Hope and despair

His Beatitude Raphael Sako and Chaldean Bishop Shlemon Warduni celebratingthe first Mass  in
 Mosul since 2014, with Syriac Catholic Archbishop Mouche and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop
Nicodemus Dauod Matti Sharaf participating.  Source: ACN UK

Aid to the Church in Need reports: "The bells rang out in Mosul for the first time in more than three years when a church in Iraq’s second city opened its doors for Mass on Christmas Eve.

Up to the last minute, plans for the service at St Paul’s Church in Mosul’s Al-Mundshen suburb hung in the balance – until a group of young Muslims helped clean the church and make it ready – including erecting the cross [my emphasis - Ed.]

This is not what we have come to expect. Individual Muslims and Christians have lived peaceably side by side in many areas of the Middle East for generations but Christianity and Islam have fundamental differences - see Muslim-Christian Relations summary - which have led to endless conflict resulting in the death of many Christians and destruction of their churches.

In May last year, Egypt carried out airstrikes in Libya after at least 26 people, including children, were killed and 25 wounded in a gun attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, the latest in a series of terrorist incidents targeting the religious minority (here).

More than 100 Christians have been killed in Egypt in the past year. Most attacks have been claimed by 'IS militants'. In December, Coptic Christians in Egypt experienced a different version of Islam than that experienced by Christians in Mosul when nine people were killed in two attacks on Coptic Christians in Helwan district, south of Cairo, according to Egypt's interior ministry (here).

Egypt is regarded by many Christians as the home of Christian monasticism. Christianity in Egypt dates back to the beginnings of Christianity itself (here) but Christians, mainly Copts, are now a minority, estimated to be between 10% and 20% of the population.

Believed to be funded by religious leaders with cash from Saudi Arabia, Christian girls in Egypt are being targeted for kidnapping, forced marriage and conversion, according to Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world.

Coptic Christians in the south of Egypt renewed calls on local authorities for an end to discrimination after a number of churches were closed down it was reported last October. Two churches in two separate villages in the southern province of Minya have been shut down by the authorities, a statement by the Minya diocese said. It said worshippers were harassed at both churches and pelted with rocks at one of them.

While faithful Christians abroad risk their lives to attend church services, church attendance continues to dwindle in Great Britain. Photographs are cropped to exclude empty pews and video coverage, such as it is these days, invariably shows a few old ladies comprising congregations.

In most churches, gone are the daily Eucharist and the alternative service on Sundays for those mainly young people unable to attend the main service so they drift away, unlikely to return. I hear that even the Cathedral church in Bangor closed after the service on 31st and apart from a funeral Friday will remain closed until next Sunday.

Many of the old ladies making up Anglican congregations will be dead by 2035 when according to the Pew Research Center "Babies born to Muslims will begin to outnumber Christian births".

The plight of Christian minorities in Muslim countries should be plain for all to see. Individual acts of kindness are outweighed by repression and ruthless action in Islamic states, even against Muslims who seek free expression of their religious human rights.

The Pew Center forecasts that "In the next half century or so, Christianity’s long reign as the world’s largest religion may come to an end... Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as the overall world population between 2015 and 2060 and, in the second half of this century, will likely surpass Christians as the world’s largest religious group."

The spread of Islam needs no help from Christian leaders, examples here, here and here.

The Washington National Cathedral and five Muslim groups hold the first celebration of Muslim
Friday Prayers, Jumaa, in the Cathedral's North Transept in Washington, Nov. 14, 2014.
Larry Downing | Reuters | BDN

"Once a place has been used for Muslim worship it is ipso facto a mosque"

Writing for the International Business Times Yasmin Alibhai-Brown portrayed Muslims as the victims, "Why do Muslims get picked on at Christmas?" She finishes her piece with the words "Christ for us Muslims is a messiah sent by God. Why would we not remember and celebrate his story?"

Because, according to Saudi cleric Sheikh Abd Al-Aziz Fawzan Al-Fawzan , "while there is more leniency regarding secular or national holidays, participating in Christmas celebrations, congratulating Christians on their holiday, and sending them gifts is not permitted because Christmas 'is based upon a corrupt dogma that was refuted by the Quran'." His comments were broadcast on the Kuwaiti Al-Resala TV channel on December 3, 2017. More clerical objections here and here.

