Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ex-Soviet Leader Gorbachev Admits He is Christian | Christianpost.com

Ex-Soviet Leader Gorbachev Admits He is Christian | Christianpost.com: "Mikhail Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, admitted publicly for the first time on Wednesday that he is a Christian.

Rumors had circulated for decades that Gorbachev was a “closet Christian,” but it was only confirmed yesterday when he made a surprise visit with his daughter Irina to pray at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy."


This is wonderful news if former Soviet leader, Gorbachev actually accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Unfortunately, many claim to be Christians, but have never been truly "born again" (Matthew 7:14) by the repentance of sins and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Click here for more info).

Of course, only God knows the heart of Mr. Gorbachev, but in another article, Mr. Gorbachev is quoted as saying:

"'St Francis is, for me, the alter Christus, the other Christ,' said Mr Gorbachev. 'His story fascinates me and has played a fundamental role in my life,' he added."
--Mikhail Gorbachev admits he is a Christian - Telegraph

The above statement is definitely a cause for concern since there is only one Christ, Jesus Christ. To pray or worship anyone but the triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (In other words, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Matthew 28:18-19)) is truly blasphemous. To refer to St Francis as "the other Christ" is essentially the same thing as calling St Francis a god.

But, once again, only God truly knows the heart of Mr. Gorbachev, and therefore, I am in no position to determine if he is saved or not. However, I can say that I do remember Mr. Gorbachev when he was the Soviet leader and how noticeably different he was from his predecessors in the way he carried himself; He actually seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about western democracy. I have no doubt that Mr. Gorbachev was moved by President Reagan's challenge:

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

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