eChurch Blog

This is quite fascinating:-

UKPA

Personal integrity will be a key issue with voters at the general election following the scandal over MPs’ expenses, according to a survey.

Telephone interviews with 1,000 British adults last month have shown nearly three quarters – or 71% – say the Parliamentary expenses scandal has made them more concerned that their MP is someone of integrity.

The survey showed 72% of people said the personal integrity of their MP mattered more to them than the political party, with women, at 74%, more likely than men, at 69%, to place personal integrity ahead of party allegiance.

The ComRes poll for the Bible Society also found that one in five people believe that politics in the UK would be improved if more MPs read the Bible.

A quarter of people said they would trust an MP who is a practising Christian more than one who is not, and more than a third assumed their MP was a Christian.

The survey was commissioned to mark the launch of the new website www.susa.info providing information and links for Christians who wish to get more involved in politics.

Bible Society Parliamentary officer Dave Landrum said: “Two-thirds of the UK regards themselves as Christian, and globally religion is growing fast.

“As faith is set to play an increasingly important role in politics in the future, it’s important that this engagement is positive, hopeful and effective.”

I know that my view won’t be very popular, but frankly who cares anymore what is taught in Religious Education. The fact of the matter is, that true Christian education should be the preserve of the family and the church. It is not the responsibility of a publicly funded education system to pump out Christians.

I did note that among the ‘obscure religions’ to be taught as part of ‘Religious Education’, we can find secular humanism. This raises a couple of interesting questions in my mind such as, why have the government opted to include Humanism in religious education?

Are we to conclude that Secular Humanism’ is in fact a religion, and if it is, how does this impact their war on religion? As Humanists favour the removal of religion from the educational environment, will they be asking for Humanism to be removed from this governmental guidance.

Or is it perhaps that our children simply need to know why all religion is crap, from the Humanist worldview?

Some Christians will be up in arms over all of this (as usual), but for me personally, I learned nothing of Christianity from my Christian RE teacher and looking at my sons school work, it might be better all round if the public education system removed religious education altogether.

This is from my sons school RE book:-

Christians have been responsible for two millenia of suppressing women and Christians believe that if they are good they will go to heaven.

Islam was cited as bringing science and mathematics to humanity.

Uh huh!

Mail Online

Children as young as five to learn about minority faiths

Primary school children should be taught about obscure religions that believe plants have souls and the dead must be eaten by vultures, according to government guidance.

Ministers are recommending that pupils as young as five learn about minority faiths – some of which have a few thousand British followers – alongside Christianity and Islam.

Areas of study in the first religious education programme for primaries include humanism, the faiths of Baha’i, Zoroastrianism and Jainism along with Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Christianity.

But critics have condemned the guidance as ‘educational nonsense’ and a ‘multi-faith mish-mash’.

The programme is not mandatory but is likely to be taken up by most primaries and will mean children learning beliefs such as the Zoroastrian tradition that the dead should be eaten by vultures.

Jains believe in non-violence and think that all animals and plants have souls, each of which are of equal value.

The Baha’i faith teaches followers that all religions have valid origins and has laws prohibiting alcohol, drugs, adultery and party politics.

Read more:

I still find it amazing that official Egyptian documents, such as the national ID card, will not allow ‘a change of religion’ from Islam. It would seem that in Egypt you are officially Muslim, even if you’re not. Also will the UN Human Rights Commission dare to interfere? I won’t hold my breath.

Hat-tip elderofziyon

Daily News Egypt:

CAIRO: The lawyer of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity sent a memo to the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a bid to urge the Egyptian government to allow him to change his religious affiliation on official documents.

Ashraf Edward Kirolos called on the OHCHR to intervene in the case of Mohamed Ahmed Hegazy, who converted to Christianity and sought legal action to have his religious affiliation recognized on his national ID card and other official documents.

Kirolos’ memo urged the organization to pressure the Egyptian government into honoring its pledges and international commitments with regards to religious freedom, namely when it comes to converts to Christianity.

“While the government facilitates the conversion from Christianity to Islam, it refuses to recognize citizens who choose to convert from Islam to Christianity, which is a double standard and a violation of citizens’ rights and religious freedom,” the memo read.

Kirolos will hold a press conference on Tuesday to explain the reasons behind escalating the case. He told Daily News Egypt that he will also reveal other pathways through which he will escalate the case on an international level.

“We escalated the case in coordination with international human rights organizations and consultation offices because there wasn’t any progress on the local level,” Kirolos said.

Hegazy, 26, who changed his name to Bishoy Armia Boules, filed a lawsuit demanding that his religious affiliation be changed on his national ID card and other official documents, causing a stir among human rights and religious organizations.