As the Saudi cleric says in his video broadcast, individual acts of kindness are just that but instead of challenging an ideology which is anti-Christian, from Archbishops downwards Anglican clerics are embracing Islam as a valid alternative faith.

Census figures for England and wales show that "the percentage of Muslims among the under-fives is almost twice as high as in the general population". Validating Islam in the wake of immigration and high birth rates is likely to make the ideology more acceptable when leaked documents reveal even ISIS recruits have poor grasp of Islamic faith.

Perhaps when the country is predominately Muslim sympathetic Anglican clerics will abandon their Christian faith altogether as they have scripture and tradition to become Imams.

Postscripts

[05.01.2018]

EX-MUSLIMS TO POPE: ISLAM NOT A RELIGION OF PEACE

[06.01.2018]

Egypt's Coptic Christians to consecrate huge new cathedral

[07.01.2018]

Europe’s Growing Muslim Population

Muslims are projected to increase as a share of Europe’s population – even with no future migration.

Source: Pew Research Center

The problem with belief

Iraqi soldiers putting the Cross back to where it belongs in Baghdeda and Karemlesh
after retaking the cities from ISIS.                                                Source: @AliAjeena 

In my previous entry I included a video of an Imam who claims that saying 'Merry Christmas' is worse than murder. One cannot doubt his sincerity in believing that God could not have been born on Christmas Day. It is contrary to his faith. If he understood that God came down from heaven and was made man to share our misery he would be better informed but as a Muslim he regards Jesus as no more than one in a line of prophets.

For Christians Jesus is the Incarnate Word, the 'Son of God'. Hence the condemnation of saying 'Merry Christmas'. For Muslims Muhammad is the last in a line of prophets from Abraham. He is the model of the perfect man whose life should be emulated as far as possible. An unlikely example some 1400 years later for one who married a child bride of nine, had many wives, and who is said to have personally beheaded between 700 and 900 opponents. Nevertheless he is the model for devout Muslims resulting in the barbarism witnessed today.

A recent BBC report, 'An extremist in the family', illustrates the agony of a mother, a convert to Islam, whose son became a jihadist. She said "Islam's part of our daily life. We pray and fast but beyond that, not a huge amount". Her son Rasheed had somehow fallen for the idea of the caliphate, "if you don’t do this journey you are not a believer, not a good Muslim".

For Christians the mother is the good Muslim but for Islamists the real Muslim was her son. He was killed fighting for ISIS. This is the problem with belief. Blind obedience serves only the manipulators. Catholicism, particularly in Ireland, has learnt the hard way. Anglicanism, the middle way, has lost its way while Islam remains resolute against any other way. So much so that renouncing Islam is punishable by death.

In another video 'Wolves in Sheep's Clothing' the Imam who condemned people for saying Merry Christmas rails against the 'enemies of Islam'. He names Jews, Christians, Hindus and the secular, atheistic world at large who "disagree among themselves on everything except that Islam is a target and is to be removed from the world map". Finally he tells his audience that the real wolves in sheep's clothing are not Jews, Christians or Hindus but the Shia, a different Muslim sect.

Muslims believe that, unlike Moses and prophets who heard from God directly, Muhammad heard through an intermediary, Gabriel. In these revelations Allah changes his mind many times leaving followers with the problem of abrogation which results in taking the more recent (violent) verses in preference to earlier (peaceful) verses. Consequently the religion of peace in the Quran gives way to the sword:  "The later verses, known as the “Sword Verses” (9:5 and 9:29), were considered by Muslim scholars to have cancelled the previous verses mandating kindness and persuasion. Expansionist jihad became the explicit norm." 

By contrast with uncorroborated revelations received by Muhammad, Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of eight Old Testament prophesies. The probability of fulfilling all eight prophesies has been calculated as 1 x 1028 or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. 

Jesus Christ came into the world not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfil them. He made another prophecy which has been fulfilled: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." This prophecy could not be clearer but nevertheless, Muslims regard Muhammad as the last prophet without question. That is the problem. 

