Russian man on trial for 'no God' comment in internet chat

[Brian37]

Some in our right wing love Putin, Bush Jr once called that KGB asshole a good man.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news...d-morality

[abaris]

UGGGGGGGG, Putin never was an atheist, most Russians are not and were never atheists, even under Stalin.

And you know that, how exactly?

Putin is whatever furthers his cause, which is power and money. He's cold as ice and that's probably the only thing that can be said about the man. I'm no expert, but whenever Putin is shown on tv, I try to find some emotion in his face. Can't say I've seen anybody else having such control over their features. Putin displays nothing and even the rare moment when he tries to smile look like an act.

[JuliaL]

Sociopaths are at a competitive advantage in the pursuit of power and influence because they are not restrained by empathic considerations that limit the rest of us.

They cheat.
We are not good enough at enforcing collectively derived rules to keep them them under control.

They do make good despots though.

[Brian37]

UGGGGGGGG, Putin never was an atheist, most Russians are not and were never atheists, even under Stalin.

And you know that, how exactly?

Putin is whatever furthers his cause, which is power and money. He's cold as ice and that's probably the only thing that can be said about the man. I'm no expert, but whenever Putin is shown on tv, I try to find some emotion in his face. Can't say I've seen anybody else having such control over their features. Putin displays nothing and even the rare moment when he tries to smile look like an act.

Cold as ice does not mean you cant be religious and cold. He DOES believe in a god. Just like it is bullshit to claim Hitler was an atheist. You can be religious AND power hungry. Most psychopaths and sociopaths are power hungry theist or not. It is just that Putin IS a believer.

[abaris]

Cold as ice does not mean you cant be religious and cold. He DOES believe in a god. Just like it is bullshit to claim Hitler was an atheist. You can be religious AND power hungry. Most psychopaths and sociopaths are power hungry theist or not. It is just that Putin IS a believer.

As opposed to Hitler, we don't have records of his private conversations and aren't privy to what his immediate entourage had to say.

He may be all of the above, but we don't know. We know the persona and that he's going through the motions. Pleasing the church because it's got power over many people. Pleasing the anti gay nationalists. Everything else is pure speculation, since nobody knows that man, other than that he always knew how to pick the right friends to further his own career.

[Brian37]

Cold as ice does not mean you cant be religious and cold. He DOES believe in a god. Just like it is bullshit to claim Hitler was an atheist. You can be religious AND power hungry. Most psychopaths and sociopaths are power hungry theist or not. It is just that Putin IS a believer.

As opposed to Hitler, we don't have records of his private conversations and aren't privy to what his immediate entourage had to say.

He may be all of the above, but we don't know. We know the persona and that he's going through the motions. Pleasing the church because it's got power over many people. Pleasing the anti gay nationalists. Everything else is pure speculation, since nobody knows that man, other than that he always knew how to pick the right friends to further his own career.

Here is a recent video where Putin seems to backpeddle, but even he admits that there ARE anti gay laws he supports he calls them "gay propaganda" and says that should be kept from children.  Much the same half assed bigotry many homophobes still have in America "I don't care I just don't want to see it", basically hide who you are.

His government had the Female punk band Pussy Riot arrested for criticizing the church and his government. The band is pro LGBT and called his tactics a reflection of  "the imperial politics" of the Soviet Union". 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Riot

NOW, read the following article because PUTIN has been in rule since 99 in one form or fashion, and the majority of Russia, has a dim view of homosexuality. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia

Putin signed the anti gay propaganda laws enacted between 2006  and 2013.

Now, that is far different from what he said years ago. I don't trust that fucker on anything, alot like I don't trust Trump When he calls Mexicans rapists but says "I am sure some of them are decent".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvTYMhbMbQ0

[Brian37]

And there is this.  SORRY DOUBLE POST.

[Brian37]

And there is this.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulcoyer/20...d169e68817

QUOTE ARTICLE "little has been paid to the equally critical role of the Russian Orthodox Church in helping to shape Russia’s current system,"

This is no different than what the Church did in supporting Stalin.

[abaris]

This is no different than what the Church did in supporting Stalin.

OK, that's just outright wrong. They never did support Stalin. They didn't have any reason to support him, since he disowned them and tore down some of their most cherrished churches. Stalin, same as Putin by the way, used some religious and nationalist symbolism during WWII. Especially when it began and he gave his first speech, he appealed to Russia's history and culture.

[Brian37]

This is no different than what the Church did in supporting Stalin.

OK, that's just outright wrong. They never did support Stalin. They didn't have any reason to support him, since he disowned them and tore down some of their most cherrished churches. Stalin, same as Putin by the way, used some religious and nationalist symbolism during WWII. Especially when it began and he gave his first speech, he appealed to Russia's history and culture.

That is like saying Hitler had no support from the church. You keep forgetting while plenty  hated him, there were plenty that liked him and or went along out of fear, but Russian Orthodoxy still never left Russia under Stalin.

Putin is a product of the Cold war, and he still has that mindset even today. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecutio...viet_Union

Scroll down in the article to "World War 2 Rapproachment" in black bold, then 4th paragraph under that.

QUOTE ARTICLE "Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war effort and presented Russia as a defender of Christian civilization, because he saw the church had an ability to arouse the people in a way that the party could not and because he wanted western help.On September 4, 1943, Metropolitans Sergius (Stragorodsky), Alexius (Simansky) and Nicholas (Yarushevich) were officially received by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin who proposed to create the Moscow Patriarchate. They received permission to convene a council on September 8, 1943, that elected Sergius  "