Twisted

Photo: cnsnews.com

This photograph is displayed over a caption: "Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, right, demonstrates with others against the decision by Anglican Primates to punish pro-gay equality churches in North America, in front of the Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)".

Things have moved on, or should I say backwards. The photograph appears in an article "Anglican Church of Canada Adopts Gay Marriage, Endangers Future of Faith": 

"At the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada, held July 7-12, a proposal to allow the Canadian Anglican ministry to solemnize same-sex marriages was voted upon and was reported to have failed by a single vote.  The next day, however, it was reported that there had been a counting error and that the measure actually had passed. Thus, by the closes of margins, the Anglican Church of Canada approved same-sex marriage". Full article here.

It is not homophobic to support the established definition of marriage which is "the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others". Nor has it anything to do with equality. These twisted views have wrecked Western Anglicanism to satisfy the desires of the few at the expense of the many.

Mad or bad? If you are dead you're dead.

“All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell.”

There is no shortage of Muslims who believe that they will have a place in paradise if they die killing infidels even if their stock of virgins is depleted. It is neither here nor there that the vast majority of Muslims do not kill infidels. The God they worship sanctions death for unwilling converts as well as apostates. Unless Muslims face up to this reality and enter into serious dialogue about their supremacist religious ideology, the killings will go on and on.

After each atrocity the media scurry around to find any excuse they can to point the finger away from Islam. Why? It is the common thread that has linked 1400 years of violence. Two questions are usually asked. Was the perpetrator in need of psychiatric help? - as if other perpetrators are normal - and, Has the 'so-called' Islamic State claimed responsibility or is there any evidence of a link? The introductory video, 'Persecuted and Forgotten' clearly illustrates that the persecution of Christians is not peculiar to ISIS.

The quote "All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell" is taken from an article in the Catholic Herald: "A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East". The article recalls: "One priest, Fr Thaer Abdal, was shot dead at the altar. In total, 58 innocent people were murdered. Their killers were members of an Iraqi faction of Al-Qaeda that had declared war on churches, “dirty dens of idolatry”, and in particular “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican. The Baghdad massacre was one of countless atrocities that have reduced ancient Christian communities in the Middle East to shrivelled and terrified ghettos or underground churches".

In Egypt: Muslim attacks on Christians are "increasing at alarming rate". So widespread has the problem become that after the French priest was murdered a 'UK Church leader' who asked to remain anonymous has warned that "it may be sign of things to come". He said:

"There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come. There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might." Full report here.

For Christians there is only one way to the Father, through Jesus Christ. There is no compulsion.

For Muslims "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".
This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith: "anyone who cannot recite this wholeheartedly is not a Muslim".

When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
That they personally accept this as true
That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life

Little surprise, then, that other religions are held in contempt by Islam. 'Blasphemy' is a tool often used in Islamic states. Sadly this process is aided by attitudes in the West which imply that only Islam is sacred. In the wake of latest atrocity in France it has been reported that a "Fireman Sam" episode has been pulled amid a "Koran row" in marked contrast to the persecution of Christians highlighted in the "Persecuted and Forgotten" video above.

In the following video, former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton insist, contrary to all the evidence available, that Islam is a religion of peace, ignoring the opinions of experts. Only a sensible dialogue will expose the truth but while Islam is regarded as above criticism the West will remain compliant without uttering a word of the Shahadah.

Meanwhile the slaughter of the innocents continues.

Postscripts [31.07.2016]

From The Telegraph: Islamism is an attack on our civilisation – this must be recognised, not evaded.

also [03.08.2016]

From OnePeterfive ISIS Rejects Pope’s Interpretation of Their Own Religion

Is there any point in being a traditional Anglican, particularly in the Church in Wales?

The joy of the Christian faith is simply expressed in this rendition of the Te Deum (H/T Anglican Pastor). There is a far more stirring, majestic example here. It is punctuated by loud blasts on the organ which echo my feelings of exasperation and probably that of many other traditionalists at having been left by the Church.

