Two wrongs!

 A 'non-white' Jesus in a boat with 'refugees'. St Mary Redcliffe church, Bristol                                Source: Wales Online

A Bristol church has taken the Colston statue toppling a step further by replacing a stained glass window depicting slave trader Edward Colston with a window showing a "multi-racial Jesus in boat with refugees" as our "neighbours".

The message appears to be that Jesus Christ identifies primarily with the illegal traffic of refugees/asylum seekers/economic migrants who choose to leave one safe country for another.

Neighbourliness did not extend to Christians when Muslim migrants allegedly 'threw Christians overboard during row on a boat sailing from Libya to Italy'. Police said that fifteen people had been arrested on suspicion of multiple homicide aggravated by religious hatred.

That is not to say that all boat people are Muslims. The mistake is to regard other faiths as the same as Christianity. 

In Pakistan Christians and other religious minorities are struggling to survive barbaric persecution as they face 'abductions, indentured servitude and state-sanctioned execution'.

Today, 14 Nigerians will be killed for being Christians. 

There is much more. See 2022 Persecutor of the Year Report

The pre-woke message was much easier to understand:

The Good Samaritan helping the beaten man and paying for his stay at the inn.

Postscripts 

[17.06.2023]

More from the 'religion of peace': Uganda school attack: 25 killed by militants linked to Islamic State group

[22.06.2023]

Another 15 Christians Killed in Nigeria Despite Curfew

Intersociety Petitions 29 World Leaders To Intervene On Behalf Of ‘Persecuted Christians In Nigeria’, End Imo Killings

...“This is to the extent over 2,300 defenseless Christians have been hacked to death by the Jihadists under the first six months of 2023 (Jan-June); over 31,000 slaughtered since June 2015 and 53,000 since the 2009 Boko Haram uprising; over 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools burned down or wantonly destroyed, 1000 Christian communities sacked, 50m Christians uprooted and 15m Christian IDPs generated; out of which Benue State accounts for more than 2.5m Christian IDPs alone.”

WATCH OUT!

You have to hand it to them, the campaign by Women and the Church (WATCH) has been well executed but it is entirely self-centred. It is misplaced in a Christian setting because it looks inward with the aim of satisfying their own desires regardless of the effect on others in the church. Their subtle campaign plays on the respect due to Christian women but it is deceitful. It uses secular criteria to pursue false claims of inequality gathering support from members of the general public who have no religious affiliations whatsoever.

WATCH is a feminist pressure group which presumes to dictate the direction of the church over the heads of the House of Bishops. Most of the bishops are incapable of coping with this pressure as demonstrated by their constant capitulation, latterly taking refuge in the notion that 'respect' is the way forward when none has been in evidence so far. Their retreat in the face of opposition by WATCH has been relentless. The pledge by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to attend to ‘unfinished business’ has been neutered leaving not so much as a glimmer of hope for opponents of the ordination of women. Surprisingly for a bishop admired for his conciliation abilities I was disappointed to read a report in The Telegraph that the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is treading the same path:
“Bishop Welby’s vocal endorsement of the measure last week, moments after being announced as the next Archbishop, is being seen as a potential “game-changer”.
He is understood to be spending much of this weekend drafting his speech, striking a balance between saying that it is time for the Church to move on and offering assurances to those with theological objections to women bishops that there will be proper “provision” for them.”

Mere assurances are worthless. What is described in the Synod agenda notice as ‘some provision’ will be based on what is acceptable to the provider. To assure proper provision would be to agree enforceable terms in advance of the vote but such a solution is unacceptable to WATCH. They demand a solution only on their terms to avoid having what they would regard as second class women bishops. It matters not one jot to them that a substantial minority of Anglicans will be made second class members of their church under current proposals despite being assured of an honoured place. Anyone who has settled a bill with an assurance that problems will be rectified afterwards will know that such promises quickly evaporate after payment. 
  

It is obvious that Christ's commandment to love your neighbour does not figure large in the WATCH camp. They claim to be inclusive but have done everything in their power to marginalise those who find themselves in a minority for staying loyal to the tradition of the Apostolic church. If they succeed in persuading Synod to pass the measure then WATCH OUT!

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.