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Monday, 29 February 2016

The real victims of political correctness.




In this 2010 CBN News video "What Will Happen When Islam Takes Over Britain WAKE UP!" a clear warning was given on the perils of not addressing political correctness.

The Prime Minister's claim in 2011 that multiculturalism had failed was met with a wave of indignant protests and denial. In 2016 the real victims of political correctness, mainly vulnerable children, are being identified on a regular basis.

This is the reality. From an Express report: The authorities spent years letting gangs of Pakistani and British-Pakistani men get away with horrendous crimes against white girls. Evidence suggests that such groups have been operating in Rotherham, Oxford, Keighley, Bradford and Rochdale. The dangerously misguided desire to appear tolerant and politically correct allowed these gangs to operate unchecked for so long.

Nobody in authority has been prepared to stand against the tide. While political parties spend their time harvesting votes from minorities, the Established church continues her obsession with politically correct quotas, advancing the cause of minorities over suitability and validating Islam. 

Tolerance of the intolerant rules. "WAKE UP" indeed!

Friday, 26 February 2016

Legitimate target


England v Ireland: Jonny Sexton will be targeted - Eddie Jones, BBC Sport


The cold dark months of Winter are not my favourite months but a few things make February more bearable. The days are drawing out, the garden is preparing to burst into life and we have the Six Nations.

An ancient Briton by birth, I am not without some English blood in my veins which makes the performance of the England rugby team all the more disappointing with their "winning is everything" attitude to the game. Perhaps it is because they give the impression that they always deserve to win that they appear so arrogant. The depths of their financial and human resources indicate as much but better a good game than win at all costs. In such circumstances the real losers are obvious.

Regrettably England's new coach Eddie Jones is from the England mould. His interview for BBC Sport is a new low in English rugby. Teams want to win but not so obviously at any price. Jones admits that his attitude is to be "physical, fair and brutal" with emphasis on the brutal - so long as it is legal! Brutality: cruel, harsh, and usually violent treatment of another person.

He says Ireland's Johnny Sexton will be a 'legitimate target' during Saturday's Six Nations match at Twickenham, as was England's fly-half Jonny Wilkinson when Jones coached Australia.

Eddie Jones' attitude to the game has made himself a legitimate target. England should send him back to the Southern hemisphere where he belongs taking his brutality with him.

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

EastEnders


Men pray outside Whitechapel mosque in east London during Friday prayers.
Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian

There have been reports in the press that the new set of the BBC soap EastEnders may include a mosque in an attempt at a "more authentic representation" of communities in East London.

The East London Mosque in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, reportedly where a London schoolgirl who recruited three of her classmates to join IS in Syria was radicalised, serves Great Britain's largest Muslim community with a capacity of 7,000. 

If the producers of EastEnders want an authentic representation, the set will have to be of considerable proportions. The cash strapped BBC could save a lot of money by showing Muslims praying in the street while using the front of a Mosque as a backdrop. Read about the authenticity of this scenario here. The BBC could use the money saved to include a closed Christian church, the fate of many while Islam is being promoted. 

From the Guardian report: "Last year, the character Tamwar Masood quoted the Qur’an in an attempt to explain Islam to his girlfriend Nancy Carter. 'Do good to relatives, orphans, the needy, the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, to the companion at your side and to the traveller,' he said." 

No mention of convert, pay the tax or die as regularly witnessed around the world where Islam dominates.

Monday, 22 February 2016

Feeding Islam and ripping the Church apart


Source: Twitter

A sharp-eyed reader has drawn my attention to the menu offered last Thursday at the Cardiff University Chaplaincy: halal chicken casserole! Next Thursday's lunch will also be halal. In fact halal dishes appear to be their regular offering. I appreciate that the Chaplaincy caters for mixed faiths but why do Islamic meals take precedence in a supposedly Christian country?

There is much more to concern the faithful than a meagre halal meal for £1. The Anglican Chaplaincy boasts a seminar at which the Very Rev Jeffery John promoted gay marriage and Canon Jeremy Pemberton talked about life with his 'husband'.

Following his defeat at the Church in Wales Governing Body in September last year Archbishop Barry Morgan said "It would be 'foolish' to bring forward a bill for same-sex marriages in church at the moment. It would be a very brave or perhaps a very foolish Bench of Bishops who were to bring the bill before the governing body at this stage because that might just rip the church apart and lead to the acrimony that has been absent from this debate."  [My emphasis - Ed.]