Exhibiting their profound ignorance of matters spiritual, the response of New Anglicans to traditionalists  has been "Go to Rome if you don't like it" or, from the mainly menopausal feminist brigade, "Get used to it, we are in charge now". There have been no concessions in Wales. The only message is keep giving. For what? While the Church of England genuinely valued all church members as true Anglicans when binding provisions were made for faithful worshippers who, in common with most Christians, cannot accept the ordination of women on theological grounds, the attitude of the Church in Wales (CinW) has been take it or leave it. Theology is rejected while the latest secular fads are adopted by the bench of bishops for dissemination to congregations through largely compliant clergy.

Sunday by Sunday we are served with helpings of the latest Christian Response from an Anglican Perspective (CRAP) heavily laced with a misguided view of equality that has everything to do with political correctness and nothing to do with Christianity as the Gospel is bent to accommodate the latest alleged injustice. It is indeed very odd that the Bible can be taken literally in circumstances which threaten our very existence while bending other parts to suit a fashionable political stance.

Led by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales with the Archbishop of Westminster often in step, Christianity is continually being sold short to its own detriment with misapplied views on neighbourliness while giving succour to Islam as Muslims abroad continue to convert non-Muslims by the sword if necessary and in the UK demand more and more special privileges to enhance their status such as opting for Sharia, a legal code that systematically discriminates against women, children, apostates, blasphemers, non-believers (infidels), adulterers, and homosexuals. Imagine the outcry if Christians espoused such discriminatory values.

The CinW is fast reaching the end of the road with extinction predicted in a generation. The possibility of the first woman bishop in Wales draws ever closer making it even more difficult for traditionalists who have remained in the Church to continue their membership. Not that there should be a woman bishop in Wales. Better that the measure be rescinded as a breach of faith since the promises of care evaporated as soon as the bishops had their way with their ultimate plan unfolding.

Moving from feminism to their next PC project the bench of bishops has made it perfectly clear that the CinW is to fully embrace the LGBT agenda en route to the acceptance of same sex marriage, again under the guise of 'equality', while the Church of England talks her way into it with 'Facilitated Conversations' concluding with this mumbo-jumbo. If LGBT people are having such a hard time being accepted, how are there so many openly gay and lesbian people in the Church with clergy very much in evidence promoting their particular life style and often viciously condemning anyone who dares to hold a contrary view to theirs? Women deacons were not enough. Women priests were not enough. Civil Partnerships were not enough. What next? The slide is endless.

True Anglicanism is expressed here in a Pastoral Letter by the Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council, making all those pennies we saved in little cardboard boxes in Sunday School worthwhile. Too late for many, there are now just 'empty boxes, empty gestures, empty words'. Read the sorry tale of the final straw for an ex-CinW worshipper here.

For many traditionalists the final straw has been drifting in the breeze while searching for that crumb of comfort but there has been none, nor will there be. The Church in Wales is going from bad to worse with Credo Cymru apparently impotent. As Dr Morgan approaches retirement he will have much on which to reflect having brought the Church in Wales to her knees, not in prayer but in desolation. What a legacy.

So is there any point in being a traditional Anglican? Unless you are exceedingly fortunate I think not. But Christianity is not dead. "Be joyful and keep the faith!", even if your church has left you.

Blood on the carpet and blood on the streets

Journalists were having another field day in Downing Street yesterday when they realised that our new Prime Minister, Theresa May, was doing things her way. It was a repeat of the 'Night of the Long Knives' said Norman Smith, the BBC's Assistant Political Editor harking back to Macmillan's 1962 sacking of a third of his Cabinet.

'A brutal reshuffle' he bellowed at Mrs May as she entered No 10. As the sackings increased so did the rhetoric. The knives became meat cleavers but thankfully the only blood on the carpet was metaphorical.

Not so on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice as the day was drawing to a close. A heavy lorry had been driven deliberately into crowds of people who had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day. French prosecutors said they had launched a 'terrorism' investigation after the incident. Barack Obama, the US president, condemned "in the strongest terms" what he said "appears to be a horrific 'terrorist' attack", as did presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton.

Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain stands "shoulder to shoulder" with France after the "horrifying" 'terror' attack on the French Riviera that left at least 84 people dead.

