Giving Thanks in Moscow

During persecution, hardship, and now freedom, the Soviet church has learned “in everything give thanks.”

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

We in the Soviet Union have an autumn holiday to celebrate the harvest, just as you in America have your Thanksgiving Day. But one cannot know the true value of bread unless he has experienced hunger; one cannot know the true value of water unless she has experienced thirst; and one cannot know the true value of freedom unless he has experienced repression. Christians in the Soviet Union know the price of freedom. We know how to give thanks to God because we have passed through the fiery tests of repression and persecution.

Up until the miraculous unfolding of events commonly referred to as glasnost and perestroika, it was very difficult being a Christian in the USSR. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought about a new value system in our society. Atheism became the official religion, characterized by intolerance toward anyone who believed in Christ.

During this time all evangelicals were persecuted, and many were imprisoned. Yet despite such unbearable conditions, we still expressed our gratitude to God. Even those whose lives were filled with suffering would praise our Heavenly Father. Through tears of pain and anguish, they constantly prayed for their persecutors and gave sincere thanks for their hardships.

History will remember the 18-year rule of Brezhnev as a “stagnant” period for the economy. But there was no slowdown in our government’s promotion of atheism. During this time an intense propaganda campaign was waged, pitting 50 years of atheistic experience against the church of Jesus Christ. But through it all, we learned a valuable lesson about gratitude. Those who so ruthlessly opposed us did not realize at the time that they were actually helping us draw closer to God. We found that thanking the Lord for our hardships helped us test the quality of our faith. We soon learned that a spirit of gratitude really helped us understand that we belonged to God and that we were a small part of his plan for bringing the gospel to this region. And knowing that only the Lord could change our circumstances, we continued with thankfulness, asking God for total freedom to preach the gospel.

Today that prayer has been answered! Many claim that this is the time of Gorbachev, but it is really the result of God answering our prayers—and yours—and opening the doors for evangelism. That gives Christians in your country and ours a special reason to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Can you imagine how happy this celebration has become for us? Now we especially thank God for the new opportunities to preach in the prisons and orphanages, and in the streets, parks, and stadiums. We are joyfully observing a renewed interest in God and his Word among the people of our nation. And although we still do not have enough Bibles, we are thankful that this divine book has become the most popular book in our country. The Word of God, as a river breaking through a dam, has flowed into the Soviet Union, saturating even the most remote places. And for us, the Word of Christ is accomplishing its purpose—the preaching of the gospel to all the people.

Today God is testing us in the Soviet Union. New freedoms bring unique difficulties. But by being thankful, even these difficulties can be overcome.

Guest editorial by lay preachers Sergey Rakhuba of Moscow, and Igor Yaremchuk, of Zaporozhye, Ukraine. Both have recently begun studies at Moody Bible Institute.

Ever since Watson and Crick solved the DNA puzzle, medical researchers have been pushing back the frontiers of knowledge and technique. Scientific Kit Carsons have worked eagerly to tame the wilderness of human biology with a rough-and-ready spirit reminiscent of the old West. Thanks to their efforts, our ability to treat tough diseases has been vastly expanded, and over the horizon glows the promise of greater breakthroughs. Unfortunately, the eugenic temptation (the impulse to improve the race by amputating its weak members, or even preventing their birth) has also grown, as intrauterine diagnosis of genetically related disorders has become more common.

In this issue, we publish “Brave New Harvest,” a critical look at how experimentation with fetal tissue promises to help those who suffer with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s (see pages 24–28). Why should CT publish articles like this, which examine subjects on which the Bible is largely silent?

Too often, when the Bible does not directly address an ethical issue, evangelicals ignore the matter until a clear threat becomes obvious. Most biotechnical research is carried on with the best of intentions, yet far too often the consequences are ethically forbidding. In vitro fertilization is a case in point. Helping otherwise infertile couples conceive is a noble goal, one that many believers encourage. But the disposal of unwanted embryos has proven to be a knotty problem. Do we experiment on them as if they were rats or rhesus monkeys? Do we flush them as if they were mere body waste? Do we avoid any active wrong by freezing them in a cryonic limbo?

