eChurch Blog

Jim over at Zwinglius posted about this yesterday and today this news is everywhere.

Here’s what Jim said:

And here are some links:

Christian Today – Oldest-known paintings of Apostles Andrew and John uncovered

National Post – Oldest images of Christ’s apostles found in Rome

Telegraph – Earliest known images of apostles discovered under Rome streets

Catholic News Agency – Oldest known paintings of Christian apostles rediscovered in Roman catacombs

Guardian – New laser burnt away centuries of calcium deposits to reveal earliest known pictures of Andrew and John in Rome catacomb

Christian Post – Oldest-Known Paintings of Apostles Andrew, John Uncovered

The Church of Jesus Christ – 4th Century Renderings of John and Andrew found in Italy

Fascinating stats from the Pew Forum, although, the sample is quite small (1546 adults via telephone interview) and they put the total margin of error at plus or minus 3 percentage points. The error attributable to sampling would be expected at the 95% level of confidence.

Predictions about whether Jesus Christ will return to earth in the next 40 years divide along religious lines. Fully 58% of white evangelical Christians say Jesus Christ will definitely or probably return to earth in this period, by far the highest percentage in any religious group. Only about a third of Catholics (32%), and even fewer white mainline Protestants (27%) and the religiously unaffiliated (20%) predict Jesus Christ’s return to earth.

In addition, those with no college experience (59%) are much more likely than those with some college experience (35%) and college graduates (19%) to expect Jesus Christ’s return. By region, those in the South (52%) are the most likely to predict a Second Coming by 2050.

On a related subject, 65% of Americans say that religion in the United States will be about as important as it is now in 40 years; 30% say religion will become less important. Majorities across all religious groups, including the unaffiliated, see religion continuing to be about as important as it is now in the coming decades.

Here are some links to the study:

Overview

Section 1: Science, Technology and the Environment

Section 2: The Nation, The Economy and Social Trends

Section 3: War, Terrorism and Global Trends

Insightful and astute cross-post from Derek Leman over at Messianic Jewish Musings:

Israel, What Are Christians to Think?

Doing my morning commentary work (in Numbers and John right now) I had to struggle with a bit of anger and a preoccupation with wanting to write this post instead of doing my task at hand.

The source of my vexation is a discussion started yesterday on a major Christian blog. As happens from time to time, the left-leaning side of Christianity has to show its moral legitimation by speaking ill of the state of Israel. It is a qualification for true leftness to show maturity by disapproving of every action of the state of Israel and chalking the violence of Hamas up to the understandable pent-up frustration of being an “occupied” nation struggling against oppression.

Before I go on to talk about the way I think Christians should think of the state of Israel (don’t assume you know what I will say), let me tell you that Israelis have a lot more sanity about the situation than the comfortable theorists in America who sit back and judge over their morning coffee untroubled by the prospect of war, of Iranian nukes, or of the rising anti-semitism in Europe. Israelis and, in rare cases where they are allowed to speak freely and without fear of repercussions from their Hamas overlords, Palestinians, believe they can get along. Of course, I am generalizing and you can say my generalization is wrong, if you’d like, but try talking to some Israelis and some Palestinians who have freedom from their oppressive, terrorist government.

But Americans and others in the west continually interfere and fan the flames of hatred. Can anyone suggest to me that American interference has helped the problem? I suppose some people will tell me that if America left Israel unchecked the state would, allegedly, take a heavier hand with the Palestinians. I doubt that and argue against it. Israel has a conscience as big or bigger than America.

America gets a pass, compared to Israel, on the way we treat our enemy combatants. America kills civilians.

Anyway, it felt good to say those things.

The Unhelpful Christian Zionist Approach
On this blog a well-meaning-but-in-way-over-his-head Christian spoke up for Israel. His argument is all too familiar, but needs evaluation:

1. Genesis 12:3 says those who bless Israel will be blessed.
2. The land has been given to Israel by God in the Torah.
3. Therefore, America should seek God’s blessing by supporting the state of Israel in its every decision and action.

Well, I agree with point #1. I think point #2 is true in a sense, but this is the ultimate plan, in God’s time, and is not true of every generation and does not overrule the divine imperative of justice and faithfulness to the Torah covenant.

