"A noble task"

The bishops of the Church in Wales, Llandudno 2012

‘The saying is sure: If any one aspires to the office of bishop, he  desires a noble task.’  I  Timothy 3

In his Theology Wales paper 'A Noble Task' Bishop David Thomas reflected on his experience of ministry as Provincial Assistant Bishop and how this might change if the episcopate in Wales were opened to women.

Bishop David died suddenly last week in the knowledge that the first woman bishop had been enthroned in St Davids and the imported bishop-designate of Llandaff is to be consecrated in Brecon Cathedral next month. Neither of the women bishops is a Welsh speaker, a language dear to David's heart.

One can imagine the pain and the hurt felt by this faithful priest, bishop and pastor as his noble task was pushed aside to make the Church more relevant to society, principally byprioritising sexual minorities and gender issues.

Bishop David's paper makes interesting reading in retrospect. Listed alongside it on the Church in Wales site are back papers including one by the Rev’d Joanna Penberthy, now bishop of St Davids, 'Learn from the past and build for the future', illustrating just how much theology has been replaced by politics in the Church in Wales.

It remains to be seen if loyal Anglicans who have been encouraged against the odds to 'Be joyful and keep the faith' can any longer survive in the Church in Wales. There has been a deathly silence since the Credo Cymru 'Conference to Preserve the Breadth of Anglicanism in Wales'. The divisive 'Code of Practice in relation to the Ministry of Bishops following the Canon to enable the Ordination of Women as Bishops' has yet to be tested.

This will be the ultimate test of sincerity by a bench of bishops who "unanimously committed to securing a continuing place in the life of the  Church for those who cannot in conscience accept the new situation created by  the ordination of women to the priesthood." For others it is already over.

"People sometimes ask me how I imagine my ministry as PAB might change in the event of women being admitted to the episcopate in the Church in Wales. The only honest answer I can give is that it would not change; it would be over."  - 'A Noble Task'.

David Thomas RIP

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Who cares?

From the BBC video 'Do you remember that, mum?'

A recent BBC report 'Do you remember that, mum?' explained how the condition of dementia sufferer Andriani, who was last seen in 2014, had deteriorated rapidly while the costs to care for her rise.

The report explains why the son fears for his mother's future care. He explained that he would like to be able to say that the system is broken so potentially it could be fixed but having seen it from the inside he said "I don't think we have a system at all". Sadly that is the experience of most people who have had the misfortune to be involved. They are desperate to see a fully funded, workable system.

Care should not be a lottery but it is. If you have cancer much if not all of your treatment will be paid for. If you have dementia, hard luck. You are often on your own. The effects can be devastating but who cares?

On the face of it, raising the assets limit to £100,000 from £23,250 in England may appear "reasonable" but it is not. Read whyhere and here. The fate of someone who has lovingly cared for his/her parent at home when the parent dies and the family home has to be sold to settle the care account is an added burden. "As soon as my mum dies, will the council come for its money? Will I be homeless?" asked one carer.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the "complex new system" outlined in the Conservative party’s manifesto, which would force more elderly people to pay for their own care, “makes no attempt to deal with the fundamental challenge of social care funding”. This warning isbacked up by the economist Sir Andrew Dilnot who reviewed social care for the coalition government in 2011.

Accusations that the Tories were imposing a 'dementia' tax and a 'death' tax prompted a swift clarification that there would be a limit on the costs carers would be expected to pay but that would have to wait for a green paper consultation. The Prime Minister said “I want to make a further point clear. This manifesto says that we will come forward with a consultation paper, a government green paper. And that consultation will include an absolute limit on the amount people have to pay for their care costs.”

Under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government we were told that "people will see health and social care fully joined-up by 2018...Co-ordination would see better care and support, fewer people falling through the cracks and a drop in patients needlessly stuck in hospitals." Some hope!

Getting bed-blocking patients out of hospitals into domiciliary care was seen as a priority but with the UK home care industry on the brink of collapse there is a grave danger that any action will be too little too late. As one care provider said in a BBC interview, he doesn't have to advertise for customers but he has to advertise for staff. There is a recruitment crisis due to competition from hospitals and supermarkets.

Carers are severely undervalued. They should be properly rewarded but funding has been squeezed to such an extent that many existing carers are leaving for less demanding work. This is an extra burden for providers who have to train their staff at considerable expense only to find that they leave for a hospital job on regular hours. The Labour party has made much of zero-hours contracts, now the subject of Governmentreview, but it is the flexibility of not having fixed hours that enables carers to meet the needs of those they care for.

The situation gets worse by the day. It could be you next, it could be me but who cares? That is the question. The right answer is needed urgently before the system collapses completely.

Postscript [27.05.2017]

Number of pensioners needing care set to rise by one quarter: Lancet

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That it should come to this

The Diocese of Bangor’s new LGBT+ Chaplaincy Team.                                                                                Source: Twitter

Following in the footsteps of the diocese of St Asaph with theirLGBTQIA+ Chaplaincy, the diocese of Bangor has launched its own LBGT+ Chaplaincy for people who consider themselves to be members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual community.

Its Chaplain the Rev?D Dominic McClean said, "In an ideal world a Chaplaincy such as this would not be necessary. But the LGBT Christian community is one that needs affirming within our Church. So this Chaplaincy will offer a safe and sacred place where LGBT people can be themselves as they worship and express their love for God and Jesusdanquot;.

What world do these people live in? The joke in Llandaff is that a straight chaplaincy is needed!

The only minority in the Church in Wales who cannot be themselves as they worship and express their love for God and Jesus are those who in conscience follow the traditional teaching of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Still no safe and sacred place for them.

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Forward to the past

Jeremy Corbyn with Len McCluskey at the bi-annual Unite policy conference in July.

Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images/Guardian

"FOR THE MANY NOT THE FEW" !

There is an odd irony in the Labour Party's election manifesto slogan 'For the many not the few'.

The intended meaning is continually backed up in speeches by the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, but the slogan is more aspirational than realistic.

In voting terms 'the many' voters have little time for 'the few' party members who are driving the agenda with no apparent understanding that without power they can achieve nothing, thus leaving 'the many' as they were.

The fact that dyed in the wool party supporters who would never have dreamed of voting Tory are regularly telling reporters that they would rather vote for Theresa May than for Jeremy Corbyn appears to be a total irrelevance to them giving the impression of trade union conference where sectional interests are all.

The man pulling the strings is Len McClusky, General Secretary of Unite and a former Militant sympathiser. Wind forward from 1985 to 2017 and Momentum now holds sway so forward to the past.

Time for another Kinnock?

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Limited view!

David Davies (centre) has challenged Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan (left) and Archbishop

 of Canterbury Justin Welby (right) over their stance on refugees and people entering the UK

Wales Online today carries a report: 'This MP says the Archbishops of Canterbury and Wales are wrong about how to approach the refugee crisis'.

Monmouth MP David Davies said the Government is following the example of the Good Samaritan by caring for people in the 'nearest place of safety' and that if the archbishops listened to their “rapidly diminishing flocks” they would learn that people “want to help genuine refugees” but are “deeply concerned” about the implications of an “open door immigration policy”.

Mr Davies added, “Thousands of the most vulnerable will be rehoused in the UK. Yet nothing will be enough for campaigning clerics who contrast our policy unfavourably with that of the good Samaritan.

He suggested that they “should re-read the parable: When the Samaritan came across the Jew on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho he didn’t take him on to Samaria, instead, he paid for him to be looked after in the inn – the nearest place of safety just as we are doing today throughout the Middle East in our refugee shelters.”

A Church in Wales spokeswoman said: “We warmly welcome Mr Davies, and anyone else with a limited view of the scope of the ministry and concerns of the Church in Wales and the faith on which it is based, to join us and find out more. Our clergy serve every community in Wales.”

"Limited view"! As ever the Church in Wales exhibits no sense of proportion.

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Welby's Muslim charm offensive

Click here for Archbishop Welby's understanding of Islam, a faith which denies that Jesus died on the cross, a faith that has no time for unbelievers in its political ideology, a political system which is explainedhere in a 5 minute video for those prepared naively to accept claims that Islam is a religion of peace.

Justin Welby says, "We can show the world around us that it is possible to differ and yet to support and care for one another very, very profoundly. That is particularly important for me and has been growingly so over the last few years when it comes to the unacceptable expression of Islamophobia which is totally against what anyone who professes to have their own faith should do."