The intent is clear.

Notwithstanding the dire effects on church attendance resulting in church closures and the loss of the historic parish system, the same procedure is being adopted as was employed in the campaign for the ordination of women followed by their admission to the Episcopate. If at first you don't succeed keep trying until the church is left only with like minded people led astray by a bench of bishops, bar one, who have abandoned the Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church for a dictatorship of  relativism.

When the bishops report back to the Governing Body in April their conclusion appears obvious.

Christianity is in danger. Mosques are already opening their doors to entice the unwary. Closed churches and chapels are being converted adding to the twenty-one Mosques already in Cardiff. Two of the seven chaplains in Cardiff University are Muslim. They need no help from the Church in Wales.

The agenda may be music to the ears of the Archbishop but it is not the Gospel and it is already ripping the church apart.



Postscript [23.02.2016]


The Cardiff University Chaplaincy 50 years ago with Fr Bruce E Davies, RIP surrounded by communicants for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist.


Postscript [24.02.2016]

Plans submitted for a new mosque in Sanatorium Road, Cardiff

In response to worries about traffic problems it has been suggested that this new Cardiff mosque was needed to allow only 30 worshippers to pray. Pull the other one! This was a second application. No doubt there will be another mirroring the Church in Wales', if at first you don't succeed, try again until you get what you want.

Friday, 19 February 2016

Transdanger




In a poll of 470 people in San Diego last year 73% said that they would like to see more gender neutral rest rooms. I doubt that they had considered the practicalities or the consequences.

Dr. Michael Brown writing for Charisma News: Even as I write these words, different cities in America are considering dangerous and irrational laws that impose unfair and potentially dangerous burdens on the vast majority of citizens, all in name of helping a tiny number of deeply confused individuals. When will we learn?

I do not wish to minimise any difficulties experienced by a few transgender people but the "quadruple rise  in child transgender referrals in five years" has to be of concern. To put this in proportion, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust says that referrals over the period included 47 children aged five or under, and two children just three years old. There were 695,233 live births in England and Wales in 2014.

They say that gender dysphoria in young people is a "complex and rare condition" which is "frequently associated with distress which may increase at puberty", adding "it is probably fair to say that young people are increasingly interested in "exploring gender".

Is exposure the problem? Suddenly transgender is everywhere with the politically correct desperate to show their superiority in how understanding they are. But are they?

God created male and female, period. Yes we should be sympathetic to genuine problems but society is becoming so concerned about minorities that we are at risk of losing the plot. Already in the US a man twice entered the changing room of a swimming pool and began disrobing, once in front of a young girls' swim team, saying transgender policies gave him the right to do so. What next?

New transgender-friendly law opens all public restrooms to both sexes
Source: The Christians.com

Men were built for fighting. Women were built for childbearing. It’s interesting to note how stubbornly true—even obvious—these statements remain, despite aggressive efforts to bury them.

Thursday, 18 February 2016

The great energy rip-off




When it comes to choosing Gas and Electricity suppliers I am baffled. Tariff type, Unit rate, Standing charges, dual fuel, DD, Exit fees, etc, etc. All I want to know is the overall price for supplying gas and electricity but dream on.

My fixed tariff agreement is about to expire. If I do nothing I will be transferred to the Standard Rate with a big hike in charges. Lest I should be bombarded with suggestions that online switching sites are the answer, I know but they can be part of the problem: The Charity Age UK earned £6m a year for encouraging thousands to sign up to special rate that was £245 higher than cheapest tariff.

Money Saving Expert assures me that by using the Cheap Energy Club I can make significant savings by switching to British Gas. That seemed like a good idea before I heard the boss of Centrica on the BBC's Breakfast Time show this morning justifying the rise in British Gas profits of 31%. What if I sign up and then they reduce their prices? I will be stuck with a fixed tariff until February 2017 unless paying exit fees makes a change worthwile.

After reading about a supposed good deal on a switching site a few months ago I decided to switch. My current supplier then phoned to tell me that comparison sites do not necessarily offer the best advice because "there are various ways of calculating costs". Also some sites do not include all suppliers in their comparisons. Then of course there were the meter readings; were they up to date? And don't forget the mild Winter effect.... I accepted the advice offered and left the decision to another day. My supplier couldn't offer a better deal at the time although there could be a better deal in February when new tariffs may be available. I am still waiting and it is decision time.