Why Biotechnology Matters

We believe issues surrounding biotechnology should concern biblical Christians. Here, for study and discussion, are five reasons CT readers ought to pay attention to events on the biological frontier.

First, our decisions about bioethical matters will reflect how we view the human race. In the Bible the human race is the crown of the created order, only “a little lower than the angels” and distinguished from other animal life by being given the “image of God” and dominion over “every living thing that moves upon the earth” (see Gen. 1:26–28; Ps. 8:3–8; cf. Matt. 10:29–31; Luke 12:6–7). The salvation of the human race is the goal of the greatest sacrifice God could make (see John 3:16–17; Rom. 5:8–10). That salvation brings with it eternal life. Human beings are therefore to be treated with the dignity accorded creatures created for glory, not as accidental and ephemeral collections of amino acids that have no lasting significance. Bioethical understandings that run counter to the high value the Bible accords the human race must be resisted.

Second, decisions about bioethics reflect how we view individuals. The Bible teaches that men and women are significant as individuals. God has elected each human being from eternity. His census not only counts noses, it counts the individual hairs on his human creatures’ heads (see Rom. 8:29–30; Eph. 1:3–6; Matt. 10:28–33; Luke 12:4–9). Just as the human race has eternal significance, so does each human individual. Any bioethical trends that treat individuals as expendable must be resisted.

Third, our decisions about bioethics must proceed from the biblical teaching to love our neighbor. The Bible consistently calls our attention to the need of the weak and defenseless (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:35–40; Mark 12:28–34; Luke 10:25–37; Exod. 23:6; Deut. 15:7–8; Ps. 69:31–33; Is. 3:15). Clearly, neighbor-love must focus first of all on those who cannot care for themselves. Bioethical “solutions” frequently target three groups least able to protect their own rights or provide for their own needs: the unborn, the catastrophically ill, and the aged and infirm. Approaches to bioethics that do not put first the needs of the weak and defenseless must be resisted.

Fourth, decisions about bioethics are colored by how clearly we perceive the nature of power. The Bible implies what Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt” (see Prov. 30:7–9; Eccles. 4:1–4; Luke 16:19–31). What Lord Acton said about political power applies as well to technical and economic power. In our society, technical power brings money (economic power) as well as prestige (professional power). Scientific breakthroughs bring big bucks. Research grants and industrial licensing are the economic lifeblood of science. The need to be first with a technique or discovery often drives research to outpace ethics. Of course, much of this research results in important benefits. But technical power brings with it the eugenic impulse and the temptation to trample the dignity of prisoners, fetuses, and the profoundly ill by treating them as laboratory animals.

Fifth, our understanding of bioethics is colored by our understanding of pain, suffering, and death. Often, bioethical advances are driven by a vision of a pain-free society. But according to the Bible, the complete absence of suffering is promised only in the Age to Come (see Rev. 21:1–4). We are encouraged to give comfort and minimize suffering now, but being pain-free is not the highest biblical value. Truth, justice, and wisdom—and above all, a right relationship with God—are the goals of biblical religion. The cessation of pain is the goal of world-denying Eastern religions. The struggle to establish the reign of God is the goal of Christian religion. Biotechnical research that is driven by the ethical stance that assumes every human being has a right to live without pain and suffering is flawed and unrealistic.

The moral status of biotechnical research is frequently ambiguous. It is often driven by compassion for those who suffer. It promises great benefits. But such research must always proceed cautiously, keeping alive the biblical values of the dignity of the human race, the value of the individual, care for the weak and defenseless, caution about the abuses of technical power, and regard for the profound mystery of suffering. Evangelicals owe it to themselves, to God, and to human society to engage in dialogue about the issues of biotechnology.

By David Neff.

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