The sword

The beheading of the American journalist, James Foley, apparently by a British Muslim with a London accent, drew pledges by outraged Western governments to aid those 'battling the jihadists' among whom British extremists are thought to be among the "most vicious and vociferous fightersdanquot; (here). The British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, described the execution as an "appalling example of the brutality of this [Islamic State] organisation" (readhere). But it is not simply the "shocking and depraveddanquot; action of a single organisation as Mr Cameron described it. It is part of a culture:

"In Islam, the prophet Muhammad is the greatest example for the faithful to follow. He is the model of dedication to God par excellence; in fact, he is deemed the perfect example of submission to Allah...

Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic sect, encompassing 85% of Muslims in the world. ?Sunni? Is based on the ?Sunna,? ?The pathway of the prophet? Muhammad (to which all Muslims are committed, whether formally Sunnis or not). ?Muslims have the duty of da?Wa, calling, summoning people to submit to Allah and to follow the sunna, the pathway trodden first by Muhammad.?

But what is the example, the way, the path of the prophet? He not only engaged in caravan raids early in his career as a prophet and in war later, but he himself was involved in the massacre of the Qurayza Jews wherein he “had trenches dug, and the men were led out in batches and beheaded.” Ibn Ishaq’s ancient, authoritative Life of Muhammad records this event: “There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900.” How could the recent beheadings and dismemberments of a few “pagans” alarm the devout Muslim today? His “perfect” prophet beheaded upwards of 900 in one setting! We are alarmed because we are Christians." - See "Christ, Muhammad, and the Culture of Beheading"here.

Many Christians are not only alarmed but thoroughly confused that such actions can be justified as acts of faith in the name of God. Christians are taught to ''Love your neighbour as yourself', having moved on from Old Testament excesses. It is the reverse in Islam which after its peaceful period becomes increasingly violent, using the sword to threaten those wishing to convert from Islam and those who refuse to convert to Islam as is now witnessed intensely by minorities in Iraq.

Some Muslims protest that the violence is contrary to the teaching of Islam. Indeed an Imam was doing precisely that on BBC Breakfast time this morning despite evidence to the contrary from around the world. Muslims are themselves victims if their interpretation of Islam differs from fundamentalist hardliners. Saudi Arabia's top cleric says that extremism and the ideologies of groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida are Islam's No. 1 enemy and that Muslims have been their first victims (here). But watch this chilling video to see how "Taqiyya: Islamic doctrine of deception" (here) operates in the defence of Islam to the detriment of all other faiths and none making it difficult to know who is telling the truth and who is engaged in deception. The closing words in the report are "We will be paying for it [playing patsy] a vast amount in the years to come". Prophetic words indeed!

Dispatches - Undercover Mosque: The Return from Emil Kirkegaard on Vimeo.

On that score, and no doubt in the spirit of brotherly love, Christian leaders have been moved to make extravagant gestures which appear to validate Islam at the expense of Christianity. In his Archbishop Cranmer blog in 2007Cranmer reported that the Bishop of Liverpool had accepted the invitation of a Muslim friend to become patron of a mosque renovating project. More recently the Bishop of Portsmouth "along with numerous other clerics visited the Al Mahdi Center in Wessex where verses from 'the Noble Qur’an' were recited before Bishop Christopher blessed the community and the centre" (here). In Wales Archbishop Morgan has far more time for his Muslim friends than for faithful adherents of the Catholic faith - see 'Barry's blunder' here. Having been warned about false prophets and told by Jesus Christ that 'No one comes to the Father except through Me' such gestures appear ill-advised to say the least.

While Anglican leaders in this country water-down the Christian faith, questioning the legitimacy of basic beliefs such as the virgin birth and even the Resurrection, Muslims by contrast will not tolerate any perceived criticism or even discuss apparent Contradictions and Inaccuracies (here). Recall how, even though "beheading was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad himself during the 7th century period of Islam and by the most Islamic rulers thereafterdanquot; (here), Pope Benedict was obliged to apologise for a misunderstanding following a speech to university professors in Germany in 2006 after he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam?S founder, as ?Evil and inhuman?:

"Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that he was “deeply sorry” about the angry reaction to his recent remarks about Islam, which he said came from a text that didn’t reflect his personal opinion. “These (words) were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought,” Benedict told pilgrims at his summer palace outside Rome." Full account here.

