Russian Doomsday Cult Holed Up in Forest

[cnredd]

Russian Doomsday Cult Holed Up in Forest

MOSCOW - Doctors and rescuers were trying Friday to coax more than two dozen doomsday cult members into leaving their forest hideout near the Volga River, where they were awaiting the end of the world with the coming of spring.

The cult members have threatened to blow themselves up with about 100 gallons of stockpiled gasoline if authorities forced them out of what officials described as a cave or bunker near the village of Nikolskoye, about 400 miles southeast of Moscow, said regional spokesman Yevgeny Guseynov.

"Any forceful action is dangerous," Guseynov said, but he added that doctors and rescuers were nearby and trying to persuade the cult members to leave.

Pyotr Kuznetsov, a self-declared prophet who established his True Russian Orthodox Church after he split with the official church, has not joined his followers. He was undergoing psychiatric evaluation Friday, a day after he was charged with setting up a religious organization associated with violence, Guseynov said.

Russian state television broadcast footage of Kuznetsov speaking at the clinic where he was being examined.

In it, he said that cult members initially aimed to dig small refuges where they could spend a day or two in prayer. But later, "we had the idea of making a big dugout for all of us to go to and stay there, just to avoid acts of hooliganism by the local population," Kuznetsov said.

The 29 people -- including four children, one only 18 months old -- had stocked the cave with food and other supplies.

Kuznetsov, who is thin and bearded, said in the footage on the Rossiya channel that he had not gone into the cave himself because "I had to meet others who were yet to arrive."

On Thursday, black-clad Russian Orthodox monks carefully descended into the snow-covered gully to try to make contact with the cult, but members refused to speak with clergy. They were exchanging letters with Kuznetsov, however, and were in contact with doctors and officials, who promised food or medical supplies if needed.

I hope this doesn't end up like Jonestown or Waco...

[Adept1]

Jonestown:

What nobody tells you.

That famous phrase; "Drinking the Kool-Aid"

The religion wasn't Christianity it was socialism.

It was really Flavor-aid and many of the drinkers gave their inheritances to the USSR.

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Glenn Beck: Drinking the Kool-Aid


Do your own research if you doubt it but I have yet to find this source to be incorrect.

[flaja]

Russian doomsday cult in a forest? What, they couldn’t book a Russian sub?

[cnredd]

Originally Posted by flaja

Russian doomsday cult in a forest? What, they couldn’t book a Russian sub?

rimshot!...

[saltwn]

Originally Posted by Adept1

Jonestown:

What nobody tells you.

That famous phrase; "Drinking the Kool-Aid"

The religion wasn't Christianity it was socialism.

It was really Flavor-aid and many of the drinkers gave their inheritances to the USSR.

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Glenn Beck: Drinking the Kool-Aid


Do your own research if you doubt it but I have yet to find this source to be incorrect.

Glenn Beck? Yeah great source of "news".
It was a Christian minister. And yes Christianity is socialistic. What it was was a cult led by a deranged person.

[Adept1]

Originally Posted by saltwn

Glenn Beck? Yeah great source of "news".
It was a Christian minister. And yes Christianity is socialistic. What it was was a cult led by a deranged person.

This "news" is fairly old(thirty years)and if you really think it was reported correctly then you are pretty gullible and have been misled on MUCH OF HISTORY..
Suicide is against Christian morals and what his group did entailed quite a few MURDERS which by the way is against your morals too.

Christianity is NOT socialistic. Tithing and charity MUST be voluntary or it is just "rendering unto Ceasar".

Why would you think that a religion that teaches "personal responsibility" is even compatible with socialism?

Read the article and check the sources he cites and you will then be "forced" to have an open mind.

Come on Salty! You are more fair-minded than to just overtly DENY facts when shown to you.

[Spencer Collins]

By these standards Jesus was a socialist

Jesus spoke remarkably often about wealth and poverty. To the poor he said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God," (Luke's version). To the rich he said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth," and "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor." When the rich turned away from him because they couldn't follow his command he observed, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

For Jesus, helping the poor and the outcast is not optional: it is the essence of what it means to love God. In the parable of the last judgement he welcomes the righteous into heaven saying, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." When the righteous answered that they didn't recall doing any of these things, he said, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."

