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Russia - Ukraine conflict
In western countries, attention is drawn to Russian propaganda. However, at the same time, the West welcomes things that are clearly wrong
The following is an article I sent to Etelä Suomen sanomat (Finnish paper). It is a question of the war between Ukraine and Russia that has had an impact to everyone of us. We do understand that if Ukraine has been an independent state, then the Russian aggression can be considered wrong. Ukraine should have the right to defend itself armedly. However, when condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, everyone should first look at their own lives. Is there anything in my life or in our society that we should repent and give up? It is hypocrite if we only see the injustices done by Russia, but we do not want to correct the wrong attitudes in our own lives. These are the basic teachings of the Christian faith. Change of mind must first start with ourselves. Only then can we possibly point out what others are doing. On the other hand, I am not very convinced of the positive effects of sanctions. They can cause more harm than good, even if their purpose is good, that is, to prevent warfare. It may be that many Russians feel that others hate them (even if that is not the case at all), and sanctions only add to this spiral. The sanctions imposed on Russia can, in my view, be compared to the imposition of strict conditions of peace on Germany after the First World War, which forced it to relinquish some of its territories and pay enormous war reparations. This led to hatred in Germany, and was eventually a springboard for a new war that was even more destructive. The same mistake could happen again, now for Russia. Developments are almost impossible to stop because Western leaders are so determined to impose sanctions on Russia. Of course, I would be happy to be wrong about this, and I would like the war to end, but in general, such measures raise more anger and revenge. Human nature is such, and Russian leader Putin is no exception. We humans are like that. Second, pride resides in us. Even if Russian leader Putin may regret the war campaign, it will be very difficult to end and cancel because of pride. I understand that it is difficult for Putin to admit his mistake, as we all do, and that perpetuates the conflict. The war is unlikely to end very quickly for this reason. Thirdly, I am concerned about the escalation of the conflict. In other words, now that sanctions have been laid down, e.g. so that Russian machines cannot enter other European countries, I see this sanction as very harmful. It will stir up anger in Russia and cause Russia to soon turn its attention to these countries. For when the Russians feel that they are being hated, the result is an escalation of the conflict towards more and more countries. That is why I think Western leaders are wrong about this. They should repent of their mistakes, and work to rebuild friendly and respectful relations with the Russian leadership and lift unnecessary sanctions. If Western leaders do not understand this, the consequences can be unpredictable. Of course, one possibility is that power will change in Russia as people begin to be dissatisfied with declining living standards and other practical problems. I do not really know about the internal situation in Russia, and whether this is possible, but time will tell what will happen. History should therefore take into account, as well as human nature. Furthermore, we must not hate Russians in our own country or elsewhere. Many Russians themselves oppose the war. And even if they don’t object, the Bible’s teaching is that we should love even our enemies. If we act against this principle, we will commit a serious sin before God. Anyway, the following is an article I sent to the paper. It highlights the same things I have already listed above:
Beam first out of our own eye
Recently, we have been confronted with the fact that the world is not the same. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led many to wonder where we are going. Current developments do not look bright at all. Currently, many countries are imposing harsh sanctions on Russia, and Finland is also following other countries in this area. Personally, however, I think we should first follow a biblical principle: first take a beam out of your own eyes, then perhaps, after that, we can intervene others' matters, as Jesus taught (Matt. 7: 5 You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother's eye.). I see that we also have a lot to improve and fix in Finland. For example, YLE has been working to boycott Russia's participation in Eurovision Song Contest. However, for years, the same company has advocated abortion, which is actually killing of children. As a result of abortion, more than half a million people are missing in Finland. How can YLE claim to represent human rights when it has been against the human rights of young children for years? It is an obvious contradiction and hypocrisy. So there are mistakes in each of us. We are no better. There is irritation, anger, ambition and other wrong attitudes. Of course, if the leader of the world’s largest state commits the same things, the consequences are quite different. This is now the question in Ukraine. When boycotts are being imposed now and connections are being cut off, it is worth remembering that the same connections will be difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild later. They lead to at most counter-sanctions and other harm. The proverb says: The forest shall answer as it is called. That is, anger causes anger. If the conversation and friendships are broken, as I see happening now, we are going down a path that is difficult to get back on. History should also be taken into account. The imposition of extremely strict peace conditions on Germany by the victorious states after the First World War caused bitterness. Germany lost part of its territory and was awarded huge war reparations. This led to the seeds being sown for a new war. I see the current proponents of boycotts repeating the same mistake that happened decades ago.