The Archbishop then gives his blessing: "May God bless you and protect you as you dedicate yourselves to this time of fasting and discipline. I wish you a very good Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem."

On the same day, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: 'We mourn, we lament, we cry out for the injured and bereaved in Manchester' here. He fails to see the connection. Some leaders, political and religious, would have us believe that such attacks are our own fault, that Western foreign policy is to blame but Islam needs no such excuses.

I find Welby's comment about Islamophobia particularly offensive. It is a word conjured up to avoid any critical assessment of a supremacist ideology. There is nothing irrational in fearing such an ideology which has spread its influence through conquest for 1400 years. Accusations of Islamophobia also serve to obscure the fact as Alexander Boot put it in his blogMassacre, Manchester, Muslims that "Over 300 verses in the Koran explicitly call for murdering infidels, specifically Christians and Jews".

Regardless of all the evidence to the contrary, Islam is being affirmed by the leader of the Anglican Communion as a great religion on an equal basis with Christianity which Islam is fighting to eliminate as illustrated by the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt, a pattern beingrepeated in many other Muslim majority countries.

How can that be? Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  He warned us about false prophets, "They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Welby is not alone in his charm offensive. See Manchester chief of police posing after bomb attack with the Koran which legitimised the killing. Of course there are many Muslims who would not act as soldiers of Islam but there are many who are prepared to die for their religion and take innocent people with them.

The way to defeat Islam is not by affirming it but to confront the ideology that drives followers to present the ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death. The Great Commission is the key.

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Corbyn the crass

In advance of Jeremy Corbyn's keynote electionspeech in which he linked the Manchester bombing to British foreign policy, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke last night explained the threat posed by Islam in terms which even Mr Corbyn should be able to understand. Sadly he and many others refuse to listen or choose to believe what they are told unaware that lying is a weapon being used as part of the deceptive claim that Islam is a religion of peace.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary it wasclaimed that the Manchester bomber "was a terrorist, not a Muslim". Muslim leaders in Manchester reported a rise in Islamophobic incidents. This has become a regular pattern after such incidents.

What foreign policy in Egypt was responsible for the latestatrocity in which a bus carrying Christians was blocked by three vehicles before militants opened fire? At least 26 Coptic Christians were killed and dozens injured including children.

It is often claimed, as Corbyn does, that the presence of Westerners in Muslim lands leads to terrorist attacks. These attacks have been going on for 1400 years. The so called 'Muslim lands' were home to Christians long before Islam came on the scene. Many Christian communities are being wiped out and face extinction within ten years. That is the reality.

Lands that have not been conquered by force are now subject to occupation by stealth with immigration and high birth rates. Read Maybe It’s Time For Some Reverse Creeping Sharia .

We do not need to look for excuses such as poverty and marginalisation, or whether the perpetrator was mentally unstable. No rational person would blow up him/herself with others in the expectation of a reward in paradise. Why would God want an ignorant savage to destroy what He had created?

Not all terrorists are Muslim, not all Muslims are terrorists but authority can be found in Islamic ideology to permit such acts of violence against Jews and Christians. It is that ideology that needs to be challenged without complaints of Islamophobia.

Update [27.05.2017]

From "Islamist Ideology, not Western Foreign Policy, is why ISIS Attack Us"

"We hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the oneness of Allah ? And you indulge in all manner of devilish practices. ? Furthermore, just as your disbelief is the primary reason we hate you, your disbelief is the primary reason we fight you, as we have been commanded to fight the disbelievers until they submit to the authority of Islam, either by becoming Muslims, or by ? Living in humiliation under the rule of the Muslims. ? We hate you because your secular, liberal societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited ?"

Full article here .

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London Mayor says it as it isn't

[Note: This video has been replaced by a still because I was

 unable  to switch off the auto play. Text below - AB]

In a video clip published by the Independent the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said, "There can be no justification for the acts of these terrorists and I am quite clear that we will never let them win."

These "terrorists" informed their innocent victims of their justification when they shouted "this is for Allah" as their victims' throats were cut. I would expect the Mayor of London to be aware that these Muslims are simply following the example of their Prophet according to instructions in the Koran. If he doesn't know that he should.

Given that peaceful Islam was abrogated with clear instructions on how to attack the infidel, one has to ask oneself whether the majority of  Muslims really understand their ideology or whether they choose to ignore it.

Why would anyone want to follow a religious ideology which prescribes death to unbelievers and apostates other than through fear? More to the point why would anyone want to make excuses which do let them win.

Postscript [05.06.2017]

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has added,

"I'm angry, and I'm furious that these three men are seeking to justify their actions by using the faith that I belong to.

"The ideology they follow is perverse, and is poisonous and it has no place in Islam.

"I condemn this terrorist act but also the poisonous ideology these men and others follow."

How can he say that when the "ideology" is Islam? It is in the Koran for anybody to read.

A similar argument has been presented by the newly elected mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham who claimed that the Manchester suicide bomber who killed 22 was a terrorist, not a Muslim.

As a former UK Islamist Leader says: ‘Stop Pretending Violence Has Nothing to Do With Islam’.

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Is the Anglican Church Going Completely Mad?

Susan Musgrove, centre, with, left, Rev Cecilia Eggleston, Paster of the Metropolitan Community

 Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Rev David Hewlett, Vicar of Corbridge, before the start of the

Affirmation service for Susan at St Andrew?S Church, Corbridge, Northumberland. Source: Guardian

"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

For years Galatians has been (ab)used by liberals in the Anglican church to justify just about every departure from Scripture starting with the ordination of women. Now that sameness has been exhausted, difference is back on the agenda.

After he was approached by a young transgender person seeking to be ?Re-baptised? In his new identity, the vicar of Lancaster Priory has proposed a motion to the General Synod to debate plans to introduce a ceremony "akin to a baptism" to mark the new identities of Christians who undergo gender transition.

These are the preparatory words used in the Church of England's Baptismservice:

Our Lord Jesus Christ has told us

that to enter the kingdom of heaven

we must be born again of water and the Spirit,

and has given us baptism as the sign and seal of this new birth.

Here we are washed by the Holy Spirit and made clean.

Here we are clothed with Christ,

dying to sin that we may live his risen life.

As children of God, we have a new dignity

and God calls us to fullness of life.

The vicar could have replied that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism cannot be repeated. What does he hope to achieve by embroiling Synod in yet moreturmoil?

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Fellow Christians Say Thank You Bishop David

Today family and friends gathered in the Priory Church of St Mary Abergavenny to express their gratitude for the sacramental ministry and pastoral care of Bishop David Thomas who died suddenly on 11 May.

There were many old faces to be seen, my own among them, including bishops, priests, deacons and laity in a beautiful Funeral Mass presided over by the Right Reverend Jonathan Goodall, Bishop of Ebbsfleet.

At Rosemary's invitation six priests concelebrated due to their particularly close association with Bishop David: The Rev Canons Hugh Jones, Richard Harper, Jeffrey Gainer, Keith Evans, Mark Soady and the Rev Nicholas Barry. A splendid, no holds barred eulogy was delivered by Bishop David's daughter, Mrs Fliss Barry. His grandchildren Charlotte, Andrew, Olivia, Lewis and Samuel brought the gifts of bread and wine to the altar while the congregation oleh that rousing Welsh hymn Tydi a wnaeth y wyrth , O Grist, Fab Duw.

In a delightfuly apt homily the Rev Canon Peter Jones spoke of Bishop David's pastoral care for clergy in need and of his special relationship with the laity simply as a fellow Christian. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Additional reports here and here.

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Bishop of St Asaph to extend the hand of friendship

The Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, possibly the  next Archbishop.      Sourse: ITV

Traditionalists in the Church in Wales should not get too excited. The Bishop of St Asaph was addressing the need not to befriend 'traditionalist' Anglicans left leaderless in the Church in Wales but so-called 'terrorists' in an ITV discussion on "How we can tackle extremism?"

Observed taking refreshment after the funeral of Bishop David Thomas, the bishop of St Asaph then made time to give his views on matters Muslim rather than attempt with others present to put their own house in order.

The three current Church in Wales diocesan bishops who attended the funeral ignored the family'sinvitation to robe in convocation dress and paraded themselves in cope and mitre in a gesture that once again appeared to be progressives thumbing their noses to traditionalists. Bishop David would not have been surprised given his treatment by Barry and his bench sitters during his time as Provincial Assistant Bishop.

