Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

y selectively following the Helsinki Agreement, this was not true of the religious radio stations which continued to be jammed regularly. Some mission societies have introduced creative programming. Brother Dmitrii from FEBC, for example, has been active for many years preparing children and youth programs, interviews, science programs, etc. Radio programs produced by Slavic Gospel Association are also becoming more diversified. The attempt at conducting mission on the basis of principles conform- ing to modern missiological thinking is limited primarily to the older, more established missions which are smaller, as well as to the denominational agencies. Generally speaking, however, criticisms given above call for a radical overhaul of present mission activities in the direction of greater mutuality and responsibility and less clamoring for public credit. Such changes will very likely only take place once the goose (gullible Western Christians) stop laying the golden egg. What is needed is an informed Western supporting constituency that has recognized the need for more complexity in describing, understanding, and helping Soviet churches. Western Christians also need to be much more discriminating in selecting missions and specific projects worthy of their support. It is not merely a question of giving money to the agency promising the most fool-proof — channel for bringing Bibles to Russia, but rather to support and become in- volved with those who have demonstrated the appropriate degree of responsibility in exercising a shared leadership function among Soviet evan- gelicals, 6 Assessment of East European Mission Societies 413 Notes to Chapter 14 1, David Hathaway, Czechmate (London: Lakeland, 1974). Cf. Hans Kris- tian with Dave Hunt, Mission Possible (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1975) Andre Morea, The Book They Could’ t Ban (London, Lakeland, 1976). 2. Walter Sawatsky, “Bible Work in Eastern Europe,” RCL III, 8, pp. 4-10; III, 4, pp. 4-14; and Ole van Luyn, “Bible Work in Eastern Europe,” United Bible Societies Background Paper, September 1977, 8. A total of 380,000 have been printed since the war, 25,000 Russian Bibles and 8,000 German Bibles were imported. Cf. Die Bibel in Osteuropa Evangelischen Bibelwerk Informationssekretariat, Stuttgart, April 1979. 4. A. Belov and A. Shilkin, Diverstia bez dinamita (Moscow: Politizdat, 2nd ed. 1976), pp. 183. 5. A. Sediulin, Zakondatel’stvo o religioznykh kul’ takh (Moscow: Luridi- cheskaia literatura, 1974) p. 4. 6. Ibid., p. 5. 7. N. A. Koval’skii, Religioznye organizatsii i problemy evropeiskoi bezopastnosti i sotrudnichestva (Moscow: Znanie 1/77), pp. 6f, 27-31. ; 8. Alfred Friendly, “Cold War to Cold Peace,” Newsweek, July 21, 1975, p. 6. Cf. August 11, 1975, pp. 6-14. ; 9. Aside from Belov and Shilkin’s book issued in two editions (1974 and 1976), they also wrote the following brochures: Ideologicheskie diversi impe- rializma i