The twilight of the cross

From Anglican Mainstream:

Ann Widdecombe is right: Christianity in Britain today is under severe persecution

Looking forward to a speech by Ann Widdecombe tomorrow, the Rev Peter Mullen in the Mail Online paints a depressing picture of the state of Christianity today. Please read it.

Regardless of one's views of Christianity, or religion in general for that matter, what has shaped our British way of life is being extinguished. Yes there is much that the church has to be ashamed of, particularly its abuse of power, taking advantage of vulnerable people who had little but faith to sustain them. But while that power has waned, detractors have taken every opportunity to condemn the church and its pastors. In doing so they ignore the fact that for all of us, Christ died in agony on the Cross testifying that there is a better way, that we love our neighbour as ourselves. But this is not a rule to be followed blindly. His message was to look at the rules and to apply them sensibly. If we fail to do this and to remain faithful to our Christian culture a far greater oppression awaits us. Meanwhile the Established Church is obsessed with women's issues, gay rights and anything else that is prominent on the secular agenda!

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Christian persecution - old and new

Thankfully Christian persecution is no longer the Roman ‘sport’ which inspired box-office spectaculars such as Quo Vadis but the persecution of Christians continues today on a much bigger scale and is just as evil. From Konrad Szymanski in New Europe :

?According to the statistics at least 75% of religious persecution is directed against people of Christian faith and each year about 170,000 Christians suffer because of their beliefs. The total number of faithful who are discriminated amounts already to 100 million. It's also a known fact that more Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in all the prior 1,900 years. All in all it makes Christians the most persecuted religious class.?

Many of the worst atrocities are too distressing to illustrate here but burning, beating, beheading and all manner of brutality are documented on the web, including the use of rape as a weapon. The beating of Christians in Egypt (above) for opening their cafe during Ramadan is a minor punishment by comparison. In Iraq, killings and persecution have resulted in the Christian population being halved to 400,000 since 2003. Meanwhile in Pakistan ?Blasphemy? Is used as a weapon of persecution. Not only does much of the persucution go un-reported but Islamic states have attempted to get the United Nations to legitimise it. Meanwhile many delude themselves by making excuses.

Here in Great Britain, in addition to the Islamic atrocities perpetrated on British citizens we have subtler methods of oppression, often by do-gooders who are so immersed in political correctness it has almost become a religion. Even church-goers are not exempt. Orthodox Anglicans in the Church of England are oppressed by those who have abandoned the traditional faith of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church because they refuse to adapt their religion to suit terbaru life styles. In the forefront of this movement are the feminist organisation Women and the Church (WATCH) which battles ceaselessly to exclude Christians who don?T agree with their political agenda of parity for women in the church as though they were working for Local Government Social Services or the Co-op.

Those whose agenda is to make the church relevant to society fail to see that they have made faith irrelevant to many with the consequent decline of the church. If we are not careful the remaining vacuum will be filled by others leaving the oppressors themselves as victims.

Postscript

On his Blog Archbishop Cranmer has published a long but interesting US Report on Religious Freedom in the UK.

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Harmony

A Russian search and rescue team loads their equipment to support the search for Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501. (Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

The Russians are coming! - But fear not.

They were not invading. They are part of the multinational team searching for thecrashed AirAsia passenger jet.

Disasters bring out the best in people. Countries which have been at loggerheads reveal common humanity when an Act of God occurs or when disasters strike. But that is the exception

The harmony so beautifully expressed in Eli Jenkins' prayer demonstrates what can be achieved when people sing from the same sheet. So why so much discord? Back from their Christmas holiday break government ministers and shadow ministers have been busily trying to convince us why they should be in power, bolstering assumptions, false or otherwise. There is little harmony in politics and unlikely to be so.

On the surface, interfaith dialogue is harmonious but anyone reading just a little about Islam must be apprehensive. Read about the challenge which Islam presents to the Christian communityhere in "A Topical Study of the Qur'an from a Christian Perspective". Harmony will be achieved only on Islamic terms so it is not difficult to understand that deception plays a key role in Islamic propaganda. It is a successful strategy. In Germany protesters against the Islamisation of their country have been accused of "rising xenophobia" adding to the customary charges of Islamophobia and racism even though Islam is a religious ideology not a race. The protesters' fears are not unreasoned. That is made abundantly clear here in "Muslim Leaders in Australia Say Banning Terrorism Will Ban Islam". For another perspective read also Alexander Boot's blog entry "Muslim countries? Even Belgium is better than any of them".

But what of the Christian faith on this Feast of the Epiphany? The last entry of one of the blogs I follow ends depressingly for many 'traditionalist' Anglicans with the words ..."those of us who remain behind in whatever ecclesial funk holes are left to us for the time being - only a sense of the gathering darkness ....." How sad - and unnecessary.