In the ITV discussion, listeners were led to believe that extremism results from Muslims being the victims. No mention of numerousverses in the Koran which command Muslims to kill infidels, Jews and Christians wherever they are found.

True, the hand of friendship should be extended but to draw Muslims to Christ by comparing His message of hope and forgiveness with instructions in the Koran to kill non-believers. However, when he speaks of love and friendship Bishop Gregory should remember that charity begins at home. His message would then carry more force.

"Be joyful and keep the faith!"

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Biblical definition of marriage dropped

The Christian Institute put it bluntly: "The biblical definition of marriage was dropped by the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) at its General Synod meeting in Edinburgh yesterday" in a measure carried by one vote.

From the Church Times: "Tears were shed after the result was announced. Presenting the motion on behalf of the Faith and Order Board, the Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Revd John Armes, said that the proposal had been received with 'joy and sadness' and had led to ?Much conversation? Within the Church."

 Joy and sadness can be seen etched on some of the faces in the BBC news clip. The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth spoke of "equalitydanquot; for gay couples who want to get married in church and for gay priests like himself. He claimed that "we have been a church that decided to remain together". People who disagreed with him would still have an honoured place in the Church.

If that sounds familiar, we have been here before. The Church in Wales (CinW) rejected the ordination of women in 1994 but after a merciless campaign the measure was brought back and was carried by one vote in the house of clergy in 1996. The measured steps of the feminist campaign continued, pressing their next demand which was for women bishops.

Their pressure succeeded by convincing people that secular values were more important than religious conviction. St Davids was the first diocese in Wales to have a woman bishop while Llandaff diocese has a female bishop-designate who is to be consecrated later this month. Their next demand is for gender parity. Time will tell if there is anyone left to minister to.

The CinW has been allowed to disintegrate as political struggles take priority. Spirituality has been replaced by sexuality and gender issues. Some clergy have escaped to England but others have had to take it or leave it. Many of the laity have decided to leave it, hence the massive decline in attendance figures as illustrated by 'the naked truth'.

Traditionalists in the Church of England (CofE) were assured of an honoured place when Synod voted in favour of women bishops. Since then the feminist lobby, Women and the Church (WATCH) have done all in their power with help from their supporters to ditch the agreement. They are now campaigning for a female deity. Provision for loyal Anglicans in Wales who in conscience could not accept the ordination of women was ditched by Archbishop Barry Morgan when Bishop David Thomas, RIP, retired in 2008.

The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth was honest when he spoke of equality for gay priests like himself. It is all about self at the expense of others. Anyone who does not sign up to the latest fad is regarded as expendable.

By continuing to consider same sex marriage in "shared conversations", the CofE looks likely to follow the lead of the SEC. The bishops of the CinW failed to get the measure through but apologised for past treatment of LGBT people and promised to ensure they are "fully affirmed as equal disciples". LGBTQIA+ nowrules.

Worshippers committed to the traditional catholic faith of the Anglican Church in Britain are being abandoned by career conscious progressives pandering to secular cravings of self indulgence. So what next, in love? Polygamy?

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A Happy Christmas to my Orthodox readers

I need no excuse to indulge myself in the glories of the Russian Orthodox Church but their celebration of Christmas on 7 January is an opportunity too good to miss.

In the above video the congregation, male and female, young and old, rich and poor, are engrossed in the liturgy. There is a sense of spirituality lost in some other churches. Contrast their piety with that of many Anglican congregations in Great Britain today where reverence has been replaced by the familiarity of  'Other Forms of Worship' in which the Altar is no longer the focus of attention.

It is hardly surprising that congregations have dwindled when there is no sense of otherness. We are 'of this world' but losing the other worldliness of mystery and awe exhibited by our Orthodox brothers and sisters is a great loss.

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Decline and fall

Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion Photo: OLI SCARFF

More bad news for the Church of England. "Attendance plunges to record low: Sunday attendance slumps by 22,000 to 765,000 as older worshippers die and Archbishop of Canterbury warns of struggle in ‘anti-Christian culture’".

Ironically much of the anti-Christian culture will be seen by the majority of the world's 80 million Anglicans as of the church's own making in liberal leaning provinces.

But there is another twist in a story which continues to dominate the media.Yesterday half the BBC's 10 o'clock news bulletin and the whole of Newsnight (I presume as I switched it off) was devoted to the death of David Bowie,"the creative force who changed Britain" as the BBC's Home Editor, Mark Easton, put it.

He wrote: "My parents' generation are puzzled by Bowie-mania, and there is another group of thirtysomethings who remain rather baffled by the attention devoted to his passing". That includes me, not as one of the 'thirtysomethings' but of his parents' generation who will have noted his death rather than his passing which is more reminiscent of driving tests.

Easton continued: " Britain has become far more tolerant of difference. And David Bowie helped us reach that place.....Would gay rights, gender equality legislation or same-sex marriage have enjoyed the broad support they do today without Bowie's androgynous challenge all those years ago? I suspect not. He gave space to oddity… and made it cool".

Gay rights and gender equality have become so skewed that what was tolerance has become intolerance and anyone retaining a sense of balance is condemned as being out of touch. It is not cool. It is a disaster.

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Christian today but what of tomorrow?

"Christianity is being quietly erased from public life. What are we going to do about it?" Good question but very little where it matters, if anything. The question was posed in Christian Today:

"A strange and troubling paradox is now glaringly evident in society today. On the one hand the UK Government is praising and giving funding to Christian initiatives in communities and recognising the rich contribution the church makes to national life. On the other it is proposing measures to tackle extremism that could privatise Christianity. As we enter this New Year, it is clear 2016 will be a critical year for Christian freedoms. This week former Whitehall mandarin William Nye talked of the "secularising spiritdanquot; now permeating the machinery of government. After 20 years of working at the highest level he sees the gradual "squeezing out of Christianity" from our national life despite the public expressions of support from ministers. The chilling effect has been that more and more Christians are afraid to speak out and feel disenfranchised."

If we value our heritage we must do something about it. While Christianity is being marginalised, Islam continues to gain ground. From Patheos:

"Christians may be the most persecuted class in the world, and their persecution is on the rise. As Islamic extremism takes hold and repressive governments step up their campaigns against Christianity, the Pope has been moved to warn of ?A form of genocide?, and for campaigners to speak out over ?Religio-ethnic cleansing.? Organisations that monitor religious persecution have rung alarm bells worldwide, from South America to sub-Saharan Africa and from Asia to the Middle East, warning of a rapid increase in attacks and repressiondanquot;.

Despite the welldocumented evidence of how Muslims oppress others in Islamic countries, do-gooders with no apparent comprehension of the threat of an IslamicSupremacist ideology press for more and more concessions for Islam. The latest from the Mail Online: "Sit exams early to fit in with Ramadan: Pupils taking GCSEs and A-levels face timetable shake-up to accommodate fasting Muslims". Quite a contrast with the option offered to Christians in many Muslim countries - convert, pay the tax or die.

In Belfast, "Following yesterday’s ruling which found Pastor James McConnell not guilty of a “hate crime” for referring to Islam as “heathen” and “satanic”, the Belfast Islamic Centre, which reported the pastor to the police, has said that they “disagree with the verdict”. The Islamic Centre is calling for a blasphemy law in Northern Ireland, by demanding that “insulting” a faith be punishable under Irish law. However, shortly after the ‘Satanic Islam’ sermon, Dr. Raied al-Wazzan, the executive director of Belfast Islamic Centre, made remarks that were not only insulting to some Christians, but appeared to support a banned terrorist organisation."

In Birmingham a former teacher at two schools linked to the Trojan Horse scandal could face a lifetime ban from the classroom after he told pupils that Christians and Jews were 'ignorant' and Muslims have 'the true religion'.

This is a Christian country but for how long? Christian belief is that there is only one way to the Father. The Bible warns about false prophets but still many of our bishops and even archbishops encourage the spread of Islam instead of seeking tomake disciples of all nations. Encouraging other faiths denies them the real truth. Meanwhile, Christians in the United Kingdom are facing increasing marginalization and oppression under new laws originally intended to safeguard equality. The position abroad is worse, serving as a warning to those who condemn as Islamophobic anyone who seeks the truth about Islam.

If we do not stand up for what we believe our children and grand children will become part of the Dhimmitude as Islam expands and Christianity becomes a minority religion in the UK. Leaders who persist in regarding Islam as just another faith similar to others have had a rude awakening following the terrorist attacks in France by supposed refugees and the more recent attacks on women inGermany on New Year's Eve but bishops still persist with their deluded embrace of an alien culture which seeks our demise. They may believe that they are following the Gospel but Jesus gave short shrift to those who deserved condemnation.