This home grown 'terrorist', Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, may have had a hand gun, he may have had grenades, but whatever else he possessed, what he used so slay the innocent was a heavy lorry. No military training necessary. Just a HGV licence, the money to hire the vehicle and a belief in a religious ideology that regards all non-Muslims and Muslims of the 'wrong' sect as fair game. Taking his authority from the Quran he will have been taught to believe that only his namesake held the truth.

'Just Ask Islam' presents a confusing picture: In answer to the question, "Does Islam Say: Kill The Infidels?", the answer given is: "We know the Quran orders believers to fight in combat against those who are the oppressors, aggressors and terrorists and those who are assaulting and killing the innocent men, women and children. But it gives out clear orders - NOT TO Fight against those who are not fighting against you..." To believe that we have to ignore 1400 years of conflict. A classic case of abrogation.

Theresa May and Michael Gove fell out over the Birmingham schools 'Trojan Horse' row. As Home Secretary she banned two bloggers from entering the United Kingdom branding them as extremists because they have explained the threat posed to Western civilization:

A blinkered Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who had called for the bloggers to be banned from the UK said: "I welcome the home secretary's ban on Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from entering the country. This is the right decision. The UK should never become a stage for inflammatory speakers who promote hate". See examples of the reality here and here where Islamic hate preachers were allowed free rein with devastating results.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that in the eyes of politicians Islam is blameless and anyone who questions the ideology is regarded as an extremist. How many more home grown sleepers will wreak havoc before politicians realise that this dangerous religious ideology must be confronted. How many more atrocities before the myth of a religion of peace is questioned given the weight of evidence to the contrary?

Postscript [15.07.2016]

Please stop saying the Nice attacks have nothing to do with Islam - Maajid Nawaz, founder of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think tank.

After yet another claim on BBC News this evening that "this has nothing to do with religion" from a survivor who appeared to know absolutely nothing about Islam other than what he has been told to believe, may I suggest that he and people holding similar views at least consider why the same thread runs through these attacks and ask themselves why Islam is the common denominator if it is supposed to be the religion of peace?

The commissars are back

Len McCluskey said rivals to Jeremy Corbyn were unlikely to win union support.
Source; Guardian Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Perhaps they have forgotten but Marx is dead, Thatcher is dead. 

Severely weakened by Margaret Thatcher, the power of the Trades Unions is not what it used to be but the current difficulties being experienced by the Labour Party, driven by Momentum, have provided the opportunity for some Union bosses to flex their muscles again, Len McCluskey General Secretary of Unite and General Secretary Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union among them, with Corbyn appearing to be under the control of the unions.

The hard Left is campaigning for people to join the Labour Party simply to vote for a Leader who does not have the confidence of  the majority of Labour MPs to lead them. The hard Left's intervention is reminiscent of  Militant Tendency in their attempted take-over of the Labour party in 1985 before Neil Kinnock made his memorable speech at the Party Conference in Bournemouth. 

Many of the new activists appear to be young idealists who did not vote in the EU Referendum then complained afterwards because they did not like the result, mainly because of a perceived restriction on their movement around Europe, the same generation which tries to stop discussion in our universities. Examples here and here.

I have listened to Jeremy Corbyn. He is a prisoner of Party members who delude themselves into thinking that they represent the electorate. Corbyn may be the clear choice for leader of the Labour Party but MPs are elected by a much broader spectrum than party members. He says that the Opposition should be putting "enormous pressure on the Tory government on inequality, injustice and poverty", sounding remarkably like a pale reflection of what Theresa May has on offer in her leadership speeches.

More importantly, Theresa May is focused on Brexit, as is the electorate, not the petty party politics which continue to obsess the Labour Party. Principles without power are not the stuff of government. Corbyn may represent his party but the wider electorate takes a broader view.

There is no confidence in Corbyn among MPs as their leader so he should stand down to restore confidence in Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the interests of the country.

Postscript [19.07.2016]

The Trident vote has come and gone with a thumping majority in favour of renewal. Unlike 140 of his party colleagues the Leader of the Opposition decided to do his own thing and vote against the motion in opposition to Labour Party policy. The wishes of the membership can be fluid apparently.

