Sweeping Changes Are in Store for the USSR
Counting 500 Days to Freedom
- by Jay Rogers
10/90
The Supreme Soviet legislature adopted a radical plan in September to move beyond merely reforming their socialist economy, toward creating a Western-style free-market economy within 500 days.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev initially embraced free-market economics to give the sagging Soviet Union a boost, but now radical reformers, such as Russian Supreme Soviet Chairman Boris Yeltsin and economics professor Stanislav Shatalin, have passed legislation that will eventually bring death to socialism.
The proposal for reformation, drawn up by Shatalin and passed by the Russian parliament led by Yeltsin, calls for dismantling the power of the central government and selling businesses to private owners and breaking up collective farms. This spells the end of Gorbachev's dream of perestroika: the restructuring of the Soviet economy by implementing free-market economics - yet retaining a socialist framework.
Other sweeping changes include allowing Gorbachev to wield powers affording him the authority of a dictator during the time of transition. These powers were deemed necessary by the Supreme Soviet legislature in order to help the nation toward making the drastic turnover. Gorbachev has promised to use the powers responsibly.
With the decentralizing of the Soviet government, according to Shatalin's plan, the 15 separate Soviet republics will have economic and political autonomy, with the government of the Soviet Union controlling only the military and certain communications, transportation and energy companies. Although many of the details must still be worked through during the transition, in 500 days the Soviet government will become less socialistic than many western nations.
With little or no time to lose in resurrecting the fast failing Soviet economy, Gorbachev and rival party leader Yeltsin have struck a deal. Yeltsin, if the transition goes smoothly, will emerge as the country's leader and Gorbachev's power will become greatly decreased in the transition. Gorbachev will eventually become a type of foreign minister relating to nations of the world and representing the people of the Soviet Union.
The 15 separate Soviet republics will be given greater freedom to act independently, almost like a union of confederate states rather than a single republic. People groups as diverse as the central Asian states, the Baltic states, and "fringe" nations such as the Ukraine and Moldavia, will be given the freedom to run their own economies and elect their own government officials.
Soviet Union Experiencing Unprecedented Revival
Soviet citizens are flocking to church in record numbers since the state control of religion officially ended in late September. By a 341-1 vote, the Soviet legislature adopted historic legislation which ended the communist policy of atheist education and state control of all religious institutions and permits organized religious instruction.
In another historic move, the first church service was held in the Kremlin's Uspensky Cathedral since 1918. Since the days of Lenin and Stalin, communist officials have persecuted the church in the Soviet Union, executed and persecuted Christians and infiltrated churches with KGB agents.
Christian leaders currently hold political offices in the national legislature, such as dissident priest Gleb Yakunin, who was jailed and exiled during the Brezhnev era. A number of Christian Democratic political parties have also emerged, all of which are now legal.
Armenian legislator, Genrikh Igitian recently stated that traditional atheistic instruction helped to "destroy" the country and said, "I believe every educated person should be instructed in religion."
The new law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" declares that all religions are legal and bars the state from interfering in religious affairs. The law also allows religious groups to set up schools, send students overseas, and receive exchange students. It also permits "societies, brotherhoods, associations" and other organizations.
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The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
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This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
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| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
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Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
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R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
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| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
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