'His Darkness' the Archbishop of Wales preached on darkness in his sermon on Christmas Day. Without any hint of irony he said "Stand up against the world?S darkness and show the light of Goddanquot;. Dr Morgan rightly drew attention to the plight of Syrian refugees forced to flee their country. Many thousands have died, others have been allowed to drift in vessels abandoned by their crews after paying their life savings to escape religious intolerance. Their oppressors in Syria, and in Iraq and elsewhere, are not interpreting the Quran, they are following the Quran.

Dr Morgan said: "The Gospel of John boldly proclaims that ?The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it?. Is that really the case, because it doesn?T seem to ring true to some of our experiences as human beings?" It doesn't ring true for some members of the Church in Wales but he, uniquely, is in a position to let the light overcome the darkness that hangs over many in his flock if he followed the Gospel instead of adapting it.

Be bold ++Barry. You can dispel the sense of "gathering darkness" and restore harmony to your Church. Cast aside your own intolerance and show the "light of God" to the Church in Wales this Epiphany.

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Je Suis Charlie

Millions of people around the world identified with Charlie Hebdo by adopting the slogan 'Je Suis Charlie', shorthand for the basic human right to free expression.

The message is obvious. If you do it to Charlie you do it to me echoing, consciously or otherwise, the biblical message: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Take the 'I' out of JE SUIS (I am) and you have JESUS but this is not an option in all countries.

The World Watch List ranks the 50 countries where Christian persecution is most severe. Here are the top 5:

1.North Korea - Population: 25 million (300,000 Christians); Main Religion: Atheism/traditional beliefs; Persecution Level: Extreme; Source of persecution: Dictatorial paranoia.

2. Somalia - Population: 11 million (A few hundred Christians); Main Religion: Islam; Persecution Level: Extreme; Source of persecution: Islamic extremism, tribal antagonism.

3. Iraq - Population: 35.7 million (thousands of Christians); Main Religion: Islam; Persecution Level: Extreme; Source of persecution: Islamic extremism.

4. Syria - Population: 22 million (1.1 million Christians); Main Religion: Islam; Persecution Level: Extreme; Source of persecution: Islamic extremism.

5. Afghanistan - Population: 32 million (thousands of Christians); Main Religion: Islam; Persecution Level: Extreme; Source of persecution: Islamic extremism.

The pattern is clear. Leaving aside dictatorial paranoia, Islamic extremism is the main cause of persecution. Two of the countries many would probably rank as the leaders in religious persecution are ranked only 8th and 12th:

Pakistan: "Pakistan’s Christians are caught in the crossfire between Islamic militant organizations and mobs that violently target Christians, and an Islamizing culture on the other hand that results in Christians being isolated from the rest of the population. The notorious blasphemy laws continue to have devastating consequences for minorities, including Christians. A Pakistani mob beat and burned to death a Christian couple in November for alleged blasphemy charges. Women and girls are experiencing violence every day; especially those from minority groups who are vulnerable and easy targets for rape, sexual abuse and kidnapping". In full.

Saudi Arabia: "The desert kingdom is defined by Wahhabism, a purist and strict interpretation of Islam. It is forbidden to openly practice other religions. Apostasy – conversion to another religion – is punishable by death. Radical Islamic breeding ground is widely present in the kingdom and Saudi funding of terrorism abroad is the main source of Sunni terrorism in the world. Most Christians are expats from Asia or Africa. Converts to Christianity from Islam face the risk of being killed or abused by their own families. House churches are often raided by the religious police". In full.

This is the price paid by one blogger who tried to exercise free speech in the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: "Raif Badawi was sentenced last May to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He had criticized Saudi Arabia’s powerful clerics on a liberal blog he founded. The blog has since been shut down. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 1m riyals or about $266,600".

The sight of  French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders leading French citizens in a massive rally for unity was an encouraging sight, not least for Muslim minorities in non-Islamic states. But the major problem to be addressed is the position in countries where freedom is replaced by Sharia and human rights replaced by oppressive laws such as theblasphemy laws in Pakistan and the religious repression seen in Saudi Arabia where "twenty percent of the national budget is allocated to the worldwide expansion of Islam, and the country's enormous oil wealth has financed global Islamic expansion with billions of dollars".

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Tolerance - Acceptance - Oppression

From Christian Concern : "83 UK evangelical leaders from a variety of backgrounds, churches and organisations have signed a letter to the College of Bishops, regarding The Church of England’s current discussions on the issue of human sexuality. They urge the Church of England 'not to depart from the apostolic inheritance with which they have been entrusted', while affirming one-man, one-woman marriage as 'the only context in which physical expression is to be given to our sexuality'.

The letter follows two previous letters to bishops from members of the Church of England?S General Synod, which urged the Church to uphold biblical teaching on this issuedanquot;. Full text here.

It beggars belief that the College of Bishops needs to be urged to uphold biblical teaching but that is where Western Anglicanism finds itself today after years of liberalisation. Constant chipping away at the faith has left many so bewildered that they have left the church altogether, starkly illustrated by recent figures which show that less than 1% of the population of Wales regularly attend Church in Wales services on a Sunday with a similar decline recorded by the Church of England.

