Muslim Jesus common ground: What common ground?

 There was outrage among many Catholics and others when Pope John Paul II was photographed kissing the gift of a copy of the Quran, explained here. That was nothing compared with the anger, violence and protests by Muslim scholars and religious leaders who criticised Pope Benedict XVI, claiming that the Pope had criticised Islam and its concept of jihad when he quoted a 14th-century Christian Emperor who had said that the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world "evil and inhuman" things. Pope Benedict was condemned for referring to this period in history and  urged to play a positive role in bringing Islam and Christianity closer. It was as if 1400 years of jihad were a fiction when its consequences are plain to see.

Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution demanding that the Pope retract his remarks "in the interest of harmony between religions" while the "hostile" remarks drew a demand for an apology from a "top religious official" in Turkey where the Basilica of Hagia Sophia, built in 537 AD, was converted into a mosque in 1453. It was secularised in 1931 before becoming a museum in 1935. Following President Erdogan's promotion of Islam giving it a more prominent role in Turkey there are growing calls to convert the museum back into a practicing mosque.

Meanwhile remnants of ancient civilisations are being destroyed to eradicate any suggestion that Islam has been spread by conquest. Churches are regularly destroyed in Islamic countries and Christians oppressed in what were Christian countries. Simply consider the plight of the Copts in Egypt as an example of the persecution experienced by Christians in what was a Christian country in ancient times.

Often referred to derisively as the "National Catholic Distorter", the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) may not find its way to many coffee tables which is probably just as well given this headline: "The Muslim Jesus provides common ground for Christianity, Islam".

The only common ground between Christianity and Islam are the bits lifted from the Bible to support spurious Islamic claims. They may recognise Abraham, Moses, the Virgin Mary and Jesus, regarded as a minor prophet, but they deny the centrality of the Christian faith, that Jesus is the Son of God, He died on the Cross, rose again and ascended into heaven.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the video 'Jihad Exposed in America' appeared on the Facing Islam Blog. In just a few minutes Robert Spencer completely demolishes the spurious claims made in the National Catholic Reporter and goes on to explain the Dhimmi, the subjugation of non-Muslims after conquest. [Advance to position 13.40 if you cannot spare the time to watch the whole interview.]

The NCR report concludes with: "The importance of finding common ground has become particularly apparent after the events in Charlottesville this month, which laid bare real and deep divisions in our country. Reconciling Christianity and Islam based on a true understanding of each other's religions could serve as a bulwark against these divisions and provide a worldwide example to emulate."

Deception does not provide common ground any more than the absurd statement that Islamophobia is defined as "unfounded hostility towards Muslims and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims". That is simply a 'PC' device to deflect any questioning of Muslim behaviour, a device which has resulted in hundreds of young girls being sexually abused by mainly Muslim men in Great Britain.

Most people will be familiar with the claim that 'Islam is a religion of peace'. Prime Minister Blair along with US Presidents Bush and Clinton said so. Experts begged to differ but the same claims are made today every time a violent Muslim follows their Prophets example as demanded in the Quran.

The latest ISIS propaganda film threatens Pope Francis. Fighters are seen "stamping on a bust of Jesus, defacing pictures of the pontiff and vowing to come to Rome". Sadly such threats and "terrorist" actions (the media have already been cowed into describing Muslim aggressors as terrorists) have become so commonplace that people simply shrug their shoulders saying that they are not afraid and will not be deterred instead of investigating the real cause of the problem. Those who do are criticised as being Islamophobic.

Outright Islamic invasion has been replaced by immigration and cultural jihad in the West. This is the reality but political correctness and charges of Islamophobia keep the truth hidden while Muslims are allowed to build mosques, practice Sharia and encourage conversion while denying Muslims the truth about the saving nature of Christianity as opposed to submission which is Islam.

It has been estimated that 80% of Muslims have not heard the Gospel message. Despite Christ's command to evangelize, 67% of all humans from AD 30 to the present day have never even heard the name of Jesus Christ and 91% of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not target non-Christians, but targets other Christians.

