I want to commend Mr. Tooley for exposing this serious theological problem in Russia and the dire problems that can result from nationalizing religion. I had earlier heard that Putin had overseen the building of tens of thousands of new churches and was wondering about the implications. Clearly, this is not the "church" that the Russian people need or deserve. Jesus forgives those that come to Him in repentance and trust and not for any works we could ever do. The false theology of this priest makes for a very sad situation for those who attend these churches. Pray for them!
AwakenedWarrior77
Unfortunately, I am not reading any articles about the evils of NATO, globalism, the WEF, Fauci, or the complete corruption of Ukraine which is run by Stepan Bandera acolytes in World. If you can't do better journalism than the awful mainstream media, your readers are being ill-served. Putin is no saint but we have plenty of corruption going on here in America with our illegitimate pResident, his son, Biden's horrific cabinet appointees and the Soros-bought DAs that are littering our landscape and sending violent criminals back onto the streets in massive numbers and causing crime stats to continue to skyrocket.
I will be praying for better objectivity and balance in your reporting.
Edit: Forgive my rant about mainstream media as you do a much better job of reporting than most outlets. My concern is there are nearly untouched topics where World can really serve its readers better. Thank you for what you do in the cause of Christ and His church.
JMCG6843
The US puppet government, installed in Kiev by a bloody coup, has been waging unjust war on Novorusiya for 8 years now, killing about 14,000 civilians who would not accept an illegitimate government, persecuting ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. They continue to target civilian targets far from any military target with prescisiion US weapons. It is no surprise to any knowledgeable person that these people voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the hiatus caused by the Bolsheviks, especially after they have seen the improvements in Crimea these last 8 years. So for Russia this is a defensive war, defending their own people, and their historical territory. Everyone knows that Kirill is an old KGB agent, and no one knows if he has actually repudiated his communist past to embrace the faith. The question is not really about him. Who is Mark Tooley to judge another man's servant? The question he should ask is will our mutual Lord forgive his blatant lies about this war and the Russian people? The truth is out there for anyone who wants to look, World never looks, and continues to betray the trust US Evangelicals place in it. Take the beam from your own eye, Mr. Tooley, you need to see clearly, or keep quiet.
Kirill is clearly preaching a false gospel as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church so this is a serious concern. However, I share your concern with objectivity and balance in this magazine's journalism.
Your comment may represent the views of certain ethnic Russians, but they aren’t the only people who live in Ukraine. I have family who have been to Ukraine and talked to Ukrainians, and the Ukrainians they met hated Russia because of Chernobyl.
I also have family who witnessed a major communist takeover. One way the communists gained power was to claim to be less corrupt and to represent the will of the people. Many Christians supported them for that reason. Unfortunately, they found out very quickly that they had been deceived.
As much corruption as there is in the US, the fact that it exists certainly doesn’t prove that Putin or Russia are “less” corrupt or make it “obvious” that people would chose to join Russia. There are a lot of nations with complicated histories; and, in many cases, there has been significant ethnic conflict. Oppression is wrong, of course. And…invasion brings death, suffering, displacement, and often atrocities.
Frankly, I find this comment particularly chilling: “you need to see clearly, or keep quiet.” I’m not on the ground in Ukraine, but SOMEONE is obviously fighting against the Russians. Someone isn’t welcoming them as liberators. Do THEY have a right to engage in “defensive war”? Do journalists here in the US have a right to speak if they disagree with you?
MinnieKins
Reading this article, I am reminded of the school of thought associating Christian witness with supporting Trump -- another untenable combination, in my opinion, given Trump's actions and character.
I think it’s unwise to tie Christianity or the gospel to ANY politician or political party. Humans and human institutions will invariably fail. If we seem focused on a human or human institution (instead of pointing to Christ alone), it’s natural that skeptics will assume our entire message failed when the human or institution fails.
It’s one thing to admit that we all sin as individuals and to confess our sins individually and as a group so that we can be cleansed and changed by the Holy Spirit. It’s another to use the fact that “we all sin” to JUSTIFY sin, minimize sin, or to let sin persist in order to elevate a certain political viewpoint.
