The slide continues: Scottish Episcopal Church

The Most Rev Justin Welby announced sanctions against the Scottish Episcopal
 Church  at a news conference in Canterbury.  Source: BBC

"A major row is erupting in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) with half the paid clergy in one region rebelling over the appointment of their new bishop" reports Christian Today. This follows the appointment of Canon Anne Dyer to be the first female bishop in the SEC. Canon Dyer is "strongly in favour" of gay marriage.

The protest follows the failure of the normal nomination process where church members within the  largely conservative Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney failed to name the required minimum of three candidates. The SEC bishops then took over the process and nominated former business/systems analyst Canon Dyer but without first consulting clergy or churchgoers in the diocese according to the report.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said last October that the SEC would be excluded from ecumenical and leadership roles in the Anglican Communion following the decision of the SEC to begin marrying same-sex couples.

The first same-sex Anglican church wedding in the UK took place in Edinburgh in September 2017 after the SEC voted in June to amend canon law and allow same-sex couples to be married in church.

Following the vote the Most Rev David Chillingworth, then Primus of the SEC, said: "A new chapter opens up and inclusion takes a particular form. This new canon affirms there are different understandings of marriage in our church. We affirm we are a church of diversity and difference bound together by our unity in Christ."

Bound in unity in Christ they may be but that is no excuse for deviancy. There is only one understanding of marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others and for life.

Chillingworth retired at the end of July 2017. His successor the Rt Rev Mark Strange said in response to the sanctions imposed on the SEC: "We will continue to play our part in the Anglican Communion we helped to establish, and I will do all I can to rebuild relationships, but that will be done from the position our Church has now reached in accordance with its synodical processes and in the belief that love means love."

Love means love in many forms. That the English language uses one word to convey different meanings of love is too convenient for those pushing same sex marriage.

Another ploy is to suggest that people will become accustomed to same sex marriage in time as they have to re-marriage of divorced people', a false analogy because divorce is about the absence of love, complicated by issues of annulment, consummation and the effects on offspring.

Carrying on regardless, the Anglican church is striving to reflect rather than inform society. Empty pews are the result but the new bishop of London was not bothered in her response to the problem in 2015 when the former nurse and midwife was appointed bishop of Crediton - hence her ascendancy in today's Anglican church no doubt.

Her attitude echoed that of Jan McFarlane, former Speech and Language Therapist, now Bishop of Repton. In response to the revelation that Norwich was the most godless city in England, the then Archdeacon of Norwich said that people were "doing their churchgoing differently" - staying away!

Postscript [08.01.2018]

Primus hits back after open letter criticises the appointment of Scotland’s first female bishop.

The Primus would be better employed examining his own conscience after seeking to justify same sex marriage using the simplistic slogan "love is love".

He now says. “Whilst, it would not be appropriate to disclose the internal discussions which took place among the bishops, suffice it to say, that the bishops fully believe and trust that they have been led by the Holy Spirit in their election of Canon Dyer."

 So the Primus stamps the SEC's gay marriage agenda with the approval of the Holy Spirit. The Church of England and the Church in Wales have been there before. If the Holy Spirit were to motivate anyone the signatories to the open letter would be more likely candidates having been informed by Holy Scripture rather than fashionable secular trends.

Hope and despair

His Beatitude Raphael Sako and Chaldean Bishop Shlemon Warduni celebratingthe first Mass  in
 Mosul since 2014, with Syriac Catholic Archbishop Mouche and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop
Nicodemus Dauod Matti Sharaf participating.  Source: ACN UK

Aid to the Church in Need reports: "The bells rang out in Mosul for the first time in more than three years when a church in Iraq’s second city opened its doors for Mass on Christmas Eve.

Up to the last minute, plans for the service at St Paul’s Church in Mosul’s Al-Mundshen suburb hung in the balance – until a group of young Muslims helped clean the church and make it ready – including erecting the cross [my emphasis - Ed.]

