Point scoring

Source: Guardian  Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty Images

Following on from the Church in Wales (CinW) Christmas farce which continues to run over the festive season, the Church of England has announced her system for fast tracking ethnic minority clergy to senior roles:

"The Church of England (CofE) is to fast-track black and ethnic minority clergy into senior positions amid accusations of institutional racism. A “talent pool” of specifically black, Asian and minority ethnic (Bame) [oops! read here - Ed.] potential leaders will be identified in 2016 for training and mentoring with the aim of increasing representation among bishops, deans and archdeacons.

The church selected its first talent pool this year, but fewer than 7% of those chosen were from ethnic minorities. A second round is currently being selected. The church is to devote a third group specifically to Bame clergy."

Surprisingly the CofE has not followed the US lead of using 'people of colour' or 'visible minorities' in place of the outdated 'Bame' in their discriminatory scheme since they have followed the sexual ethics of the US Episcopal Church with great enthusiasm. No doubt the CofE will catch up eventually as will the CinW who continues to pursue the notion that self promoting women deserve preferment over more suitable male candidates.

When it comes to visibility I was interested to read that "Britain's rail bosses have censored an image of a saint from a display of art inside a railway station, saying it was 'overtly Christian' and would offend 'multi-cultural values'. Network Rail – which is partly funded by the taxpayer – banned an image of St John the Evangelist from Rochester station in Kent, which has just reopened after a £26 million revamp. The image of the saint, one of the apostles of Christ, was to be placed at the station entrance with other iconography inspired by Rochester's ancient cathedral."

Perhaps Britain's rail bosses have not noticed the Islamic dress worn by Muslims who have sought refuge in this country. Like it or not, it is something we have had to become accustomed to regardless of whether it offends others.

Rochester of course had a splendid bishop in Michael Nazir-Ali. A 'Bame' with a helpful understanding of Islam, but his adherence to the traditional Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church was seen as too much of a handicap for an institution immersed in political correctness.

Let us hope that in 2016 state and religious leaders will take a step back to consider what has happened to this country by submitting to people who have nothing to offer but their misguided political correctness. To update a phrase borrowed from the late lamented Llandaffchester Chronicles (if I remember correctly), in the current climate, if a one legged, arse kicking, Jewish transgendered lesbian convert of colour were available she would have to be fast tracked to Archbishop in a system which awards points to minorities, unless they also belong to the minority of Anglicans who continue to adhere to the Apostolic faith of our forefathers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2016

The Adoration of the Shepherds. About 1640, Guido Reni, National Gallery

With very Best Wishes for a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and throughout 2016.

They still don't get

Memorizing Islamic texts which condemn other religions.                 Telegraph/Photo: REUTERS

"The Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, has asked officials to review home schooling amid fears that thousand[s] of children are having their minds “filled with poison” by radicalised parents. Between 20,000 and 50,000 children are thought to be educated at home – but the Government has no idea of the exact number because parents are under no obligation to inform their local council.

Ms Morgan has already announced a crackdown on unregistered schools and “weekend madrassas” after some were found to be promoting extremist ideology. But senior government sources have revealed that home schooling is now “on the radar”.... The focus on home schooling highlights growing concern in government over the problem of children being radicalised by religious extremists abusing positions of trust to promote hardline doctrine." [My emphasis - Ed. Full report here.]

From the  Telegraph in 2011: "Several madrassas – religious schools often run by mosques – use “excessively strict approaches to discipline” to keep children in line, it was revealed. Researchers said the imposition of hard-line rules on behaviour instilled a sense of “spiritual fear” in young people, marking them out from mainstream schools.

The study, by the Institute for Public Policy Research, found a number of examples of madrassas actually employing corporal punishment. A ban on physical beatings, including the cane, was introduced in the 1980s. But the legislation does not cover “supplementary schools”, including many madrassas, where lessons are taught for fewer than 12.5 hours per week."

What is being studied? This is the Conclusion from "Peace or Jihad? Abrogation in Islam":

"The issue of abrogation in Islam is critical to understanding both jihad and da'wa, the propagation of Islam. Some Muslims may preach tolerance and argue that jihad refers only to an internal, peaceful struggle to better oneself. Western commentators can convince themselves that such teachings are correct. However, for learned Muslim scholars and populist leaders, such notions are or should be risible. They recognize that, in practice, there is compulsion in Islam. They take seriously the notion that the Qur'an teaches not just tolerance among religions, but tolerance among religions on the terms of Islam. To understand the challenge of the current Islamist revival, it is crucial for non-Muslims and moderate Muslims alike to recognize that interpretation of Islamic doctrine can have two faces, and that the Medinan face may very well continue to overshadow the Meccan face for a major portion, if not the majority, of contemporary Muslims."

Political and religious leaders need to understand that "...everything in the Qur'an about forgiveness and peace is abrogated by verse 9:5 which orders Muslims to fight the unbelievers and to establish God's kingdom on earth." Once that fact is grasped it is evident that the "Islamic extremist" horrors witnessed are carried out according to the texts being studied.

Children in Britain should be educated according to British standards in the British way of life if we are to achieve any sense of integration. There is nothing to be gained by allowing children to memorize that their host nation is inhabited by less worthy creatures (apes and pigs) who deserve to die if they do not convert to Islam.

In the entry, "Why there will be no Merry Christmas wishes from 'ordinary' Muslims", twelve months ago I included video of an Imam explaining that in Islam, wishing each other a "Merry Christmas!" is "worse than fornication, drinking alcohol or killing someone" because Christmas celebrates the Incarnation which is rejected by Muslims along with the Crucifixion.