He married a Muslim girl who also converted and changed her name from Zeinab to Christine.

In a phone interview with Daily News Egypt, Hegazy said that they decided to escalate the case after he lost hope in getting a court verdict in his favor.

“I cannot lead a double life anymore. While I practice Christianity and go to church, I am still a Muslim on official documents,” he said, adding that he has not been able to lead a normal life because constant death threats force him and his wife to remain in hiding.

Cranmer:-

Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei attended the holy mausoleum of the late Imam Khomeini yesterday and recited the first sura of the Holy Qur’an to remember him. He confirmed that Her Majesty the Queen has invited him to the United Kingdom in September – an official state visit; the first ever granted to an ayatollah – and that he has been gracious to accept.

And then he made a speech, addressed to British Muslims and to imams in particular, calling for Islamic unity to contend against Government legislation which contravenes shari’a law. The Ayatollah condemned the ‘unjust limitations on the freedom of Muslims to act in accordance with their beliefs’, and he urged imams to ensure Islam’s moral teaching was always presented in its ‘entirety’ and ‘convincingly defended’ with ‘Jihadi zeal’. He told the assembled leaders to ensure their faithful knew he ‘holds them in his heart’.

He urged them warmly to welcome disaffected Christians who wanted to convert to the Islamic faith, and he looks forward to a new system of Anglo-Islam accommodating whole Christian congregations who are opposed to women or homosexual priests and bishops.

The speech has caused a few ripples in the media, but Her Majesty’s Government have made no response to what may be perceived as fomenting treason and civil unrest.

The full speech is below:

Continue Reading

Gosh this news is everywhere at the moment. It would seem that the Pope is as concerned by NuLabour’s ‘obssessive compulsive legislation disorder’ as I am.

Daily Mail – Pope condemns Harman equality drive as ‘violation of natural law’

Times – Pope Benedict XVI misses the point in his attack on UK equality law

BBC – Pope Benedict attacks government over Equality Bill

Telegraph – Pope Benedict XVI criticises ‘unjust’ effects of Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill

Mirror – Pope Benedict XVI criticises “unjust” equality laws

UKPA – The Pope has been challenged to apply European equality rules on his own doorstep instead of attacking equality

Telegraph View: The Equality Bill, which would require all public bodies to address the gap between the social classes, has come in for criticism from the Pope. And quite right too.

Independent – Anger after Pope slams ‘unjust’ UK equality laws

Excellent little post from Biased BBC:-

The BBC take a break from the ongoing euthanasia campaign to point out in the Radio Four news headlines the dangers of ‘a meddlesome pontiff interfering in British law’.

It’s not often that I hear a BBC newsreader emphasising the Britishness of anything. Could it be that at last we’re entering the new Elizabethan age ?

The Bishops comments are flawed, especially in terms of the reciprocal rights of Muslims in the West and Christians in Islamic countries, they simply can’t be compared.

Jihad Watch:-

The main problem with Bishop Santier’s comments is a false sense of equivalence between the burqa issue and the plight of Christians in Muslim countries. In the former case, a very small number of Muslim women may be restricted from concealing their faces in the interest of gender equality and public safety. Can Muslims in France build mosques? Yes. Can they observe the five pillars of Islam? Yes. Can they proselytize? Yes, and they sure do.

Contrast that with the situation of Christians under Islamic rule. They are at the mercy of the whims of their rulers, and subject to a long and elaborate tradition of abuse that is enshrined in Sharia law. Such restrictions include the inability to build new churches or repair old ones, the inability to openly propagate their faith, the inability of converts to Christianity from Islam to live in safety, and the jizya tax, among others.

And that brings about the heart of the matter: the unwillingness to acknowledge that the subjugation of non-Muslims by any means necessary is called for time and again in the Qur’an itself (see, in particular, 9:29) Hence, there is no comparison between a possible ban on burqas in some areas of French society and the situation of Christians across the Islamic world.

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The below post link is a recent article by Edmund Standing who has worked tirelessly to highlight the inconsistency of the BNP’s Christian claims. Edmund has today announced that he will no longer undertake anti-fascist blogging and although I completely understand his reasons (tired of swimming in the sewers), I for one will miss his valuable work in this regard.

Edmund Standing: Sick BNP ‘Christians’ compare immigration to Hitler’s crimes in Poland

And here is another recent article by Seismic Shock:-

A ‘Christian’ Britain Under the BNP?

Ekklesia

The Church of England has advised its clergy not to give the British National Party a platform in church buildings, or even meet with representatives of the racist party.

