Gender politics to trump Christian unity

From the Archbishop of Canterbury: "We're very conscious that one of the reproaches that can be laid against the bench is that it's not exactly representative in gender terms. As and when women become bishops, we don't particularly want women bishops to have to wait until 2025 or something before there is any possibility of their being represented on the bench. We want the discretion and flexibility to allow a little bit of fast-tracking there."

So gender politics, not spirituality, will be the life-blood of the Church of England (as it is in the Church in Wales), putting aside any chance of responding to Christ's prayer for unity. Giving evidence to the joint committee on the draft House of Lords reform bill, Archbishop Rowan Williams explained that 'the Church of England was nearing the end of a "complex, protracted process" to allow the ordination of women as bishops'. A confident prediction which implies a forgone conclusion. A similar confidence afflicted his successor as Archbishop of Wales who lost the vote largely because of his mean spirited attitude to those who did not share his conviction that he knew better than the teaching of the Universal Church which has handed down our core beliefs and tradition for two thousand years. One can only hope that when it comes to the vote in Synod there will be a pause for deep thought and reflection on what the Church of England is doing, not in the name of God but in the name of feminism.


In England, Archbishop Rowan does not share the same attitude as his successor in Wales, preferring to make some sort of provision for traditionalists but in their usual narrow minded way, Women and the Church (WATCH) have poured cold water on the idea that there could be renewed hope for traditionalists following the diocesan process of debating proposed legislation for the admission of women to the episcopacy - the process which determines religious obligation by voting on the whim of the day instead of theology. That has been a disaster for the Anglican church in the USA and well illustrates the path being followed here. I can no better sum up my feelings than quote from this heartfelt cry:


"This once-noble Church is being transformed, at the hands of single-minded activists, into a secular cult which will reflect only its lack of all Scripture-based grounding and tradition, and (in their place) will embody only the sacrifice to Caesar of those things which are properly God's. Nothing will then distinguish such a "Church" from its pagan predecessors. As a consequence, nothing about it will any longer have any claim to loyalty or adherence on the part of its traditional members."

Are we already an Islamic country?

"Christian Britain is dead" said The Rt Rev Paul Richardson, a bishop of our established church, the Church of England. But the Queen is still Defender of the Faith, a faith based on love which shaped our nation, a love that now dare not speak its name.

The latest incident of alleged religious discrimination highlights the case of a Christian worker who lost her job after being 'targeted' by Islamic extremists at Heathrow Airport. In his Blog, Cranmer raises some important issues here. Whatever the facts of this new case, there is a perception that only Islam is beyond question with legitimate questions about the treatment of Christians being met with cries of 'Islamophobia'. 

Endless excuses are made but if we look abroad,for example, in Egypt,  the home of our Christian Desert Fathers, there are regular authentic accounts of the persecution of Christians and the destruction of Coptic churches but where is the condemnation from the 'Religion of Peace'? The answer is neatly summed-up by the Coptic priest Fr Zakaria Botros here. Those involved in inter-faith talks please take note. 


Postscript
Pakistan to review list of obscene words that includes 'Jesus Christ'.

Tête à tête

Disregarding previous warnings of being taken for a ride, the Archbishop of Wales was recently snapped in conversation with one of another faith he would rather talk with than traditionalist Christians in his own flock. If he were truly interested in the facts he could hear more about Islamic 'tolerance' through the taqiyya amplifier here, advancing to position to 18 to see how he is viewed within Islam although I strongly recommend that he and others watch the whole explanation of how Islam is being whitewashed. 


More from 'The Religion of Peace' here.

Jesus was a good bloke

The Good Shepherd

Being both God and man, there is no doubt that Jesus must have been 'a good bloke' but more than that, Jesus the Son of God is here now, a fact that the Church of England too often keeps quiet about giving the impression that only the Muslim Allah has to be respected leaving Anglicans to please themselves, bringing Him out for Christmas festivities and in time of need. 

Leading up to Christmas lapsed Anglicans in the Church of England can enter their post code on a new C of E site to find 'carol services, Christingles and other special Christmas services' within a 15 miles radius. People with iPhones can search 'myCofE' at the App Store. This initiative is being fronted by Jo Brand so in the spirit of Christmas I entered the post code of her birth place, SW18, and was greeted with a list of 130 results within just 5 miles (there is an option of 1 to 15 miles) showing a full range of services and events for adults and children. 