For years Islam has been treated as above criticism, validated for its pre-'Sword' verses about kindness and persuasion. But there is a glimmer of hope. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has come out and said "It's time to stop saying Isil has ‘nothing to do with Islam’".

It is ironic that people who have largely lost their Christian faith judge Islam from a traditional Christian perspective accepting what they are told about peaceful Islam while ignoring the evidence to the contrary which has been exhibited all around the world for hundreds of years. 'Christian Daily' explodes the peace loving myth in an article "Muslim migrants display 'pure hatred' of Christians". An Arabic translator who has been living in Germany for more than 20 years explains that Muslim migrants secretly despise Christians and believe that the country should be Islamised.

Muslims need to know about Christianity. They should be encouraged to question their own faith instead of attacking others and question the imposition of penalties for renouncing Islam contrary to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights that "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion".

A sorry tale

Muslim women in east London                                                                              Source: Telegraph

Perhaps I blinked and missed it but I have seen no outcry over last week's news that Oxford University is deviating from its 800-year-old tradition to remain relevant to "the dramatic change" in the U.K., by allowing its undergraduate theology students to skip studying Christianity after the first year of their degree, and choose instead subjects like "Feminist Approaches to Theology and Religion" and "Buddhism in Space and Time".

There was more coverage of the news that Air France company chiefs had sent staff a memo informing them that female staff on flights to Tehran would be required "to wear trousers during the flight with a loose fitting jacket and a scarf covering their hair on leaving the plane". Air France said that all air crew were "obliged like other foreign visitors to respect the laws of the countries to which they travelled. Iranian law requires that a veil covering the hair be worn in public places by all women on its territory." Outraged female employees of Air France have since been allowed to opt out of working on flights to Iran so that they can avoid having to wear a headscarf.

Compare Islamic requirements when passing through Muslim countries with the treatment meted out to a Christian NHS worker who lost her appeal over freedom to talk to a Muslim colleague about her faith. Also, a Sheffield University student who was expelled from his course after expressing support for biblical teaching on marriage on his own Facebook page. In a Swiss secondary school two Muslim boys were allowed not to shake hands with women teachers - a common greeting in Swiss schools - because it was "against their faith to touch a woman outside their family". Try telling that to the abused children of Rochdale.

By contrast Muslims are allowed to wear what they like because of their religion and mostly behave as they like, even preaching jihad. Intentionally or unintentionally the perception is that Islam is holy and must be respected even if conversion is by the sword while Christianity is to be avoided because a pen has been used to spread salvation according to biblical teaching.

The consequences are already with us:
"British Muslims are becoming a nation within a nation, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned". Commenting on "a ground-breaking survey", Trevor Phillips said we are "in danger of sacrificing a generation of young British people to values that are antithetical to the beliefs of most of us, including many Muslims". He called for the abandonment of "the failed policy of multiculturalism". [Channel 4 programme here.]

His comments came as the ICM survey for Channel 4, which surveyed 1,000 Muslims face-to-face, found that:

• One in 25 Muslims (four per cent) said they felt at least some sympathy with people who took part in suicide bombings, while a similar proportion said they had some sympathy with “people who commit terrorist actions as a form of political protest”.
• A quarter – 25 per cent – said they could understand why British school girls could be attracted to become “jihadi brides” overseas.
• Less than half (47 per cent) agreed that Muslims should do more to tackle the causes of extremism in the Muslim community.
• 52 per cent believed homosexuality should not be legal in Britain, 39 per cent agreed “wives should always obey their husbands”, and 31 per cent said it was acceptable for a man to have more than one wife.

See also What British Muslims think.

Under Human Rights legislation, Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching practice and observance.

2. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Sadly some are more equal than others. A sorry tale indeed and not a murmur from LGBTQI obsessed Church leaders as the "invasion" continues.

Waters of life and death

Today is World Water Day. For Christians water will continue to be much in evidence this week in the Paschal Triduum liturgy of the foot washing and renewal of our baptismal vows.

Water is important in many faiths, be it plunging into the Ganges to wash away sins or Wudhu, the ritual washing performed by Muslims before prayer among them.