James Foley was a freelance photojournalist whose work highlighted the depths to which these jihadists will sink, even killing fellow Muslims in the name of Allah to achieve what they mistakenly believe to be their reward in heaven. Reports of James' own death have done far more to galvanise world opinion than any other report so far. May he now rest in peace.

The International Civil Liberties Alliance reported in May that that a new organisation, Sharia Watch UK, was launched in the House of Lords. See their special report: SHARIA LAW: Britain?S Blind Spot. Here is a taste:

"We call on the UK government to recognise that the establishment of a sharia state, or campaigning for such, is itself an extremist position. We base this on the fact that a sharia state would involve profound mistreatment of women and girls (including forced marriage and unequal legal status), the implementation of barbaric punishments (including stonings and amputations) and the complete destruction of freedom of speech and democracy."

It also has something to say about the Muslim organisations including the Muslim Council of Britain which "has received several hundred thousand pounds of taxpayers? Money, despite evidence of its links with extremists and its own extremist beliefs". Full Reporthere. Church and State take note!

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Women bishops 2 : 0 Jesus Christ

In a previousentry (in May) I gave details of arrangements being made for the Rt Rev'd Geralyn Wolf to be the first woman bishop to celebrate the Eucharist in Llandaff Cathedral, one week before women bishops become legal in the Church in Wales on the 12 September 2014 and while the Code of Practice which is part of the Women bishops legislation remains a closely guarded secret among the Bench of Bishops until it is presented as a fait accompli to the next meeting of their Governing Body - see here.

Unable to control their enthusiasm for seeing a woman bishop at the Altar in the Church in Wales the Bishop of St Asaph has upstaged the Llandaff event by arranging for the Rt Rev Gayle Harris to celebrate in St Asaph Cathedral on Sunday 31 August 2014 when she will become the first Anglican woman bishop to preside and preach at a Welsh cathedral. Story here.

Out-manouvered by St Asaph, apparently Swansea and Brecon could not find a one-legged a**e kicking transgendered Episcopalian woman bishop who was free and so trump the PC Jewish and black guests to make it 'Women bishops  3 : 0  Jesus Christ'.

But 'Crossing the threshold' has little to do with Jesus Christ, other than as a vehicle for political ambition. It is about equality of opportunity in the workplace. As the Rev'd Jan Gould, priest-in-charge of Glan Ely benefice in Cardiff puts it: "This conference is about how we ?Cross the threshold? To a transformed leadership with the Church in Wales. Anglican women bishops in the USA have a huge amount to share and this is a unique opportunity to engage with their experience and to see together what that might mean for the future of the Church in Wales".

True, the leadership of the Church in Wales needs to be transformed but the Episcopal Church in the United States where 'Integrity' is the current driving force is far from a contoh of Christian orthodoxy. The Church in Wales, and indeed the Church of England, need to be informed by the tradition of the Holy Catholic Church, not adapt the Catholic faith to reflect the whims of society. That path has done wonders for feminism but at the expense of the Anglican Church as explained by Alice C. Linsley, a former woman priest in the Episcopal Church, in "The Feminization of Anglican Orders"(here).

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Merciful and merciless

William Pooley, seen here, worked as a volunteer for The Shepherd's Hospice in Sierra Leone

before he moved to serve on an Ebola treatment ward

William Pooley is a brave young man among many who has risked his own life showing mercy to help others affected by the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, an unavoidable, hideous disease for which there is no cure, story here.

By contrast, merciless Islamists who have benefited from the hospitality of this country among others flock to the Middle East to spread an avoidable virus which slaughters others simply because they do not share the misguided belief that it is the will of Allah. In the latest skirmish according to Aljazeera hundreds have been killed as fighters storm the Tabqa base in northeast Syria, the army's last foothold in the area (here).