'Refugees' or 'migrants', the vast majority of immigrants are Muslim. They do not leave their ideology behind. Christians in refugee camps who have not fled the persecution there continue tosuffer at the hands of Muslim refugees while others who have sought safety by sea have been thrown overboard.

There is no escape from an ideology which regards the kafir as worthless while Muslims try to buy their way to heaven doing what they believe to be the will of God, even if it means killing the innocent, something our political as well as religious leaders need to grasp.

The best Archbishop we never had, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, summed up the problem of convincing the ill-informed when heresponded to Boris Johnson's claim that "we should counter anti-Islamic scare-mongering by recalling our debt to the culture of Muslim Spain". Bishop Michael said: Boris Johnson points out the achievements of Muslim rule after their conquest of the mostly Christian and Jewish Middle East, North Africa and Spain (Comment,3 January). In fact, if they had not been stopped at Tours by Charles Martel, Mr Johnson might have had a more direct experience of such rule. [My emphasis - Ed.]. Read Bishop Michael's full responsehere and about the Battle of Tours (732 AD)here:

"Had Martel fallen at Tours the long term implications for European Christianity may have been devastating. His victory there, and in the following campaigns, may have literally saved Europe and Christianity as we know it, from conquest while the Caliphate was unified and able to mount such a conquest." - And today they are invited in to spread their supremacist ideology!

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Enough is enough (2)

Ugandans take part in an anti-gay protest in Kampala. The Church of Uganda has been

prominent in the Anglican realignment movement. Source: Independent AFP/Getty

From Christian Today:

Church must repent of 'second group' treatment of gays, Anglican leaders warn Primates:

More than 100 Anglicans including the Dean of St Paul's have written a letter to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, urging repentance for "second group citizens" treatment of gay people as the leaders of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury today in the hope of avoiding further schism of the Church.

The cheek of it. Reminiscent of the campaigns for the ordination of women priests and bishops under the 'second group citizen' banner, many commentators who read this blog will find the claim hard to swallow again. Far from being second class citizens gay people are very much in evidence at all levels in the Church in England and Wales and in one diocese very well known to commentators they hold sway.

In myEnough is enough entry on Bonfire Day in 2012 I included a video in which the Bishop of Worcester claimed that if the measure to allow women bishops did not pass it would be a disaster for the Church's mission. Poppycock! Passing the measure was the disaster, aligning the Church of England and Church in Wales with the ultra liberal US Episcopal Church (TEC). Feminism has become entrenched leading to ever more relaxation.

Women priests, women bishops, gay bishops, same-sex relationships and gay marriage have nothing to do with the mission of the Church. It is all about seeking the blessing of the Church to justify personal preference at the expense of Mission .

There are 80 million Anglicans worldwide. The minority who live in Great Britain are no longer representative of the Anglican Communion. If anyone needs to repent it is these self-interested minorities.

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Sour grapes

Ex-Anglican priest and Shadow Cabinet member Chris Bryant, MP, otherwise known as "Captain Underpants" has announced that he is to quit the Anglican Church saying its stance on homosexuality would one day look as wrong as supporting slavery. Given his record it is hard to see that he will be a great loss. He tweeted: "I've finally given up on Anglican church today after its love-empty decision on sexuality. One day it will seem wrong as supporting slavery"!

An odd response since this statement appears in the Primates 2016Communiqu?: "The Primates condemned homophobic prejudice and violence and resolved to work together to offer pastoral care and loving service irrespective of sexual orientation. This conviction arises out of our discipleship of Jesus Christ. The Primates reaffirmed their rejection of criminal sanctions against same-sex attracted people."

As the Guardian put it: "Bryant?S comments came as liberal Anglicans expressed disappointment and anger over an agreement reached in Canterbury on Thursday that penalised the US church for its stance on gay rights and explicitly reaffirmed 'traditional doctrine' on marriage as a union between a man and a womandanquot;.

Bryant was not alone in his condemnation of traditional doctrine. Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church  said: "For many who have felt and been rejected by the church because of who they are, for many who have felt and been rejected by families and communities, our church opening itself in love was a sign of hope. And this will add pain on top of pain."

The vocal LGBT lobby which called for the Church to repent for not agreeing with their liberal rencana would have us believe that they know best, even if it leads to the destruction of the Anglican Church. For once they find themselves on the losing side, experiencing for themselves what they have inflicted on others as they have sought to bend the Church to their secular way of thinking.

Quick to claim a majority when it favours them, the fact that their views represent a tiny minority in the Church is irrelevant to them. Traditionalists have been frequently told that if they don't like new Anglicanism they should leave so perhaps the LGBT agitators should follow Chris Bryant's lead but that would lead to many less clergy.

The LGBT lobby should realise that they have never had it so good and stop agitating unless they want to see Anglicanism in this country follow the fate of the US Episcopal Church, banned from representation on key bodies and barred from voting on issues relating to doctrine or strategy.

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A Tonic

A tonic for the weekend against the miseries that new Anglicanism has afflicted upon the faithful.

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Peace, perfect peace

The Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol, Bangor. Source Wikipedia

AnEXCLUSIVE from The Sun:

Cathedral, surviving on cash reserves, paying to re-home clerics

"A CHURCH is blowing nearly ?1million to re-home two clerics after they whinged about noisy students. The pair say they are being kept awake at night by revellers from the neighbouring university.

Bangor Cathedral in North Wales has already bought a ?465,000 four-bedroom detached house for Rev Kathy Jones. Now it is looking for a similar property for its Canon, Rev David Fisher."

The Rev Kathy Jones has been appointed as the new Dean of Bangor and Ministry Area Leader of the Bro Deiniol Ministry Area.

The Rev Canon David Fisher was installed as the Canon Precentor of Bangor Cathedral in 2013. His ministry is centred mainly on the liturgy and music of the Cathedral.

In July 2015 it wasreported that Bangor Cathedral choir was to benefit from £30,000 grant which officials hoped would provide a "strong foundation for choral scholars from colleges in the area and Bangor University".

Perhaps they will include in their repertoire the hymn Peace, perfect peace for further reflection.

Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?

The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?

To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?

On Jesus? Bosom naught but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?

In Jesus? Keeping we are safe, and they.

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?

Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?

Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

It is enough: earth?S struggles soon shall cease,

And Jesus call us to Heaven?S perfect peace.

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Victims

Source: BBC/Welsh News Service

Readers who are a little longer in the tooth may recall holidays abroad when a tag was used to obtain services thus removing the need to carry cash. Indeed, in their student days they may even have experienced landlords economising on paint by using a uniform colour, green in the case ofJesus College, Cambridge.

Red has become the symbol of oppression for asylum seekers, something picked up by David Davies MP. No matter that many people in this country would be glad to have a roof over their head and be assured of meals without having to rely on food banks, as increasing numbers of people do in Great Britain today, wristbands it seems have become a sign of oppression despite being fashionable in some quarters and generally obscured from view unless revealed as in the illustration above.

Baroness Cox knows only too well how difficult it has become to retain a sense of proportion regarding British values without someone complaining that they are being victimised as a consequence. The Baroness's Bill which seeks to protect women and challenge the application of sharia law in the UK has been approved by the House of Lords but it needs an MP to sponsor it and steer it through the House of Commons. Baroness Cox has already been accused of being Islamophbic so with parties fighting for votes from minorities the chances of success are not looking good.

So the strategy continues:

• Exploit the “victim” status;
• Use the sympathetic media;
• Confuse and neutralize the churches;
• Slander and stereotype [traditionalist] Christians;
• Bait and switch (hide their true nature); and
• Intimidation.

People are falling over themselves to say what they perceive to be the 'right' thing regardless of the circumstances, seemingly oblivious to what else is going on in the world so here is victim, reminiscent of Rochdale, Cologne, Denmark, etc, reported by the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA).

This poor 17-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan was killed by a group of Muslim men because she spurned their sexual advances after they shouted "How dare you run away from us! Christian girls are only meant for one thing – the pleasure of Muslim men."

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA said the world is ignoring the treatment of Christian women in Pakistan, where an average of two women a day disappear and are raped, sold into sexual slavery, or forced to marry Muslim men.

Not only in Pakistan. Christian Refugees Live in Fear.

It should be clear who the real victims are. What is being done about them?