The Government assures me that competition is good for the economy benefiting customers with lower prices. But what about consumers who are unable to navigate the obstacle course and the many pensioners who do not have access to a computer or lack the necessary internet skills?

Competition has become a means of boosting profits at the expense of the vulnerable. In fact, a proposal considered by the Competition and Markets Authority is a plan put forward by energy companies themselves to end the use of indefinite standard tariffs and 'force' households to choose a new gas and electricity deal every year. A "licence to rip off consumers" was the verdict of the charity Citizens Advice.

Instead of being given a licence to rip off consumers, energy suppliers should be compelled to advertise their cheapest rates, thus enabling customers to choose between suppliers for the best deal.

Now that that would be an innovation!

Wednesday, 17 February 2016

Closer together and wider apart


Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Lorna Hood
 making her way through the Church of Scotland's Assembly Hall, where commissioners made
 "a historic vote" in favour of accommodation for congregations that choose a minister in a
 same-sex civil partnership    Source: Christian Today 
(Photo: John Young)

From one "historic step" (see caption) to another. Addressing Synod yesterday the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (C of S), the Right Rev Dr Angus Morrison, said: The Columba Declaration paves the way for future joint working between the Kirk and the Church of England (C of E). It sets out how members and clergy will be allowed to worship and exercise ministry in each other's churches. Approved by Synod by 243 votes to 50 the report will now go to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May for approval.

Paved with good intentions, the declaration moves the C of E further towards nonconformity while pretending to keep a toe in the Apostolic Church following the lead of the Church in Wales (C in W).

The proposals are set out in GS 2016, "Growth in Communion, Partnership in Mission -
A Cover Note from the Council for Christian Unity". There are two references to apostolic succession.

Para 18 (i): Within the apostolicity of the whole Church is an apostolic succession of the ministry which serves, and is a focus of, the continuity of the Church in its life in Christ and its
faithfulness to the words and acts of Jesus transmitted by the apostles.

Para 31: The Church of Scotland also believes that its ministries are in apostolic succession, without needing to include the episcopal order nor to express that succession through it.
In its ordination rites it emphasizes the continuity of the Church and its ministry. It can
recognize in the historic episcopal succession maintained by other churches a sign of the
apostolicity of the Church. It does not, however, regard it as important for the bene esse
(‘well-being’) of the Church in the same way as the Church of England, and therefore
while respecting its perspective does not share from its own side the significance for the
Church of England of this issue in seeking to grow together.

God forbid that the C of E should follow the lead of the C in W:
"Consequently the Church in Wales Working Group's Long-term Recommendations to their Governing Body were that: 'the Methodist jurisdiction, the Presbyterian jurisdiction and the URC/Covenanting Baptist jurisdiction each elect a bishop, the bishop will ordain all those who are to become ministers within that jurisdiction. That this bishop will be a bishop in the Church Uniting in Wales and will share collegiality and full interchangeability with all the other bishops of that Church'."

Sidelining the Scottish Episcopal Church, the C of S and the C of E "acknowledge one another’s churches as churches belonging to the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and truly participating in the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God". 

But what of the wider Church? 

The C of S, the C of E and the C in W are minnows in the Christian Church which is dominated by Catholics and Orthodox, now showing signs of coming together while Anglicans drift apart. In global terms Anglicans are mentioned once, "Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans  and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation yet they claim to be in the forefront of advancing the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God.

What does this amount to? 

The C of S has opened the door to the appointment of married gay ministers. Having lost the same-sex marriage battle, the Archbishop of Wales is encouraging his rapidly diminishing flock to support the Iris Prize Outreach project which aims to "make 36 short films over the next three years with different community groups to build understanding of LGBT issues". 

Driven by WATCH the C of E  is obsessed with gender issues: "Fewer than one in 50 large churches led by a woman priest".

For the Church to survive in Britain it will have to become closer to the apostolicity of Catholics and Orthodox, not more protestant and secular.

Postscript

'No unity at the expense of truth': a response to Justin Welby's Presidential Address.
An excellent analysis from Christian Concern, H/T Anglican Mainstream, here.