One has to wonder therefore why the Archbishop of Canterbury welcomed Shia theologians to Lambeth Palace at the culmination of three days of dialogue with Christian theologians. Expressing his appreciation for this dialogue, Archbishop Justin Welby said: "At a time of increasing fear and division in the world, it is ever more important that people of faith, Christians and Muslims, come together to work towards the common good for the betterment of all." What delusion. His sentiments are sound but can not be genuinely reciprocated by Muslims because it is contrary to their beliefs. It would have made more sense if he had followed a predecessor's example and demanded an explanation of why other faiths are persecuted in states where Islam dominates.

As Islam expands and Christianity wanes there is an unsettling change in attitude which regards Islam as fact and Christianity as fiction when there is Incredible Proof for Why You Should Have Faith in the Bible: "There are 16 total historians apart from Scripture that reference Christ. Almost everything about Christ we can find without ever going to the New Testament" and "There's more evidence that Jesus lived than Julius Caesar, yet no one doubts Caesar existed." Islam claims to be authoritative but denies historical evidence.

Christians know that false prophets will test their faith but our faith leaders entertain representatives of a supremacist ideology on an equal level which accords legitimacy to beliefs that, certainly in Christian terms, must be wrong because there is "only one way to the Father". Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no ambiguity.

What is needed is not an education system which permits children to memorize texts that demand all to convert or die but one in which faith can be challenged in the same way that Christianity has been challenged and proved to be true. Any faith which can not tolerate scrutiny must be suspect. Denying Muslims the truth is to deny them salvation.

This morning I read "Archbishop of Canterbury supports 'our Muslim brothers and sisters' ". Read The Logic of Islamic Intolerance for an explanation of why such trust is a perilous mistake.

Church in Wales Christmas farce

Photo: CinW

You could be forgiven for thinking this is a lineup of hopefuls demanding a part in a Church pantomime farce. In many ways it is.

Not to be outdone by their sister group, Women and the Church (WATCH), now more popularly known as Women in the Church (WITCH) having achieved their goal of feminizing the Church of England, this group is determined to do for the Church in Wales what WATCH has done in England but with nothing in return in the form of alternative Episcopal oversight as enjoyed in England. Indeed bishops of The Anglican Mission in England are not welcome in Wales. Bizarrely, homosexuality, same sex marriage and dialogue with Imams are all more acceptable to the liberal minded Church in Wales (CinW) episcopate.

Having achieved their aim, WATCH tried to unpick the agreement which enabled women priests to become bishops. Under that agreement everyone in the Church of England was to be given the opportunity to flourish. WATCH then tried to dictate the terms of the agreement until the ombudsman stepped in and sent them packing.

In the CinW pantomime the wicked WITCH, eagerly aided by the Archbishop of Wales, scuppered the chances of everyone being given the opportunity to flourish as soon as the goal of women bishops was achieved. Contrary to the wishes of the majority of CinW members, no provision was made for members who did not support the non-Biblical innovation of women bishops.

The pantomime plot is to convince everyone that "there is a long way to go before women – lay and ordained – achieve equality in the church", a prejudiced attitude that has no evidence to support it but with the Archgenie waiting in the wings to work his magic it is a claim that will no doubt gain support among the nodding majority. The aim is based on a process of positive discrimination so that even the most abysmal female candidate is preferred over outstanding male candidates, especially men who continue to follow the Apostolic teaching of the Holy Catholic Church.

The irony in the plot is that there is discrimination in the Church in Wales but it is not against women. They are the cause of the discrimination which is against cradle Anglicans whose faith has been sidelined to accommodate entrists using Anglicanism to promote their brand of feminism.

Note the comments of the Venerable Christine Hardman who "played an important role in getting the legislation to allow women to be Bishops passed by the Church of England". Her inauguration as the new Bishop of Newcastle took place on Saturday. From a report of the event:

Growing up on a London council estate, a young Christine Hardman admits she had nothing to do with religion. Church was so far removed from her life growing up, it was guarded behind a huge fence. “Church didn’t touch our lives on that council estate,” she said. “We weren’t a church going family and the only church on the estate had a big fence so I had nothing to do with it.”

"It was devastating, I felt so sad that the picture the outside world have of the Church of England was that message, that women can’t be Bishops I didn’t want people to see the church like that,” she said. Rev Hardman worried that the church would never be able to attract young people to worship and was alienating people with an idea which many found offensive".

Perhaps she had not noticed that the outside world could not care less about the Church except when applying their secular standards to a faith that has no interest for them until a convenient opportunity for advancement is spotted by some.

Similarly the Venerable Peggy Jackson had no religion before her husband deserted her. She said, "I was at a low in my life, I thought I would give the Church a go and I found the most wonderful welcome. I was feeling desperate and it was a lifeline at a very black time." Her thanksgiving is to punish cradle Anglicans who do not accept her interpretation of the Christian faith by seeking to exclude them.

So having "given the Church a go" the women of  WITCH, WATCH, MAECymru or whatever and their sidekicks remain as determined as ever to force their agenda at any cost, even the demise of Anglicanism in Great Britain.

What a farce!

Trumped!

I am not a supporter of Donald Trump but I defend his right to say what he thinks so long as he does not incite violence. What he called for in his controversial speech was a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States "until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on", possibly indicating that he is as puzzled as are many of us as to why the "religion of peace" figures so prominently in most acts of terrorism.  

In the following video the question raised is 'Why not hear about Islam from a woman who grew up as Muslim in the ME?' This analysis of Islam appeared recently in an Anglican Mainstream article '4 Insane Reasons Why Liberals Admire and Romanticize Islam'. It should help "representatives" in Trump's country, in Britain and elsewhere to figure out what is going on instead of simply repeating the mantra that Islam is a religion of peace. The fact that the majority of Muslims want to live in peace is irrelevant. Without a proper explanation Trumps critics are trumped.