The images above compare the tranquility of the River Jordan, where John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah while  baptizing, with the horror of seeing the blood of martyrs carried on the waves in the aftermath of the brutal beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Muslims because they would not convert to Islam, staying faithful to Christ unto life's end.

Writing for The Independent Aaqil Ahmed the BBC's head of religion has warned that Britain needs to address its “chronic lack of religious literacy” if it is to accommodate the rise through new immigration of “more assertive” forms of Christianity with “conflicting views” on same-sex marriage and other human rights issues. His comments were made in advance of  a BBC1 documentary, The Battle for Christianity, to be broadcast late this evening (22 March) in which significant changes in the Christian Church in Britain are examined.

The threat to Christianity from within is clearly identified in the documentary. Quoting discredited statistics the Bishop of Buckingham, the Rt Rev Alan Wilson, claims that the Church’s resistance to same-sex marriage is "unacceptable to most young Anglican worshipers". Perhaps a little instruction would not come amiss, starting with trendy bishops.

The Independent article continues: "Linda Woodhead, a professor in politics, philosophy and religion at Lancaster University, claimed there was a "struggle now for the heart and soul of Christianity". She said: "For lots of young people, Christianity is now morally objectionable. They don’t want anything to do with churches that don’t believe in human rights and the equality of all human beings."

When it comes to human rights we would be better served if Ahmed concentrated more on the threat to Christianity posed by his religion, Islam. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains the single most significant statement of the international community’s commitment to freedom of religion or belief, something that Christians in Great Britain take for granted. But not so in many Islamic states.

From "Article 18: an orphaned right - A report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom" (page 13):

 " Within some states the continued application of classical punishments for apostasy, including the death penalty, and the imposition of draconian criminal sanctions for blasphemy, makes the free exercise of the right to renounce Islam or to convert to another religion virtually impossible. While acknowledging the deep-rooted colonial legacies of many of the current blasphemy laws, it unfortunately remains the case that the threat posed by the presence of such draconian laws does not permit a rational religious or ideological debate that would allow for free informed choices to be made on converting to another religion."

Any problems within Christianity pale into insignificance compared with the threat posed by Islam. The Christian/Islamic Struggle has been endured for 1,400 years. While ISIS has been committing genocide abroad, little if anything was being reported in the media about mainly Pakistani heritage men in this country raping and abusing white children for years while hiding behind a screen of political correctness or silencing critics with absurd charges of Islamophobia.

Anyone who doubts the wisdom of accepting thousands of Muslim immigrants with open arms having previously repelled Islamic invasions is characterised by morally superior do-gooders as lacking Christian charity. Again little is reported in the media but reports of appalling immigrant behaviour in Germany and Sweden are truly frightening if people take the trouble to read them.

Death for apostasy, honour killings, child marriage, FGM, sexual abuse, etc, etc, await Muslims found to be in error as well as non-Muslims, the Kafir, a derogatory term used by Muslims to describe those who reject Islam

Water is used for purification but no matter how many times Islamists cleanse themselves, they cannot wash away their sins. Ablution is not conversion. That requires making disciples of all the nations (bishops please note), baptizing them with water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The difference between Christian service of free will and Islamic servitude. This is the challenge Christians are charged with in the Gospel.

That is the "chronic lack of religious literacy" the BBC's head of religion needs to address before it is too late for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Beyond the veil

Photo: Philip Hollis/Telegraph

"Muslim migrants 'threw Christians overboard during row on boat from Libya to Italy', say police" - The Independent

"Muslim women should be allowed to wear the veil in court, top judge suggests" - The Telegraph

Two headlines from yesterday's newspapers. Intolerance protected by tolerance. How very British, sowing the seeds of our own destruction through kindness which is not reciprocated. That is not turning the other cheek, it is turning a blind eye. The veil may or may not be a sign of oppression depending on your point of view but it has become a symbol which enables some Muslims to thumb their noses at the rest of us while they continue to press for the implementation of Sharia after being welcomed to the United Kingdom.

International lobbyist on human rights and refugee issues, Jacqueline Pascarl lived as a Muslim woman from the age of 17 until she was 22 after marrying a Malaysian prince. She explains here that it is "rubbish" that Muslim women mostly wear the burqa to express their religious devotion. Burqas, she says "reveal more about men than women".