This is not what we have come to expect. Individual Muslims and Christians have lived peaceably side by side in many areas of the Middle East for generations but Christianity and Islam have fundamental differences - see Muslim-Christian Relations summary - which have led to endless conflict resulting in the death of many Christians and destruction of their churches.

In May last year, Egypt carried out airstrikes in Libya after at least 26 people, including children, were killed and 25 wounded in a gun attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, the latest in a series of terrorist incidents targeting the religious minority (here).

More than 100 Christians have been killed in Egypt in the past year. Most attacks have been claimed by 'IS militants'. In December, Coptic Christians in Egypt experienced a different version of Islam than that experienced by Christians in Mosul when nine people were killed in two attacks on Coptic Christians in Helwan district, south of Cairo, according to Egypt's interior ministry (here).

Egypt is regarded by many Christians as the home of Christian monasticism. Christianity in Egypt dates back to the beginnings of Christianity itself (here) but Christians, mainly Copts, are now a minority, estimated to be between 10% and 20% of the population.

Believed to be funded by religious leaders with cash from Saudi Arabia, Christian girls in Egypt are being targeted for kidnapping, forced marriage and conversion, according to Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world.

Coptic Christians in the south of Egypt renewed calls on local authorities for an end to discrimination after a number of churches were closed down it was reported last October. Two churches in two separate villages in the southern province of Minya have been shut down by the authorities, a statement by the Minya diocese said. It said worshippers were harassed at both churches and pelted with rocks at one of them.

While faithful Christians abroad risk their lives to attend church services, church attendance continues to dwindle in Great Britain. Photographs are cropped to exclude empty pews and video coverage, such as it is these days, invariably shows a few old ladies comprising congregations.

In most churches, gone are the daily Eucharist and the alternative service on Sundays for those mainly young people unable to attend the main service so they drift away, unlikely to return. I hear that even the Cathedral church in Bangor closed after the service on 31st and apart from a funeral Friday will remain closed until next Sunday.

Many of the old ladies making up Anglican congregations will be dead by 2035 when according to the Pew Research Center "Babies born to Muslims will begin to outnumber Christian births".

The plight of Christian minorities in Muslim countries should be plain for all to see. Individual acts of kindness are outweighed by repression and ruthless action in Islamic states, even against Muslims who seek free expression of their religious human rights.

The Pew Center forecasts that "In the next half century or so, Christianity’s long reign as the world’s largest religion may come to an end... Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as the overall world population between 2015 and 2060 and, in the second half of this century, will likely surpass Christians as the world’s largest religious group."

The spread of Islam needs no help from Christian leaders, examples here, here and here.

The Washington National Cathedral and five Muslim groups hold the first celebration of Muslim
Friday Prayers, Jumaa, in the Cathedral's North Transept in Washington, Nov. 14, 2014.
Larry Downing | Reuters | BDN

"Once a place has been used for Muslim worship it is ipso facto a mosque"

Writing for the International Business Times Yasmin Alibhai-Brown portrayed Muslims as the victims, "Why do Muslims get picked on at Christmas?" She finishes her piece with the words "Christ for us Muslims is a messiah sent by God. Why would we not remember and celebrate his story?"

Because, according to Saudi cleric Sheikh Abd Al-Aziz Fawzan Al-Fawzan , "while there is more leniency regarding secular or national holidays, participating in Christmas celebrations, congratulating Christians on their holiday, and sending them gifts is not permitted because Christmas 'is based upon a corrupt dogma that was refuted by the Quran'." His comments were broadcast on the Kuwaiti Al-Resala TV channel on December 3, 2017. More clerical objections here and here.

As the Saudi cleric says in his video broadcast, individual acts of kindness are just that but instead of challenging an ideology which is anti-Christian, from Archbishops downwards Anglican clerics are embracing Islam as a valid alternative faith.

