Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

nt on to ask: “What have you to fear? ... Are you really so unsure of yourself?”’25 The abolition of state atheism is unlikely, however. Not only would it require new policy decisions; a large number of laws that imply diserimina- tion against believers would need to be revised. But above all, most ob- servers are convinced that the atheist apparatus would quickly disappear if permitted to compete. In spite of its lamentable tastelessness, superticiality, and intellectual shortcomings, Soviet atheism has much to offer. That is, to decide to believe in God involves a conscious decision to live with many restrictions and dis- criminations. On my visit to the Soviet Union in May 1979 a member of our group was handed a short letter which stated: “Iam a teacher and a Baptist, and immediately after I was baptized, I was dismissed from school. Ekaterina Alexeevna Morozova, ul. Musorgskogo 11, Apartment 237, Moscow 127490.” What the Evangelicals Offer In terms of the usual factors for evaluation, such as money, expertise, media access, etc., the evangelicals appear hopelessly at a disadvantage. Father Dmitri Dudko, however, drew attention to other factors that help explain the attractiveness of religion. Atheists, he claimed, base their propa- ganda on cowardice, that terrible weakness in man. “The Christian faith, however, calls for cross-bearing.”’26 The major propaganda weapon for the evangelicals is the family. The CCECB in a special statute for child-raising parents declared that: 1 2 2 Es a. A homemade printing press used by the secret publisher, Khristianin 305 eS RASHES RINNE YASH SHUR NS Oni aonreonnananionanniorNauseneaiucnrubuiunsun ABOVE: Meetinghouse of the registered Mennonite church in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, 1977 TOP RIGHT: Meetinghouse of the registered Mennonite church in Novosibirsk. BOTTOM RIGHT: Some Mennonite preachers in Kazakhstan. ORO UTE CU PHENOL A LEC Me S 307 306 Gein . - . 5 ; BA nde, do A A Pw tt a, ol oO ~~ PS OOOOS MOnWie Yel Bometone acerga, Niet ne crpernace © T6608 Seas. : 4 eee auets tyeesus tyr. eee a Bena. Kone chanatnynsie crapyxu Brytar 8 cB0em socnutsinaot ayxe. Atheist propaganda poster. Cadre Creation—the Story of how grandma Neonila enticed her grandson to church. 1. Let’s go to God’s temple, grandson, 3. You must always pray to God You'll see how wonderful It Is there. So that no calamity will befall you. 2. Those are no simple pictures; 4. And here you can serve; Here saints are portrayed. Such work Is pleasing to God. How awful, when an old fanatic teaches her grandson this spirit. 308 / : i i : ; 2 $ ; i revenue rei casey rset eA IME HO The seven Pentecostals, the Peter Vashchenko family and Mrs. Maria Chmykalov with her son, in the American Embassy in Moscow, August 1978. “Announcement: Today on Wednesday, July 27, 1977, at 7:00 p.m. in