Let me suggest a Jewish view, a biblical view of the situation:

1. Israel is the people elected freely and irrevocably by God, whose destiny and purpose serve as the forefront of God’s plan of world redemption.
2. Israel’s relationship with God is one of unconditional love and favor, but its temporal fortunes are tied to the covenant relationship through Torah.
3. The state of Israel is a secular government with little regard for Torah, which is obligated to follow the divine commandments and is not, and which is not guaranteed peace or success in any generation until there is renewal.

I believe Christian Zionists are great friends to the Jewish people. I believe there are plenty of mature, biblically thoughtful Christian Zionists. But there are also plenty who have not thought deeply. Their love for Israel is well-meaning but needs to be balanced with the prophetic call for Israel to be the covenant people.

This commenter on the Christian blog did not help the cause with his unbalanced call for unequivocal support for a secular Jewish state.

Of Freedom of Speech in Israel and in Muslim Lands
Dershowitz, in his excellent book, The Case for Israel, documents the right and regular use of free speech by Israelis to criticize their own government.

The disastrous handling of the Gaza flotilla incident, which is the reason people are talking so much about Israel right now, has been roundly criticized by many Israelis. Most Israelis are frustrated with the way their government handled this. It is a black eye for Netanyahu, regardless of how much he personally did or did not become involved in its planning (I am unaware of his involvement or lack of involvement).

Israelis have free speech and can utilize it without fear of reprisal. Israel has been far more conciliatory toward Palestinians as a result. Israelis want peace and have been willing to sacrifice a great deal for it.

Meanwhile, in Palestinian territories and in Muslim lands, there is no such free speech or access to world opinion and news. Palestinian kids are educated with statist propaganda, outright lies, making Israelis out to be de facto Nazis. Citizens of Muslim lands, as a general rule, are not able to say that the Jews have a homeland in the Middle East which is here to stay (I am excepting Israel’s allies: Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt).

Jews are self-criticizing. Muslims must watch their mouths continually. A generalization, sure, but one that is truer than some will admit.

What Should a Christian Think?
One of the other commenters on this Christian blog took the anti-Israel approach to the max. They said Genesis 17 gives the land to Abraham’s descendants, Jew and Arab.

They reject the biblical teaching that the covenant passed through Isaac and not Ishmael, through Jacob and not Esau. Their unbalanced view is no better than the Israel-gets-the-land-no-matter-what Christian Zionist commenter (in fact, their view is worse).

But given the theological parameters I discussed above, here are some bullet points that I think should clarify a valid Christian Zionist position:

1. The state of Israel is in need of reform from the Torah (I believe Messiah will come after a return to Torah).

2. The state of Israel has no guarantee of success in the land as long as it is unfaithful to the covenant.

3. Blessing Israel a la Genesis 12 is about praying for a return to God, to Torah, to covenant love, not approving of each and every policy of the state.

4. Speaking against the state of Israel from time to time as a friend is a sign of a mature relationship.

5. Israel has a right as a sovereign nation to defend itself (I know the arguments for passive resistance as the only legitimate form of response and I reject them as heinous, not valuing human life enough to fight for it).

6. Supposed peace activists who bring combatants and arms into Gaza bring on themselves whatever happens (any boats bringing people chanting about the destruction of America with religious zeal would be seized and the people locked up).

7. The state of Israel must be held to Torah standards of justice, respect for human life, and so on. It is perfectly legitimate for Christians to be angry about torture and other abuses.

8. The Palestinians and Muslim anti-Israel activists have much more to answer for than Israel: for violent bloodshed, for a lack of respect for human life that makes Israel’s abuses pale, for oppressing their own people in ways that should embarrass every left-leaning supporter of the Islamic cause, for insisting that the Jews all leave Israel, for ignoring the historical reality that Israel has always been the home of the Jewish people, for denying God and Torah to a greater degree that the Israeli state, and the list of charges against Muslim cruelty and oppression could go on and on.

The Bottom Line
Christians should be pro-Israel as the elect people of God, holding the state of Israel to God’s standards, and praying for renewal in Israel. Christians can differ as to theories about solutions. Christians, like Jews and Israelis, should hold the government of Israel’s feet to the fire. Christians should recognize that the land will be restored by God to the people of Israel in his time and in his way. Christians should bless Israel by praying for and encouraging Jews to discover Torah and live by it. Christians should speak out against Muslim acts of violence, inherent disregard for life in the Muslim jihad, and the Muslim counter-narrative which arrogates God’s election of the Jewish people to itself.

chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it

Few have noticed it. But amongst the 10 thousand faithful, that is practically the total number of Catholics in Cyprus, who participated at the mass celebrated by Benedict XVI on June 6th at Nicosia, most of them were not Cypriots, but Asians, Africans, and South Americans.