Census figures for England and wales show that "the percentage of Muslims among the under-fives is almost twice as high as in the general population". Validating Islam in the wake of immigration and high birth rates is likely to make the ideology more acceptable when leaked documents reveal even ISIS recruits have poor grasp of Islamic faith.

Perhaps when the country is predominately Muslim sympathetic Anglican clerics will abandon their Christian faith altogether as they have scripture and tradition to become Imams.

Postscripts

[05.01.2018]

EX-MUSLIMS TO POPE: ISLAM NOT A RELIGION OF PEACE

[06.01.2018]

Egypt's Coptic Christians to consecrate huge new cathedral

[07.01.2018]

Europe’s Growing Muslim Population

Muslims are projected to increase as a share of Europe’s population – even with no future migration.

Source: Pew Research Center

Most viewed posts in 2017

Listed below are the most viewed Ancient Briton posts in 2017.

Top of the list is Not another victim! The sad tale of David Wilbourne (left), the Ass bishop of Llandaff who resigned after speaking of a "sustained campaign forcing him to quit".

One of the Yes persons imported by archbishop Barry Morgan to substitute liberal feminism for faith, Wilbourne quickly became surplus to requirements after the Governing Body of the Church in Wales concluded that they knew better than the wider Church and voted in favour of women bishops, persuaded by the likes of Wilbourne and another import, Peggy (the pilot) Jackson who was responsible for reducing the code of practice to meaningless double speak as evidenced following the appointment of women bishops to St Davids and Llandaff.

Well known for reminding captive listeners that he knew the former Archbishop of York  John Habgood, the Ass bishop featured prominently in 'Spot the Dog' in the popular blog, The Llandaffchester Chronicles, sadly closed down after ruffling too many feathers.

With hindsight Wilbourne may regret his ridiculous claim that the ordination of women would rid the world of homophobia, misogyny, brutalisation of women in all situations including those in war zones but I doubt it. One thing that characterises progressives is their ability to say anything that aids their secular cause regardless of the facts.

'Llandaff' entries attract most attention for commentators. Even when writing on other subjects commentators have become adept at teasing out any nuance that might be used to take another swipe at what they regard as the unsatisfactory situation that has afflicted Llandaff Cathedral for many years, beginning under the stewardship of Dr Barry Morgan.

The Jeffrey John affair raised divisions in Llandaff to desperate levels, dragging the church through the mud with accusation after accusation in what was probably his last hope of preferment. Contrary to scripture, John had already threatened to sue the Church of England if he was blocked from becoming a bishop.

Some claimed that the bench of bishops opposed his appointment because they did not want to be overshadowed. Not a difficult task then or now but in reality the fear was that as an active campaigner, John who is "one of the most contentious figures in the Church", would attract too much unwelcome attention from the media.

Church in Wales bishops                                    Source: BBB/Church in Wales

Possibly as a penance for the truculent stance taken by the gay lobby and sympathisers in Llandaff  in demanding the appointment of Jeffrey John the bench imposed on them instead a female LGBT sympathiser with the self-satisfied smirk of someone who has achieved her goal.

All has blown over. The bench sitters have settled back into complacent mode as the church collapses around them. The new archbishop promises more of the same but quicker, apparently blind to the damage already done by the bench under archbishop Morgan.

The blabbing bishop remains anonymous. The complicit Canon carries on. The pew sitters continue to grin and bear it as they dig deeper to support a system which prefers the chosen few who continue to complain that they are not welcome while the faithful leave in despair.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The 10 most viewed entries in 2017:

 1. Not another victim!

 2. Llandaff stalemate

 3. Consecration of the Bishop of Llandaff

 4. All change at the Cathedral

 5. Time for change

 6. The Victim

 7. New Bishop of Llandaff to be elected

 8. Decision time

 9. The Llandaff problem

10. Bishop of Llandaff: Stage 3

 No doubt the rumblings will continue through 2018.

That's rich bishop!

Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes         Source: Christian Today

The bishop of Liverpool,  Paul Bayes has criticised American religious leaders who support Donald Trump, saying they cannot justify their Christian faith.

Bishop Bayes told the Guardian: “Some of the things that have been said by religious leaders seem to collude with a system that marginalises the poor, a system which builds walls instead of bridges, a system which says people on the margins of society should be excluded, a system which says we’re not welcoming people any more into our country.

That's rich coming from one of the Church of England's senior bishops who is to chair a new charity aimed at promoting greater acceptance of LGBT people.

Most of the bishops of the Church of England along with the bench of bishops of the Church in Wales have no problem with marginalising faithful Anglicans, building walls to exclude them for remaining faithful to scripture and tradition.

The Bishop of Liverpool is to chair a new charity aimed at promoting greater acceptance of LGBT people by working with religious organisations around the world. He has been named as chair of the Ozanne Foundation, whose director Jayne Ozanne is a high-profile Anglican activist for LGBT inclusivity.

The Ozanne Foundation believes in a world where "all are accepted and equally valued", implying that they are not despite their over representation from bishops' thrones to church pews chairs based on the most recent statistics of just over 1 million (2.0%) of the UK population aged 16 and over identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB).

The charity's trustees and council of reference include the Dean of St Paul's, David Ison, Rev Steve Chalke, Ben Bradshaw MP and the Dean of St Albans, Jeffrey John, someone well known to readers for his personal interpretation of scripture in support of personal preferences.

Bayes said: "The Church of England has committed herself to what our Archbishops have called radical new Christian inclusion, and has publicly stated that we are against all forms of homophobia. If we mean this, and I believe we do, then we need to find appropriate ways of welcoming and affirming LGBTI people who want their love recognised by the Church."

The duplicity is mind blowing. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not excluded from the church. They appear to be in the driving seat. To claim that their 'love' is not recognised by the Church without a shred of supporting evidence is disgraceful when same sex marriage is clearly the objective.

Love has many forms. To imply that love is not recognised by people who are opposed to the redefinition of marriage is not just unworthy of the bishop, it is difficult to understand how people holding such views can justify their Christian faith.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful 2018

L'Adoration des bergers 1689 Charles Le Brun  

Christianity in Britain to take more knocks

Fatima Salaria has been put in charge of the BBC's religious programming             Source:Express

The atheist Director of religious programming at the BBC, James Purnell, has indicated that Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Jewish holy days will be marked on popular programmes including The One Show and Chris Evans on Radio 2.

Earlier this year it was reported that the BBC had replaced one Muslim with another, Fatima Salaria, in charge of religious television shows making her responsible for all the BBC’s religious content including Songs of Praise, now a pale reflection of what it used to be. Ms Salaria has previously commissioned Muslims Like Us, a reality style show and produced Britain’s Jihadi Brides. 

It is right that we all should seek to understand faith in the widest context and the practices of others but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the portrayal of Islam as the religion of peace is at variance with experience.

Most Muslims believe it is their religious duty to try to convert others to the Islamic faith. According to the Pew Research Center, in every country where the question was asked, a large majority of Muslims say all or most of their close friends share their faith. The survey found that even in countries with substantial non-Muslim populations, a large majority of Muslims say most, if not all, of their close friends share their faith.

Multiculturalism in Great Britain has resulted in the creation of Islamic areas. Some have been described as no-go areas for non-Muslims. Relatively few Muslims find the idea of inter-marriage acceptable but in Egypt, Muslims abduct Egyptian Christians, forcing them into marriages and conversions to Islam – "a fourfold atrocity" that is reaching "epic proportions". In some countries apostasy is met with a death sentence

This dark side is rarely reported. When it is, it is reported as the actions of people who are mentally disturbed or the acts of extremists who do not represent true Islam.  But "Islamists" take their authority from the same Muslim texts that are used to protest that Islam is a religion of peace despite all the evidence to the contrary for 1400 years with Jewish holy sites and Christian churches converted to mosques as witnessed in Jerusalem, Istanbul and elsewhere.