Quartet

                                                                                                                        Source: BBC Films

Amongst the burgeoning diet of murder, violence and intimidation on TV, last evening saw the screening of the BBC's comedy drama, Quartet, a delightful film with a happy ending for a refreshing change. Some of the best comedy lines are repeated in a Review here.

Under the cover of senility the cast are allowed to say what they think without fear of PC dictatorship, a spirit which helped us get through difficult times when Nazism was our greatest threat.

What a shame we have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves. Free speech is constantly being challenged. In our Universities special interest groups seek to determine the agenda while on the national stage Donald Trump is in trouble for expressing his opinion. Parliament will now discuss whether he should be banned from UK after a petition gained enough signatures to force a debate while radicals continue to pour out their hate of what is left of our democracy.

One of the most effective antidotes to hate is ridicule but such humour along with free speech is being suppressed for political gain. That is the problem MPs need to consider.

Meanwhile, escape the gloom:

Learned but thick?

The King Khalid Foundation domestic abuse advert slogan simply reads: 'Some things can’t be
covered – fighting women’s abuse together'                                                        Source: Telegraph

From the Telegraph: A two-year commission, chaired by the former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving leading religious leaders from all faiths, calls for public life in Britain to be systematically de-Christianised.

It has been suggested that because Britain has seen a "general decline" in its Christian affiliation the time has come for public life to take on a more "pluralist character". Major state occasions such as a coronation should be changed to be more inclusive while the number of bishops in the House of Lords should be cut to make way for leaders of other religions.

The composition of the Lords Spiritual is currently being diluted under the cloak of equality to accommodate Anglican feminism so male bishops are likely to get the elbow to be replaced by male Imams sitting alongside women Bishops! To wreck Anglicanism in favour of feminism and then replace the Christian faith with an alien ideology which treats women and Christians as inferior not only abroad but in Britain is madness.

Ten years after Muhammad entered the list of the top 20 most popular boy’s names, Muhammad with its variant spellings has become the most popular boy's name in Britain indicating the extent of immigration and post immigration expansion. While Christianity is reported as in decline, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in England and Wales. Clearly it needs no encouragement from those deemed to know better.

Delusions

Delusion 1

Reluctantly, the US authorities have had to conclude that the shooting of 14 civil servants at a Christmas party in California was not the act of a disgruntled employee but one inspired by Islamic fundamentalism: "The investigation so far has developed indications of radicalisation by the killers and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorists organisations".

Nervousness in recognising the facts is understandable. How many more silent potential killers lurk among us? Predictably ISIS have claimed credit but the sad fact is that even when ISIS and all other fundamental Islamist organisations are defeated, the ideology still comes from the book Muslims are required to study from their earliest years. The answer is in proper education, enabling Muslims to question a faith which in Christian terms must be misguided. So long as people are allowed to believe that they can gain a place in paradise by murdering innocent people there will be no change.

In Christianity the greatest of faith, hope and charity (love), is love. By contrast Islam rewards believers at the expense of unbelievers. The characteristics of love and forgiveness are embedded in Christian consciousness, even of nominal and lapsed Christians which leads them to welcome others who reject democracy and regard Christians as inferior. It is a delusion to think that Muslims would allow non-Muslims the same freedom that they demand in our midst yet to question their allegiance is condemned as Islamophobia. If believers cannot question their beliefs and come to their own conclusions they will be forever at the mercy of those who would control them, a devastating lesson learnt all too late by many Christians.

Delusion 2

The leader of the Labour Party was quick to take credit for Labour's victory in the Oldham by-election. Labour Deputy leader Tom Watson said "If this was a referendum on Jeremy Corbyn, then he has won. It was a decisive victory with our share of the vote going up. I hope our MPs look at this result." It was not a referendum. The local verdict was that the electorate simply had confidence in their local lad. It had nothing to do with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

The decision of Parliament to ignore the artificial border between Iraq and Syria was a difficult one for MPs. Mr Corbyn likes to base his authority on grass roots support but what is that worth when supporters resort to bullying tactics, sending threats and offensive material to MPs who voted according to conscience?

Delusion 3 

The Anglican Church in this country continues to grapple with the consequences of following the liberal lead of the US Episcopal Church. As attendance continues to decline in line with these liberal innovations the Church of England ("A Christian presence in every community") has even considered a Beeching style closure of churches, leaving a Christian presence in some communities.

The relentless pursuit of a liberal agenda in the Church in Wales where a policy of exclusion continues to operate has resulted in an exercise to keep the current episcopal elite and their supporters in the style to which they have become accustomed by substituting Ministry Areas for Parishes with lay people doing most of the work regardless of whether they are qualified to do so beyond a programme of rudimentary lay training.

Archbishop Morgan thinks it a wonderful idea (here, page 2): "So things are on the move and what has been fantastic about all this is how the parishes concerned have got excited about the prospect, embraced the vision and seen for themselves the advantages that accrue. That is much better than a centrally imposed plan that people do not own."

The question has been raised, "What hope for the Church in Wales?" -  When meetings do not address the problem of alienation there is something wrong with the organisation they exist to serve. Read the alternative view here.

In season of warmth, a look at chilling, global war on Christianity

The aftermath of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians   Source Telegraph/Universal News

From The Rev. John Armstrong, Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Columbus, Indiana writing in The Republic:


Pope Francis acknowledges it.

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, confirms it.

Foreign leaders recognize it.

Human rights advocates, along with more than 80 members of Congress, insist that it is real.

But will the leader of the free world publicly admit it?

“It” refers to the genocide against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

Genocide involves the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

In addition to outright murder, genocide includes preventing births within the group and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Can you say “Boko Haram?”

