activities. Volume 5 - 1989
Yugoslavia is a unique communist country, consisting of:
When we entered Yugoslavia in 1989, the country was gripped by 1000% inflation. One meal cost 1 Dinari “The prices double or treble every time we visit a shop,” a Yugoslavian leader exclaimed. “These communists, they experiment with us and now there is record unemployment and our country is in an economic mess. That is what ‘scientific socialism’ has done for us. The people are disillusioned. There is inconsistency everywhere. The laws are changed overnight. They are not honest. The communists keep changing the rules. They sieze investments. They change contracts. The situation is so sensitive. You can go to prison just for saying something. And what is ‘wrong’ changes daily.” Volume 3 - 1989
Former prisoner, Ivan Antonov, shares what he found to be most important of all: “While in prison camp, I felt that my primary ministry was prayer. Like Daniel, I prayed three times a day, opening the windows of my heart towards my friends in freedom. I also prayed for our persecutors. I would sing hymns. I was really glad that I knew so many. I had memorized about one hundred and seventy hymns, and in order not to forget them, I reviewed several every day. So over a time, I sang through all of them. I want to emphasize to my young friends that you should worship God with songs and poems and memorize them. They will come in handy. But most important of all, you should study and memorize the Word of God. When I was in prison and camp, I had no Bible, but I was able to review what I had stored in my heart. I went over two chapters from the Old Testament and two chapters from the New Testament every day. Volume 3 - 1989
The pastor and deacon of the independent registered Baptist church in Brest, on the Soviet-Polish border, have sent an open letter to the Christians in the West, expressing their concern at the ways in which the registered All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists is using funds raised from the sale of Bibles. The AUCECB receives 30 rubles for each Bible, and local leaders charge an additional 3-10 rubles to cover expenses in bringing the Bibles from Moscow. The Brest church leaders are very grateful to Western Christians for taking the opportunities available to send Bibles to the churches in the USSR, and report that they are “bearing fruit to God’s glory.” Volume 1 - 1989
In the Soviet Union in 1989 where
Volume 3 - 1989
When a Christian is fined for attending a worship service, his personal details (name, address, nature and place of employment etc.) are taken down and subsequently notice of the amount payable arrives, sometimes by post. The Christian then has a certain amount of time within which to pay the fine. Failure to pay within this limit may lead to the imposition of a court order to dock the amount from the offender’s wages or the confiscation of some personal possession in lieu of payment. |
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"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen..” Matthew 28: 18-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen..” Matthew 28: 18-20
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