Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

ere was support action in the West, I was treated better by warders and prison administrators. When there was no support, conditions immediately became worse.’ Vins argued for “peace- ful demonstrations arising out of Christian principles” and opposed violence. The AUCECB has carefully dissociated itself from the human rights movement, but in the post-Helsinki period Moscow leaders have not only publicly affirmed the Helsinki Agreement but have also expressed the hope this will lead to improved conditions for their members. Alexei Bychkov has not only referred repeatedly to the guarantee of religious freedom in this agreement as well as in the constitution, he has also drawn attention to the hoped for benefits from the “man and the law’ program. In recent years Soviet authorities have been fostering a greater emphasis on legality, have published numerous pamphlets on this theme, and have also shown some willingness to punish violations. Bychkov, for example, cited several instances where local abuses by, state authorities were corrected once the union had appealed to the central authorities. Russia and the Soviet Union have never had a strong legal tradition as is true in Germany or England, and it is unlikely that a sense of legality will develop quickly.® Conclusion: What Has Been Achieved? It is difficult to escape the fact that the Underground Evangelism- Wurmbrand scandal plus earlier lesser scandals have given the missions a bad reputation. It would be most unjust to dismiss all East European missions as dishonest. The independent faith missions struggle with inherent weaknesses that are less apparent in the denominational agencies which are more subject to open reporting, but the East European missions are a vital factor in the Soviet evangelical scene. 412 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War Il Above all, through their efforts large numbers of Bibles and other Christian literature have become available in the Soviet Union and the Bi- ble hunger has eased noticeably. To what extent their financial contribution to individual believers has been helpful and to what extent this has created harmful dependency relationships remains to be seen. There is some evi- dence that it has contributed to, rather than hindered, the growing fac- tionalism in Reform Baptist ranks. But that observation must also be seen in the perspective that the financial and moral support of the East European missions has provided a sense of international Christian solidarity which the CCECB was unable to find in the BWA. Major frontier areas for developing mission programming are in the ‘area of radio broadcasting and literature production. Without question, So- viet evangelicals appreciate present programming very much. Their only criticism, when asked, is that they might have more programming, perhaps at more suitable hours and with less jamming. Whereas the BBC and Voice of America were jammed onl