Jari Iivanainen
Addition to the previous: Identifying Evil in our Society. As noted, public opinion has turned against Russian hostilities in Ukraine. This is understandable, because the Russian forces have caused great destruction and suffering. The war started by Russia is difficult to justify on moral grounds. At the same time, however, the West does not recognize its own evil and wrong attitudes, which can be considered an equally worrying development. There is talk here of Western values, but those values are quite different from just over half a century ago. Examples of moral change are accepting abortion, as noted above. This thing used to be considered simply a murder because a person’s life begins at conception and not just at birth. This is a biological fact. This was also acknowledged in a recent study asking 5,577 biologists around the world when human life begins. 96 percent of them said it starts with fertilization. (Erelt, S., Survey asked, 5,577 biologists when human life begins. 96 % said conception; lifenews.com, 11 july 2019). Similarly, the Geneva Declaration of the World Medical Association in 1948, when the unethical behavior of Nazi doctors was exposed, stated that human life begins with fertilization: "I hold human life in the highest esteem since conception, and I do not use my medical skills against the laws of humanity, even under threat." The conclusion is that there is now support for something that is clearly unethical and destroys the human child. Now, Putin's actions are being criticized, and for good reason, but many journalists are doing the same. They are in favor of the murder of people, which in practice means abortion. They just talk beautifully about “abortion,” but it’s about killing a human child, even if something else is claimed. So I see that the propaganda in Russia that justifies acts of war and the killing of people is no different from Western journalists who are pushing the same thing against unwanted children. What is strange, moreover, is that these journalists and other supporters of abortion regard such activity as a human right and think they are more morally advanced than others who do not share their views. This is a lewd contradiction. However, I do not want to disparage the feelings of anyone who becomes unexpectedly pregnant. Off like that. However, it is good to understand that at this point she is already a mother, and not until after the birth of the child. I have thought that Western abortion practice is reminiscent of the way in which ancient societies abandoned their children (a way that disappeared as the Christian faith spread) or when the Canaanites sacrificed their children to their idols. Probably these people considered their manner quite normal, but in the eyes of God, for example, the sin of the Canaanites was horrible. This manner also spread among the Israelites. As a result, they were faced with the wrath of God:
- (Ps 106:38-40) And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions. 40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, so that he abhorred his own inheritance.
There are other things that can be mentioned about the change in morality and how the West defends injustice. Several of them are associated with sexuality and selfishness in it. Again, children are vicarious victims of adult choices that they may push in the name of love and equality. Here are some examples:
• Fertility treatments for single women or female couples, which have been defended in the name of equality. Children are made fatherless on purpose. Even now, the main problem for children is fatherlessness, when a very large number of them grow up without a father at home. At the same time, mental health problems in children and adolescents have been constantly increasing, year after year.
• Sexual behavior that favors premarital sex or extramarital affairs has been a disaster for children. That is, if the parents are not properly committed before the sexual relationship, the position of the children to be born is difficult if there are no both parents in the family. The situation is illustrated by the fact that at the end of the 1960s, only 5% of children in Finland were born out of wedlock, while in the early 1990s the figure was already 25%, and when the figure is now over 50%.
• A favorable attitude towards divorce has increased the plight of children. In Finland, for example, divorce was facilitated by law in 1987, which led to the termination of many marriages without major problems. At the same time, society’s social spending and housing benefits have risen year after year as families break up. The state already pays a third of the rents, and the total amount sunk in general housing benefits has doubled in the 21st century (Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, 8 January 2017). Proponents of the new morality, who attack conservative and Christian values, increase the cost to society and the suffering of children. • An indication of current developments is that there is talk of a positive tone about rainbow families (i.e., in rainbow families, the child has to live either without his or her own father or mother) and homosexual behavior. It does not take into account the Christian view that friendships are ok between the same sex, but all sexual relationships, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are wrong outside of a husband and wife marriage. It is not a question of anyone’s lesser dignity or hatred for them, but that not all life models are right in God’s eyes. That is, each of us has false tendencies. Some may be tempted to overeat, some to alcohol abuse, some to extramarital sex and porn, or others to be homosexual. Everyone has these false tendencies that we should strive to get rid of and not live by. We will not become completely sinless during this life (which is why we cannot stand above others), but we should not make a covenant with sin.