Syria has said that it was willing to work with the international community, including the United States, to tackle "terrorismdanquot; but that any strikes on its territory must be coordinated with Damascus (here). The Foreign Secretary has ruled out sharing intelligence with President Assad to take on Islamic State forces because 'my enemy's enemy is not my friend' (here). That too is misguided. His sentiments are understandable but regrettable.

It is clear from the lessons of Iraq, Libya and indeed from Syria that the devil you know can be better than the devil you don't. Sir Christopher Meyer, former British Ambassador to the United States, responded "Britain’s foreign policy has to reflect the world as we find it – not as we would like it to be". He is correct. 'Islamic state' must be stopped. Sir Christopher concluded his remarks by saying "This would be the mother of all U-turns. It would stick in the craw of many. But, as the great Victorian foreign secretary, Lord Palmerston, once said, we have no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests."

Postscript

"Islamist groups work together in perfect harmony like an orchestra that sings to the tune of “Allahu Akbar.” And when Islamic terrorism and beheadings anger the world and turn public opinion against Islam, that orchestra starts playing a different tune to confuse and prevent the world from uncovering their coordinated handy work". Read here.

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Personal cost

Photo: Nathaniel Ramanaden

From the Church in Wales web site (here), "History was made in St Asaph on Sunday 31 August as Bishop Gayle Harris from the United States became the first Anglican woman bishop to preside and preach in a Welsh Cathedral.

Bishop Gayle, who is Suffragen (sic) Bishop of Massachusetts, led the service at 11am, both preaching and leading the Eucharist. She is in Wales to attend the “Crossing the Threshold” conference in Cardiff – a conference to mark the change in church law in Wales which means women can become bishops.

Invited by the Bishop of St Asaph to preach at the Cathedral, Bishop Gayle spoke about being a follower of Christ in her sermon, explaining that discipleship isn’t easy and involves personal cost."

She can say that again!

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Premature celebrations

The Jackson/Wigley Morgan partnership

Following the Church in Wales Governing Body vote to allow women to become bishops their Archbishop,  Dr Barry Morgan, said, "While we, as bishops, welcome the decision that women can now be ordained as bishops in Wales, we recognise that there are some people who do not. We want to make sure that adequate provision is made for them so that they will still feel valued and accepted in the Church and will continue to worship and minister alongside us.  We have been entrusted to draw up a Code of Practice within a year and we are keen to consult as widely as possible with church members in order to reflect their views as best we can." [My emphasis - Ed.]

Under the Bench of Bishops' original Bill, as soon as practicable after the promulgation of the Canon the Bench had to establish a Working Party which would (a) invite, receive and consider proposals for a scheme of provision for Members of the Church in Wales who, for reasons of conscience, dissent from the provisions of section 1 of the Bill to permit women bishops and (b) produce recommendations to the Bench of Bishops for such scheme of provision.

Recommendations made pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1) of the Bill and agreed by the Bench of Bishops were to be included in a Bill introduced into the Governing Body of the Church in Wales within two years of the promulgation of the original Bill.

That commitment seemed clear. An accommodation similar to that being worked on in the Church of England would allow all members of the Church the opportunity to flourish but having achieved their primary objective of allowing women to be admitted to the Episcopate through the Jackson/Wigley Amendment, that commitment under a voluntary Code of Practice is already looking pretty thin, adding to the suspicion that the Amendment merely provided Dr Morgan with the opportunity to maintain his position that there would be alternative pastoral and sacramental provision 'over his dead body' despite the costly charade of inviting submissions and organising diocesan meetings throughout the Province to receive and consider proposals for alternative provision.

As the date to allow women bishops draws near, arrangements have been made to celebrate the success of the women bishops campaign -jumping the gun in the process. For those who wish to remain true to the Catholic faith there is not even a whisper of what the bishops have in mind. According to Credo Cymru (here) the bishops' scheme will be presented as a fait accompli after women bishops become legal in the Church in Wales.