Recently, Pope Francis said, “Today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus.

“In this Third World war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.”

Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the United Kingdom says, “What is happening to Christians in (the Middle East) is the religious equivalent of ethnic cleansing.”

However, words such as ethnic cleansing and genocide are radioactive to many politicians, because they imply that we have a moral and legal obligation to use whatever means necessary, including military force, to end the atrocities.

Some in the West are slow to acknowledge Christian persecution because they are in the habit of thinking of Christianity as rich, powerful and socially oppressive, and therefore cannot imagine that Christians in many parts of the world are themselves oppressed.

But facts are stubborn things.

From West Africa to Indonesia, from Eritrea to North Korea, Christians are routinely subjected to violence, imprisonment and death, for no other reason than believing in Jesus.

German Prime Minister Angela Merkel declared that Christianity is “the most persecuted religion worldwide.”

According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular organization based in Frankfurt, Germany, 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed against Christians.

Between 2006 and 2010, Christians faced some sort of discrimination in 139 countries, almost three-quarters of all countries on earth, according to the Pew Forum.

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts reports that over the past decade, an average of 100,000 Christians have been killed every year.

John Allen, associate editor of The Boston Globe, writes that the global persecution of churchgoers is the unreported catastrophe of our time.

According to Allen, it is “the greatest story never told of the early 21st century.”

When will the world pay attention?

One church leader in the Middle East put it this way: “Does anybody hear our cry? How many atrocities must we endure before somebody, somewhere, comes to our aid?”

Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.

Pray for our government to use financial and diplomatic pressure against offending countries.

Pray for direct humanitarian assistance by our government and condemnation of these crimes against humanity.

Pray for Christian martyrs to be faithful unto death, and pray for their persecutors to be forgiven and to better understand the faith which they seek to destroy.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!

Not in my name

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Source: Independent/PA

"Not in my name". Of course not, but in the name of he who it is claimed "knows best"!

This is the key problem for non-Muslims. Are we 'kafirs' being deliberately misled in the same way that verses, or parts of them, are quoted from the Quran in an attempt to prove that Islam bears no fault.

When gunmen stormed the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali they were heard to shout "Allahu Akbar" as they began their attack, the cry used before animals are slaughtered in the Muslim manner.

Of course these atrocities are condemned by 'moderate' Muslims, especially when they are a minority. They would be mad not to do so. Meanwhile Christianity is being systematically wiped out where it originated in the Middle East with claims that it is "on course" to disappear from Iraq and Syria. I hear no Islamic condemnation.

On 18 November Newsnight considered [advance to 39 minutes] what we know about the Paris attackers, referring to an attack which "the perpetrators call jihad", raising the question of "the nature of religion and those who carry out cold blooded murder in its name". Professor Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, complained that Muslims had been asked to condemn such atrocities for ten years since the 7 July London bombings. It may not have occurred to him but it occurred to me that there has to be a problem with Islam, one that is blindingly obvious to others because it has existed for centuries with Islamic conquests and occupations, using their own laws to justify their actions. Similar concerns are not expressed about Christianity other than harking back to the Crusaders who sought only to protect Christians and their Holy places from invaders.

In response to the Professor's suggestion that the West was somehow complicit for targeting 'Muslim' countries, historian Tim Holland queried why the Yazidis had been targeted. But there was no answer to that because it was all that Newsnight had time for! Clearly not as important as the sporting fixtures which dominate airtime.

The answer to the question of why the Yazidis were targeted is simple. Islam demands that a choice be made when Muslims have control under Sharia. - Become a Muslim, pay the tax or die while women and children are taken into slavery. The plight of the Yazidis had some initial media coverage but that quickly disappeared from the headlines as many of the Yazidi people have from the face of the earth. Not for them the open doors which have allowed Muslims to flood into Europe, including two 'refugees' who have since been identified among the bombers in Paris.

But being a Muslim carries its own risks. In February CP World reported that an ISIL policing unit in Mosul had severely disfigured the faces of 15 Iraqi women by pouring acid on them as a form of punishment after the women were caught without their faces being veiled appropriately, by ISIS standards.

There is no way out. Apostasy carries a death sentence. Those who escape risk being beaten. Nissar Hussain, 49, suffered a shattered knee cap and broken hand when he was attacked with a pickaxe handle outside his home in Bradford.

Lying for the faith is permitted but questioning is not. Outsiders are accused of Islamophobia if they dare to question Islam. Continuing death and destruction should be enough for anyone to raise serious questions even in isolation but when it is on a continuous basis one has to question people's motives.

In Islam Jesus is regarded as a prophet so why are His words ignored? Jesus said: "Everyone who is committed to the truth listens to my voice."

Everyone deserves to know the truth. More honesty would save many.

Postscript [24.11.2015]

British women filmed 'urging young girls to join Islamic State terrorists in Syria'

and from the Jewish Journal:
Why are we abandoning the Christians?

Thought for the Day

Credit: South Wales Argus

"A young man who recently converted to Islam told me that while he loved his new found faith, the worship the prayers and the discipline, one of the worst things about his new life was listening to the Friday sermon. He had yet to hear a sermon which actually engaged with the very real ethical issues which plague many Muslim communities, integration, identity, radicalisation as well as the more complex discussions around loyalty and belonging. Rather than address those very real problems, many imams were more obsessed with the length of beards, how much water you needed for ablutions or the dangers of men and women mixing. And it’s true, so many of these sermons are absurdly divorced from the painful realities of what’s happening around us. Many preachers refuse to acknowledge that even if militant Islamism lies at the margins of society, it has a cancerous effect on the whole of Islam and affects us all.