That anyone can suggest that Jesus links Islam to Christianity illustrates either a complete ignorance of Islam or a desire to mislead and subjugate more people into Dhimmitude by deception.

As I close this entry I have noticed this report in Christian Today:

 A five-year-old girl from a Christian family was left 'very distressed' after she was fostered to two Muslim families, encouraged to learn Arabic and had her Christian cross taken away.

After the two placements by Tower Hamlets council in east London, the girl returned home where she told her birth mother that Christmas and Easter are 'stupid' and European women are alcoholics, according to a report in The Times. And she refused to eat what had been her favourite meal spaghetti carbonara, because it contained bacon.

According to The Times, the child sobbed and begged not to have to go back to her foster home, where her present carer wears a burqa, covering her face entirely, outside the home. She told her social worker: 'They don't speak English.' Her own family had opposed the placements. Full report here.

One can imagine the outrage if the position were reversed

Barry's gay legacy

Provincial news: Pride Cymru                                                                                                                Source: Church in Wales

 After 14 years in office as Archbishop of Wales, this is his legacy. A gay pride event fronted by the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales, highlighted as Provincial news on the Church in Wales web site under the headline "Bishop celebrates at Pride Cymru". 

Supported by predominantly women clergy, the bishop of St Davids will "take part in a discussion about faith and sexuality" before "leading Pride’s first ever Communion service". Penarth assistant curate, the Revd Rosemary Hill, will be talking about "bi-sexual Christianity" and later Newport assistant curate, the Revd James Henley, will discuss "belonging in a disconnected world". On Sunday, the Revd Rhian Linecar, Cardiff assistant curate, will lead Taize sung prayer and meditation, no doubt on an 'inclusive' theme.

FaithTent coordinator, the Revd Delyth Liddell, said, “We are delighted to be welcoming our first ever Bishop to the #FaithTent this year, Bishop Joanna". 

In one small step towards the bishop of Llandaff's goal of parity, the omnipresent cleric at 'inclusion' events, Canon Aled Edwards, chief executive of Cytun, Churches Together, will talk about “Open Inclusive Nation” before leading the closing thanksgiving service.

Deemed by Archbishop Morgan to be the 'best person to be a bishop', Joanna Penberthy was reported to have been elected in a 'stitch up'. Could her LGBT credentials have been why?  The news of her election was welcomed by one gay priest on Thinking Anglicans as "Wonderful news - for Wales and for the LGBT Community in the Church".

Given that her name had been circulating months before her election it should have come as no surprise but it did for those who believed that the work of the Holy Spirit could not be manipulated. One former Archbishop actually described the loss of the vote for woman priests as the work of the Devil.

If twenty years of women priests culminating in a bishop favouring the gay community over cradle Anglicans whose only desire has been to worship as the Holy Spirit moves them, the Archbishop could have been right but on the wrong occasion.  

Presumably, then, the task of a bishop in the Church in Wales today in Barry Morgan's book is to advance Queer Theology. Joanna Penberthy has been most conspicuous by her presence at all things gay but little else from Church in Wales news reports.

Looking back, bishop Penberthy was to the fore in Victims last December and in Church in Crisis in February this year. More recently she preached at the Welsh National Eisteddfod on 'diversity', reported more accurately elsewhere as LGBTQIA+.

The first woman bishop is no longer alone. The new bishop of Llandaff, June Osborne has a similar LGBT agenda.

The bishop of St Davids participation in Pride Cymru's Gay Weekend in Cardiff brings more LGBT 'good news' from one who has become a peripatetic ambassador for the LGBTQIA+ agenda, moving from diocese to diocese to welcome those who claim to be unwelcome despite all the evidence to the contrary. It is a ploy. Their aim is same sex marriage in church.

So this is Barry Morgan's legacy. A queered church motivated by illiberal 'liberal' clergy with a bishop in St Asaph taking on the mantle of Self inflicted pain while leaving traditional Anglicans with nothing but memories to support their faith. 