Given Corbyn's pick and mix approach to politics he could be a modern day Anglican but apparently he has no religion. He says "I go to churches, I go to mosques, I go to temples, I go to synagogues. I find religion very interesting. I find the power of faith very interesting." A little more faith in his fellow MPs would not go amiss instead of pressing the Labour destruct button. Said to be a "nice guy", Jeremy could easily be a New Anglican!

Save a life

In the next two minutes, dirty water will kill another child. It’s the only water they have to drink, fetched from filthy rivers, stagnant swamps, and dangerous holes in the ground. It’s water filled with parasites, animal waste and disease.

From Water Aid: 

"Toilets Save Lives. One simple solution, one life-changing gift. Will you be a lifesaver too?

Elisabeth works in a corner of Burkina Faso’s capital city, in an area called Zongo. It’s a hot, dusty place to live, filled with families trying to make a living in the city.

Many families living here don’t have access to a decent toilet – like one in three people around the world.

Living without a toilet means that families have no option but to relieve themselves outside their home, running the risk of carrying germs back inside and spreading potentially fatal diseases like diarrhoea and cholera. Children are especially vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases, which kill 4,975 children under five in Burkina Faso each year.

Help pay for the materials to build a toilet that will keep a family safe

Your gift will do something truly life-saving. It will help provide the basic tools and materials that families need to build their own toilet, helping to keep their family safe for years to come."

Thank you for reading this entry.

Marring the Brexiteers

Of the three candidates left in the contest to become Tory Party leader and our next Prime Minister, two are Brexiteers which has become synonymous with lepers in much of the Remain camp.

Andrew Marr prides himself on being impartial using hard hitting interviews to get at the truth, as he sees it. Take the Andrea Leadsome interview (above). Marr quoted from a speech that Leadsome gave to the Hansard Society saying that Brexit would be a "disaster for our economy and would lead to a decade of economic and political uncertainty at a time when the tectonic plates are moving". She had since changed her mind having concluded, following a thorough investigation, that:

Read Andrea Leadsome's letter to her constituents here. The Fresh Start project can be found here.

Nevertheless Andrew Marr persisted in attacking Leadsome for coming to a different conclusion having looked at all the evidence gathered in the Fresh Start project before going on to imply, with a 'friendly question', UKIP sympathies and affiliations. He finished by asking if she would publish her tax returns, again implying that she might have something to hide.

Michael Gove received similar treatment when he was "told that people see him as a 'political serial killer' ", and that he "had deliberately destroyed the political career of his friends David Cameron and Boris Johnson, drawing a comparison to the television character Frank Underwood, the conniving, machiavellian House of Cards protagonist who murders his way to the White House". Being in the Remain camp Theresa May appears to be exempt from being marred.

Listening to the reaction of EU President and MEPs to the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the EU, it is difficult to understand why anyone motivated by other than self-interest would want to be associated with people who can express such sentiments. "Rats fleeing a sinking ship"! Sinking because the EU has proved to be incapable of reform as they head towards a 'do as you are told' super state.

Whoever wins the leadership contest will face difficult times backing Britain. The prophets of doom must look forward, let the politicians do the best they possibly can, then stand back and only then take another look if necessary.

Postscript [07.07.2016]

Ignore the prophets of doom. Brexit will be good for Britain
"A stale leadership class is on the way out and the property bubble will burst. I can’t see the bad news" - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian.

Thirteen years

Original source: Getty Images

"New Archbishop takes over".   Don't get excited. That was the Wales Online headline on 14 July 2003. Since then it has been all downhill for the Church in Wales (CinW):

"Dr Morgan has previously said he was heartened by the fact that the 2001 census showed most people in Wales said they believe in God. It's a question then of how to connect with those people, how do we actually connect with people who have a belief in God? One person can't change anything, but I look forward to being part of the Church in Wales' work in grappling with these kinds of issues, he said."

Dr Morgan was awarded a PhD from the University of Wales in 1986 for a thesis on "Anglican University Chaplains concepts of mission". My 22 February 2016 entry offers no hope in that direction. "Heartened" in 2001, in 2011: "The Church in Wales said Christianity is 'no longer the default setting' for many people but the picture is complex." Average CinW Sunday attendance had plummeted to 31,000 in the 2013 Membership and Finance figures.