If this initiative gets back to church those who simply profess to be Christians it will be hailed as a success but it will be an abject failure if people come away just thinking: Yes, Jesus was a good bloke.

Deficit Dave drops another one.

Deficit, deficit, deficit. No matter what the problem, the cause, the effect, the Prime Minister's response is unwavering: stick to the deficit reduction plan. When you are in a hole stop digging is generally good advice but such an analogy is unlikey to register. David Blanchflower has laid out the problem facing us in an article for the New Statesman in which he says: It is becoming increasingly apparent that Cameron is a) totally out of his depth when it comes to the economy; b) has no clue what to do to fix the problem; c) has little sympathy for those who are less fortunate than he is. He just doesn't care. But it is extremely unlikely that Deficit Dave will take any notice as illustrated in an earlier article for The Telegraph by Damian Thompson.  


Dave's latest gem to be dropped on the working classes is to advise parents to take their children to work during strikes. I can only assume he shot that one from the hip without giving any thought to child protection, health and safety or even the logistics of trying to work with an eye on the kids after possibly doubling the occupancy in the workplace - "when it is safe for them to do so" of course. A useful get out!  For people in a less privileged position struggling to make ends meet, life is not that simple especially for the elderly. 


Today's shocking report on care of the elderly at home illustrates how detached from reality politicians have become. 'Care' has been downgraded in hospitals and at home to the extent that many 'carers' just don't care any longer. Hospital nurses and District nurses have been elevated to the status of semi-medical professionals no longer soiling their hands on menial tasks yet it is precisely the intimate care that made 'nursing' what it was before accountants re-defined 'care'. Without proper care the entire system is in a state of collapse in hospitals, care homes and in people's own homes where 'home care' has become a 15 min visit. Today's carers are among the poorest paid with an undervalued status. This must change. If carers were better rewarded financially and in their status, genuine caring people may be attracted to what much of nursing care was all about. This is one deficit that cannot be ignored.

Godless Guides?

The Queen and Princess Margaret.
 Picture: Associated Newspapers / Daily Mail /Rex Features

"I promise that I will do my best, to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people and to keep the Guide Law."

A story in the Telegraph just about sums up the absurdity of life in Britain today especially for Christians. Because a girl "felt unable to take part in her Brownies enrolment in north Somerset due to the religious content of the Promise" the Girl Guides Association is reported to be considering reviewing the wording of its affirmation for new members, to remove religious references. What next? Immigrants and secularists objecting to Her Majesty the Queen being "Defender of the Faith"? 


Baden-Powell must be turning in his grave. The Guide Promise has already been amended from 'To do my duty to God' to 'To love my God', in order to accommodate different faiths leaving secularists free to have a stab at changing the foundation of Guiding again but oddly, not Scouting which retains the original Promise. Give them time! The Scouts are now a mix of boy scouts and girl scouts although the Girl Guides remain exclusively sexist reflecting what has happened in the rest of society. Thanks to that enemy of democracy, political correctness, we no longer have the heroine, actress, headmaster or chairman but curiously we still have the Baroness.

For many in today's eunuch led liberal church, belief in the one true God has become an optional extra but belief in one God means just that. As Christians we should be above the political correctness that implies the legitimacy of other faiths. People may believe what they want in a free country but tolerance has been perverted to allow our Christian heritage to be eroded by do-gooders who have nothing to offer other than a suffocating desire to impose their bland sterility on Christians. Much of this is a consequence of  the feminist campaign for the ordination of women which has resulted in the spiritual decline of the Episcopal Church in America and continues to emasculate the Church of England as WATCH and GRAS demand their own way here.

"On my honour, I promise that I will do my best

To do my duty to God and to the Queen,

To help other people

And to keep the Scout Law"

Scouts of my generation felt 'honour' bound to keep their 'promise', two words that the new breed of Anglicans in the churches of England and Wales have consigned to the PC dustbin only to be replaced by deception. 

Fr Jeremy Winston, Dean of Monmouth, RIP

Many people in Wales and beyond will be mourning the loss of Fr Jeremy Winston who died this morning after a short illness reported in the Abergavenny Chronicle here. Tributes appear here, here and here. Witty, talented and a joy to know, the Church in Wales will be the poorer without him. 


Personal tributes appear on the Church  in Wales site here. There is a report of Fr Jeremy's funeral here with funeral address here and burial service here.


Thanksgiving Service report here and here.


Belated Telegraph obituary here.

 Rest eternal grant him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.