eChurch Christian Blog

The below IMPORTANT article is from our friends at Christian Concern for our Nation

The ‘Chilling Effect’ on Free Speech of the Coroners and Justice Bill and How You can Help to Stop It

The offence of ‘inciting hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation’ is part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (‘CJI Act’). Lord Waddington successfully inserted a free speech clause into that Act, which clause 61 (formerly clause 58) of the Coroners and Justice Bill now seeks to remove. Clause 61 has been passed by the Commons. It reads as follows:

61 Hatred against persons on grounds of sexual orientation

In Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64) (hatred against persons on grounds of sexual orientation etc), omit section 29JA (protection for discussion or criticism of sexual conduct etc).

Section 29JA (which clause 61 seeks to omit) reads as follows:

29JA Protection of freedom of expression (sexual orientation)

In this Part, for the avoidance of doubt, the discussion or criticism of sexual conduct or practices or the urging of persons to refrain from or modify such conduct or practices shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred.

The provisions of the Bill are likely to be considered in the House of Lords shortly after its Second Reading on 18th May.

‘Stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation’ carries a sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment. Without highlighting the legal distinction between ‘discussion’ on one hand and the ‘stirring up’ of ‘hatred’ on the other, ordinary people will be frightened into silence, unsure whether they can challenge the new morality that seeks to normalise and promote homosexual practice.

Nobody supports the stirring up of hatred, but equally no reasonable person should object to peaceful criticism and discussion of sexual behaviour. Repealing this clause would remove the clear legal protection for such criticism and discussion from the face of the statute. Issuing Guidelines to police and prosecutors cannot hope to undo the damage this will cause. If clause 61 is passed, the consequences would include a climate of fear surrounding the mere discussion of sexual ethics and potentially the silencing of the Christian view.

Let us stand as Christians for our freedom to make a peaceful and reasonable case for biblical sexual ethics.

Attempts to amend this same Bill to allow assisted suicide, including a high-profile bid by former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, have so far failed. However, we can expect further attempts by the pro-euthanasia lobby to decriminalise assistance with suicide abroad during its Committee Stage, which follows Second Reading. This would render the existing law inconsistent. People would ask why it is acceptable to assist with a suicide abroad, but not at home. The consequences are plain for all to see.

A concerted campaign is growing in the media to normalise the idea of legalising assistance with suicide: Dr Philip Nitschke is in the UK once again promoting different methods for committing suicide and this month Chris Woodhead, former chief of OFSTED, has made known his desire to commit suicide in the Daily Mail. Pray that the Lord would hold the line and that the sanctity of life would be preserved in our law. For further information, read the latest newsletter from Care Not Killing by clicking here and visit the website by clicking here.

Please use the list of Peers’ votes at the link below to find out which Peers voted for the free speech clause in May 2008. Please write to as many as you can, asking them to attend Parliament to vote for any amendment that would remove clause 61. If you have any personal contact with a Peer, please seek to persuade them of the necessity of voting for the free speech clause. To see our list of Peers’ votes, please click here.

Please join our campaign to protect free speech and to prevent assisted suicide by writing to Peers. Our updated Information and Action pack provides the resources you need to do this quickly and effectively. Please click on the icon on the right and take action as soon as you can. Remember, the date for the Second Reading is Monday, 18th May, after which the Bill will be discussed in Committee, when clauses are debated and amendments tabled.

Christian Concern for our Nation

Just listening to the radio (I listen to Chill) and one of the lyrics on a song said:

‘These are the times that try mens souls’…..How true!

I want to post the following article from our friend and brother at the Christian Hawk (A Christian eye on Politics), I find that Robin articulates so much of what I have been thinking in private:-

Published with kind permission

Swine Flue: Pandemic or Panic?

Is The Encouragement To Panic Really About Something Different?