Nevertheless, the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, claims that judges should allow Muslim women to appear in court wearing a full-face veil. It was "crucial that courts and judges show, and be seen to show respect towards different customs". - Even if that involves tossing fellow refugees over the side for being Christians, killing at random, destroying churches and razing ancient settlements while committing "genocide of Christians in the Middle East"? That is increasingly becoming their custom towards minorities in Islamic states.

Lord Neuberger made his remarks in an address to the Criminal Justice Alliance because a judge had ruled that Muslim women wearing a veil over their face must remove it to give evidence in court although women will be allowed to wear a veil when standing trial. The ruling came after the Prime Minister’s office expressed support for allowing schools to ban students from wearing veils. A YouGov poll in 2013 showed that "61% of British adults agreed with the statement, "the burka should be banned in Britain", while about a third (32%) disagreed.

This is where it starts, learning by heart, in Arabic, the words copied by supporters of an illiterate man who claimed they had been delivered to him from God.

The results are all too obvious, among the latest in Australia where five teenagers aged 18 and 19 have been arrested in a series of raids in Melbourne for allegedly planning "atrocious" ISIS-inspired attacks on police and the public next week events in Australia on Anzac Day. Nothing it seems is sacred in Islam, except Islam.

Footprints

The God of Abraham, ... Christian and Muslim!

Deluded or devious? 

The beheading of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya - for being Coptic Christians - has "brought ISIS to the doorstep of Europe". Italy has been warned that Libyan jihadists are ‘just south of Rome’. We are assured by all and sundry that these people are not Muslims, they are terrorists, but has no-one in authority noticed that there is an elephant in the room?

Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain says that he has “no idea” why some young people become radicalised. Really? He should watch this video. He says "many British Muslims feel very disillusioned that the government is not treating us as equal." Really? Read here and about discrimination against Christians in British Society here.

"All we are looking for as British citizens is to be treated as British citizens. Anything that is done with a community identified as having the potential for extremism or terrorism is not going to make you feel comfortable" said Dr Shafi. "That is one of the problems: there is a trust deficit.... The Muslim community as a whole is being "treated with suspicion" pointing to instances such as counter-terrorism officers visiting nursery schools.

To avoid charges of Islamophobia we are expected to show tolerance and understanding of everything Muslim regardless of the circumstances while Islamic states see no problem suppressing Christianity and exporting Islamic extremism around the world. Saudi Arabia has being identified as "a cash machine for terrorists". The French government has announced a series of measures to clamp down on radical Islam being spread in mosques and wants to cut financial support from countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We should do the same.

According to a  report in The Spectator, "British mosques aren't that moderate after all" and "only two out of 1,700 mosques in Britain follow modernist interpretations of the Koran". Hard line Sharia Islam has no place in Britain. If British Muslims are genuine in wanting to live as British citizens they should be demanding change holding up their faith to the same scrutiny as others. Excuses are wearing thin.

No doubt the majority of Muslims in this country want to live their lives peacefully as British citizens but being a British citizen requires more than being "treated as such", there are obligations. One is to be honest about the problems facing us all, Muslims included. It is no good pretending that the footsteps on the Libyan beach have nothing to do with Islam when the perpetrators are following verses in the Koran. The facts are here.

These facts must be faced. If a religious ideology can be used to justify barbaric executions of believers and non-believers, followers are either deluded or devious in denying that it has anything to do with their religious faith when the evidence to the contrary is freely available. Here is the important test:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance". The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 18).

Every British citizen must be able to subscribe to that. If not there are serious questions to be answered.

Further reading:

Beheading of Christians is clearest indication yet of religious cleansing. Evangelical Alliance

If ISIS could kill us all, they would. Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith, Catholic Herald

What will it take to stop Isis using rape as a weapon of war? The Guardian

The True History of Christendom and Islam Raymond Ibrahim, FrontPage Magazine

Richer and poorer in Saudi Arabia

I was somewhat bemused when I first saw this video. Surely it was a spoof! But no, it is Charles, Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. You can read about it here. His sword dance originally preceded going to war in a country where the practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited. I find this rather odd given that as King, Charles will be 'Supreme Governor of the Church of England' and 'Defender of the Faith' (see here) but in our multi-cultural society he is understood to prefer the title 'Defender of Faith', that is any faith, including Islam which seeks to be the only faith, not just in Saudi Arabia but throughout the world using whatever means necessary to achieve supremacy.