Barry Morgan's successor as Archbishop must break his secularist mould and return the Church to spirituality.

Update [27.08.2017]

"Bishop's Pride Cymru involvement 'fantastic'" - Rev Delyth Liddell faith tent coordinator.

The faith tent coordinator is a Methodist minister and University Chaplain. In a BBC video interview she highlighted the leadership of the bishop of St Davids.  Liddell claimed that LGBT people "would not be allowed to receive Communion" and "would not be welcome in church" which is what made the bishop's Eucharistic celebration so "fantastic".

As a Methodist minister Liddell may be ale to back up her claim but not in the Church in Wales. In reality I suspect it is just another 'persecution' claim built on fantasy as was bishop Penberthy's claim of discrimination which on examination turned out to be nothing more than someone taking an opposing view to hers.

Problem? What problem?

In my previous entry I referred to the owner of a Tandoori Indian Balti House in Ashford who discovered that his Muslim staff were ignorant of aspects of their own religion:

"After reading the Qur'an and observing the behaviour of my Muslim staff, it became clear that they were not practising much of their religion’s teachings. I found this curious, and, after chatting to them about their belief, I realised this was due to their ignorance of the Quranic verses. They simply do not know what their religion teaches. Their ignorance is almost on a par with the wider public's, where the horrors and gross gender inequalities of Islam are not apparent to most people".

By contrast, speaking to Ian Dale on LBC, Dionne, a young British Muslim convert, said she had been brought up as a Christian but soon found herself searching for something with more “integrity”. Christians, she said, “did not know their bible” and would “interpret things however they wanted to” - something she claimed is not possible with Islam.

“With the Quran you can’t do that, you have to take every word literally. There is no modernising of the Quran… there is no modernising with this religion”. Listen to their 4 Min. dialogue here.

When Ian Dale challenged Dionne on the position of woman in Islam she was in denial, claiming that people have "misconceptions" of Islam. Perhaps she considers the law which allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word "talaq" three times is fair.  India's Supreme Court took a different view when it ruled a 'controversial Muslim instant divorce law unconstitutional'.

Three months on from the horror of the Manchester terror attack the method now favoured by Islamists for attacking innocent Westerners is to hire a lorry and drive it into a crowd of people who were simply minding their own business having been assured that Islam is a religion of peace.

Of particular relevance to problems which British Anglicans are facing was Dionne's comment that "you cannot make God in your own image, you have to worship God as He is", something that the bishops of the Church of England feel the need to wrestle with. She said, with the Quran you have to take every word literally.

That is the problem. While the majority of Muslims do not, a minority of Muslims take the violent verses in the Quran as instructions but nobody it seems is willing to tackle that problem head on.

Above criticism despite the evidence?

 A Christian street preacher who was arrested and held for 13 hours in a police cell, after displaying placards depicting love for Muslims and criticising the ideology of Islam, has this week been informed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that no charges will be brought against him.

Ian, owner of the Singleton Tandoori Indian Balti House in Ashford, began taking his placards onto the street in January 2017 after it became clear that his Muslim staff were ignorant of aspects of their own religion.

"After reading the Qur'an and observing the behaviour of my Muslim staff, it became clear that they were not practising much of their religion’s teachings. I found this curious, and, after chatting to them about their belief, I realised this was due to their ignorance of the Quranic verses. They simply do not know what their religion teaches," he said.

He continued, "Their ignorance is almost on a par with the wider public's, where the horrors and gross gender inequalities of Islam are not apparent to most people".

Read the full Christian Concern report here.

The so-called "terrorist" attacks on innocent people of all faiths, including Muslims, and none in Spain were committed by Muslims responding to calls in the Qur'an. Referring to them terrorists obscures the fact that such attacks have been going on for 1400 years. Read about so-called "terrorists" in an excellent blog entry here and "sick followers" of ISIS here, a Mirror report in which I can find no reference whatsoever to Islam or Muslims.

