Ta ta Tata. Hello re-nationalisation?

The chickens have come home to roost for the conservative Party with the news that Tata Steel said it could not give an "open ended" commitment to keep their UK plants open while a buyer was sought. The UK Business Minister, Anna Soubry, told the BBC that she wants the company to take enough time to find a buyer for the plant. Failing that, other options being considered include 'government support'.

After the slump of the 1920s and the depression of the 1930s, the iron and steel industry was nationalised by Labour in 1949. Privatised by the Conservatives in 1950, it was re-nationalised by Labour under the leadership of Harold Wilson in 1967. Mrs Thatcher sold off British steel along with Gas, Electricity, Telecoms, Water and dozens of other companies as part of her political ideology. "Selling off the family silver" as Macmillan put it. 

In his book "The Slow Death of British Industry: a 60-Year Suicide, 1952-2012" Nicholas Comfort wrote that Britain has shrunk from an industrial giant to an industrial pygmy: "Manufacturing was industry’s bedrock. In 1952, it produced a third of the national output, employed 40 per cent of the workforce and made up a quarter of world manufacturing exports. Today, manufacturing in this country accounts for just 11 per cent of GDP, employs only 8 per cent of the workforce and sells 2 per cent of the world’s manufacturing exports. The iconic names of industrial Britain are history; in their place are the service economy and supermarkets selling mainly imported goods."

Already at the mercy of foreign countries for essential supplies the only protected species in Great Britain are Bankers who, after being bailed out by the State to the tune of a staggering  £850 billion, do their best to ruin small businesses with extortionate charges as they continue to line their own pockets handsomely before awarding themselves bonuses often well beyond the average wage.

The 'British' steel industry must be protected. As Ministers return from holidaying abroad to consider their options, British workers have been waiting anxiously to hear their fate. It is unlikely that human misery will occupy too much of Ministers' time but hopefully they will look at the broader implications of the cost of tens of thousands of workers becoming unemployed with the consequent implications for supporting business and dependent small traders, plus the cost of land reclamation before trying to attract other industries.

The Business Secretary says he is prepared to consider all options, except nationalisation. If re-nationalisation is the only answer so be it. Thatcher is dead. Her political ideology should have died with her. It is time to back Britain.

Apologists' myopia

So far there is no evidence that Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday as threatened. His fate is uncertain. But he is one of many. Others have been crucified. Muslim children are not exempt, 'crucified for not fasting during Ramadan'.

Women are routinely raped and sold into slavery yet people in authority continually make excuses.

Instead of relying on evidence fed to them of how wonderful this alien ideology is, apologists for 'the religion of peace' should open their eyes to the horrors that are being perpetrated around them.

Peaceful onlookers and those who look away after turning the other cheek are of no comfort to the persecuted.

Church in Wales Bishop's Easter Message prizes

He and his diocese have been the subject of some criticism by commentators on this blog but, for me, despite some reservations about his views on the "refugee" crisis, the outright winner is the Bishop of Bangor who poses the question "Can I be different?" in this imaginative Easter Message video:

The loser taking the booby prize is the Bishop of Llandaff who as Archbishop of Wales has urged in his Easter message: "Do not show fear after 'tragic' Brussels attacks".

The myopic views he expresses will result in the death of Christianity. There is a time to turn one's cheek and a time to follow Christ's example and oppose injustice and wrong doing. Jesus cleansed the Temple and He healed the sick on the Sabbath after being angered. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

Jesus told Peter to put his sword back into its sheath because Jesus had to drink the cup that the Father had given Him, glorifying the Father's name. For what has been accomplished Christians must spread their faith in Christ crucified.

In his Easter message Dr Morgan calls on people to exhibit the Christian values of 'forgiveness, compassion, mercy and grace' in the face of fear by 'turning the other cheek' and 'valuing those who are least valued in society'. The least valued in Islamic society are Jews and Christians but the blind can't see.

As we approached Easter an innocent, peace loving Muslim shopkeeper who wished his 'beloved Christian nation' a Happy Easter was "stabbed 30 times by a 'fellow Muslim' who sat laughing on his dying victim's chest". The assailant will have found authority for his actions against 'errant' Muslims and non-Muslims in his holy book, as have members of al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS and any Muslim who is prepared to do so.

Dr Morgan is deluded if he thinks turning the other cheek to his Muslim friends while other Muslims are fighting for Allah is going to save us. The evidence is everywhere, even in his backyard. In news from a regular worshiper in a Cardiff church I was told that after their Good Friday service when the crucifix was carried to the church porch as is their custom, there were shouts from across the road of "Allah is greater!"

He is not. The other cheek was turned but just as Jesus was angry we should not be afraid to be angry when justified, exposing false doctrine for what it is while we can. The consequences of following the Archbishop's example are already grim. A court order was made in Great Britain banning a father from taking his son to church because his mother is a practicing Muslim.

He said his son 'is being fed the same lies I was as a child' and I want better for him. "I was taught that Christians were heartless and immoral, that only Muslims have a peaceful faith and all others are evil. It was only when I began mixing with Christians that I learned this was nonsense."

Dr Morgan was right about one thing, we must not show fear. We must expose the truth about Islam not endorse it blindly. There is no other way to defeat its threat to Christianity.

Well done +Andy for some Christian witness. More please.

Alleluia! Christ is risen

He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

A Happy, Peaceful and Blessed Easter to All.

Holy Saturday: Muslim Jesus v. Christian Jesus

This video portrays in simple terms the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ whom Muslims claim as a prophet. They deny His death on The Cross and His Resurrection, condemning themselves and those they convert to Islam to be judged:

   23 so that all will honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him.

   24"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

   25"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.…

Good Friday: Water from the side of Christ

The "Blood and Water" Witness to Jesus Christ (1 John 5:6)

To understand the point being made by the use of this phrase, it will be helpful to examine the use of "water" and "blood" in the Gospel and the epistles of John. While water is mentioned in the epistles only here, several significant references to it are found in the Gospel. The Baptist baptizes with water (1:26, 31, 33), as does Jesus (3:22; 4:1-2), and the water symbolizes cleansing. Jesus changes water set aside for the Jewish rites of purification to wine (2:1-12). He speaks of the necessity to be born of "water and the Spirit" (3:5-8), where "water and Spirit" probably connotes one idea, namely, cleansing by the Holy Spirit (compare Ezek 36:25-27). Thus water also symbolizes the gift of the Spirit (4:13-14; 7:37-39) given by the risen Jesus. Together these references stress the idea of purifying, and particularly the purifying effected by the Spirit of God...  

Read on

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.