Another farcical Church in Wales 'consultation'?

Abp Morgan hectoring Governing Body         Source: Church in Wales Highlights

A Church in Wales Press Release has details of another so-called consultation:

"The Church in Wales is taking a fresh look at the role and responsibilities of its most senior leader [archbishop] and people across Wales are being invited to make a contribution". 

Contributions have previously been requested from people across Wales in 'consultations' which have allowed the bench of bishops to cherry pick comments they found favourable before binning others which did not accord with their predetermined agenda.

Diocesan meetings were organised at considerable expense to discuss a Code of Practice designed to cater for faithful Anglicans who, on theological grounds, were unable to accept the ministry of women bishops. The wishes of the majority were ignored, see True to his word: "Over my dead body!". Then there was the farcical taking of opinions about allowing same sex marriages and/or blessings in church, see Marriage: Dodgy discipleship?. Barry and his bench sitters simply did what they wanted when the result did not fit their secular agenda, see Bishops' rank hypocrisy. So why should anyone expect other than a predetermined outcome this time?

Looking at some figures puts the latest consultation into perspective. From Wales Online in 2014 - "If church-going is the best measure of the health of a faith community, Wales’ Christian communities should see a warning light flashing":

"Research by Tear Fund in 2007 showed Wales had the lowest level of regular church attendance in the UK at 12%, behind England (14%), Scotland (18%), London (22%) and Northern Ireland (45%). The 2001 census showed 71.9% of the Welsh population were self-described Christians but this fell to just 57.6% by the time of the 2011 survey.

Between 2011 and 2012, the number of adults attending Church in Wales Sunday services fell by 5%, from 33,783 to 32,171. Easter attendance dropped by 8% from 60,924 to 56,063."

According to the 2011 census the population of Wales was just over 3 million of which 58% claim to be Christians. Only 1% of the population worship regularly in the Church in Wales. At 1.5% there are more regularly worshipping  Muslims in Wales with numbers increasing while the number of worshippers in the Church in Wales continues to decrease.

In this context the Church in Wales Press Notice suggests an unwarranted sense of self importance designed to bolster the influence of the archbishop:

"The Church has commissioned a team to conduct the review but it is hoped that as many people as possible will participate. The team will seek views from across the Church and wider society at various key stages and is beginning by inviting initial views on the Archbishop’s role and how he or she might best be supported in the future. The Archbishop has duties both within the Church and nationally and these roles need to be properly understood so that they can be robustly supported."

It is not the Archbishop who needs support but the worshippers. They have been led astray by bishops who have grasped every secular fad to make the church 'more relevant' to society.  The Archbishop should be a shepherd leading his people to God not to a dictatorship of relativism.

The Press Release  draws the attention of readers to Dr Morgan's Presidential Address published in Highlights (p.3). The Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) has a more succinct summary.

Jobs for the girls and for the boys, if there are any left: 

"Archbishop Barry said it is worth noting that what that report [the 1980 Commission on Boundaries and Structures of the Church in Wales] was recommending was the same kind of things for bishops and dioceses that the later Harries report was recommending for parishes – a collegiate method of working. 'In other words, in every diocese, there should be more than one bishop, each with a distinct area of jurisdiction but forming a single unit for administration – just as in ministry areas each individual cleric would have a specific area for pastoral care but be part with others of a ministry area. This meant moving away from the concept of one bishop one diocese, to two or three bishops in every diocese, working closely together in partnership as far as the administration of the diocese as a whole was concerned, but each having pastoral jurisdiction over a particular area'. Other working groups and reports have suggested Llandaff as the permanent Metropolitical see, with the archbishop as diocesan, and an elected assistant bishop; or an archbishop without any diocesan responsibilities. Neither model has found favour. "

Dr Morgan's preferred option is for the archbishop to be based in Llandaff, an option previously rejected. This may come as a welcome release by the next archbishop given the mess created by Barry and his minions in Llandaff Cathedral.

Had Dr Morgan's mission been spiritual rather than political in making the church 'more relevant to society' the consultation would have had some relevance. Under his leadership the Church in Wales has been turned into a secular institution with prayers, giving wholehearted support to the sexual revolution which has demeaned the sanctity of marriage and twisted the meaning of love leading to sexual licence and promiscuity while masquerading as part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The best way to support the Archbishop is to encourage him to abandon the secular agenda and lead his, or her, people back to God.

It's not a game

A view from the US

Not content with changing the rules which protect the sanctity of marriage the gay lobby now expects the State to pay for unprotected sex via the NHS to help prevent them contracting HIV: "Aids campaigners are celebrating a watershed victory after the high court ruled that NHS England can pay for 'game-changer' drugs that prevent people being infected with HIV by their partners".