The Pope himself, in his homily, addressed a particular salute to the immigrants coming from the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

As a matter of fact, together with the Indians they represent half of the 30 thousand immigrants on the island, 60 thousand if you also count the illegal ones.

A good number are Catholics. They crowd the small churches. They baptize their children. They are the new and less known image of the Church’s presence not only in Cyprus, but in some areas of the Holy Land and of the Middle East.

Cyprus which is part of the European Union is one of their much sought after destinations. Once arrived in Turkey, the immigrants get off and move on without any difficulty to the Northern part of the island occupied by the Turks. From there, they easily cross the boundary to the Republic of Cyprus, which is considered a part of the journey towards our European countries.

Extending our perspective to the entire area, it occurs that while the Pope calls a Synod and invokes Christians of the Middle East – descendents of the ancient Churches of the area between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf – to not abandon their lands because of hostile pressures, like many are doing in the regions where new Catholics are arriving from far away countries.

This immigration flow is so vast, that often the newcomers are more numerous than the local Christians. However, unexpectedly the draft of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, held in Rome in October, barely considers this phenomenon, in paragraphs 49 and 50.

Turkey is a case of its own, but still enlightening. Here in the last century the Christian presence has been wiped out. Only the bishops and priests coming from Italy are able to assure the survival of very small Catholic communities. The names of the last martyrs speak for themselves: the priest Andrea Santoro and the bishop Luigi Padovese who was killed just before the Pope’s visit to Cyprus.

The bishop of Smyrna and of Anatolia, Ruggero Franceschini, in succeeding to Padovese, called on voluntaries and priests to leave Italy on a “mission” to Turkey, in order to assure and maintain the Catholic presence in the country.

But concerning the more general phenomenon of new Christian immigrants in the Middle East, what is most surprising is that it is actually happening where Islam first started, that is Saudi Arabia , where there are 2 million Catholics, and in the Gulf countries.

Regarding the Arabian Peninsula, here is an up to date analysis of the changed religious scenery. The author is a major expert of the field: Giuseppe Caffulli, director of the reviews and website of “Custodia di Terra Santa” and author of “Fratelli dimenticati. Viaggio tra i cristiani del Medio Oriente”, Àncora, Milan, 2007.

This analysis was published on the last number of “Vita e Pensiero”, the review of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

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Personally I’m gutted about this.

Guardian:

The Daily Telegraph’s religion editor, George Pitcher, has left the paper. Pitcher combined his role with his job as an Anglican priest and is associated priest at St Bride’s on Fleet Street, known as “the journalists’ church”.

He began his career as a reporter, winning plaudits for his time as industrial editor of the Observer in the early 1990s and went on to found City PR firm Luther Pendragon.

Pitcher was hired by former editor-in-chief Will Lewis in May 2008.

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Ekklesia

Telegraph newspaper religion editor, George Pitcher, has left the paper after just over two years in the post. He was hired by former editor-in-chief Will Lewis in May 2008.

Pitcher combined his role on the right-of-centre paper with his job as a priest in the Church of England. He has strong and regular connections with St Bride’s Fleet Street, known as “the journalists’ church”.

Some hard-line conservative Anglicans and Catholics apparently regarded Pitcher as ‘too liberal’, including some commentator-bloggers on the Telegraph, who sometimes express their views in what has been described as as ‘aggressive terms’ – in contrast to the religion editor’s more genial approach.

Pitcher also attracted sniping from the small but media-savvy National Secular Society, who belittleingly dubbed him ‘George of the Sixth Form’.

He began his career as a reporter with wide interests, including a period as industrial editor of the Observer in the early 1990s.

Pitcher went on to set up City of London-based PR firm Luther Pendragon.

Will Lewis, who appointed him, stood down as editor of the Daily Telegraph at the end of 2009, and resigned from a digital project for the paper’s parent company after a reported difference of opinion with chief executive Murdoch MacLennan.

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I’m glad to report that Joseph over at Seismic Shock has put together a post in response to the recent anti-Israeli overtures, emanating from the UK Methodist Church currently.