Comrade Corbyn is sticking to power like the proverbial to a blanket. If he succeeds in bamboozling his supporters as the Archbishop of Wales has done for thirteen disastrous years the Labour party can look forward to similar decline and extinction. But there is a difference. Dr Morgan may not have been able to change anything as 'one person' but by accumulating a cadre of  like minded sycophants around him he has introduced so many changes with no thought for the consequences that many church members have simply walked with many more likely to follow when the first woman bishop is appointed and as queer theology is developed to force through same sex marriage.

While it is virtually impossible to get rid of a disastrous Archbishop the Labour party should have a better chance of surviving if Jeremy Corbyn took the advice of his fellow MPs. Unfortunately he is being driven by the Shadow Chancellor and others who insist that Corbyn stands firm as the chosen one of party members. They will not walk but neither do they command the 9 million votes cast for Labour at the 2015 election.

If the voters walk the Labour Party will be condemned to thirteen years of opposition or more, if they survive at all.

Principles not rhetoric

Souce: LEAVE.EU

The Express 26 June 2016 Nigel Farage warns Boris may be BACK-PEDALLING on EU immigration promises made in campaign: "The Ukip leader said he was nervous that Boris Johnson's position on withdrawal from the EU may have softened in the four days since the referendum vote for Brexit....Mr Johnson yesterday stressed Britain "is part of Europe, and always will be", envisaging "intense and intensifying European co-operation and partnership" even after Brexit."

Mirror 26 June 2016 Great Brexit betrayal: Vote Leave leaders backtrack from NHS and immigration pledges and admit there is NO plan: "Former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith joined Nigel Farage in distancing himself from the key referendum vow – as Brexiteers warned voters not to expect a quick drop in immigration following the historic poll result."

Critics of Michael Gove have quickly forgotten the glee they were taking in rubbishing Brexit for "back-pedalling". One Brexiteer who was not back-peddling is Michael Gove. He was so horrified by the apparent lack of enthusiasm of Boris Johnson for securing the aims of Brexit that he reluctantly decided to throw his own hat into the ring. I believe he genuinely did not want the job of PM. As he said he his 'standing out of conviction not ambition'.

I for one believe him. Presumably Andrew Neil does not after his snide little skit - " 'Let me make clear what I have repeatedly said before,' Neil began on Thursday evening. 'I do not want to present Question Time. I could not present Question Time. I’m not equipped to present Question Time'."

Journalists have been having a field day. Gone are the days when they reported the news. They now force their own views on listeners. Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, was 'interviewed' by Evan Davis for the BBC Newsnight programme a few evenings ago. The poor chap was not allowed to say anything unless he agreed with the interviewer who constantly tried to put words into his mouth, taking lessons from Kirsty Wark no doubt.

After Michael Heseletine's scathing attack on Boris Johnson, Ken Clarke who was "personally appalled" by the idea of Boris Johnson being Prime Minister, launched a 'stunning attack' on Michael Gove urging him to 'stand down now'. He said it was important to "have the trust so far as possible of your colleagues," arguing Mr Gove had lost that ability.

When it comes to trust it is a bit rich coming from Mr Clarke following his links with BAT when he was earning £100,000 a year in 2001 as the nation struggled to control smoking with all its consequences for the NHS.

The Remainers have no shame. Scare stories before the Referendum, character assassination afterwards putting rhetoric before principles, all designed to favour Remain over Brexit. But just a minute, "Post-Brexit vote rebound sees FTSE 100 set for biggest weekly rise since 2011". Not a lot said about that!

If the sneerers would open their eyes and pull for Britain instead of condemning people of conviction as racist and untrustworthy, we will make better progress on a decision that has been made. The current battles being waged could damage Theresa May as well as Michael Gove. That could prove to be to the advantage of Andrea Leadsom. She has been a consistent Brexiteer with the right credentials. With support going her way, Michael Gove could still be let off the hook he has previously tried to avoid.