Have you wondered what Easter means to most people today?
If you 'Google' "Easter" [images] the result will be displayed as above. Chocolate eggs and bunnies with a very small percentage of Christian imagery. Not unlike the 'bright'idea of the Bishop of Oxford who wants headteachers of Church of England schools to allocate no more than 10% of places in their schools to practising Anglicans. - That should help the CofE's apparent drive to reduce the numbers attending church, or perhaps bishops do not realise how many people simply use the Church of England as an end for educating their children.
I am not the greatest fan of faith schools (witness Northern Ireland) but what is the matter with Christian leaders today when they do more to succour the faith of others than protect their own? From previous reports the main beneficiary of the bishop's open door policy would be Islam. The Times Online reported in 2009 that in some CofE schools 100% of the pupils were Muslim and that in many church primary schools in English cities more than half of the pupils were Muslim. In at least a dozen such schools more than 80 per cent were from Islamic homes. Back in 2008 Catholic church leaderssuggested that Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school. To facilitate prayer, schools would need to install bidets, foot spas and hoses to permit extensive cleansing rituals. I do not recall reading of any reciprocal arrangements but perhaps that is just as well.
The Islamisation of cities continues with ever more mosques being built and cultural jihad used to normalise Islamic dress and forcehalal products on unsuspecting non-Muslims. The last time I queried whether meat in a supermarket was halal, the butcher replied that 'halal' was only a blessing! I do not know if he made up his response or if it was company policy to deflect criticism and protect their profits but it helps to hide the fact that Islam is a supremacist ideology totally alien to Christianity.
I understand Bishop Pritchard's motives when he says that the church's mission should not be about "collecting nice Christians into safe places" but we don't need to go from New Anglicanism's 'anything goes' to 'everything goes'. If we must have faith schools, the very least we should do is protect our own faith.Please readthis link.
True we are commanded to 'love one another' and 'turn the other cheek' but giving credence to a faith that denies the Incarnation and opposes Christianity can only hasten its demise. Bishops above all must not be ashamed to"confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under His banner against sin, the world, and the devil; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end."
Religious and political leaders must stop doing everything possible to accommodate a politico-religious system that would see the end of Christianity. Christ died to set us free, not so that His servants can return us to bondage.
Khristós Anésti!
Happy Easter!
This year we searched in vain for packs of Easter cards with an icon depicting the Resurrection. There were plenty of cards to choose from with fluffy bunnies, flowers and eggs, even a few floral crosses but not what we wanted. After our initial disappointment I found myself reflecting on the part that flowers and eggs have played in our Easter celebrations. In particular I recalled the powerful fragrance of freesias and lilies which adorned the Altar of Repose, the result of many hours of work when help was taken for granted. Much has changed in the passing years. Divided congregations have become increasingly elderly. There are fewer, if any, children in many churches compared with the days when the Sunday School children, later re-named the more trendy 'Junior Church', would join the main congregation to await the vicar's usual question, "Why Easter eggs?" Back would come the eager replies of "New life!" earning the reward of a Cadbury's cream egg - and not just for the children :)