While it may be cheaper in the long run to prevent rather than treat Aids, there has to be added to the cost of the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug the cost of treating any side effects plus treating the added risk of STDs which is rising among gay and bisexual men. But there is more to this than the money. There is a moral dimension.

With limited resources to provide essential treatment there are, for example, needy children with cystic fibrosis, people with cancer who have to apply for funding to just give them some hope through no fault of their own. Twenty-five vital cancer drugs have been deemed 'too expensive' for the NHS.

With so many pressing health needs the tax payer should not be asked to fund a life-style choice at the expense of the needy.

Postscript [08.08.2016]

Transgender ‘men’ given IVF treatment by the NHS. Women who have undertaken sex reassignment surgery to become 'men' are being given IVF treatment on the NHS.

Conservative MP Peter Bone questioned why the NHS is choosing to fund this, especially considering its limited resources for more necessary medical services:

 "The NHS is does not have endless pots of cash and, with accident and emergency departments and hospitals bursting at the seams, we should stop pretending that it does," he said. 
"When you go into realms like this, I am not sure why the taxpayer should be funding it. It’s something that people could surely fund privately if they want to. We’ve had changes in the Cancer Drugs Fund which will stop some cancer drugs being available to people on cost grounds.
"I just sometimes ask if the NHS is getting its priorities right."

Twisted

Photo: cnsnews.com

This photograph is displayed over a caption: "Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, right, demonstrates with others against the decision by Anglican Primates to punish pro-gay equality churches in North America, in front of the Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)".

Things have moved on, or should I say backwards. The photograph appears in an article "Anglican Church of Canada Adopts Gay Marriage, Endangers Future of Faith": 

"At the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada, held July 7-12, a proposal to allow the Canadian Anglican ministry to solemnize same-sex marriages was voted upon and was reported to have failed by a single vote.  The next day, however, it was reported that there had been a counting error and that the measure actually had passed. Thus, by the closes of margins, the Anglican Church of Canada approved same-sex marriage". Full article here.

It is not homophobic to support the established definition of marriage which is "the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others". Nor has it anything to do with equality. These twisted views have wrecked Western Anglicanism to satisfy the desires of the few at the expense of the many.

Mad or bad? If you are dead you're dead.

“All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell.”

There is no shortage of Muslims who believe that they will have a place in paradise if they die killing infidels even if their stock of virgins is depleted. It is neither here nor there that the vast majority of Muslims do not kill infidels. The God they worship sanctions death for unwilling converts as well as apostates. Unless Muslims face up to this reality and enter into serious dialogue about their supremacist religious ideology, the killings will go on and on.

After each atrocity the media scurry around to find any excuse they can to point the finger away from Islam. Why? It is the common thread that has linked 1400 years of violence. Two questions are usually asked. Was the perpetrator in need of psychiatric help? - as if other perpetrators are normal - and, Has the 'so-called' Islamic State claimed responsibility or is there any evidence of a link? The introductory video, 'Persecuted and Forgotten' clearly illustrates that the persecution of Christians is not peculiar to ISIS.

The quote "All of you are infidels… we will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell" is taken from an article in the Catholic Herald: "A priest is slaughtered at Mass in rural France. This is what life is like for Christians in the Middle East". The article recalls: "One priest, Fr Thaer Abdal, was shot dead at the altar. In total, 58 innocent people were murdered. Their killers were members of an Iraqi faction of Al-Qaeda that had declared war on churches, “dirty dens of idolatry”, and in particular “the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican. The Baghdad massacre was one of countless atrocities that have reduced ancient Christian communities in the Middle East to shrivelled and terrified ghettos or underground churches".

In Egypt: Muslim attacks on Christians are "increasing at alarming rate". So widespread has the problem become that after the French priest was murdered a 'UK Church leader' who asked to remain anonymous has warned that "it may be sign of things to come". He said:

"There needs to be a connection made between what is happening here and what has been happening in places such as Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Suddenly we are seeing this in Europe. It could be an alarming sign of things to come. There is a lot of copycat psychology in these kinds of attacks. We are hoping this does not turn into anything more serious and get out of hand, but we are concerned that it might." Full report here.

For Christians there is only one way to the Father, through Jesus Christ. There is no compulsion.

For Muslims "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger".
This is the basic statement of the Islamic faith: "anyone who cannot recite this wholeheartedly is not a Muslim".

When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
That they personally accept this as true
That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life

Little surprise, then, that other religions are held in contempt by Islam. 'Blasphemy' is a tool often used in Islamic states. Sadly this process is aided by attitudes in the West which imply that only Islam is sacred. In the wake of latest atrocity in France it has been reported that a "Fireman Sam" episode has been pulled amid a "Koran row" in marked contrast to the persecution of Christians highlighted in the "Persecuted and Forgotten" video above.