The advice comes in new updated guidance from the Archbishops’ Council Mission and Public Affairs Division issued today (1st February).

The Church has previously stopped short of recommending that the far right party’s candidates not be invited to meetings in the run up to the general election, at which local people can grill their election candidates. Other churches, such as the Methodist Church, have however been more unequivocal.

However, the new guidance acknowledges that: “The recent discourse of the far-right has developed in a direction where intolerance is often cloaked in the language of culture and faith, both of which can be used to fuel racism and religious hatred.

“Lately the British National Party has sought to promote itself as a guardian of ‘British Christian heritage’ against an increasing ‘islamification’ of British society and the leadership of the mainstream churches” the guidance says.

“BNP supporters and candidates claim to have established a ‘Christian Council of Britain’ which erroneously stresses the ‘godly importance of race and nation’.

“Often those elected from such parties will seek to make civic capital through contact with church leaders to increase their local standing. Church leaders need to have thought through how they will react. Local churches may now be faced with deciding how to distance themselves from groups and councillors – whose racist policies and attitudes they opposed during the elections, while maintaining pastoral engagement with those who voted for them and council officials who continue their work as public servants.”

The guidance suggests: “It is not advisable to meet groups promoting racist policies as this gives them credibility and publicity. It is advisable not to give them a platform in churches or church buildings, as this can be used to suggest support for their policies (even by implication). This is a decision that will need to be taken by groups organising activities around local campaigns and pre-election hustings.

“The Church cannot accommodate those who would discriminate on grounds of ethnicity” the new advice continues.

“There is a need for consistency and integrity when confronting racism. Racism is indivisible – we cannot attack it in one area collude with it in other areas of life.”

“The 2010 General Election will be fought on different issues and through a different system to the 2009 European and local elections.

“Christians need to be alert to the language and policies evident in electioneering by extremists and more general anti-immigrant rhetoric. The BNP will almost certainly have election broadcasts.”

The guidance also recommends that statements by local church leaders re-emphasising the Church’s abhorrence of racism and prejudice “should be prepared early and a decision taken about the appropriate time to make such an intervention”.

Churches are under no legal obligation to include the BNP in election hustings meetings, the guidance points out, or give space to such parties for public meetings, if they consider this ‘association’ could have detrimental affect on their reputation and activities.

Is the church too girly and if it is, would this really account for the church losing nearly half of its men aged under 30, or could there be other factors?

Times:-

Real men don’t like going to church because they don’t want to “sing love songs to a man”, because the “vicar wears a dress”, because they feel like “mongrels on parade at Crufts” and because they want to be waited on by women rather than queue for coffee after the service.

A number of distinctly non-pc ways to get men back into church are among those being advocated by a charity, Christian Vision for Men, which has discovered that the Church has lost nearly half of its men aged under 30 because it has become too feminine.

The charity admits some of its ideas might not be seen as politically correct.

But on a questionnaire on its website aimed at finding out why so many men have left church, they suggest a number of ways of making men want to return to church again.

These include redesigning the interiors of church buildings to make men feel more at home.

Instead of the usual flowers and statues of the Virgin Mary, they suggest, “How would it go down to decorate with swords, or pictures of knights, or flaming torches?”

Read More

Previous post here.

Olive Jones, a Christian supply teacher from Weston-super-Mare, has been offered the opportunity to return to her old job after North Somerset Council recognised that it can be appropriate for a tutor to share their faith with a pupil or a family, depending on the situation.

Mrs Jones, 54, was dismissed in November 2009 after attending a meeting with her employers who had received a complaint from a parent that Olive had shared her faith with a sick pupil and asked the pupil’s mother whether she could pray for the pupil.

Mrs Jones was devastated at the decision made on 25 November, particularly as she was a highly regarded teacher and enjoyed a good relationship with the pupil and her family. She said that the decision was ‘completely disproportionate’ and that it made her feel as though she had committed a crime.

No formal investigations were undertaken before the meeting to clarify what had happened at the pupil’s home.

As a result of intervention by the Christian Legal Centre and extensive media coverage, the Council arranged to meet Olive in the New Year. On Tuesday 19 January, Olive attended a meeting where she told the Council that she had not been present at a meeting where the family concerned had said that they did not wish to discuss faith matters, and that this information had not been relayed to her by colleagues. Olive therefore had no idea that her offer to pray for the pupil was unacceptable to the family and would result in a complaint.

After hearing that Olive had been unaware of the family’s wishes, the Council affirmed that it valued Olive’s skills and offered her the opportunity to return to work.