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Gender fluidity

Source: BBC

In March last year it was reported that there was a shortage of chicken sexers in the UK. The procedure can be read in the BBC report but suffice to say a bump makes the difference. If it has one, it is male.

Generally speaking humans are identified at birth as being either male or female by being with or without the bump which translates into being registered as a boy or a girl. That is not to say that behavioural differences go unnoticed in later life. Indeed many performers have profited by making capital out of contrary behaviour.

Julian and his friend Sandy in 'Around the Horn' on steam radio were the cause of considerable merriment in the 1960s but in retrospect many of us may not have fully understood the full extent of the innuendo, since translated into law. No longer the subject of humour, self-deprecating or otherwise, we are now expected to accept 'gender fluidity', an issue nicely put into perspective by Melanie Philips in The Spectator.

I have no desire to trivialise what may be a serious masalah for a minority of people but gender fluidity is quickly becoming the new in thing after homosexuality under the sponsorship of Her Majesty's Government. In a government backed survey, children as young as 13 are asked to pick from a list of twenty-five genders:

Source: Mail Online

Critics have accused the sponsors of ?Exploiting? Teenagers for political ends. Too right. Following on from the same-sex marriage debacle this smacks of another government campaign biased towards harvesting votes from minorities regardless of the consequences.

To exploit the adult population for political ends was a disgrace but to exploit vulnerable children in the same manner is inexcusable.

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The road to ruin

The Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Peter Broadbent, having a laugh.     Source: The Telegraph

From The Telegraph: Dress-down Sundays: Church considers making clerical dress optional.

"Heavenly hoodies? Church of England takes first step to relaxing clerical dress rules in effort to become more ?Relevant? To 21st Centurydanquot;. Surely they mean irrelevant.

Also, from The Guardian: Church of England members back same-sex marriage. Poll shows for first time more Anglicans supporting gay couples marrying than opposing it, despite leadership’s opposition. "The lowest levels of support for same-sex marriage – 24% – were found among Anglican men over the age of 55, a group that dominates the church leadership." But for how long?

"Jayne Ozanne, a leading gay activist within the C of E, who commissioned the poll from YouGov, said this finding was ?Deeply worrying?. ?Unfortunately, this is exactly the profile of those in the senior positions of power and influence within the church,? She said.

Meanwhile ready to fill the vacuum UK Mosque Open Day is being promoted on social media and lists of participating places of worship are being posted on Facebook "which organisers hope will bring in more young people, among others".

As the Church destroys herself by becoming "relevant to societydanquot; the so called religion of peace is busy spreading its influence. Is it any surprise that "Islam may soon become the most dominant religion in the world, eclipsing Christianitydanquot;. One thing we can be sure of there will be no mention that Christians will have to convert, pay the tax or die (Qur?An 9:29).

Postscript

Poll spun to apply pressure to Church of England on same-sex 'marriage'.

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Too little, too late?

Muslims now make up over 5% of the population of Britain                            Source: The Sun/ Alamy

Great Britain is now home to more than 3 million Muslims for the first time ever with more than half born outside the UK.

In most of Europe and the developed world birth rates are low among native-born women. Among Muslim immigrant populations birth rates are much higher.

While the Prime Minister is trying to convince us that he has achieved a remarkable victory (by watering down his demands) in Europe, the reality is staring us in the face.

Unlike most other immigrants Muslims want domination not integration. There lies the real duduk perkara.

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Poverty + Islamophobia = Radicalisation - allegedly

Senedd Cardiff Bay                                                                                           Credit: Wales Online

"Poverty and Islamophobia are partly to blame for the radicalisation of Muslims in Wales" according to Islam expert, Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray from Cardiff's Islam UK Centre. Welsh Government ministers are so taken in by this ludicrous claim that they are speaking to Muslims in a bid to "tackle extremism and Islamophobia".

The Welsh people have been the butt of jokes for years suffering poverty andbigotry but they do not use poverty and Welshophobia as an excuse to resort to extremism. Why? Because their faith is based on the Christian belief of love and forgiveness, not in an ideology which promises paradise for crimes against the innocent.

According to thePostgraduate Funding web site, the Islam-UK Centre was founded in 2005 and "works towards the promotion of better understanding of Islam and the life of Muslims in Britain". Its activities "address issues which are central to the situation of Muslims" in contemporary Britain. With the help of a "very generous gift to the University", the Jameel Scholarships have been established to enable the very best students to come to Cardiff – those who have the intellect and determination to apply their knowledge "for the benefit of Muslim communities in the UK", and to promote "better understanding of Islam" in wider society.

The promotion of Islam is obvious but 'the better understanding of Islam' is a euphemism for blind acceptance. Islam means submission and obedience. To question any aspect of Islam is deemed Islamophobic. In an earlier entry, 'The road to ruin', I referred to UK Mosque Open Day which was being promoted on social media listing participating places of worship. "Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the mandanquot;!

Cardiff school children at an open day at Dar Ul-Usra Mosque in Cardiff  Source: Wales Online

Muslims like to tell us what we should believe, particularly that Islam is a religion of peace but this is not reflected in the world around us. That most Muslims live peacefully is hardly relevant when their ideology dictates otherwise. Most Germans did not gas Jews and homosexuals but there were sufficient numbers willing to do so. Most Muslims do not behead people because they are not followers of Islam but many do.

In contrast to the fear and repression of Islam, Britons (for now, see previous entry) live in a Christian country with a faith based on the Gospel message: "A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

That can be the only excuse for the Archbishop of Canterbury, joined by the archbishops of Wales, Scotland and Ireland, to accept invitations from Muslim leaders as they seek to convince people that "inter-faith relations in Britain are strong, despite dunia tensions such as IS atrocities and the refugee crisis". Such dialogue serves only to validate a warped ideology which seeks the demise of Christianity.

Shepherds are tasked with protecting their flocks. Instead they flirt with danger. Islam is contrary to the Christian faith. This is clearly illustrated in the Middle East where ISIS is determined to erase all traces of Christianity.

Poverty and the phony charge of Islamophobia are not responsible for radicalisation. Some of the worst atrocities have been perpetrated by highly educated Muslims. Playing the victim and demanding more concessions is the name of the game. The only hope for peace is opening Islam to rigorous debate, not validating the ideology through inter-faith relations. But that is regarded by Muslims as Islamophobia and ministers play along with it!

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"No-one loves the kuffaar"

Cardiff school children at an open day at Dar Ul-Usra Mosque in Cardiff  Source: Wales Online

Amid constant claims of Islamophobia in response to anyone who questions any aspect of Islam the brainwashing continues. FromWales Online: Mosques across Wales open their doors in bid to share a 'positive message' of Islam.

Wind back the clock and an entirely different picture emerges:

Undercover Mosque was not a one off. Read about the followup here. Also about undercover footage here which shows Muslim pupils being taught "religious apartheid". More recently David Cameron's crackdown on 'poisonous' Islamic extremists here. Read also about Britain's "No-Go" Zones here.

If all these reports are wrong a lot of people have a lot of explaining to do but in reality it is a similar story at home and abroad which suggests a constant pattern.

Mosques have opened their doors in a bid to share a 'positive message' of Islam but "It takes two to tango" was the response of a Muslim Councillor after twelve Asian men were jailed for 143 years for gang-raping a 13-year-old white girl. The  Councillor admitted that some in the community still think the child was partly to blame! Full story here. Hardly a positive image.

Despite all the propaganda the real message from Islam is clear, "No-one loves the kuffaar".

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Welby's view

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby                                        Source: Reuters

"In Muslim countries, Archbishop Welby said, ?It is often pointed out to me that only one Muslim country was not colonised by Western powers in the 19th century: Saudi Arabia. By 1920, the world?S principal ruler of Muslims was King George V.? The Archbishop added that western attitudes to the Prophet Mohammed and ?The media perception of the Muslim community? Were ?Often mentioned to me with savage and bitter anger?."

Perhaps if Muslims had confined their activities to Saudi Arabia instead of seeking to convert mankind to Islam the world would not have been fighting against colonisation for 1400 years.

Christians were living peacefully in the so called Muslim lands well before Islam came on the scene. Of course the Muslim community shows savage and bitter anger against Western attitudes because they believe that they are above objective scrutiny.

While Christians journey through Lent to prepare for the Resurrection, Muslims confidently claim that Christ did not die on the Cross and even that Jesus was a Muslim.

Should we agree with that too, wiping out 2,000 years of hope through Christianity?