In all these sermons, there are copious references to the Prophet’s daily life. But if the prophet is to be a reference point, why not raise those other matters he is also reputed to have said, that a time would come when nothing would remain of Islam but its name, nothing of the Quran but its word, and that many mosques would be beautifully furnished but destitute of any guidance. Our witness to the faith today is preachers who use their sermons to encourage hate while calling Islam peaceful. We have young men who talk of the brotherhood of Muslims but kill innocents randomly simply because they can, conflicted Muslim states too busy both blaming the west and indulging the west. If this continues what will remain of Islam, a religion seemingly reduced to compulsory ritual without spiritual essence.

The Islamic world has become far less sophisticated in how it reads its own scripture and sources. In this lies one of the roots of religious fundamentalism and over the years, it has morphed into a harsh and cruel Islamism. The two are inexorably linked both deluding themselves that Islam will one day be dominant. There is no victory here only nihilism. Geopolitics may drive the violence, extremist militancy may be small in numbers, but innocents being slaughtered in the Arab world and in Europe has at its core an ideology where dying is more important than living. God is the greatest is a call to prayer, but it has also become a prelude to a death cult. Many ordinary Muslims remain baffled by global events, for them their faith remains a source of moral and spiritual growth, of giving and generosity. But last week’s tragic attacks in Paris, yesterday’s shootings, show that unless we are active in defending all that is good in our faith, there will be no faith to defend. With each attack Islamism won’t weaken the west, but it will hollow out the Muslim faith just that little bit more."

 - BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day 19 November 2015.

   Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations,

   University of Edinburgh School of Divinity.

As Sadiq Khan the MP for Tooting said,  "Extremism isn't a theoretical risk. Most British Muslims have come across someone with extremist views at some point – and so have I. It's affected my personal life, my friendships and my career. People I knew as a boy have gone on to hold extremist views, and even to act on them in terrible ways."

The message attached to the rose in the illustration is a powerful one. The quotation has been used countless times as an Islamic condemnation of the Paris bombings. But it is only part of a longer verse in the Quran which is contradicted by the next verse 5:33 as explained here in response to a comment made on the Answering Muslims blog:

Verse 5:32 - On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our apostles with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.

Verse 5:33 - The punishment of those who wage war against God and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.

Greater honesty as expressed by Professor Mona Siddiqui in 'Thought for the Day' would bring more credit to Muslims who protest that Islam is a Religion of Peace.

World Toilet Day 2015

 Toilet on the outskirts of Lima, Peru                                      Credit: REUTERS/MARIANA BAZO

This toilet outside a family home on the outskirts of Lima Peru hardly warrants the name. 

See the 'Wider image' in 'Around the World in 45 toilets' here for some stark contrasts in what most of us take for granted.

Did you know?

• 2.3 billion people – around one in three of the world's population – don't have a safe, clean, private toilet.
• Last year Water Aid helped 3.1 million people gain access to toilets.
• Around 315,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation – that's almost 900 children a day.
• Every year, around 60 million children are born into homes without access to sanitation.
• For every £1 invested in sanitation, there's around a £4 return. Health is improved, fewer days are lost to illness, and girls stay on at school for longer.

If you want to know more or think you can help, please visit Water Aid.

LGB / T

I have been taken to task for being homophobic because I do not support same sex marriage so I was pleased to see this video which strikes back at homosexuals who like to claim that love justifies everything, misquoting the Bible for their own ends. The interviewer claims to be 'normal' because he is gay and 'married', a concept hotly contested by Milo Yiannopoulos, a 'conservative' gay who receives "really poisonous, vitriolic nastiness" from other gays and bomb threats from feminists for his views which is becoming typical of the behaviour of special interest groups as they try to ban or shout down speakers with whom they disagree.

My thanks to Breitbart for this informative video although the piece was headed "I AM SO DONE WITH THE TRANS OUTRAGE BRIGADE: WHY I’M SUPPORTING ‘DROP THE T’". The transgender community it seems is irritating the gay community to such an extent that there is a call for a complete break.

Thrice married and the father of six children, Caitlyn Jenner is a modern would be eunuch with female enhancements who was given the 'Transgender Champion' award at the American 'Glamour Woman of the Year' awards. The recent headline "Caitlyn Jenner flaunts some serious side-boob as she dares to bare in black dress" is curiously at odds with her masculine voice and Y chromosomes which prompted Germaine Greer to argue that transgender women are not women but males dressed as females. So good luck to the 'Drop the T campaign' and to Milo Yiannopoulos and Germaine Greer as they argue for a return to sanity.

If those clerics who promote same sex marriage were to follow the example of Milo Yiannopoulos in encouraging heterosexual couples to get married that really would be a step forward.

Head in the sand

Unfortunately it has taken the atrocities in Paris to concentrate the mind on the nature of Islam. In my entry last Saturday I posed the question 'Something to hide?' after the House of Lords rejected the idea of encouraging a national debate about the nature of Islam.

In September it was claimed that 1 in 50 Syrian refugees in Europe could be an Isis jihadist. Now it has been reported that a Syrian passport was found on attacker who sought asylum in Greece as a refugee.

Not all Muslims are terrorists but too many Muslims have a warped idea of salvation believing that they will be rewarded in paradise for killing Kafirs.

It matters little that most Muslims are 'nice people' if their ideology permits a handful of Muslims to create the carnage witnessed in Paris. There must be a debate.

Save Our Steel

... --- ...