At the lower end of the scale (see here) Indonesian maids working in Saudi Arabia are for the first time to be "guaranteed a monthly wage, time off, and contact with their loved ones, under a new agreement signed by the Gulf kingdom and Jakarta. Human rights groups say the pact is a step towards ensuring the protection of foreign workers' basic rights in Saudi Arabia. But it fails to address a worrying trend of domestic helpers filing complaints of exploitation and abuse only to face counter-allegations by their employers of 'theft, witchcraft or adultery,' according to Human Rights Watch".

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2013 highlights a situation in Saudi Arabia where multi-culturalism is far from encouraged, even among fellow Muslims: "Saudi Arabia does not tolerate public worship by adherents of religions other than Islam and systematically discriminates against its Muslim religious minorities, in particular Shia and Ismailis. The chief mufti in March called for the destruction of all churches in the Arabian Peninsula".  Also, the rights of women are non-existent: "Authorities continue to suppress or fail to protect the rights of 9 million Saudi women and girls and 9 million foreign workers."

Meanwhile, in Great Britain we continue to promote multi-culturalism which takes all and gives nothing. Turning a blind eye to the elimination of Christianity in Muslim countries, see here, clerics delude themselves into thinking that by turning the other cheek out of context without regard for the consequences will protect us. Deferring to Islam is contrary to the Christian belief that there is only one way to the Father. If Church leaders and our potential Supreme Governor don't get it, what hope can there be for Church and country?

Deception in the church

Ali Bari and his Band

In a previous blog entry I referred to the recent suggestion made by a woman vicar in the Church in Wales that those opposed to the ordination of women should no longer be accepted for ordination. More information has come to light including a copy of the Credo Cymru (Forward in Faith) 2011 Autumn Newsletter from which I quote:

“We were also made aware that Prospective GB candidates were now being asked to state their position on some major topics that might be coming up for debate. Within the last GB debate some participants were arguing that the church should no longer be ordaining men who cannot fully embrace the priestly ministry of women. It may be worth noting that this part of the debate did not get reported in Highlights and the viewpoint was strongly challenged by some of the speakers.” [My emphasis - Ed]

Selective reporting suggests further evidence of duplicity by the Church in Wales ruling elite, a view strengthened by other reports of an insidious campaign to marginalise those who refuse to abandon the traditional faith by favouring those who have fallen under the spell of the liberal establishment. 

In an earlier development, Fr Michael Gollop in his LNYD blog had expanded the theme tracing it back to a 2009 blog entry which referred to a report of the Standing Committee Working Group on Representation of Women in the Church in Wales. Among the Report’s gender politics was this quote: 'The authors also (section 6.5 on page 18) make the following observation: “The Working Group found it difficult to understand why the ordination of those opposed to the ordination of women continues in a Church committed to the ordination of women.”' Fr Gollop went on to expose the deception used by the Church in Wales in their failure to honour promises made to those who did not accept the ordination of women as explained in his link.

The following day the Rev John P Richardson wrote in his ‘The Ugley Vicar’ Blog exposing similar duplicity in the Church of England. He wrote that he "was responding to the claims by a leading member of the Group for Rescinding the Act of Synod [GRAS - Ed] that ‘no promises have been broken’ regarding the ordination of women."

Fr Gollop would not have been the only witness to promises made by the Church in Wales any more than people in the Church of England could have forgotten the basis on which earlier decisions were made. There may be no written contract but an oral contract with witnesses has equal force so why claim that promises have not been broken? But this is not a matter of contractual obligation, it is simply a matter of trust between Christians which has descended into a game of denial and deceit in order to marginalise anyone whose only wish is to keep their traditional faith in the absence of an acceptable alternative. Now the lies have been nailed in Wales and in England where, as The Ugley Vicar puts it, “the proposed legislation [for the ordination of women bishops] will introduce two classes of Anglican — the central and the legally marginalized.” Following the experience of those in the Church in Wales that will mean marginalization followed by the easing out of loyal members of the Church of England. This must not be allowed happen.

