Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

ns the unity within the Soviet evangelical move- ment. From the beginning, the evangelicals were a Bible movement. They emphasized Bible reading and Bible preaching and expected biblical living. That is, they sought to live according to the lifestyle of the apostolic church. Some applied these principles more radically than others in church-state relations. In the early twenties their social involvement included creating Christian communes. Later the persecution caused them to concentrate on the worship of Mary and left the service represented by her sister Martha to sister churches in the West. No doubt differing appreciations of what constitutes a biblical lifestyle will continue, but whether one looks at the Reform Baptists, the independent churches, or the AUCECB affiliates, there is no doubt that they very early became and have remained a church practicing costly discipleship. At et The Evangelical in Soviet Society 471 Although Bible-centered, Soviet evangelicals have had extremely limited opportunities for serious biblical studies. Perhaps an awareness of the theological illiteracy or naiveté of Soviet evangelicals will prompt the _ reader to undertake to support some major project of theological education. Maybe he feels that what the Soviet evangelicals need is Hodge’s or Strong's systematic theology in a Russian translation. Yet there is a benefit from the biblical simplicity, for without the sophisticated theologizing, they may be reflecting the biblical message more nearly than by restating its message in philosophical-theological categories that one can label evangel- ical. Should not the urge to help be expressed rather in sharing literature that fosters biblical study such as Bible dictionaries, concordances and com- mentaries, and literature that helps to contextualize the text (i.e., biblical and church histories, critical studies of Marxism, etc. )? The speakers at the 1979 All-Union Congress communicated a readi- ness to enter the next decade with vision. They faced a missionary challenge in many areas and voted to create a department of evangelism and unity. Georgi Vins of the Reform Baptists has also identified evangelism as the continuing major task of his union. His union has always emphasized concentrated work with youth and children. Such activity has increased on an informal basis in the AUCECB in recent years. Perhaps with the strong appeals for a youth department expressed at the last congress, such work may become more systematic in the coming decade: But evangelism and youth work are precisely those areas where Soviet authorities can be ex- pected to be most sensitive, for they still hope to win the youth away from religion. It will require a very sensitive evangelical leadership that can respond positively to the concerns of children and young people without upsetting the authorities unduly. The leaders know that too much restraint on their young people may r