Nobody doubts that every nation on earth should do everything possible to protect the health of it’s people. I well remember the Asian influenza outbreak of the 1960s and how it took the life of a man I had come to know through the course of my working life. Disease epidemics are a very nasty business because many hundreds or thousands – occasionally even several millions – of people could die. Having said that, the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918-19 was very rare and exceptional. That epidemic led to the death of several million people but it did so in a very different world and one gripped by a World War I which was just drawing to a close. I don’t recall the figures of the Asian flu which affected the UK in the 60s, but it probably affected a few thousand people. But going back to the devastation which Spanish flu caused almost a hundred years ago, one would have to say that the world has changed a lot since then and standards of cleanliness and hygiene have improved beyond measure as has medical care. Most infectious diseases thrive in unsanitary conditions. Rightly or wrongly, many wise and seasoned health experts believe that pandemics such as the horrific bubonic plague of the Middle Ages and even the Spanish influenza of the early 20th century could not occur on such a scale today. There seems reasonable grounds for some optimism, then, that the recent outbreak of swine influenza in Mexico will not lead to a world-wide catastrophe, even though several hundreds, maybe even a few thousand people might tragically succomb. But first indications are that recovery chances are very good indeed. Of 2,000 people admitted to Mexican hospitals within a few days of the scare, 1,000 had been sent home within two more days. No cause, then, for panic.

The Christian Hawk, May 1st, 2009.

Men and Women always strive for ‘freedom’ but what is “Freedom”?

People have come up with some interesting definitions of ‘freedom.’

George Hegel said,
“Freedom is to be in possession of oneself.”

Albert Camus made the following very interesting comment,
“People are prepared to abandon freedom for social justice. But all that happens is that you get a new form of social injustice.”

Karl Marx believed that freedom could be attained by destroying the received rule and authority of an elite ruling class over simple workers – just give the simple, humble “workers” the authority and remove it from the elitist wealthy and there you will have a perfect society!
But one of the most interesting quotes about ‘freedom’ comes from Charles Kingsley. Kingsley said,
“There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where a man is free to do what he ought.”

Kingsley clearly grasped that “human freedom,” seen as complete human self-interest, and/or combined with mental enslavement to a flawed philosophy of life, can be utterly disastrous.
Satan Encouraged Eve to Exercise Freedom…

Most people today are not interested in what happened in the Garden of Eden, since they view that garden as purely mythical. Little do “sophisticated” and “enlightened” moderns know that that garden is no myth and that what happened there has shaped people’s attitude to the whole concept of ‘freedom.’
The message which the lying serpent taught the first human couple is that human freedom and human independence – especially independence of any concept of the divine or supernatural – are worthy and meritorious ideals. Adam and Eve (literally!) ’swallowed’ this belief when they swallowed the forbidden fruit!

The search for human freedom never stops but just as various societies have felt that true freedom was very close and they held out a hand to pluck it, it disappeared! Communism did not bring freedom, but only even greater enslavement; Nazism did not bring freedom although thousands of Germans were taught that it would; Neither did Darwinism bring freedom, indeed, the underlying atheism within this so-called “scientific” creed gave apparent justification to the hideous excesses of the two aforementioned political systems! Meanwhile, the ‘permissive society’ which liberals believed would finally bring true human freedom at last, has only brought moral depravity, wretchedness and youth suicide levels on a scale undreamed of – yes, even undreamed of in the most impoverished and harsh third world dictatorships.

The problem is that people have only sought ‘freedom’ according to their own ideals or according to their own wishes or needs. But certainly any concept that ‘freedom’ can only be achieved by the throwing off of all moral restraints has – in our own highly liberal and permissive age – been blown apart as a valid theory. Like all quests for “human freedom,” all that has happened is that another group within society has come under enslavement.
But THERE IS a Way to Freedom…

The way to true freedom is, firstly, to recognise the great lie that “human freedom” may be found within the path of human autonomy and self-interest.