In a recent BBC Newsnight programme the founder of the British Muslim Youth claimed that a Newcastle grooming gang should not be considered 'Muslim' because “These grooming gangs were individuals that were using alcohol, using drugs and actually having ‘sessions’ exploiting these young girls."

The Shadow Equalities Minister Sarah Champion was forced to resign after an article in the Sun in which she wrote "Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls". She subsequently "apologise for the offence caused by the extremely poor choice of words in the Sun article" and tendered her resignation as shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities.

Commentators bend over backwards to avoid using Muslim or Islam when reporting on "terrorist" attacks and the seemingly endless problem of what they prefer to call 'men of Asian origin' grooming predominantly white girls for sex, thus condemning whole communities through political correctness.

Unless the authorities grasp the nettle and admit that Islam presents a problem by constantly referring to it as a religion of peace despite all the evidence to the contrary we risk ever more atrocities and exploitation of vulnerable girls.

Update

Daily Star - Knifeman 'shouting ALLAHU AKBAR' stabs eight people in Finland and leaves two dead
"Witnesses said he shouted 'Allahu Akbar' which means 'God is great' as he stabbed eight people in Market Square, leaving two dead and six injured."

Again there is no mention of Muslims or Islam. Why?

Archbishop of Wales

The bishops of St Davids, St Asaph, Llandaff, Swansea & Brecon, Bangor and Monmouth                                                              Source: Church in Wales

One of the bishops in this lineup is destined to become the next Archbishop of Wales when the Electoral College meets in Llandrindod Wells between 5 and 7 September. Many think it a ludicrous title when a mere 0.9% of the population regularly attends Anglican services in Wales but it affords its occupier a dignity and status to be milked for all its worth based on the example of the previous office holder.

Given Archbishop Barry Morgan's slavish adherence to the reckless policies of the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, I am surprised that he has not suggested that 'Presiding Bishop' would be a more apt title. 

Nevertheless, under the Church in Wales Constitution one of the six diocesan bishops is elected Archbishop but not necessarily the one with the biggest hat unless it proves to be Buggins' turn.

Subsequent elections could be a different matter if the bishops ever decide to progress Section 15 of the 2012 Harris Report (Dioceses: their number and administration) as eagerly as they have attacked the parish system to introduce Ministry Areas:

"The present number and shape of dioceses may not be ideal. If we were starting again we would have three. However, the present number and configuration works and we think that the Church should continue, at least for the next four years, with the present six dioceses. ... These recommendations should be reviewed after three years, with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of the change." 

If there were only three bishops to choose from, the first female Archbishop in Wales would be more likely - or even earlier! Could it be an omen that the latest addition to the bench also carries a crosier?

If it is not to be Buggins' turn I guess there will be another episcopal vacancy next year, possibly two as I also hear that a bishop up North is seeking to escape to England. More women bishops leading to less members on current trends.

After the Llandaff Electoral College farce when the JJ appreciation society attempted to direct proceedings, I hear that lay members of the new College have hatched a nomination plan that would silence the bishops by requiring them to absent themselves from the process before voting.

The former Archbishop launched a review of the role and responsibilities of the "the demanding role", which involves "duties within the church and nationally", mainly of his own making as he carried out his personal, liberal agenda to secularise the Church in Wales.

Whatever the result, the new Archbishop would do well to concentrate on advancing the Kingdom of Heaven instead of an agenda which has resulted in a much reduced membership of 29,000 in the Anglican Church in Wales and falling at a rate of 5% a year out of a population of 3 million souls. A demanding role indeed.

What a gay day

Source: Twitter

The Gathering is "a safe place for the LGBT+ community in Cardiff to explore the Christian faith". They meet in the "Upper Room" every Sunday evening at the City United Reformed Church in Cardiff.

Added to the list of LGBT highjacking of the rainbow, pride, gay and, more recently, love, it is no surprise to see the Upper Room with its biblical connotations figuring prominently in the latest LGBT+ affirmation by the Church in Wales. A marked contrast with the constant claims of persecution and allegations of not being welcome in the church.