• One indication of the current development in the West is transideology, which is very much reminiscent of female circumcision. One of its consequences is the so-called gender reconstructive surgery, in which is amputated healthy limbs and is used hormones for the rest of life. (Based on this, it is remarkable that most media outlets have a negative view of female circumcision, but at the same time support a transideology that could lead to the same type of outcome. This is an obvious contradiction.) These people become lifelong patients, lifelong hormone users. As a result of this they may get such problems as bone loss, cancer, infertility, heart disease, venous thrombosis, blood clot, liver damage. In addition, these people have been found to have many times more suicidal thoughts and mental disorders than the general population. It is good to understand people who drift into these thought patterns where they do not accept their own birth-born gender. I see that these thought patterns as resembling eating disorders where a person is not happy with their body and weight. Many transgender people share this view. However, it is worth asking what is the solution to the problem. Personally, I see that this is a mental problem like in eating disorders and should therefore focus on it. The fault is not in anyone’s body but in one’s own thinking when one does not accept one’s birth sex. It is noteworthy that, for example, the LHB Association, which represents lesbians, gays and bisexuals in Finland, also sees this as a mental issue, which can often vary for children and young people. That is why the LHB has written: “The mental development of a child or teenager is still in progress, and legal changes related to legal gender should not be promoted for minors” (Etelä-Suomen sanomat 4.4.2022). I think the position of this union on this is sensible, although I may disagree on other issues.
• One of the more worrying aspects of western developments is the curtailment of freedom of speech and religion, which I see as a serious feature. It is not just a question of development in Russia, where the opposition is under pressure, but a similar development is taking place in Europe. Ivan Puopolo, among others, commented on the matter in the Verkkouutiset-publication April 26, 2022. In this article, he mentions a new EU law on digital services that controls what can be said on social media. In practice, this means that social media giants are obliged to remove all illegal content under penalty of a fine as soon as it is found. Fines can be huge, several percent of service providers ’revenue, which is certainly a strong deterrent to service providers. The only problem is what is illegal and what is not. Will this be solved by a vote or how? For example, child pornography and incitement to violence against others are things where most agree that they should not be accepted. However, there are a lot of things that may just be a different opinion that someone else doesn’t accept. It leads to the fact that a shout-out vote influences service providers in such a way that they remove opinions that do not please the complainants. Of course, social media companies listen to complainers, and they may remove huge amounts of content that is perfectly legal. Social media companies would rather do this than pay expensive fines or face litigation. This law and current developments are therefore a serious threat to freedom of expression and religion. It suppresses free debate and democracy and leads to a pattern similar to that of the former communist countries, where opinions contrary to the prevailing ideology were not allowed to be expressed. The EU is following in the footsteps of the early communists as it seeks to ban free debate. One example of development is attitudes toward sexuality. Narrow-minded value liberals can’t stand the talk that sex is only right in a marriage between a husband and wife. They see such perceptions as hate speech, even though it has been the prevailing ideology in the West for centuries. They do not understand that when defending homosexuals, for example, there are hundreds of people who have this tendency, but they do not want to live with it because they see it as morally wrong or causing harm to themselves and others, for example in the form of STDs. They defend only those who do not want to follow Christian morality in this area. Moreover, these value liberals do not understand that it is love that can underlie a believing Christian. That is, because a believing Christian believes that we are eternal beings and that sex is only right in the marriage of a husband and wife, he wants to warn others not to make wrong choices about their lives. This is love and not hatred of others. Narrow-minded value liberals do not understand this and therefore want to suppress such opinions that I myself have expressed in this writing. I am convinced that there will be a situation in the West where trials and attacks are expected against those who adhere to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in these areas. This issue is progressing because the media is constantly attacking traditional Christian teaching. I do not see any difference in the activities of the media with the Russian media, which, too, may only highlight one side of the issue. I will quote here an example from the US university world. The author describes how up to 18 percent of American students are ready for violence if opinions are expressed on campus that do not please themselves. In general, strong attitudes are associated with hatred against the Christian faith and morals as with early communists. American universities are relevant because almost all the new currents that have spread to the West as well as to the rest of the world have begun from there. As the number of such attitudes and people grows, we can expect the emergence of totalitarian social systems. Freedom of speech and religion is under threat not only in Russia, but also in the USA and other Western countries that want to ban opposing opinions.
... I'm worried
about the Americans' right to freedom of expression.
What to expect? As has been said, western countries may pay attention to Russian propaganda justifying the killing of people and injustices against them. However, it is not thought that the Western media themselves are pushing things that are clearly wrong and harmful, especially to children. As a result, people's attitudes have become extremely negative towards the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, just as in Russia, as a result of propaganda, clearly wrong things are accepted. I do not see any difference between the West and Russia in this respect. Today, there is also talk of conservatism in a negative tone. However, if the new morality means rejecting the useful teachings of Jesus and the apostles, we are going in a worse direction. Under Hitler, traditional conservative values were abandoned, and now the same trend can be seen. I don't expect anything good to happen from this. For example, Paul described the development of the last days as follows. He stated that the people of the last days are incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. I believe this will happen just before the coming of Jesus.
- (2 Tim 3:1-5) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
- (2 Tim 3:13) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
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Grap to eternal life!
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