In the following video, former Prime Minister Tony Blair along with former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton insist, contrary to all the evidence available, that Islam is a religion of peace, ignoring the opinions of experts. Only a sensible dialogue will expose the truth but while Islam is regarded as above criticism the West will remain compliant without uttering a word of the Shahadah.

Meanwhile the slaughter of the innocents continues.

Postscripts [31.07.2016]

From The Telegraph: Islamism is an attack on our civilisation – this must be recognised, not evaded.

also [03.08.2016]

From OnePeterfive ISIS Rejects Pope’s Interpretation of Their Own Religion

Is there any point in being a traditional Anglican, particularly in the Church in Wales?

The joy of the Christian faith is simply expressed in this rendition of the Te Deum (H/T Anglican Pastor). There is a far more stirring, majestic example here. It is punctuated by loud blasts on the organ which echo my feelings of exasperation and probably that of many other traditionalists at having been left by the Church.

Exhibiting their profound ignorance of matters spiritual, the response of New Anglicans to traditionalists  has been "Go to Rome if you don't like it" or, from the mainly menopausal feminist brigade, "Get used to it, we are in charge now". There have been no concessions in Wales. The only message is keep giving. For what? While the Church of England genuinely valued all church members as true Anglicans when binding provisions were made for faithful worshippers who, in common with most Christians, cannot accept the ordination of women on theological grounds, the attitude of the Church in Wales (CinW) has been take it or leave it. Theology is rejected while the latest secular fads are adopted by the bench of bishops for dissemination to congregations through largely compliant clergy.

Sunday by Sunday we are served with helpings of the latest Christian Response from an Anglican Perspective (CRAP) heavily laced with a misguided view of equality that has everything to do with political correctness and nothing to do with Christianity as the Gospel is bent to accommodate the latest alleged injustice. It is indeed very odd that the Bible can be taken literally in circumstances which threaten our very existence while bending other parts to suit a fashionable political stance.

Led by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales with the Archbishop of Westminster often in step, Christianity is continually being sold short to its own detriment with misapplied views on neighbourliness while giving succour to Islam as Muslims abroad continue to convert non-Muslims by the sword if necessary and in the UK demand more and more special privileges to enhance their status such as opting for Sharia, a legal code that systematically discriminates against women, children, apostates, blasphemers, non-believers (infidels), adulterers, and homosexuals. Imagine the outcry if Christians espoused such discriminatory values.

The CinW is fast reaching the end of the road with extinction predicted in a generation. The possibility of the first woman bishop in Wales draws ever closer making it even more difficult for traditionalists who have remained in the Church to continue their membership. Not that there should be a woman bishop in Wales. Better that the measure be rescinded as a breach of faith since the promises of care evaporated as soon as the bishops had their way with their ultimate plan unfolding.

Moving from feminism to their next PC project the bench of bishops has made it perfectly clear that the CinW is to fully embrace the LGBT agenda en route to the acceptance of same sex marriage, again under the guise of 'equality', while the Church of England talks her way into it with 'Facilitated Conversations' concluding with this mumbo-jumbo. If LGBT people are having such a hard time being accepted, how are there so many openly gay and lesbian people in the Church with clergy very much in evidence promoting their particular life style and often viciously condemning anyone who dares to hold a contrary view to theirs? Women deacons were not enough. Women priests were not enough. Civil Partnerships were not enough. What next? The slide is endless.

True Anglicanism is expressed here in a Pastoral Letter by the Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman, the GAFCON Primates Council, making all those pennies we saved in little cardboard boxes in Sunday School worthwhile. Too late for many, there are now just 'empty boxes, empty gestures, empty words'. Read the sorry tale of the final straw for an ex-CinW worshipper here.

For many traditionalists the final straw has been drifting in the breeze while searching for that crumb of comfort but there has been none, nor will there be. The Church in Wales is going from bad to worse with Credo Cymru apparently impotent. As Dr Morgan approaches retirement he will have much on which to reflect having brought the Church in Wales to her knees, not in prayer but in desolation. What a legacy.

So is there any point in being a traditional Anglican? Unless you are exceedingly fortunate I think not. But Christianity is not dead. "Be joyful and keep the faith!", even if your church has left you.

Blood on the carpet and blood on the streets

Journalists were having another field day in Downing Street yesterday when they realised that our new Prime Minister, Theresa May, was doing things her way. It was a repeat of the 'Night of the Long Knives' said Norman Smith, the BBC's Assistant Political Editor harking back to Macmillan's 1962 sacking of a third of his Cabinet.

'A brutal reshuffle' he bellowed at Mrs May as she entered No 10. As the sackings increased so did the rhetoric. The knives became meat cleavers but thankfully the only blood on the carpet was metaphorical.

Not so on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice as the day was drawing to a close. A heavy lorry had been driven deliberately into crowds of people who had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day. French prosecutors said they had launched a 'terrorism' investigation after the incident. Barack Obama, the US president, condemned "in the strongest terms" what he said "appears to be a horrific 'terrorist' attack", as did presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton.

Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain stands "shoulder to shoulder" with France after the "horrifying" 'terror' attack on the French Riviera that left at least 84 people dead.

This home grown 'terrorist', Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, may have had a hand gun, he may have had grenades, but whatever else he possessed, what he used so slay the innocent was a heavy lorry. No military training necessary. Just a HGV licence, the money to hire the vehicle and a belief in a religious ideology that regards all non-Muslims and Muslims of the 'wrong' sect as fair game. Taking his authority from the Quran he will have been taught to believe that only his namesake held the truth.

'Just Ask Islam' presents a confusing picture: In answer to the question, "Does Islam Say: Kill The Infidels?", the answer given is: "We know the Quran orders believers to fight in combat against those who are the oppressors, aggressors and terrorists and those who are assaulting and killing the innocent men, women and children. But it gives out clear orders - NOT TO Fight against those who are not fighting against you..." To believe that we have to ignore 1400 years of conflict. A classic case of abrogation.

Theresa May and Michael Gove fell out over the Birmingham schools 'Trojan Horse' row. As Home Secretary she banned two bloggers from entering the United Kingdom branding them as extremists because they have explained the threat posed to Western civilization:

A blinkered Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who had called for the bloggers to be banned from the UK said: "I welcome the home secretary's ban on Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from entering the country. This is the right decision. The UK should never become a stage for inflammatory speakers who promote hate". See examples of the reality here and here where Islamic hate preachers were allowed free rein with devastating results.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that in the eyes of politicians Islam is blameless and anyone who questions the ideology is regarded as an extremist. How many more home grown sleepers will wreak havoc before politicians realise that this dangerous religious ideology must be confronted. How many more atrocities before the myth of a religion of peace is questioned given the weight of evidence to the contrary?

Postscript [15.07.2016]

Please stop saying the Nice attacks have nothing to do with Islam - Maajid Nawaz, founder of the Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism think tank.

After yet another claim on BBC News this evening that "this has nothing to do with religion" from a survivor who appeared to know absolutely nothing about Islam other than what he has been told to believe, may I suggest that he and people holding similar views at least consider why the same thread runs through these attacks and ask themselves why Islam is the common denominator if it is supposed to be the religion of peace?

The commissars are back

Len McCluskey said rivals to Jeremy Corbyn were unlikely to win union support.
Source; Guardian Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

Perhaps they have forgotten but Marx is dead, Thatcher is dead. 

Severely weakened by Margaret Thatcher, the power of the Trades Unions is not what it used to be but the current difficulties being experienced by the Labour Party, driven by Momentum, have provided the opportunity for some Union bosses to flex their muscles again, Len McCluskey General Secretary of Unite and General Secretary Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union among them, with Corbyn appearing to be under the control of the unions.

The hard Left is campaigning for people to join the Labour Party simply to vote for a Leader who does not have the confidence of  the majority of Labour MPs to lead them. The hard Left's intervention is reminiscent of  Militant Tendency in their attempted take-over of the Labour party in 1985 before Neil Kinnock made his memorable speech at the Party Conference in Bournemouth. 

Many of the new activists appear to be young idealists who did not vote in the EU Referendum then complained afterwards because they did not like the result, mainly because of a perceived restriction on their movement around Europe, the same generation which tries to stop discussion in our universities. Examples here and here.

I have listened to Jeremy Corbyn. He is a prisoner of Party members who delude themselves into thinking that they represent the electorate. Corbyn may be the clear choice for leader of the Labour Party but MPs are elected by a much broader spectrum than party members. He says that the Opposition should be putting "enormous pressure on the Tory government on inequality, injustice and poverty", sounding remarkably like a pale reflection of what Theresa May has on offer in her leadership speeches.

More importantly, Theresa May is focused on Brexit, as is the electorate, not the petty party politics which continue to obsess the Labour Party. Principles without power are not the stuff of government. Corbyn may represent his party but the wider electorate takes a broader view.

There is no confidence in Corbyn among MPs as their leader so he should stand down to restore confidence in Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the interests of the country.

Postscript [19.07.2016]

The Trident vote has come and gone with a thumping majority in favour of renewal. Unlike 140 of his party colleagues the Leader of the Opposition decided to do his own thing and vote against the motion in opposition to Labour Party policy. The wishes of the membership can be fluid apparently.

Given Corbyn's pick and mix approach to politics he could be a modern day Anglican but apparently he has no religion. He says "I go to churches, I go to mosques, I go to temples, I go to synagogues. I find religion very interesting. I find the power of faith very interesting." A little more faith in his fellow MPs would not go amiss instead of pressing the Labour destruct button. Said to be a "nice guy", Jeremy could easily be a New Anglican!