For background reading see this post from yesterday:

eChurch – Methodists set to clash with Jewish community in UK

Here is Joseph’s blog post in full:

Dr Stephen Leah & The Anti-Israel Methodists

The Jewish Chronicle reports:

Jewish leaders have condemned a “skewed” report on Israel prepared by the Methodist Church, warning it could set back interfaith relations for years.

The report, which is to be debated at the church’s national conference later this month, calls for a boycott of goods from “illegal” West Bank settlements, and political lobbying to end Israel’s occupation and the “siege of Gaza”.

[...]

The report also asks the church to examine whether Zionism, and in particular Christian Zionism, is compatible with Methodist beliefs.

This Methodist report was inevitably leading towards an interfaith crisis, given that one of the members of the Methodist Church’s Israel Palestine Working Group is Stephen Leah, a Methodist vicar in charge of the York PSG. He was also the seconder of the motion for Methodists to examine Zionists more closely, the proposer of the motion being Rev Nichola Jones of Friends of Sabeel UK. As such, Leah’s political positioning merits closer attention.

In April, Leah boasted to ICAHD-UK:

I am a Methodist preacher I’m also the chair of the York PSC. I personally would like to have divestment going a little bit further into the full boycott of Israel, but I know how much I can get away with in the churches sometimes. [...] Churches are paranoid about being critical of Israel sometimes, they want to be balanced all the time, we must put pressure on church leaders.

So Leah’s document calls for a boycott of Israeli goods which affect Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, but this is merely a pit-stop for Leah in his quest for a full-scale boycott of Israel proper.

Indeed, The Methodist document driven by Leah promotes the writings of the Christian Far Right author Stephen Sizer, who has many known links to Holocaust-deniers.

Sadly Dr Leah is pushing the Methodist Church into a reactionary political position that betrays the ethos and ethics of the Church.

I have been toying with the idea of changing the “All of Grace” page on this Blog.

The purpose of this page is to convey the Gospel message, pure and simple, and it is heavily visited every day.

Although I love Spurgeon and this was his seminal work in terms of written evangelism, it perhaps does not fit with today’s audience in terms of length, language and literary style etc.

I’m looking for suggestions for a new article to replace this one……

Or if someone wants to play with the original…..

Or perhaps you feel brave enough to write one……

One final thing to mention is don’t be offended if I choose not to opt for your suggestion.

OK, this one’s on virtually every news platform right now and involves a doctor, morphine, and euthanasia, and no, this is not about Harold Shipman.

Put simply, Dr Howard Martin has been struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC) for professional misconduct, ruling that he had hastened the deaths of 18 patients in “egregious, despicable and dangerous” conduct. In two cases, he hastened the deaths of patients without their permission, including his own son.

Dr Martin had previously stood trial at Teesside Crown Court on three counts of murder, but was found not guilty.

OK, that’s a brief synopsis of this story and there are links below to fill in the gaps.

Regular readers will know my position on euthanasia and assisted suicide, and please do note that I’m not devoid of compassion, as I have worked within a palliative medical setting.

I particularly want to highlight two familiar and disturbing statements made by Dr Martin:

….he said he only acted out of “Christian compassion” and was merely trying to limit their suffering rather than “playing God”.

And

“A vet would put a dog down, but under the current system a doctor is not allowed to take positive action to help a patient in a humane way,” he said.

There is always an appeal to “compassion” to legitimise this death cult euthanasia and assisted suicide, however, Dr Martin goes further and invokes “Christian compassion”.

I will say at this point that I’m unaware of the act of ending another human life as a Christian act in any sense.

Note also the “dog” statement, which is a cliche trotted out with monotonous regularity to support euthanasia, however, the two statements side by side are in conflict in my mind, as Christians view humans as “made in the image of God“. You can’t have it both ways, namely, invoking Christianity and then appealing to a comparison between humans and the animal kingdom.

Telegraph:

Dr Howard Martin, once feared to be a “second Harold Shipman”, told The Daily Telegraph that he gave what proved to be fatal doses of painkillers to elderly and terminally ill patients.

But he said he only acted out of “Christian compassion” and was merely trying to limit their suffering rather than “playing God”.

He disclosed that, in two cases, he hastened the deaths of patients without their permission, while one of those to whom he administered a final injection was his son, Paul, 31, when he was dying from cancer in May 1988.

Dr Martin, 75, spoke out as the General Medical Council struck him off for professional misconduct, ruling that he had hastened the deaths of 18 patients in “egregious, despicable and dangerous” conduct.