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Closer together and wider apart

Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Reverend Lorna Hood

 making her way through the Church of Scotland's Assembly Hall, where commissioners made

 "a historic vote" in favour of accommodation for congregations that choose a minister in a

 same-sex civil partnership    Source: Christian Today (Photo: John Young)

From one "historic step" (see caption) to another. Addressing Synod yesterday the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (C of S), the Right Rev Dr Angus Morrison, said: The Columba Declaration paves the way for future joint working between the Kirk and the Church of England (C of E). It sets out how members and clergy will be allowed to worship and exercise ministry in each other's churches. Approved by Synod by 243 votes to 50 the report will now go to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in May for approval.

Paved with good intentions, the declaration moves the C of E further towards nonconformity while pretending to keep a toe in the Apostolic Church following the lead of the Church in Wales (C in W).

The proposals are set out inGS 2016, "Growth in Communion, Partnership in Mission -

A Cover Note from the Council for Christian Unity". There are two references to apostolic succession.

Para 18 (i): Within the apostolicity of the whole Church is an apostolic succession of the ministry which serves, and is a focus of, the continuity of the Church in its life in Christ and its

faithfulness to the words and acts of Jesus transmitted by the apostles.

Para 31: The Church of Scotland also believes that its ministries are in apostolic succession, without needing to include the episcopal order nor to express that succession through it.

In its ordination rites it emphasizes the continuity of the Church and its ministry. It can

recognize in the historic episcopal succession maintained by other churches a sign of the

apostolicity of the Church. It does not, however, regard it as important for the bene esse

(?Well-being?) of the Church in the same way as the Church of England, and therefore

while respecting its perspective does not share from its own side the significance for the

Church of England of this issue in seeking to grow together.

God forbid that the C of E should follow the lead of the C in W:

"Consequently the Church in Wales Working Group's Long-term Recommendations to their Governing Body were that: 'the Methodist jurisdiction, the Presbyterian jurisdiction and the URC/Covenanting Baptist jurisdiction each elect a bishop, the bishop will ordain all those who are to become ministers within that jurisdiction. That this bishop will be a bishop in the Church Uniting in Wales and will share collegiality and full interchangeability with all the other bishops of that Church'."

Sidelining the Scottish Episcopal Church, the C of S and the C of E "acknowledge one another’s churches as churches belonging to the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and truly participating in the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God".

But what of the wider Church?

The C of S, the C of E and the C in W are minnows in the Christian Church which is dominated by Catholics and Orthodox, now showing signs of coming together while Anglicans drift apart. In global terms Anglicans are mentioned once, "Nigeria now has more than twice as many Protestants (broadly defined to include Anglicans  and independent churches) as Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformationyet they claim to be in the forefront of advancing the apostolic ministry and mission of the whole people of God.

What does this amount to?

The C of S has opened the door to the appointment of married gay ministers. Having lost the same-sex marriage battle, the Archbishop of Wales is encouraging his rapidly diminishing flock to support the Iris Prize Outreach project which aims to "make 36 short films over the next three years with different community groups to build understanding of LGBT issues".

Driven by WATCH the C of E  is obsessed with gender issues: "Fewer than one in 50 large churches led by a woman priest".

For the Church to survive in Britain it will have to becomecloser to the apostolicity of Catholics and Orthodox, not more protestant and secular.

Postscript

'No unity at the expense of truth': a response to Justin Welby's Presidential Address.

An excellent analysis from Christian Concern, H/T Anglican Mainstream,here.

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A new beginning?

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Pope Francis met at the Jose Marti

 airport in Havana Feb. 12, 2016 ? The first-ever papal meeting with the head of the Russian

 Orthodox Church, a historic development in the 1,000-year schism within Christianity.

 (Crux / Max Rossi / AP)

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:21

The key points in the declaration signed by Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill after their historic meeting on Friday 12 Feb 2016 reported by Crux include:

• An acknowledgement that ?We have been divided by wounds caused by old and recent conflicts, by differences inherited from our ancestors.?

Deep concern for ?Christians [who] are victims of persecution.? The two leaders said, ?In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated. Their churches are being barbarously ravaged and looted, their sacred objects profaned, their monuments destroyed.?

A plea for greater inter-religious dialogue: ?Differences in the understanding of religious truths must not impede people of different faiths to live in peace and harmony,? The two men said.

Worry about secular hostility to religion: ?We observe that the transformation of some countries into secularized societies, estranged from all reference to God and to His truth, constitutes a grave threat to religious freedom. It is a source of concern for us that there is a current curtailment of the rights of Christians, if not outright discrimination.?

Defense of immigrants and refugees: ?We cannot remain indifferent to the destinies of millions of migrants and refugees knocking on the doors of wealthy nations,? They said.

A strong call for preserving the ?Natural family? Based on marriage between a man and a woman, and the ?Right to life,? Including opposition to abortion and euthanasia.

An invitation to ?Prudence, social solidarity and action aimed at constructing peace? In Ukraine.

Full report here.

In the words of St Benedict "Always we begin againdanquot; -

"that the world may believe that thou hast sent me".

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Many a true word is spoken in jest

According to The Australian Women's Weekly "the TV comedy gods have answered your prayers – The Vicar of Dibley is coming back".

The Rev'd Geraldine Granger, AKA Dawn French, said "now that the Church of England formally ruled in favour of allowing female Bishops in 2014 there?S hope for Geraldine to climb the ranksdanquot;.

Tragically, many a true word is spoken in jest. The Vicar of Dibley has become the fate of the Church of England. In any new series I suspect we will have Bishop Ramsbottom and other tattyfilarious puns which are expected to make the Church more relevant to society. They will have to be quick. Soon the Church will be completely irrelevant to society as she becomes ever more secular.

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The great energy rip-off

When it comes to choosing Gas and Electricity suppliers I am baffled. Tariff type, Unit rate, Standing charges, dual fuel, DD, Exit fees, etc, etc. All I want to know is the overall price for supplying gas and electricity but dream on.

My fixed tariff agreement is about to expire. If I do nothing I will be transferred to the Standard Rate with a big hike in charges. Lest I should be bombarded with suggestions that online switching sites are the answer, I know but they can be part of the problem: The Charity Age UK earned £6m a year for encouraging thousands to sign up to special rate that was £245 higher than cheapest tariff.

Money Saving Expert assures me that by using theCheap Energy Club I can make significant savings by switching to British Gas. That seemed like a good idea before I heard the boss of Centrica on the BBC's Breakfast Time show this morning justifying the rise in British Gas profits of 31%. What if I sign up and then they reduce their prices? I will be stuck with a fixed tariff until February 2017 unless paying exit fees makes a change worthwile.

After reading about a supposed good deal on a switching site a few months ago I decided to switch. My current supplier then phoned to tell me that comparison sites do not necessarily offer the best advice because "there are various ways of calculating costsdanquot;. Also some sites do not include all suppliers in their comparisons. Then of course there were the meter readings; were they up to date? And don't forget the mild Winter effect.... I accepted the advice offered and left the decision to another day. My supplier couldn't offer a better deal at the time although there could be a better deal in February when new tariffs may be available. I am still waiting and it is decision time.

The Government assures me that competition is good for the economy benefiting customers with lower prices. But what about consumers who are unable to navigate the obstacle course and the many pensioners who do not have access to a computer or lack the necessary internet skills?

Competition has become a means of boosting profits at the expense of the vulnerable. In fact, aproposal considered by the Competition and Markets Authority is a plan put forward by energy companies themselves to end the use of indefinite standard tariffs and 'force' households to choose a new gas and electricity deal every year. A "licence to rip off consumers" was the verdict of the charity Citizens Advice.

Instead of being given a licence to rip off consumers, energy suppliers should be compelled to advertise their cheapest rates, thus enabling customers to choose between suppliers for the best deal.

Now that that would be an innovation!

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Feeding Islam and ripping the Church apart

Source: Twitter

A sharp-eyed reader has drawn my attention to the menu offered last Thursday at the Cardiff University Chaplaincy: halal chicken casserole! Next Thursday's lunch will also be halal. In fact halal dishes appear to be their regular offering. I appreciate that the Chaplaincy caters for mixed faiths but why do Islamic meals take precedence in a supposedly Christian country?

There is muchmore to concern the faithful than a meagre halal meal for £1. The Anglican Chaplaincy boasts a seminar at which the Very Rev Jeffery Johnpromoted gay marriage and Canon Jeremy Pemberton talked about life with his 'husband'.