While the liberal majority talks of equality they see no contradiction in denying a significant minority of fellow Christians the opportunity to worship according to conscience, something fundamental to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This feminist inspired form of New Anglicanism makes much capital about women being ‘called by God’ yet they can dismiss God’s call in favour of “gender equality” when it suits them. Perhaps too much inter-faith dialogue has encouraged a culture of Taqiyya in the church but which ever way one looks at it, in Wales Ali Bari and his band are out to rob traditionalists of their heritage. The same deception is being used by GRAS in England. The feminist cause is robbing us of our right to the promised honoured place in the Anglican Church. That is stealing, contrary to God's law. 

May day!

Whether or not Theresa May tripped up over the tale of the cat is irrelevant. For far too long we have been giving shelter to undesirables, often at our own expense. Read here, here, and  most certainly here.

Another daughter lost - this time stolen

Yesterday's heart-rending 'human rights' report of a father deprived of his daughter by a hit-and-run criminal was followed in the evening by a Newsnight video about the position of Christians in the Islamic World. The video highlighted the case of an abducted Christian daughter in Egypt.

The thread of the programme was "While the status of Muslims in Europe has become a major political issue, there has been less controversy, until recently, about the position of Christians in the Islamic World." One might have expected sympathy for the plight of Christians. Not a bit of it. In the discussion that followed the Islamist representatives played the victim card used so effectively, among others, by Women and the Church (WATCH) to deny any tolerance of traditionalist Christians in the Church of England.

The BBC screened a second video report, this time about the ban on new minarets in Switzerland. The charitable view must be that it was introduced for balance, completely ignorant of the fact that the scales are tipped against non-Muslims however 'reasonable' their apologists may appear. Any politico-religious system that encourages deception to further its cause must be treated with suspicion and extreme caution.

Ironically, while Pope Benedict was drawing attention to the plight of Christians BBC reporters were busy condeming critics of Islamicification as guilty of Islamophobia. Intolerance in Islamic countries was brushed aside because they are not democratic. What they omit to say is that democracy would not be permitted in a country under Sharia law but Islamists insist on their democratic rights to deprive non-Muslims of theirs.

To value democracy and protect Christian values is not Islamophobia, it is simply a struggle for survival. How is it that a programme about the oppressed is turned around to make the oppressors appear as the oppressed.?

Postscript

Christian Festivals have now been airbrushed from EU diaries leaving only Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Chinese festivities as well as Europe Day and other key EU anniversaries. My thanks to Goodnight Vienna's Blog for this tip.

The complete Aso

Aso Mohammed Ibrahim, aged 32

Arrived in the UK from Iraq in 2001

Failed asylum seeker

Hit and run killer after leaving a 12 yr old child to die on the road

Drugs possession

Harassment

Criminal damage

Theft

Burglary

Driving while disqualified

Driving without a license

Driving without insurance

In fact a complete and utter a*s**o** yet allowed to remain in the UK to avoid his human rights being violated. His victim's father is an honest, hard-working, loyal tax-payer who has lost his only child through the actions of a criminal and is left with no family. Justice for him has been denied. Why have the judges given so much weight to the fact that a criminal has married and begat two children? Are they unaware of the marriage of convenience fiddles that allow people to stay in our over-crowded, hospitality abused country?

In 1998 David Cameron wanted to do something about abuses of Human Rights legislation. It's about time he did. If his memory fails him, he needs only watch the video in this report to be reminded of why urgent action is needed.

Is Christianity its own worst enemy?

“The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 30-31

Even lapsed Christians tend to think in these terms and assume that others think likewise. The Equality and Human Rights Commission Triennial Review 2010 says that “Democracy is predicated on the idea that every individual, no matter what their background or personal circumstances, should have an equal opportunity to have a say in decisions about the country’s future.” The problem facing Christians and other religions is that Islam does not believe in democracy and denies people their basic human rights. Under Article 18 “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” The penalty for converting from Islam is death. How do ‘honour killings’ square with Article 16 on the freedom to marry? There have been calls to allow Sharia law to operate in this country yet it is alien to our culture putting power into the hands of people who would deny others their human rights.