The Daily Mirror has been running a campaign to save our steel industry highlighting four things the Government must do:

• An immediate cut in business rates for the steel industry and a fairer system of valuation 
• Give the steel industry a break from green taxes and high energy bills 
• Block China from dumping cheap steel on the UK market 
• Buy British. Major infrastructure and construction projects and all government-backed contracts should look to use British-made steel

Why British steel is in crisis is explained by Newsnight economics correspondent Duncan Weldon here while the Telegraph carries an informative video "The UK steel industry by numbers" here.

It is claimed that Tata Steel job losses 'will kill Scunthorpe', a town in which generations of workers have depended on steel for their livelihood. The Government's response? A package of up to £9 million to provide support to Scunthorpe steel workers and the local economy.

Without urgent action the British steel industry will share the same fate as the coal industry with yet more "hardworking people" re-classified as scroungers as they are forced onto benefits, unlike the chosen few.

According to National Audit Office figures we spent £850 billion on the bank crises in 2009 which equates to a £26,562.50p spend by every taxpayer in the UK yet "Bankers' bonuses rise at double the rate of the average worker - and are a hundred times higher than those of public sector staff". With UK finance sector bonuses expected to top £100bn since the financial crisis, this equates to £1,500 for every man, woman and child in the UK.

A petition calling on David Cameron to take decisive action to protect and revive British steel plants before it's too late can be signed here.

Armistice Day 2015

For your tomorrow, we gave our today.                                                                                   Image by Carolyn Haslett

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.

We will remember them!

Something to hide?

Picture Credit: Express/REUTERS•GETTY•AP

Hat tip to Anglican Ink via Anglican Mainstream for this report:

On 5 November in the House of Lords Lord Pearson (UKIP) called for a national debate on the nature of Islam. He asked the government whether, as part of their counter-extremism strategy, they will encourage a national debate about the nature of Islam, including whether the Muslim tenet of abrogation remains valid today.

The response from a number of members of the House was that discussing Islam would be counter productive and therefore that we should stay silent on radical Islam. Full report here.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport and Home Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con) said: My Lords, the Government’s approach and strategy to countering extremism is firmly based on further strengthening our relationships and work with the communities and organisations across the United Kingdom and together confronting, challenging and disrupting extremism in all its ugly guises.

In reply to Lord Pearson's claim that some noble Lords may not be aware that "abrogation means that where there is contradiction in the Koran, its later and more violent verses outweigh its admirably peaceful early texts" Lord Ahmad said "...with the exception of one verse in the holy Koran, every verse starts with the words: "In the name of God, the gracious, most merciful", which underlines the true sentiments and principle of that religion". Lord Ahmad needs to look around more and consider what is happening "in the name of God" in the Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Eritrea and Syria for a start.

There is more evidence in this Christian Post article which doubters may wish to read if they are not convinced: 'Unimaginable Horrors' Detailed in US Report on ISIS' Persecution of Christians.

Back in 2008 The Spectator reported on No-go Britain: "One of Britain’s best and most courageous men, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, said that there were parts of Britain which had become no-go areas for non-Muslims. For these comments he was met with widespread scorn and denial."

"Nick Clegg – then merely leader of the Liberal Democrat party – said the Bishop’s comments were ‘a gross caricature of reality.’ William Hague said that the Bishop had ‘probably put it too strongly’, while the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) accused him of ‘frantic scaremongering.’ Unfortunately for Bishop Nazir-Ali's critics the offenders made videos of themselves proving Bishop Nazir-Ali correct.

In February 2015 the Gatestone Institute think tank published a fuller report  "European 'No-Go' Zones: Fact or Fiction? Part 2: Britain". Trevor Phillips, former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality said "We are sleepwalking our way to segregation. We are becoming strangers to each other and leaving communities to be marooned outside the mainstream."

Meanwhile, Christians in Middle East 'are facing genocide'. Also, from The Express, "Migrants flee incomprehensible violence but are they all victims?"

Are our politicians so desperate for votes that anything goes? If not a conspiracy of silence, perhaps there is something to hide that we should know about.

"Don't worry, be happy!"

"The first African-American presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church was instated in a ceremony led by female bishops, openly gay reverends and even a Jewish rabbi. After a spirited opening by a gospel choir, Episcopal leaders filed into the imposing National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to the sound of guitars guiding a Spanish hymn and a Native American drumming prelude".

"Don’t worry. Be happy! God has not given up on the world, and God is not finished with the Episcopal Church yet," presiding bishop Curry declared. Report here. His sermon can be found here.

For a more realistic assessment of the occasion, read Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's Installation: The Desolation of the Episcopal Church from Sarah Frances Ives Ph.D for Virtue Online. In this report an Islamic leader, Dr. Alsanousi, asked God to help us understand the Holy Quran. He then went into long sentences which were assumed to be in Arabic and were not listed in the program. "Who knows what he said? I don't" commented Dr Ives.

A better understanding of the Quran should help Western leaders understand that it is not an Arabic version of the Holy Bible. The place of Christians, the people "of the Book", is described by an Islamic scholar in the following video:

“Abducting Women” and “Destroying Churches” is “Real Islam”—Iraqi Grand Ayatollah.

The video is taken from an article "Offensive Jihad: the insurmountable obstacle between Muslims and non-Muslims" here. Far fetched? Not when Muslim inmates are already extorting 'infidel tax' from non-Muslims in the UK's toughest jails if they refuse to convert to Islam. Report here. 

Understanding the Quran should be compulsory for ministers, political and spiritual, if we are to be happy and not worry.

Postscript [11.11.2015]
In addition to ministers political and spiritual we should add BBC executives:
"Why is the BBC letting the Islamic Human Rights Commission set the agenda?"

PC Plod, the Bishop of Gloucester and Germaine Greer

Police Constable Plod is no longer. Nowadays he would be Officer Plod. We seldom if ever hear references to constables unless he or she is a Chief Constable. All are 'officers' with their unique form of police speak (here).