The Church of England is now considering moves to abandon* the sah requirement to hold regular services of morning and evening prayer in parish churches because of declining congregations. In Wales, parishes are being replaced by 'Ministry Areas'. Mystery has been been replaced by management. Churches have become an extension of the workplace ignoring scripture and tradition to substitute spurious claims of equality of opportunity in the workplace for theology.

Anglican women clergy have become firmly established at all levels leading tocalls to refer to God as a woman. Women And The Church (WATCH) leads the charge after their successful campaign for female bishops, claiming that the shift away from the traditional patriarchal language of the Book of Common Prayer is at an "advanced' stage". To cater for this new found 'faith', one church went so far as to request that the Holy Table could be used to serve tea, biscuits and orange squash!

Receiving bread and wine in a Holy space is, or should be, far removed from socialising over tea and biscuits. When mystery is subsumed by worldly understanding there is no otherness which enables campaigning organisations to spring up seeking to make human frailties acceptable, even respectable.

This has culminated in the campaign for same sex marriage leading to the loss of livelihood for some devout Christians. A small family bakery has been forced to close down in the US after the owners refused to make a cake for a lesbian wedding. They were fined $135,000.

Last year a judge in Northern Ireland ruled that a Christian-run bakery discriminated against a gay customer by refusing to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan. The firm was found to have discriminated on the grounds of sexual orientation and political beliefs. Florists are not exempt.

Christian beliefs are becoming marginalised, largely due to the efforts of those who were shown tolerance and understanding but accepting minority behaviour as 'normal' is not reciprocated. It turns into oppression.

* Update [18.10.2016]

See alsoChurch of England considers abandoning requirement for Sunday services from The Telegraph followed by "Why is the Anglican Church in crisis?"

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The oppressor wins

The Gay Marriage cake                                                 Source: Metro

Christian bakers have been found to have discriminated against a gay man by refusing to make a cake bearing a pro-gay marriage jargon having lost their appeal against a previous ruling that they had breached equality legislation . Full report here.

The case was brought by a member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space who had "wanted a cake featuring Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie with the phrase ?Support Gay Marriage? For a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia".

According to the group's website their 'mainstreaming' operating practice is to strive to ensure respect for individuals and positive images of the LGBT community are integrated into everyday life of individuals, communities and organizations. They have failed on both counts.

Where is the equality in legislation which permits discrimination against what now appear to be minority Christian values?

It is no more 'homophobic' to oppose same sex marriage than it is to be 'Islamophobic' to be aware of the dangers posed by the Islamization of Europe.

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Boris Johnson's letterbox

Sources: thenewdaily.com.au and lbsg.org/archives

The furore over Boris Johnson comparing veiled women with a letterbox shows no sign of abating.

Conservative Muslim Forum founder Lord Sheikh said demands from the PM for an apology were not enough. Boris Johnson should be kicked out of the Conservative Party for his remarks about the burka. He has called for Mr Johnson to have the whip removed - meaning the MP would no longer represent the Tory party. (BBC News)

Former co-chair of the Conservative party Sayeeda Warsi continues her attack on Johnson in the Guardian (here) in which she claims "Boris Johnson?S contempt for Muslim women is part of a dangerous pattern".

Political capital abounds regardless of the facts. From the Huffington Post: "Boris Johnson Branded 'Racist' For Saying Women Who Wear Burkas 'Look Like Letter Boxes'."

Other than for women living in Iran, theveil is not a requirement of Islam, neither is Islam a race. It is a political ideology which seeks to control all aspects of life by whatever means. Consequently, every opportunity is taken to condemn as Islamophobic any offence, real or imagined.

In Iran brave women are fighting for right to ditch their hijabs: "It's not just about the hijab, it's about equality under the law - that is what the Girls of Revolution Street are fighting for." Unlike British Muslims they are living at the sharp end in an Islamic state so fully understand what it means to be oppressed.

From Business Insider UK - In 2005, Johnson wrote in the Spectator that he believed it was only "naturaldanquot; for the public to be scared of Islam. "To any non-Muslim reader of the Koran, Islamophobia ? Fear of Islam ? Seems a natural reaction, and, indeed, exactly what that text is intended to provoke," he wrote. "Judged purely on its scripture ? To say nothing of what is preached in the mosques ? It is the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers."

To put all this into perspective, Boris Johnson made what he presumably thought was an amusing comparison as illustrated above. A political gaffe resulting in a predictable response. Making another comparison, in Islamic countries death can result merely for not being a Muslim or even the wrong sort of Muslim as numerous reports testify.

A veil is a mask behind which one hides oneself from others. It is not surprising, therefore, that many find it offensive. Boris did not and said so but he is pilloried for his choice of language.

People must be allowed to express their opinions, within the law, without fear of reprisal in what amounts to attempts at gagging for political gain by using ridiculous charges of Islamophobia.

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