Following his defeat at the Church in Wales Governing Body in September last year Archbishop Barry Morgansaid "It would be 'foolish' to bring forward a bill for same-sex marriages in church at the moment.It would be a very brave or perhaps a very foolish Bench of Bishops who were to bring the bill before the governing body at this stage because that might just rip the church apart and lead to the acrimony that has been absent from this debate."  [My emphasis - Ed.]

The intent is clear.

Notwithstanding the dire effects on church attendance resulting in church closures and the loss of the historic parish system, the same procedure is being adopted as was employed in the campaign for the ordination of women followed by their admission to the Episcopate. If at first you don't succeed keep trying until the church is left only with like minded people led astray by a bench of bishops, bar one, who have abandoned the Apostolic faith of the Holy Catholic Church for a dictatorship of  relativism.

When the bishops report back to the Governing Body in April their conclusion appears obvious.

Christianity is in danger. Mosques are already opening their doors to entice the unwary. Closed churches and chapels are being converted adding to the twenty-one Mosques already in Cardiff. Two of the seven chaplains in Cardiff University are Muslim. They need no help from the Church in Wales.

The rencana may be music to the ears of the Archbishop but it is not the Gospel and it is already ripping the church apart.

Postscript [23.02.2016]

The Cardiff University Chaplaincy 50 years ago with Fr Bruce E Davies, RIP surrounded by communicants for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist.

Postscript [24.02.2016]

In response to worries about traffic problems it has been suggested that this new Cardiff mosque was needed to allow only 30 worshippers to pray. Pull the other one! This was a second application. No doubt there will be another mirroring the Church in Wales', if at first you don't succeed, try again until you get what you want.

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Transdanger

In a poll of 470 people in San Diego last year 73% said that they would like to see more gender neutral rest rooms. I doubt that they had considered the practicalities or the consequences.

Dr. Michael Brown writing for Charisma News: Even as I write these words, different cities in America are considering dangerous and irrational laws that impose unfair and potentially dangerous burdens on the vast majority of citizens, all in name of helping a tiny number of deeply confused individuals. When will we learn?

I do not wish to minimise any difficulties experienced by a few transgender people but the "quadruplerise  in child transgender referrals in five years" has to be of concern. To put this in proportion, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust says that referrals over the period included 47 children aged five or under, and two children just three years old. There were 695,233 live births in England and Wales in 2014.

They say that gender dysphoria in young people is a "complex and rare condition" which is "frequently associated with distress which may increase at puberty", adding "it is probably fair to say that young people are increasingly interested in "exploring gender".

Is exposure the duduk perkara? Suddenly transgender is everywhere with the politically correct desperate to show their superiority in how understanding they are. But are they?

God created male and female, period. Yes we should be sympathetic to genuine problems but society is becoming so concerned about minorities that we are at risk of losing the plot. Already in the US a man twice entered the changing room of a swimming pool and began disrobing, once in front of a young girls' swim team, saying transgender policies gave him the right to do so. What next?

Source: The Christians.Com

Men were built for fighting. Women were built for childbearing. It?S interesting to note how stubbornly true?Even obvious?These statements remain, despite aggressive efforts to bury them.

FromThe Collapse of Gender Sanity

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The real victims of political correctness.

In this 2010 CBN News video "What Will Happen When Islam Takes Over Britain WAKE UP!" a clear warning was given on the perils of not addressing political correctness.

The Prime Minister's claim in 2011 that multiculturalism had failed was met with a wave of indignant protests and denial. In 2016 the real victims of political correctness, mainly vulnerable children, are being identified on a regular basis.

This is the reality. From anExpress report: The authorities spent years letting gangs of Pakistani and British-Pakistani men get away with horrendous crimes against white girls. Evidence suggests that such groups have been operating in Rotherham, Oxford, Keighley, Bradford and Rochdale. The dangerously misguided desire to appear tolerant and politically correct allowed these gangs to operate unchecked for so long.

Nobody in authority has been prepared to stand against the tide. While political parties spend their time harvesting votes from minorities, the Established church continues her obsession with politically correct quotas, advancing the cause of minorities over suitability and validating Islam.

Tolerance of the intolerant rules. "WAKE UP" indeed!

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EastEnders

Men pray outside Whitechapel mosque in east London during Friday prayers.

Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian

There have been reports in the press that the new set of the BBC soap EastEnders may include a mosque in an attempt at a "more authentic representation" of communities in East London.

The East London Mosque in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets,reportedly where a London schoolgirl who recruited three of her classmates to join IS in Syria was radicalised, serves Great Britain's largest Muslim community with a capacity of 7,000.

If the producers of EastEnders want an authentic representation, the set will have to be of considerable proportions. The cash strapped BBC could save a lot of money by showing Muslims praying in the street while using the front of a Mosque as a backdrop. Read about the authenticity of this scenariohere. The BBC could use the money saved to include a closed Christian church, the fate of many while Islam is being promoted.

From the Guardian report: "Last year, the character Tamwar Masood quoted the Qur’an in an attempt to explain Islam to his girlfriend Nancy Carter. 'Do good to relatives, orphans, the needy, the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, to the companion at your side and to the traveller,' he said."

No mention of convert, pay the tax or die as regularlywitnessed around the world where Islam dominates.

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Legitimate target

England v Ireland: Jonny Sexton will be targeted - Eddie Jones, BBC Sport

The cold dark months of Winter are not my favourite months but a few things make February more bearable. The days are drawing out, the garden is preparing to burst into life and we have the Six Nations.

An ancient Briton by birth, I am not without some English blood in my veins which makes the performance of the England rugby team all the more disappointing with their "winning is everything" attitude to the game. Perhaps it is because they give the impression that they always deserve to win that they appear so arrogant. The depths of their financial and human resources indicate as much but better a good game than win at all costs. In such circumstances the real losers are obvious.

Regrettably England's new coach Eddie Jones is from the England mould. His interview for BBC Sport is a new low in English rugby. Teams want to win but not so obviously at any price. Jones admits that his attitude is to be "physical, fair and brutal" with emphasis on the brutal - so long as it is legal! Brutality:cruel, harsh, and usually violent treatment of another person.

He says Ireland's Johnny Sexton will be a 'legitimate target' during Saturday's Six Nations match at Twickenham, as was England's fly-half Jonny Wilkinson when Jones coached Australia.

Eddie Jones' attitude to the game has made himself a legitimate target. England should send him back to the Southern hemisphere where he belongs taking his brutality with him.

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The topsy-turvy world of the Church of England

Feather in her cap for Christina Rees, CBE                    Source: Royston Crow

'Hats off to Christina as she’s awarded CBE from Prince Charles' was the news headline in the Royston Crow yesterday. Described as a leading church figure who played a major part in the campaign to introduce female priests, Ms Rees was spokesperson for the Movement for the Ordination of Women in the run up to the vote for women priests in 1992 and chaired Women and the Church for more than 13 years, successfully campaigning for women bishops.

As the ACNS put it: The CBE is an Order of Chivalry that was created by King George V in 1917 and is awarded to British nationals who have made a significant achievement for the United Kingdom. It was awarded to Christina Rees in recognition of her services to the Church of England. The motto of the order is “For God and the Empire” indicating the absurdity of an award for secularising the Church.

Hat on for the Ven. Jan McFarlane Archdeacon of Norwich who is to become the sixth Suffragan Bishop of Repton in the Diocese of Derby. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James, said: "Jan is greatly loved and much admired in the Diocese of Norwich. She has been a fine communicator of the Christian faith in the local and regional media, and an archdeacon who has won the confidence and affection of lay people alike".

Such a fine communicator that disaster was turned into success inArchbishop opts for delusion:

As Communications Director for the Diocese of Norwich the Venerable Jan McFarlane is not simply being reunited with her former theological college fellow student, Justin Welby. She has demonstrated her skill as a communications person by her ability to turn a disaster into a success, well illustrated in an interview here after the news that according to the 2011 census, the City of Norwich was rated the most godless city in England but apparently the good people of Norwich are "doing their church-going differently" -ie, not going to church!

The trend continues. "Merseyside Christians are increasingly snubbing Sunday church services, according to new figures." The same in Durham, Wakefield, Worcester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, Chelmsford, Lichfield and Lincoln, all showing significant decline in church attendance since 2009.

The Church of England is slowly dying as congregations are set to halve over 30 years (here). That is hardly surprising when failure is regarded as success.