The Home Secretary recently gave the Police Force a hard time for not displaying the diversity apparent in our community but she missed the opportunity to advance the LGBT cause while bemoaning the shortage of colour and gender diversity in the ranks and upper police officer hierarchy (senior police staff). Echoing Alexander Boot (here), a male to female transgender constable may offer better protection than a mere slip of a girl if needed!

The notion that everyone could, or should, do anything regardless of ability suitability aptitude desire is supposed to ensure that we have the appropriate politically correct (PC) mix but this leads to ever more confusion.

The new Bishop of Gloucester, the first woman diocesan to sit in the House of Lords, sent back the first version of the writ of summons because it termed her a "right reverend father in God". She did not like the connotations of 'right reverend mother in God' so it was decided that she should be described simply as "bishop". Presumably it had not occurred to her that women bishops are a novelty accepted only by a tiny minority in the Universal Church and the oddity was that she was there at all.

Clearly not content with Jesus Christ's teaching that His disciples should pray "Our Father in heaven  ...", one of Rachel Treweek's first utterances in an interview before taking her seat in the Lords was that God should not necessarily be seen as a masculine figure. Choosing to take her lead from the Old Testament rather than the New Covenant she said "In the creation narratives, we’re told that God created human beings in God’s likeness, and then it goes on to talk about male and female."

"Male and female" is an old fashioned concept which has landed Germaine Greer in hot water with the LGBT community in Cardiff University for daring to express a view which contradicts theirs. As society tries to get to grips with the new found wisdom of choice rather than fact, more exceptions have to be made. Then reality strikes.

The question, Why Can't Two Gay Brothers Marry? is posed in Charisma News on the basis that "One of the strongest arguments against consensual adult incest is that incestuous unions could result in children with genetic defects, but since that concern wouldn't apply to same-sex couples, an Irish political leader has argued that gay cousins should be allowed to "marry." And that only begs the next obvious question: Why not gay brothers or gay sisters?"

My thanks to Anglican Mainstream (AM) for the Charisma News link but it was a subsequent AM link which raised my eyebrows in disbelief when I read about the first tampons for transgenders to permit the full female experience. It seems that the claim was a send up but for how long the way things are moving. One thing was missing however. To be fully appreciative a good punch below the belt would give the added pain experienced by many women. That is something at which the LGBT community is becoming increasingly adept, especially towards those who have enabled them to be where they are today.

Physician heal thyself!

Credit: BBC/AP

The Archbishop of Wales has criticised former Prime Minister Tony Blair over his 'emphatic defence' of the Iraq war. Blair was 'gung-ho' on Iraq invasion, says the Archbishop. Mr Blair has apologised for mistakes in the conflict but says without invasion Iraq might have become another Syria. Dr Morgan said the implications of the actions should have been considered. Report here.

That's rich coming from the Archbishop who is primarily responsible for the current parlous state of the Church in Wales after imposing his liberal values on her. Could he not see the consequences of pursuing the same failed policies which led to the decimation of the US Episcopal Church? Wise after the event on Iraq he must have been willfully blind to events which result in the collapse of the historic Parish system in Wales and in less than 1% of the population of Wales attending the Church of which he is Archbishop.

Also, I very much doubt that the Archbishop and the Bench considered the implications of their emotional response to the "refugee" crisis. From the Facing Islam Blog: "As millions of more Muslims continue to flood the continent, they will not be limited to expressing their anti-Christian hostility on the unprotected dead in cemeteries, or on inanimate church buildings, statues, and crosses. Rather, as in the Islamic world, native Christians themselves will be hounded and persecuted, possibly into extinction".

Dr Morgan said "It would seem to me that if you are the prime minister, it's no good just removing one regime without thinking what's going to replace it". So what is to replace the Church in Wales after extinction? It would seem to me that if you are Archbishop, Dr Morgan, you should ensure that members of the Church in Wales who wish to keep the faith benefit from arrangements already established in England. Physician heal thyself!

Persecuted and Forgotten? - Christian wipe out

Please do not skip this heart-rending video

"Islamic State's daily abductions, murders and beheadings on Christians have come close to wiping out the faith completely in Syria" warns Jean-Clement Jeanbart, the Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo who has been in London to call for action in Syria. Christianity has been almost completely destroyed by ISIS fanatics in Syria, he said. At least 1,000 Christians had been abducted and murdered in Aleppo. Report here. 

This is no exaggeration. The vast exodus of Christians from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East highlights the very real possibility that Christianity could soon all but disappear from much of its ancient homeland. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has published a report 'Persecuted and Forgotten?' which assesses the deepening plight of Christians in 22 countries of concern. Drawing on testimony from witnesses of persecution, the report shows why Christians are the world’s most persecuted faith group. Executive Summary here.

There is no escape from this brutality. According to this report an Iranian man was severely beaten in a German refugee camp for converting to Christianity. The man is thought to have told some Afghan migrants that he had embraced Christianity. A few days later one Afghan beat him unconscious with a baton, declaring that his conversion was a "sin".

This is not an isolated incident. In August, riots broke out in an overcrowded German refugee camp after an Afghan resident tore pages out of a Koran and threw them in the toilet. At least 17 people were left injured when 20 Syrian refugees chased the man after he ruined the Islamic holy book. The crowd even turned their anger towards the camp's security guards who tried to protect the alleged offender. The migrants smashed car windows and ransacked buildings in a rampage which lasted several hours.

The 'holier than thou' Church of England  bishops who wrote to the Prime Minister demanding that tens of thousands of migrants be admitted to Great Britain should pay more attention to people who understand these matters such as the Archbishop of Aleppo and ACN. Migrants are not leaving Islam behind. It is being exported.