I want to commend Mr. Tooley for exposing this serious theological problem in Russia and the dire problems that can result from nationalizing religion. I had earlier heard that Putin had overseen the building of tens of thousands of new churches and was wondering about the implications. Clearly, this is not the "church" that the Russian people need or deserve. Jesus forgives those that come to Him in repentance and trust and not for any works we could ever do. The false theology of this priest makes for a very sad situation for those who attend these churches. Pray for them!
Unfortunately, I am not reading any articles about the evils of NATO, globalism, the WEF, Fauci, or the complete corruption of Ukraine which is run by Stepan Bandera acolytes in World. If you can't do better journalism than the awful mainstream media, your readers are being ill-served. Putin is no saint but we have plenty of corruption going on here in America with our illegitimate pResident, his son, Biden's horrific cabinet appointees and the Soros-bought DAs that are littering our landscape and sending violent criminals back onto the streets in massive numbers and causing crime stats to continue to skyrocket.
I will be praying for better objectivity and balance in your reporting.
Edit: Forgive my rant about mainstream media as you do a much better job of reporting than most outlets. My concern is there are nearly untouched topics where World can really serve its readers better. Thank you for what you do in the cause of Christ and His church.
The US puppet government, installed in Kiev by a bloody coup, has been waging unjust war on Novorusiya for 8 years now, killing about 14,000 civilians who would not accept an illegitimate government, persecuting ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. They continue to target civilian targets far from any military target with prescisiion US weapons. It is no surprise to any knowledgeable person that these people voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia after the hiatus caused by the Bolsheviks, especially after they have seen the improvements in Crimea these last 8 years. So for Russia this is a defensive war, defending their own people, and their historical territory. Everyone knows that Kirill is an old KGB agent, and no one knows if he has actually repudiated his communist past to embrace the faith. The question is not really about him. Who is Mark Tooley to judge another man's servant? The question he should ask is will our mutual Lord forgive his blatant lies about this war and the Russian people? The truth is out there for anyone who wants to look, World never looks, and continues to betray the trust US Evangelicals place in it. Take the beam from your own eye, Mr. Tooley, you need to see clearly, or keep quiet.
Kirill is clearly preaching a false gospel as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church so this is a serious concern. However, I share your concern with objectivity and balance in this magazine's journalism.
I must have a massive beam in my eye, because I do not see what you are seeing.
Your comment may represent the views of certain ethnic Russians, but they aren’t the only people who live in Ukraine. I have family who have been to Ukraine and talked to Ukrainians, and the Ukrainians they met hated Russia because of Chernobyl.
I also have family who witnessed a major communist takeover. One way the communists gained power was to claim to be less corrupt and to represent the will of the people. Many Christians supported them for that reason. Unfortunately, they found out very quickly that they had been deceived.
As much corruption as there is in the US, the fact that it exists certainly doesn’t prove that Putin or Russia are “less” corrupt or make it “obvious” that people would chose to join Russia. There are a lot of nations with complicated histories; and, in many cases, there has been significant ethnic conflict. Oppression is wrong, of course. And…invasion brings death, suffering, displacement, and often atrocities.
Frankly, I find this comment particularly chilling: “you need to see clearly, or keep quiet.” I’m not on the ground in Ukraine, but SOMEONE is obviously fighting against the Russians. Someone isn’t welcoming them as liberators. Do THEY have a right to engage in “defensive war”? Do journalists here in the US have a right to speak if they disagree with you?
Reading this article, I am reminded of the school of thought associating Christian witness with supporting Trump -- another untenable combination, in my opinion, given Trump's actions and character.
I think it’s unwise to tie Christianity or the gospel to ANY politician or political party. Humans and human institutions will invariably fail. If we seem focused on a human or human institution (instead of pointing to Christ alone), it’s natural that skeptics will assume our entire message failed when the human or institution fails.
It’s one thing to admit that we all sin as individuals and to confess our sins individually and as a group so that we can be cleansed and changed by the Holy Spirit. It’s another to use the fact that “we all sin” to JUSTIFY sin, minimize sin, or to let sin persist in order to elevate a certain political viewpoint.
Agreed on all counts.