This is contrary to the spirit of the amendment to the Bill which, according to the accompanying explanatory notes (here), aimed for a shortened one-year lead time from the previous two years to:-

a) impart a sense of urgency to the Bench that a Code of Practice should be agreed

without delay, but

b) provide a period of time in which the Bench may reassure as wide a range of

people as possible of their good faith, and desire to give a sense of security in the

future, to individuals holding different views.

The amendment sought "explicitly to restore the relationship of Trust between the

body of the Church in Wales and the Bench of Bishops, and to reassert the desire

for this trust to lie at the heart of the bishops? Ministry and their role as a focus for

unity."

There has been no sense of urgency or reassurance of a sense of security for the future of those members of the Church for whom provision has to be made under the Code of Practice. It remains to be seen if good faith suffers a similar fate.

The decision to allow women bishops was greeted at Governing Body with wild applause. No doubt there will be similar expressions of ecstasy at the Crossing the Threshold event in Llandaff on 4 September which ends with a Eucharist at 7.45pm in Llandaff Cathedral when the President will be the Rt Rev’d Geralyn Wolf of the US Episcopal Church.

As she stands at the Altar, she and the congregation may wish to reflect on the fact that her presence there appears at this point in time to be as the result of a deception. Not good news or the best start for women in the Episcopacy in the Church in Wales!

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Abdication

Mesdames Gould, Wigley, Wolf, Jackson and Ford   Photos: Church in Wales

On the evening of Thursday 4th September instead of sitting down to dinner with President Barack Obama at Cardiff Castle on the first day of the Nato summit in Wales the Archbishop of Wales sat in the congregation of his cathedral which he had given over to a group of women to act out their feminist fantasies that the ordination of women is accepted in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of which they claim to be part.

As the article correctly states "The legislation to ordain women as bishops in Wales comes into effect on September 12, exactly one year after it was passed by the Governing Body of the Church in Wales. The delay was built in to allow the Welsh bishops time to prepare a Code of Practice to accompany the new law."

Since the Archbishop has abdicated any sense of responsible governance in his church the door is now open to ignore him.

Readers can read the report (here) and make of it what they will but I thought the preacher at the evening celebration made an interesting point when she said, "There is frequently an unholy scramble to claim the status of victim inside the church, which completely misses the point of Jesus’ message. The lost, according to Jesus, are not the insiders or the privileged but the genuinely vulnerable, the poor, the dependent, the young and the frail."

I wonder if she had paid any attention to the keynote speaker, Geralyn Wolf, who endlessly portrayed women as the victims when "she warned about the prejudices that face women bishops", or perhaps she was elsewhere during the day!

As for +Wolf's comment "Anglican women bishops in the USA have a huge amount to share and this is a unique opportunity to engage with their experience and to see together what that might mean for the future of the Church in Wales", perhaps the least said the better (here)!!

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Leaping into the unknown?

The Union flag, drained of the blue blood of Scotland leaving only the red and white of St George and St Patrick, in nursing terms, a sign of death!

So what is on offer from Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party and his opportunist accomplice, Nicola Sturgeon? Basically self interested with promises that can have no guarantee of delivery. Every note of caution, be it business, economic, political or whatever is cast aside as scaremongering. Scathing of  'Team Westminster', Mr Salmond has now quietly forgotten the Tory links which helped him to power.

In holding on to the monarchy, the pound and any other 'last resort' this has every appearance of a cherry picking exercise with the begging bowl in reserve if it goes horribly wrong.

This is an utter disaster for the Union. It is dividing Scotland in Biblical proportions, brother against brother, children against their own parents, etc.  There can be no winners in a 50/50 split. And for what? A giantleap into the unknown.

With Highland blood running through my veins along with ancient Irish, Welsh and English blood I am proud of my ancient heritage but also proud to be British. However, unlike English people living in Scotland I have no say in the matter!

Better together, pray that those who can will vote NO!

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