Easter 2019

The Resurrection of Christ, Tintoretto

Wishing all a Happy and Blessed Easter

Easter message

Bishop's Pride involvement 'fantastic'                                                                              Source: BBC

From the bishop of St Davids' Easter message:

 "Many of us this year will have lived through pain and suffering that we did not

choose and could hardly bear, knowing that God walks with us, but also hardly

knowing how that is supposed to help. Holy Week, Good Friday and Holy

Saturday remind us that we are called to endure." 

How true. Not just this year but every year since women were ordained in the Church in Wales.

Orthodox Anglicans did not choose to be cut off from their Church but Barry Morgan and his band led by his embittered Archdeacon Peggy Jackson saw to that.   

Each year absence from the Triduum reminds us most strongly of what we have to endure for our faith. 

The bishops welcome all manner of allegedly persecuted minorities while rejecting Anglicans who remain faithful to the orthodox teachings of the Church. The 'inclusive' church has no time for orthodoxy.

No doubt there will be further dollops of hypocrisy from other bishops.

As the Archbishop of Wales told anyone who was prepared to listen at the Swansea and Brecon Chrism Mass: "Because one act of compassion, one act of gentleness, of kindness, of mercy, of forgiveness, of love, from one person to another, changes someone’s life. And if someone’s life is changed then, as imperceptibly as it may be, the world is changed for the better.”

There is no sign of life changing compassion for abandoned Anglicans.

In Monmouth the bishop is still absent. For Holy Week and Easter they have instead a guest preacher, the 'married' gay priest, the Revd Canon Jeremy Davies, former Precentor of Salisbury Cathedral, the old stomping ground of the bishop of Llandaff June Osborne.

It is more of the same and not just for Easter!

Notre Dame Cathedral

Smoke billows as fire engulfs the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris   Source: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Lord have mercy.

Postscript [17.04.2019]

 “Interpreting the great fire of Notre Dame.”
Gavin Ashenden in conversation with Rodney Hearth. http://a1r.tv/videos/view/19124

Double standards

The thought police are having a field day.

From renowned philosopher to star Australian rugby player, alleged statements and views that do not correspond to 'correct' thinking spell trouble from people who believe they have the right to tell us what to think.

The BBC reported that Conservative academic Sir Roger Scruton had been sacked as head of a government housing body following comments in an interview with the New Statesman in which he referred to  Islam, China and George Soros.

Downing Street said, presumably without checking, that the comments were "deeply offensive".

Claiming that Scruton had been misreported, Adrian Hilton, AKA Archbishop Cranmer, tweeted: In an educational context, any academic supervisor would consider this a serious breach of ethical standards, and would fail him. To manipulate a quotation in order to fabricate an interpretation which inflicts harm on the interviewee is devoid of morality and integrity.

This is unethical journalism. You can't interview someone and then edit their comments so that readers will infer racism, when clearly Roger Scruton was referring to the generational replication of communist ideology.

Sir Roger has written An apology for thinking in The Spectator.


The Independent reported that Israel Folau is to be sacked by Rugby Australia after refusing to respond to attempts to contact him following his "homophobic and hateful" social media outburst, ruling him out of this year’s Rugby World Cup.

According to the Mirror England rugby star Billy Vunipola could also face disciplinary action from the RFU for refusing to unlike an Instagram post published by Israel Folau. "Rugby is an inclusive sport and we do not support these views" the RFU said in a statement.

That is, selectively inclusive. As in new Anglicanism, orthodoxy is excluded.

Many people of Polynesian heritage take their religion seriously. Folau is alleged to have said that "hell awaits" homosexuals. That does not make him homophobic and hateful. In communicating his Christian beliefs to others based on his understanding of scripture he is warning others so that they may be saved, as was the Christian street preacher who was arrested for breaching the peace because he was being "islamophobic".

One of the errors Sir Roger Scruton was accused of was questioning the definition of Islamophobia. He said he stood by comments he has made in the past that Islamophobia was a "propaganda word invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue".

Robert Spencer claims in Jihad Watch that the term was invented in the 1970s:

"According to the French philosopher Pascal Bruckner, 'At the end of the 1970s, Iranian fundamentalists invented the term ‘Islamophobia’ formed in analogy to ‘xenophobia’. The aim of this word was to declare Islam inviolate. Whoever crosses this border is deemed a racist. This term, which is worthy of totalitarian propaganda, is deliberately unspecific about whether it refers to a religion, a belief system or its faithful adherents around the world'.”

The double standards are plain to see. Christianity is kicked around as a fabrication while Islam has become inviolate.

The video above shows the continuing plight of Christians in Africa. They are being murdered and dispossessed by Muslim Fulani herdsmen in what amounts to a program of ethno-religious cleansing but there is no mention of the atrocities in the mainstream media. By contrast, petrified by accusations of Islamophobia extended coverage of the Christchurch massacre was assured.

Closer to home from a Diocesan press release Llandaff is to hold 'A day to explore spirituality and prayer' in a joint event with their neighbouring Monmouth Diocese.

One of the highlights, will be the opportunity to "learn about spirituality and prayer in the Islamic traditions" while Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the Cross to save others.

Sadly that has become the norm reducing the opportunities for more people to be saved as Christ Himself commanded.

Postscripts [14.04.2019]

1. The Australian Christian Lobby stands with Israel Folau and supports his right to express his beliefs.

“When a belief is disagreed with, however vehemently, it should be critiqued, not censored. That is how a mature, democratic society works.”

Censoring a belief does not change the fact that it is part of the identity of millions of people. In fact, it will only cause greater conflict and friction over time.”

2. Watch: 'They just turn up at night and kill Christians'

Nigerian priest shares his harrowing experience of persecution.

