|
The 2005
Law On Religion in Kazakhstan
-
The law
prohibits evangelism to those under 18 without written permission
from both parents. This was also true in
Soviet times so there is a cultural taboo as well as a legal
prohibition.
-
The law
is not enforced equally and fairly. If you have a good relationship
with the local authorities you have some leeway. If you don't, you
have no protection (except from God) from fines and being shut down.
We have heard that the law is not enforced for mosques and that half
of the mosques are not registered.
-
The
stated intent of the Law is to prevent even the appearance of conflict
between religious ideologies. Freedom of religion has been restricted in order to
achieve this goal.
-
Working
within family and social networks when doing evangelism is one way
of staying below the radar. You can
read more about the 2005 law at:
Registering a
Church under the 2005 Law On Religion.
The 2008
Law On Religion in Kazakhstan. In 2008-9 a new law on religion that
is even more restrictive than the 2005 law
passed both houses of parliament and went to the president for his
signature. He did not sign it but sent it to a judicial
committee to determine whether it is constitutional. The
committee has until early Feb 2009 to issue its ruling.
-
It would ban anyone from sharing their beliefs without both
the written backing of a registered religious association and also personal
state registration as a missionary.
-
It would require permission from both parents for children to attend any
religious event. Small "religious groups" – the lowest level of registered community - would only
be authorized to carry out religious activity with existing members and would
not be allowed to maintain places of worship "open to a wide access". Nor would
they be allowed to conduct missionary activity.
-
Apart from a few personal items, all religious literature imported into the
country would require approval through a "religious expert assessment".
-
Churches
with less than 50 members will be closed. Those with 50 or
more will be required to reregister.
-
Churches
will not be allowed to receive foreign support. All funds that
churches receive must be brought to the justice department to be
counted and recorded.
-
You can
read more about the 2008 law at:
2008-2009 Law On Religion.
Other
Continuing Prayer Needs.
-
Many ethnic Kazakh professing believers no-longer attend
church. Attending church regularly is not considered important for
believers.
-
There are
roughly 600 Protestant churches in Kazakhstan (including around 200
Russian Baptist churches). According to the Director of the
Teen Challenge program here, in 2006 alone roughly 200 of
these churches were dissolved due to lack of membership.
-
5 of the
11 Kazakh men in ministry that I know personally have had adulterous
relationships while in the ministry. Only one of the eleven believes that such men should be removed from
the pastorate. For some reason David is cited as their model
for this opinion.
-
Training
leadership here does not start at the same point as leadership
training in a country with a long-standing Christian witness such as
America. Although America has all of the same problems, the starting point for the average new believer is
decades if not generations ahead of the average new believer here.
Picture America in 50 or 100 years if it continues to slide.
Like Americans, Kazakhs worship their culture and traditions.
They do not see the need to challenge these things after they are
saved and often this view is encouraged by those in leadership.
See examples below.
-
A large
percentage of the Kazakh population has been exposed to the Gospel
through door-to-door nationwide evangelistic campaigns.
Unfortunately this high-pressure evangelism has lead to an increase
the fear and distrust of "foreign" religions in the average person's
heart.
-
The
problems we face problems for churches everywhere. The church
of God is a candle burning on the beach in a hurricane. Only the sustaining power of God
keeps any church going and gloriously changing lives as we ride out
the storm of earthly life. We
don't loose heart. God's
all satisfying glory satisfies and sustains us.
Opportunities and Projects
For Evangelism and Church Strengthening.
-
English
clubs and classes continue to be valued by young people. The people
who want to learn English tend to be culturally and intellectually
more global.
-
We
encourage and teach our
church members to reach out to their families and friends. This
kind of evangelism is slow but when family members and friends are
saved they immediately have a social link to the church. Our
church members, especially Kooderbye,
have been doing this in their extended families.
This kind of ministry
helps church members to grow and live out their faith with those
that know them best.
-
The third
major area that I believe is strategic for Kazakhstan is
publishing. Published material is nearly non-existent here.
Publishing can reach everyone regardless of the relationships they
have with believers. It is also an essential tool for teaching
believers across multiple churches.
Examples of where the average new believer is starting from in
Kazakhstan.
The
Judges 21:25 society. "Everyone did what was right in his own
eyes."
Examples
Concerning Integrity. Please Pray.
How many
people work in Kazakhstan? Nobody knows because most people don't pay
taxes so they don't report income. Most of the economy is off the
books. Virtually every statistic is wrong because the culture does not
care about truth. Police don't report crime because they think it makes
them look bad. Licenses, permits, diplomas (starting in grade school),
grades and jobs are bought and sold most of the time. Murderers and all other
criminals buy release from prison as a rule. Doctors harm and even kill
patients (by not treating them) who don't pay them bribes. One doctor
infected babies with the Aids virus by giving them transfusions they did
not need so that he could make $10 per child. (See this NY Times story: Medical Care/Corruption In Kazakhstan).
Byeram's brother is dying of TB because doctors routinely give only half
of the required dose in order to double their profit. One Kazakh woman
we know has epilepsy caused by a doctor refusing to remove her child's
afterbirth because she did not pay him a big enough bribe. An American
oral surgeon friend of ours had to leave the country because his
students threatened to kill him for flunking every student in his
medical school class. He didn't take bribes and they didn't expect to be
graded based on their performance.
Examples
Concerning Marriage. Pray for Kazakhstan and the USA
Marriage
does not involve the exchanging of vows in Kazakhstan. It is
simply a declaration of a couples intent to be legally married, whatever
that happens to mean to them. It is common and acceptable even for
believers to leave their spouse without getting a divorce and have
children with another partner. It is acceptable for men to beat
their wives. Even believers will not interfere when their
sisters or mothers are beaten. Believers quietly allow their
daughters to be stolen by strangers. They participate
in an old Kazakh ritual in which the family of the kidnapper surrounds
the stolen girl and pleads with the girl's family to allow the kidnapper
to marry the daughter (often after he has dishonored her.)
Believing men try to get their girlfriends pregnant before they are
married and leave the girl if she is barren. Believing men leave
their wives if, after three years, she fails to have a child.
Believing newly weds are usually expected to live with the man's parents.
The youngest daughter-in-law in this kind of household is expected to do
most of the menial labor for the entire household: cleaning,
cooking, serving meals, washing clothes. At the other extreme,
believing women join their husbands in working long hours while their
young children fend for themselves at home.
We need God's grace to preach the word and
exhort believers to delight in the glory of God so completely that they
apply His word to their lives in no matter what the cost. Please pray
that the Lord will be our strength and our greatest joy.
Thank you for keeping Kazakhstan in your prayers.
|