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St Davids Day

St Davids Cathedral, Pembs                                                                                                                                                        Source:Visit Pembrokeshire

Happy St Davids Day!

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Monochrome Morgan's misplaced message

Original source: Church in Wales

Speaking from the sidelines at the Lord Mayor’s National Civic service at St John the Baptist Church in Cardiff's city centre on St David’s Day the Archbishop of Wales observed that "Wales is a country of migrants" and should be proud of its record in welcoming refugees.

All of us are migrants of one kind or another he said, even we Celts the original inhabitants of this island came from Northern Europe. "Not one of us is ethnically monochrome".

A predictably charitable sounding message which may appeal to many but it is far too simplistic. A more balanced view comes from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, a top NATO commander in Europe with first hand knowledge of the problem:

Terrorists who pose a threat to Europe are arriving on the continent every day among waves of "legitimate" refugees fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. Islamic State militants are among those who are "taking advantage of paths of least resistance" to reach Europe alongside desperate refugees.

The extremist group is "spreading like cancer" and "threatening European nations" by joining the vast movement of refugees escaping conflict in the Middle East. Fears about IS fighters infiltrating Europe and the US have fuelled legislation to crack down on Syrian and Iraqi refugees seeking to enter the US.

Whether terrorists or refugees these migrants are not leaving their supremacist ideology behind them. Most are reading from the same book with many prepared to follow it to the letter. Even fellow refugees who have been identified as being Christian have been attacked and murdered by Muslim 'refugees'.

Countless men and women have not sacrificed their lives to defend these islands against aggressive ideologies for later generations to welcome a brutal alien culture with open arms. Had the fallen been pacifists instead of warriors for freedom, the Archbishop would not be free to preach as he does.

If monochrome Morgan possesses a filter to spot the difference between refugees and warriors for Islam he should let us and NATO into his secret.

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Users of The Church

The First Church of Cannabis sprang from the well intentioned Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act explained here. Basically it means that "the state cannot 'substantially burden a person's exercise of religion' unless it is furthering a 'compelling government interest' and acting in the least restrictive way possible". Other States have similar laws. Some see the legislation as an opportunity while others see it as repressive.

Sadly Mother Church has been caught up in the political maelstrom with all sorts of groups using the church to advantage in the guise of worship.

In my book there are three categories of Church users. There are regular users who week by week sustain the Church in their worship and giving.

There are the occasional users, the 'hatch, match and dispatch' brigade, who profess to be Christians expecting the Church to be there when required.

Then there are the other users. The political movements used to great effect by feminists and currently by the LGBT community in furtherance of their particular agendas, currently same-sex marriage under the pretence of equality.

The feminist battle consisted of staged skirmishes, each represented as an insignificant step thus permitting charges of discrimination if the next step were not permitted. Hence the progression from biblical Deaconesses to non-biblical women bishops.

LGBT activist Jayne Ozanne

The same tactics are being used by the LGBTQ movement: "Senior Anglicans launch bid to find 'middle way' over homosexuality" in a new bid to "unite" the Church of England over divisive issues such as gay marriage (here) promoting the via media, "a new perspective on Anglican debates. There is no debate. It is promotion.

I strongly recommend reading Making Gay Okay: How rationalising homosexual behaviour is changing everything. According to the author, Professor Robert R. Reilly, the debate about homosexuality, and particularly about same-sex marriage, is, at its heart, a debate about the nature of reality. One side believes that things have a nature and purpose that make them what they are. The other side denies that things have an essential nature, and believes that things are nothing in themselves, and can be shaped according to personal choices and desires. Reilly examines the philosophical basis for these competing points of view. [Hat tip to Anglican Mainstream for this article - Ed.]

In anotherarticle the dangers are set out plainly.  Among them the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) "have concluded that one in six men who have sex with men will contract HIV in their lifetimes and that one in two black men who are gay or bisexual will contract HIV". Despite the recognised dangers the United States Agency for International Development will be spending $1 million to finance the promotion of the LGBT agenda, including contributions to LGBT politicians who wish to participate in the upcoming elections.

In the UK Cardinal Nichols has already been criticised for Queering the Church whileChanging Attitude lists fifty-nine churches in twenty Church of England dioceses where "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Christians can be guaranteed a welcome" in addition to churches in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as if they are not welcomed in other churches. Far from it in my experience.

The 'middle way' is claimed to be an "attempt to bridge the divides that separates many in the Church". It is not. It is one more giant step  towards securing credibility for another organisation using the Church for political ends.

Readers may remember "self-styled 'Anglican' and LGBT activist" Jayne Ozanne from a previous entry, The road to ruin: "Church of England members back same-sex marriage. Poll shows for first time more Anglicans supporting gay couples marrying than opposing it, despite leadership’s opposition. 'The lowest levels of support for same-sex marriage – 24% – were found among Anglican men over the age of 55, a group that dominates the church leadership'."

The 'Poll' had been "spun to apply pressure to the Church of England on same-sex 'marriage'." Need one say more!

The Church must stand firm.

Postscript [08.03.16]

An author is planning to re-invent the Bible? By putting it in a ?Queer context?:

"The Queer Bible is my reclamation, through translation, of the queer mythic potential of Biblical stories. I want to make an inclusive, celebratory space within the text that undoes the implicit sexism, misogyny, heterosexism, hierarchical oppression, slut-shaming, etc. and reconstitutes the feminine, the queer, the outcast, the strange."

Strange indeed.

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The Church in Northern Nigeria - crushed but not defeated - as in Great Britain, for now

The impact of persistent violence on the Church in Northern Nigeria has been highlighted in a report by Open Doors. You can read the Report here.

The research shows that decades of targeted religious violence has had an even larger impact on the Church in Northern Nigeria than previously expected. The violence against Christians in the region has resulted in thousands of people killed, including between 9,000 to 11,500 Christians ? A conservative estimation according to this report. A large number of Christian properties have been destroyed, including 13,000 churches that have either been destroyed or closed down.

According to the report, over a million Christians in Northern Nigeria have become internally displaced or have settled in other areas of Nigeria in search of safety and security.

"More Anglicans die at the hands of Boko Haram than all Christians in Middle East" says the Rt. Rev. Jacob Kwashi, Bishop of Zonkwa, in northern Nigeria in a Virtue Online interview.

Also in the interview, "GAFCON Primates say they will not accept gifts from TEC [The Episcopal Church] or TWS [Trinity Wall Street] to be turned on [the] Gay Issue. In three years, Welby will be forced to take a stand, or watch as [the] Communion splits".

There are more than 20 million Nigerian Anglicans. Meanwhile the comparatively small Anglican Church in the West faces defeat from within as the chipping away of faith and tradition continues and the secular rencana intensifies.

How ironic that the centre of Anglicanism has become the source of its own destruction.

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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.

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Rugby descends to thugby

Jones defended his Prop's racist slur before dropping him. Source: Telegraph

Usingbrutality rather than skill England have the Six Nations rugbyGrand Slam in their sights. Under their new coach Eddie Jones they aim to be the ‘most dominant team in the world’. If their aim were based on arrogance the other five nations, not to mention the Southern hemisphere would be left standing. Jones has found himself in like company but the All Blacks and the rest of the Southern hemisphere must be laughing their socks off.

For outsiders everything about the England team's performance has become a bore, ruining enjoyment of the game. Not only the team. Whenever they play compete, the BBC and ITV become the English Broadcasting Corporation. Viewers are subjected to a constant barrage of  England, England, England as if nothing matters but an England victory showing the utmost discourtesy to opposing teams.

Unlike in the days of the late, great Bill McLaren, biased commentators and their supporting pundits, notablyBrian Moore, ruin the game with their inability to see beyond England and their presumed right to win every time, no doubt based on the resources they have to draw on which dwarf the resources of the rest of the Six Nations. If the competition were a handicap there is little doubt about who would carry themselves home with the Wooden Spoon every time.

In their match against Wales, one of England's exponents of Jones' brutality tactics was sighted on two counts but no action by the Rugby authorities was deemed to be necessary leaving the offender available to take England's brutality to France in the hope of an undeserved Grand Slam to the detriment of the sport.

Allez les bleus!

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Waters of life and death

Today isWorld Water Day. For Christians water will continue to be much in evidence this week in the Paschal Triduum liturgy of thefoot 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 theRiver Jordan, where John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah whilebaptizing, 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 IndependentAaqil 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 janggal 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.

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