I cannot be alone in having gay friends and acquaintances whom I have met solely through the  church. All are equally appalled at the current media intrusion into their lives.

The music hall humour of  What a gay day Larry Grayson in 'Shut that Door' and the like has become open that door with the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales, the so-called 'best person to be a bishop' eager for the LGBT limelight.

What a gay day it promises to be. If the bishops had spent as much time and effort on retaining disillusioned Anglicans as they have promoting LGBTQI+ they would not have to scour the margins to recruit people who prefer to put their own interpretation on the Bible to support their cause.

The BBC’s attack on gender puts children at risk

From Coalition for Marriage:

Dear marriage supporter,

It is an ill society which chooses to confuse and worry children in order to appease adults with an extreme agenda. Sadly, our national broadcaster continues to do just this.

This coming Wednesday, August 16th, BBC2 will screen a documentary titled No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?

In the programme, Dr Javid Abdelmoneim sets out to prove that there are no significant physical or psychological differences between young boys and girls.

To this end a classroom of seven-year-olds is subjected to an experiment in which books with characters “squarely aimed at boys” are thrown away, distinct male and female toilets abolished, and a male make-up artist is brought in to persuade boys to aim for less masculine careers.

Girls vulnerable

The children themselves are horrified at having to share lavatories, with Dr Abdelmoneim admitting that girls feel particularly uncomfortable as a result of the new arrangement.

This is the latest in a series of programmes by the BBC which appear determined to promote transgenderism as a positive, natural development in children.

Last week the Victoria Derbyshire programme renewed its coverage of two pre-pubescent children living as members of the opposite gender.

A nine-year-old boy who uses the name ‘Lily’ is featured along with his friend ‘Jessica’ who is a ten-year-old boy, and ‘Jessica’s’ step-mother who has decided to live as a member of the opposite sex named ‘Alex’.

BBC bias

The BBC’s persistent undermining of children’s natural genders is deeply upsetting for parents and children, as is the claim that gender is a question of feelings and not biology. Without an ability to meaningfully distinguish between man and woman, traditional marriage is greatly undermined.

Under section 6 of its charter, the BBC is required to “provide impartial news and information”. Its editorial guidelines also say:

“When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active. Opinion should be clearly distinguished from fact.”

Raising pre-pubescent children to have no gender or to believe that they are members of the opposite sex is clearly controversial but there is no discernible effort to balance any of the Corporation’s output on the subject.

We believe the BBC’s decision to dispense with editorial impartiality on this issue is a breach of its legal duty. In the coming weeks, the Coalition for Marriage will continue to do all that it can to push the Corporation to demonstrate the balance and neutrality required of it by law.

ENDS

From the Mirror:

Star-Cloud being raised as gender fluid                   Source Mirror/Mark Pinder

Family where mum is daddy, dad is mummy and son, 4, is being raised as gender neutral

Star Cloud's mum is Louise, who was born a man but is transitioning to become a woman, while dad is pansexual Nikki, born a woman but who dresses some days as male. 

Parents Louise and Nikki Draven are raising Britain’s first gender-fluid family, bringing up their four-year-old son Star Cloud to “not get hung up” on being a boy.

Star’s mum is Louise, who was born a man but having hormone treatment ready to fully transition to a woman. Dad is pansexual Nikki, born a woman but who dresses some days as male and some as female.

Nikki, 30, says: “Neither of us gets hung up on the gender we were born as. “We don’t want our child constrained by that either. We’re just an ordinary family being who we want to be.”

Star is being brought up as gender neutral – told by his parents he is “a person” rather than “a boy”. He is free to wear make-up, paint his nails, pick out boys’ or girls’ clothes and play with dolls.

He will go to school for the first time in September wearing a boy’s uniform – but with pink vest and socks that he has chosen for the occasion.

And the youngster himself says he might grow up to be a man or a woman. But Nikki and Louise’s approach is likely to spark a national debate – on whether the urge not to force his birth gender on Star is projecting their own issues, denying him his true identity.

 Full story here.