"They come at night shouting and by sunrise they leave a trail of destruction with dead bodies of women, children and men whose only guilt is their Christian belief."

Postscript [17.04.2019]

Belfast Telegraph - Peter Lynas: Today’s secularism leaves no space for Billy Vunipola... or Ashers

Caption corner 12 April 2019

Bishop of Llandaff June Osborne sharing a moment with Archbishop John Davies      Source: CinW

Publishable captions will appear under Comments.

Where faith doesn't matter

The Spring 2019 issue of Croeso, the Llandaff diocese newsletter, has the 'Diocesan Vision' logo Where Faith Matters splashed across its front cover. 

The reality is different. 

Faith does not matter in Llandaff or in any other diocese in the Church in Wales. 

What matters is toeing the party line. Bishops busy themselves making the Church more relevant to society, principally by championing the LGBT movement and embracing other faiths while excluding orthodox Anglicans who have kept the faith.

In Llandaff the bishop has alienated many by her high-handed managerial style moulded by the marketplace. The mystery of faith is unlikely to be conveyed successfully by a few Power Point presentations. 

Doubts have been raised about her alleged consultations regarding St Teilo's in Cardiff being given over to a church plant experiment. 

Also, it has been widely reported than an elderly priest has been told that if he is not fit enough to join jolly June on her jaunt to Compostela he is not fit to run his parish so he must retire. - Echoes of the bishop of St Davids trying to ditch faithful long serving male clergy!

No wonder that the Church in Wales is sinking fast.

According to the 2011 census nearly one third of people in Wales have no religion, a higher proportion than in Wales and England as a whole. A total of 58% (1.8m) gave Christianity as their belief, a 14% drop since 2001.

Numbers regularly attending Anglican Sunday services in Wales have declined every year since. Down to 0.8% of the population in 2017.

By contrast those in Wales stating in 2011 that they were Muslim was 1.5%,  more than double the 0.7% figure in 2001. 

Helping to encouraging the growth of other faiths at the expense of Christianity, the bench continues to embrace Islam even though Christians are reduced to living under humiliating dhimmi status in Islamic states, many of which continue to allow stoning of homosexuals and adulterers under strict sharia law.

Faith matters, particularly among Anglicans who are unable in conscience to accept the sacramental ministry of women in common with the overwhelming majority of Christians but their faith has been cast aside while favouring others and none.

Peace Mala. The Archbishop of Wales with supporters @StDavidsNeath.                                                                                     Source: Twitter @WelshMuslims

Update [07.04.2019]

From Christian today: Brunei's draconian new laws don't just affect gay people, Christians are at risk too.

Protests have been held outside the Dorchester in London over Brunei's new gay stoning laws. Some Christians are wondering why there isn't more outcry about the threat of death to the country's Christian community.

Despite the focus of media attention on the threat to LGBT people, the laws also affect the Christian community, with conversion from Islam and insulting the Prophet Muhammad both carrying the death penalty.

"The newest and third phase of the law is difficult news for Christian converts who are expected to have to go into deeper hiding," said Open Doors USA. 

The first phase, which rolled out five years ago, already curtailed the freedoms of Christians and other faiths by making it a crime to "persuade, tell or encourage" Muslim children under the age of 18 "to accept the teachings of religions other than Islam".  Anyone who does so risks being fined or imprisoned.

Around two thirds of the population are Muslim and the Islamic faith is strictly enforced.  In 2015, the Sultan of Brunei cancelled Christmas celebrations.

Tomas Muller, a persecution analyst for Open Doors' World Watch Research unit, said converts stand to be particularly badly affected by the latest changes to the law, with risks including separation from spouses and children, or forced divorce.

"It is to be expected that not only society will change—depending on what exactly will be considered as 'anti-Islam' –but also that the country's Christian converts will be forced to hide their faith even more carefully," he said. 

Postscript [08.04.2019]

In a Provincial press release the Archbishop of Wales has condemned as "barbaric" the laws recently enacted in Brunei, as the result of which those who are in same-sex relationships and those who renounce Islam face severe penalties.

There is no suggestion that his Muslim friends joined the archbishop in his condemnation after the Church in Wales in common with all people of faith and goodwill  reached out in friendship and solidarity with Muslims after the attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Feminizing St Davids diocese clergy

Farmer priest relaxes on the silage                                                                 Source: Farmers Weekly

From a St Davids Cathedral tweet: "Congratulations to Canon Eileen Davies, Archdeacon designate of Cardigan in succession to The Ven Dr Will Strange who retires in May. Canon Davies will be installed and collated here in June."

Diocesan Rural Life Adviser and 'farmer priest', Eileen Davies was interviewed for BBC News in 2013 as the Church in Wales prepared to vote on women bishops.

If God calls a woman to be a bishop she said, "therefore the Church in Wales should not actually put a stumbling block there and say sorry you cannot because of the various reasons that the Representative Body of the Church in Wales  might put forward" !

It is not clear whether she thought Barry Morgan was God or his agent when he shoehorned Joanna Penberthy into St Davids to be the first woman bishop in the Church in Wales. 

Claiming to have heard God's calling herself, Canon Davies said it was important that the Church in Wales was prepared to look forward.

"We have many new ideas upon our agenda now. As a Church in Wales we have various new strategies that are now being proposed to move the Church forward. And to be able to move the church forward also we should lead the way as a Church in Wales to offer the opportunity for women to become bishops."

Women bishops have  proved to be an utter disaster. 'Moving the church forward' proved to be driving forward the LGBT agenda towards same sex marriage in church. New ideas have included misandry, deception and profligacy with a fixation on gender parity. 

Being unable to distinguish between forwards and backwards are obvious assets in the eyes of 'the best person to be a bishop'. With such callings perhaps we are to assume that God has a sense of humour.

Today is 1st April but this is no joke.