{"id":5017,"date":"2008-03-26T12:38:33","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T12:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/03\/mikhail-gorbachev-is-still-an.html"},"modified":"2008-03-26T12:38:33","modified_gmt":"2008-03-26T12:38:33","slug":"mikhail-gorbachev-is-still-an","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/03\/mikhail-gorbachev-is-still-an.html","title":{"rendered":"Mikhail Gorbachev is still an atheist"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had heard reports that Mikhail Gorbachev had become a Christian and I was thinking about blogging about it but held back after hearing Hitchens on Hewitt’s show<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Christopher Hitchens, our mutual friend, Peter Robinson, has asked me to say hello to you. He sends along news from the London Mirror tonight that Mikhail Gorbachev is a Christian, and spent thirty minutes on his knees in front of the tomb of St. Francis. We think you\u2019re next.
\nCH: Well, in that respect, he joins his wonderful successor, Vladimir Putin, Crucifix flaunter to the gentry, and the man whom, if you remember, by just bodyguarding himself with Russian orthodox thuggery, he managed to impress our very own President.
\nHH: So you\u2019re not thinking that Gorbachev is sincere?
\nCH: I\u2019m fearing that it\u2019s another case of Russian orthodox chauvinism, a thing that\u2019s growing like a huge virus through Russia at the moment, and is returning the country to the days of a quasi-czarism, which is what I think Vladimir Putin would like to see in any case. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I wondered if his Christianity was more about nationalism than Christ so I didn’t bother blogging about it. Well, it turns out it was a good thing I didn’t because he rejects the report and reaffirmed that he was still an atheist:<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last few days some media have been disseminating fantasies\u2014I can’t use any other word\u2014about my secret Catholicism, citing my visit to the Sacro Convento friary, where the remains of St. Francis of Assisi lie,\u201d Gorbachev said. Instead he insisted that he undertook the trip, not as a pilgrim, but as \u201ctourist.\u201d
\n[…]
\nIn the past he visited Orthodox monasteries in Russia and abroad, Catholic and Protestant churches, synagogues in Israel and mosques in Arab countries as well as Buddhist monasteries, but \u201cnobody related me to this or that belief during all these years. To avoid misunderstandings I would like to say\u2014I was atheist and I stay atheist”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though it appears there are some who aren’t giving up hope:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Italy, he spoke in emotional terms, rather than in terms of faith,\u201d a Patriarchate spokesman said. \u201cHe is still on his way to Christianity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had heard reports that Mikhail Gorbachev had become a Christian and I was thinking about blogging about it but held back after hearing Hitchens on Hewitt’s show: Christopher Hitchens, our mutual friend, Peter Robinson, has asked me to say hello to you. He sends along news from the London Mirror tonight that Mikhail Gorbachev…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,399,402],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-politics-2","category-religion-2"],"yoast_head":"\nMikhail Gorbachev is still an atheist - Reformed Chicks Blabbing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/reformedchicksblabbing\/2008\/03\/mikhail-gorbachev-is-still-an.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mikhail Gorbachev is still an atheist - Reformed Chicks Blabbing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I had heard reports that Mikhail Gorbachev had become a Christian and I was thinking about blogging about it but held back after hearing Hitchens on Hewitt’s show: Christopher Hitchens, our mutual friend, Peter Robinson, has asked me to say hello to you. 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