When the first human couple walked and talked with the Lord God they already had true human freedom. But the great lie which came from the Arch Deceiver is that freedom equals no responsibility. On the contrary, freedom can only be attained where people recognise human responsibility. In this, Charles Kingsley’s concept of freedom was certainly close to the mark. Indeed, if men and women choose to do whatever they like, that is only the path to anarchy and to eventual Nihilism! But if freedom is sought along the path of bringing the greatest joy and blessings to our fellow men and women, then we at least start out on the right road. However, Karl Marx also believed that his version of freedom would bring the greatest blessings to ordinary men and women so we must make sure that the philosophy is right in the first place. But Marx’s philosophy was distorted by hatred, envy and by the conviction that he alone was right. So what is the answer?

The answer is to reject the original satanic lie that men and women should seek their own human knowledge apart from any concept of the supernatural or divine. The “enlightenment” finally rubber-stamped this naive philosophy which it decided to call “scientific” – what the cunning serpent knew, of course, is that where God is rejected, demonic forces move in so Mankind can never operate outside of supernatural influence.
But Jesus of Nazareth came to offer us a road back to true freedom – that true path which – alone – can bring the greatest joy and happiness to men and women! Jesus said,
‘…If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you FREE’ (John 8:31-32, NIV – my emphasis).

But the Jews revealed that they only conceived of freedom in human political/philosophical terms, so Jesus quickly clarified what true freedom really is:
‘Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”‘ (John 8:34-36).

But the Jews continued to misunderstand Jesus throughout the remainder of John 8 – check out the entire chapter!
So the message is clear that IT IS SIN WHICH IS THE ENSLAVER. Yes, sin enslaves. It is the sinful tendency in people which makes them come up with their own independent ideas of “freedom” then want to impose those ideas on others. But all of those human conceptions of freedom are inherently flawed. The answer of Scripture is that human sin must be dealt with first – only then do we achieve clear spiritual sight! Jesus came to earth to make this clear spiritual sight available to those who accept the Gospel and who commit their lives to Him. Only with that clear and vivid spiritual sight can we correctly understand what freedom is – and just as importantly, what it is not!
So – just as John 8 tells us – if the ‘Son’ (Jesus, the Son of God) sets us free from sin, then that alone is true freedom. The eventual alternative is serious indeed: we finally perish and the prospect of Eternal Death looms large for those who continue to stubbornly deny God and refuse to acknowledge the clear reality of human sin!
‘”…But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”‘ (Luke 13:5).

Freedom, then, does not and cannot abide with human sinfulness. Satan’s great lie is that “freedom” lies in the path of human autonomy devoid of any authority – but therein lies the path to Eternal Death! Yes, freedom – true freedom! – is certainly attainable but it may only be found in the path of sinlessness. Mankind lost the required ‘road map’ but Jesus Christ opens a door to get us back there. Thereafter Christians start to experience and understand this freedom even in this life whilst understanding that true freedom is the gift of Eternal Life, finally achieved (not by our own efforts, but through divine grace) – beyond the grave…

Is it not worth it?
Robin A. Brace, UK Apologetics – (Make sure to check out this fantastic Christian resource website)

We are as a church going through the 40 days for ‘Purpose Driven’ and I must confess I personally am not much of a fan. I have no real gripe with the guy it’s just that I have personally struggled with the concept of my purpose in life even as a Christian. I feel that formulaic books probably won’t help with the issue for me personally, but I accept the benefits for others.

Rick Warren has been cited by Time Magazine as one of the World’s most influential people and his ‘Purpose Driven Life’ book is the second best selling book of all time, surpassed only by the Bible…gosh!

The following excerpt was emailed to me so I thought I would publish it, I don’t know the original interview source:-

‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor of SaddlebackChurch in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell,
life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God
wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but
not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of
years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants
us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t
going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming
out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into an other one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than
your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your
life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life.
The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest,
with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark
time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that
anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like
two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and
something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad
that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something
good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness,’which is
my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of
pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands
of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her
character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance,
this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it
made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before.
I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you
to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and
influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to
do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our
lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the
church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to
plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and
educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I
started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to
serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am
I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I
don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You
better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more
interested in what I am than what I do.

That’s why we’re called human beings,not human doings.