We are to "forgive our debtors" and "give to every one who begs from you." But don't handouts contribute to moral decay? Jesus was more concerned about the moral decay in those who are so attached to their wealth that they would hoard it for themselves. In our better moments most of us recognize that giving does not corrupt. We sacrifice to give good things to our children and do our best to provide them with years of carefree existence as they grow up. We do this to give them a sense of security and a foundation for growth. People who have been devastated by misfortune, or for whatever reason are down and out, may need even more help because they may not have what it takes to recover on their own. Many of us will help a friend in hard times, even though we know we will never be repaid. It is when dealing distantly with people in the abstract that we fall back on the "moral decay" argument.

What's wrong with trickle-down economics? Every time I hear that phrase I think of the story Jesus told about a rich man and the beggar Lazarus "who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table." Needless to say, the story ends with Lazarus going to a better place than the rich man. Trickle down theory is about crumbs. Those who say we should settle for crumbs would make us a nation of beggars.

Greed may be a driving force for the economy, but Jesus saw it is as destructive to community. Greed may leave a few crumbs behind for the poor, and it may do some unintended good, but it destroys compassion. Compassion is in short supply in our society today where workers are being downsized in the name of efficiency, prisons are being expanded to insulate society from its underclasses, and the middle class is abandoned by the rich to fight it out with the poor for the table scraps.

Jesus' response to economic inequality is very direct: we are to share the wealth. I once heard a talk about world hunger. The point was that we produce far more food than is needed to feed everyone on earth. The problem is not lack of supply; it is maldistribution. Many people are simply too poor to buy the food they need. This talk gave me a new perspective on the story of the feeding of the 5000. Jesus was out in the desert followed by a huge crowd. The disciples were concerned that it was getting late in the day and they didn't have enough food to feed the crowd. My suspicion is that Jesus sensed there was plenty of food in the crowd, but whereas some had plenty, others had nothing. Sensing an opportunity to make a point, he instructed his disciples to take their five loaves and two fish and distribute them freely to the crowd. By the sheer audaciousness of this act he induced those with food to join him in giving it away. The result is everyone was fed that day with twelve baskets left over. If Jesus simply did a magic trick and made food appear, what's the point? Whoopee! He's divine. He's not like us. But if, by his act of giving away all he had in the face of the overwhelming crowd, he demonstrated the power of a sharing community, he achieved a real miracle! Sharing is a lesson we especially need to learn today.

Is concern for the poor to be simply a private matter to be handled by charity, or does it have anything to do with politics or government? The Bible calls upon the rulers to create a just society. In a democracy, we are the rulers. We have the power to make the rules. The actions of the nation are extensions of our own actions. By our active participation or passive consent we share responsibility for what our nation does in our name.

We have inherited a system that works efficiently to produce tremendous wealth, but fails to distribute that wealth equitably. It neglects the poor and it corrupts the rich. On both counts it destroys community. A decent life for all is a matter of simple justice, not charity! There are remedies that will make the system work better in the interests of all the people, but it takes active political involvement to bring them about.

Is this "bleeding heart" liberalism? You bet it is! Jesus is the definitive bleeding heart, and he calls us to follow him.

A Biblical Basis for Liberal Politics

David Chandler makes a very good argument and I agree with his overall assessment.I've always seen Jesus as predominantly "liberal"..not only his words proves this..his actions speak volumes! They who deny this deny overwhelming facts about his life. Can people point out times where Jesus held a conservative point of view? Sure..but they DENY overwhelming evidence by straining a gnat and swallowing a camel to suit their "own" needs!

[saltwn]

Originally Posted by Adept1

This "news" is fairly old(thirty years)and if you really think it was reported correctly then you are pretty gullible and have been misled on MUCH OF HISTORY..
Suicide is against Christian morals and what his group did entailed quite a few MURDERS which by the way is against your morals too.

Christianity is NOT socialistic. Tithing and charity MUST be voluntary or it is just "rendering unto Ceasar".

Why would you think that a religion that teaches "personal responsibility" is even compatible with socialism?

Read the article and check the sources he cites and you will then be "forced" to have an open mind.

Come on Salty! You are more fair-minded than to just overtly DENY facts when shown to you.

I got this far

from the article: Does this sound like anyone else? Does this sound at all like -- does the name William Ayers come into it at this point? I think I've already seen the same kind of teachings from a preacher.

I knew I shouldn't have gone there with the name Glenn Beck
I hope you do not compare William Ayers or Obama's preacher with Jim Jones. That is paranoid behavior. It is an illness brought on by the propaganda fed the right wing all these Limbaugh years.