Postscript [25.10.2015]

Doubters read "Christians Persecuted by Muslims Even in the West" here.

Postscript [26.10.2015]

Christian refuges targeted by Muslim migrants. Mass slaughter of Christians in the Middle East should be recognised as “genocide” here.

Wales, Wales and beyond

Vienna 1683                                                                                           Vienna 2015

An interesting article from Wales Online today for Welsh History Month, Gerald of Wales championed what he believed were the ancient rights of his church: "In the closing days of November 1199, the archdeacon of Brecon, Gerald de Barry – better known today as Gerald of Wales – arrived in Rome after a long and arduous journey from Wales. He had not come as a pilgrim to pray at the shrines of the saints, but as bishop-elect of St Davids to champion what he believed were the ancient rights of his church". One wonders what Gerald de Barry would make of the Church in Wales under Archbishop Barry and, indeed, modern bishops in general and of the problems facing the Church today.

Also of interest is a letter to the Editor of the Western Mail headed "Immigration crisis in Europe". This is a very emotional subject as viewers of last Thursday's Question Time will testify. It is a natural Christian instinct to take pity on the plight of others, especially the less fortunate. As commented on the Question Time programme, "we are all human beings" but many of the worst affected do not have the resources to flee to Europe. Those who do so appear well dressed with smart phones and a determination not just to get out of war zones but to decide which Christian country (for now) should be their ultimate destination. Beware the Trojan Horse?

Vienna 1653 saw a mighty last ditch battle against the Muslim Ottoman Empire in defence of Christianity but in Vienna 2015 Muslims are welcomed with open arms despite the butchery of Christians that continues in Muslim countries. Armed jihad or cultural jihad, the object is the same, Islamisation of the world by whatever means according to their holy book. Read "Islamic State reveals it has smuggled THOUSANDS of extremists into Europe" here.

Church of England bishops who failed to see the consequences of their actions in mimicking the liberal policies of the Episcopal Church of the United States have joined the emotional clamor to allow more migrants into Great Britain on a suck it and see basis. Meanwhile, David Cameron is accused of "McCarthyism" over extremism plans by UK's biggest Muslim group, the Muslim Council of Britain.

Bishop Cottrell assured the Prime Minister that the church has "troops on the ground" ready to help. Just the Church?

Express: People climb through windows of a train to try and get to Serbia [Getty Images]

Postscript [20.10.2015]

David Cameron rebukes Church of England bishops over refugee letter here.

Postscript [23.10.2015]

Read Rod Liddle writing in The Spectator about his Question Time encounter with Simon Schama here. The TV clip is excellent. Note also the designer clothing in the above picture.

Simply stunning

My thanks to New Liturgical Movement for their link to this video about an "absolutely extraordinary" devotional object, a tiny portable shrine carved of boxwood, made in the northern Netherlands around 1510. Simply stunning.

Level playing field?

                        Church of the Virgin Mary in Tal Nasri, Syria and a Mosque in Peterborough

Two reports have caught my attention today, from the BBC's Newsbeat, What you can be flogged for in Saudi Arabia, and from ITV News, 'Anti-Muslim hate is normal': research reveals impact of Islamophobic attacks.

According to the BBC report, British pensioner Karl Andree, 74, has spent more than a year in prison since being arrested by Saudi religious police. His family say they were led to believe he would avoid his punishment of 360 lashes because of his age but that is now in doubt. They believe the punishment would kill him. Mr Andree is asthmatic, has gout (a type of arthritis causing joint pain) and has survived cancer three times. His crime? He  was caught with homemade wine in Saudi Arabia. Alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia.  Mr Andree's daughter said her father was transporting homemade wine in his car in August 2014 when he was pulled over and arrested (here).

Some would argue that people residing in Saudi Arabia should abide by Saudi law, a strict interpretation of Sharia, where "It is illegal to evangelise Muslims; conversion to another religion is punishable by death. There are no church buildings and house churches are raided; Christians risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and sometimes torture" (here).

It is different for Muslims in the United Kingdom. They enjoy freedom of worship along with special privileges, examples here and here. Polygamous marriages with multiple wives are allowed for benefit purposes even though bigamy is a criminal offence in the UK.

The ITV report alleges that "Anti-Muslim hate is normal" while associating hate with "Islamophobic attacks". This is an erroneous and dangerous association designed to portray Muslims as victims and put Islamic excesses beyond criticism. There is nothing irrational about a distaste for Islamic notions of justice or of fearing Islamic attacks on innocent victims.

From the Telegraph's report Three 'Isil-inspired jihadists planned Remembrance Day beheading in Britain': ...the men had been inspired by the “truly chilling” fatwa issued by Al Adnani, a spokesman for Isil (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) - also known as Islamic State and Isis.
It called for the beheadings of the “crusaders” and to “strike their police, security and intelligence members” and to “slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him from a high place, or choke him or poison him”.

Such actions should be regarded as abominable by any rational human being of whatever religion or none. This is what motivates the rejection of Islam but it does not follow that all Muslims are rejected.

There is a world of difference between 'Anti-Muslim hate' and what is deemed to be Islamophobia, a construct to deflect any questioning of Islam while other religions are persecuted by Muslims. According to a Guardian report here the British Prime Minister is in danger of confusing Anti-Islam with Anti-Muslim. While reassuring Muslims that they are safe in Britian he would do well to reflect on the safety of Christians and their churches in Muslim countries.

David Cameron talking to young Muslim women at Jamia Masjid mosque in Manchester in 2013. Cameron has invited key Muslim figures
 to join a new community engagement forum. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/REX Shutterstock/Andrew Parsons/REX_Shutterstock. Credit: Guardian