It has been suggested that Parish churches could host multi-faith worship in their battle to stay open, using them as "social hubs for people of all ages, spaces to offer hospitality and vital services to the vulnerable". Churches are already being used to provide accommodation for the homeless over Christmas and many more are involved providing food banks for the needy but using churches to provide Muslims with more space to pray is a serious error of judgement as explained here. Once a place has been used for Muslim worship it is ipso facto a mosque.

Some Christian leaders are so keen to outdo each other in demonstrating brotherly love that they have effectively proclaimed to the world that Mohammed is greater than Jesus. Prince Charles declared his wish many years ago to be Defender of Faith to reflect Britain's multicultural society. It is a one way traffic. As Christian symbols are removed to avoid upsetting Muslims, non-Muslims are expected to observe Muslim customs by removing shoes while women are expected cover their heads in deference implying that only Islam is worthy of respect.

In my previous entry I referred to the Christmas message from the Archbishop of Wales and his use of the word 'love' which has become a password for progressives. In an interview for Christian Today he was asked "You were a key speaker recently at a Muslim Council of Wales event: how important is inter-faith dialogue?"

The Archbishop replied: "Very important. Again if you look at the caricatures, what a lot of people appear to believe about Islam is profoundly misguided. If you look at Islam, Christianity, Judaism, here you have religions and creeds that seek at the most fundamental level human flourishing and the good of mankind. It is very easy to interpret tiny bits of scriptures as wishing harm on others, when that is not representative."

Churchill was not so misguided. He warned of appeasement. He also warned of the perils of the Mahommedan religion:

  "Indeed it is evident that Christianity, however degraded and distorted by cruelty and intolerance, must always exert a modifying influence on men’s passions, and protect them from the more violent forms of fanatical fever, as we are protected from smallpox by vaccination. But the Mahommedan religion increases, instead of lessening, the fury of intolerance. It was originally propagated by the sword, and ever since its votaries have been subject, above the people of all other creeds, to this form of madness."

Postscript [23.12.2017]

Church can remove pews to attract local Muslims, court rules

St Thomas Werneth in Oldham has been allowed to remove its pews in order to cater for local Muslims. It has been given permission to remove the pews to allow it to hold more events with the wider community which is 88 per cent non-white British and "broadly Muslim". St Thomas C of E Primary School in Werneth was earlier this year reported to have only Muslim pupils.

Christmas messages from the bench of bishops

The bishop of Bangor gets quite a lot of stick from commentators on this blog but again, following his Easter message, out of the six diocesan bishops of the Church in Wales I have found his Christmas message most engaging, even if somewhat disconcerting in the way he keeps looking aside as if expecting a visit from the constabulary.

As for the rest, the bishop of Monmouth makes a bold attempt as he concentrates his attention on an Orthodox icon of the nativity but sadly such spirituality is not reflected in the move to non-conformity embraced by the bench.

In her first Christmas message, the bishop of Llandaff says gifts are not just for Christmas so she devotes just one sentence to the Christmas story in an otherwise secular discourse.

The bishop of St Aspah muses about a colander Christmas as he reminisces about his mother's Tupperware, well removed from "a pregnant unmarried teenager, no place to stay, rural folk seeing visions, and strangers seeking attention from the East" which he refers to.

The bishop of St Davids compares the "saccharine nature" of the Christmas bonanza with the "increasingly uncertain world we live in" - the more so for traditional Anglicans.

Last to deliver, the Archbishop of Wales, who is also bishop of Swansea and Brecon, writes of Love: "real, blood-red love – is the most powerful weapon the world has, and Jesus shows how it should be used and must be used for the sake of the world he was born to renew".

Because Jesus said that we should love one another 'love' has become a password for progressives to permit just about any deviancy but Jesus added, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another". In that context the meaning of love is clear. His true message is simply ignored.