To question such anomalies is met with cries of Islamophobia, racism and bigotry. Political correctness based on Christian values of tolerance (love thy neighbour) encourages well meaning people of other faiths and of no faith to question the motives of those simply seeking the truth by asking questions. The English Defence League is getting a bad press with the usual PC labels attached to them. Most ‘causes’ become infiltrated causing negative effects but one thing is clear, most non-Muslims don’t have the faintest idea of what Islam is about. We tend to think of the Koran as their version of the Bible and we are led to believe that like Christianity it is a religion of peace but that peace is under Islam, not as we know it.

The vast majority of Muslims go about their daily lives peacefully and deplore extremism. The problem for Christians and those of other religions arises when they become the minority. Then the ‘infidels’ are treated as the second class citizens Muslims believe them to be unless they convert. Hence the Christian exodus from the Middle East which is the subject of the Vatican Synod now in progress. Immigration and high birth rates have seen Islamic communities growing in Non-Muslim countries. This leads to demands for Muslim schools and mosques which build communities within communities instead of integration. The proposed ‘Ground Zero’ mosque development has highlighted the issue causing much controversy. If people have legitimate concerns they should be allowed to express their fears without being accused of racism and bigotry. To understand what is happening we need to educate ourselves to take a balanced view of what our greatest war-time leader Churchill, warned us of, that "the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome".

The documentary What the West Needs to Know, explains "everything you've always wanted to know about Islam but were afraid to ask. The feature documentary discovers the basis of Muslim violence in the Koran and the life of Muhammad: jihad terror Muhammad Koran Quran Fitna." If you are not willing to devote an hour and a half to the fuller explanation you can get a shorter but incomplete message here.

These videos raise legitimate concerns for Christians putting documented events of discrimination and killings into context which raises the question, Who is my neighbour? or, more pertinently, What is my neighbour's attitude to me? That must be a legitimate question in a (currently) free society.

Freedom of religion for all - except 'traditional' Anglicans

Pope Benedict's official visit to Great Britain has had a good start in Scotland. Faith seemed to matter again, not just Catholicism but faith in general. Even the Government says it will 'do God', whatever that may mean in reality. Religious tolerance is in the air.

President Obama spoke of religious freedom in relation to the proposed mosque near ground zero quoting Thomas Jefferson, among the inestimable of our blessings, also, is that ...of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will.

Article 18 of the universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. This is echoed in the The European Convention on Human Rights.

Her Majesty the Queen ended her speech of welcome to the Pope with the words "Your Holiness, in recent times you have said that ‘religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified’. Today, in this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society." My emphasis, but that comes emphatically from from the Defender of the Faith and Head of the Church of England. Only out of step is Synod.

Sex offender wins appeal against deportation on human rights grounds

"A Pakistani man who abducted and had sex with underage girls is to be allowed to stay in the UK because deporting him would breach his human rights.

Zulfar Hussain, 48, was due to be sent back to Pakistan on his release from prison where he is serving a jail term for giving vulnerable girls drugs and alcohol before having sex with them." - The Times On Line

But the bloke is inhuman!

Better dead than bare!

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned that the use of airport body scanners in the UK may be unlawful because they produce "naked" images of passengers. The Commission is especially concerned for the privacy of certain groups such as disabled people, the elderly, children and the transgendered community.

Previously the Commission worried about pictures of young children being viewed, albeit by specially trained operatives, as though terrorists are blessed with the highest moral standards which cause them to bomb only with integrity. Not content with extending the range of 'vulnerable groups' the Commission is also worried about how people are selected. - Avoid coloured people for fear of being thought racist and women for fear of being thought sexist perhaps? So that leaves not too young nor too old white males, provided they are not rather tall nor a bit short and likely to be picked on. Just average white males as ideal candidates then?

Can anyone seriously be more worried about a temporary, blurred image of the themselves being displayed on a security screen than the possibility of being blown apart in a terrorist plot? If the Commission is concerned on a point of law, a simple waiver will do me. Better a 'Human Right' to life than the 'Equality' of death.