He accepted that his confession put him at risk of “spending the rest of my life in prison” if it prompted police to reopen his case.

He did not talk about what he had done during his triple murder trial, subsequent inquests or the GMC hearing. But Dr Martin said he decided to speak out to call for reform of a system of care, which – he claims – takes the “soft” option of confining the terminally ill to hospitals and hospices rather than allowing them the “dignity” of dying at home with their loved ones.

“A vet would put a dog down, but under the current system a doctor is not allowed to take positive action to help a patient in a humane way,” he said.

“I don’t believe I’ve killed any patients. I believe I’ve made them comfortable in their hour of need. But I am deemed to be arrogant because I used my discretion.

“They want to extrapolate that to say I’m choosing to kill people. It’s not like that. The patients are about to die and I want to make sure they are comfortable. How can a so-called caring society not understand that? How can I be reckless with someone who is about to die?”

Dr Martin, a former Army doctor and police surgeon who qualified in 1958, was arrested in May 2004 in Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, at one of his three surgeries. Relations of an elderly cancer patient raised concerns with police after his death and a post mortem examination showed high levels of diamorphine in his system.

The doctor was suspended by the medical watchdog and, after more bodies were exhumed, he was charged with murdering three former patients.

Shipman, Britain’s most prolific serial killer with an estimated 258 victims, once briefly worked as a locum at Dr Martin’s practice.

Dr Martin stood trial at Teesside Crown Court but was found not guilty of killing Frank Moss, 59, Stanley Weldon and Harry Gittins, both 74.

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Further Links:

Matt Wardman – ‘You will die with dignity, whether you want to die or not’ (Howard Martin case)

Telegraph – Dr Howard Martin: Admission of hastening death could lead to further investigation

BBC – A retired doctor has been struck off after giving excessively high doses of morphine to 18 dying patients.

Sky News – Dr Howard Martin was banned from practising by the General Medical Council yesterday for professional misconduct, ruling he was involved in the deaths of 18 patients.

Chichester Observer – A County Durham GP has been struck off for his “deliberate course of conduct” towards 18 elderly vulnerable patients who died shortly after he gave them excessively high doses of morphine.

Guardian – Dr Howard Martin, 75, violated the rights of the terminally ill or very frail patients at his County Durham practice over a 10-year period, a General Medical Council disciplinary panel has ruled .

MailOnline – In an extraordinary confession, Dr Howard Martin admitted giving fatal doses of painkillers to dozens of elderly and terminally ill patients.

NorthEastJournal – Dr Howard Martin, 75, of Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd, said in an interview that he gave fatal doses of painkillers to terminally ill patients in a bid to limit their suffering.

aaaarrrrgggghhhhh…

Jerusalem post:

LONDON – The Methodist Church of Britain is on a collision course with Jewish community leaders after being accused of producing a document against Israel to debate the conflict at its annual conference in Portsmouth later this month.

The church, the fourth largest Christian denomination in Britain, is set to have a “debate on Israel-Palestine” then vote on whether to implement a boycott of products and services from the West Bank. Written by group of Methodist clergy, academics and peace activists, the document, titled “Justice for Palestine and Israel,” has been accused of being selective and “full of historical distortions and bias.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has expressed concern saying the document could damage Jewish-Methodist relations in the UK. Board chief executive, Jon Benjamin, has written to the president of the Methodist Conference to ask for an urgent meeting.

“This deeply disturbing paper is full of historical distortions and bias,” Benjamin told The Jerusalem Post. “That’s unsurprising, given that its main sources appear to be anti-Zionist campaigners. Especially troubling is the suggestion that the Methodist Church will investigate expelling Zionists.

“If it passes, the paper will be damaging to Jewish-Methodist relations. We are seeking an urgent meeting with Methodist leaders to make our objections clear and to seek a resolution.”

The 54-page document has been distributed to all Methodist churches, circuits and regions throughout the UK in order to “resource them in their understanding of and engagement with the issues,” the document described.

Almost all the sources used in the document are controversial. It includes anti-Zionist and anti-Israel activists such as scholars Ilan Pappe and Avi Shlaim; Jeff Halper from the fringe group ‘Israeli Committee against House Demolitions’; Anglican vicar Stephen Sizer and journalist Robert Fisk.

There are also testimonies from Breaking the Silence and the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), a group funded and supported by the World Council of Churches, which supports the divestment campaign against Israel.

Jerusalem-based research organization NGO Monitor said EAPPI uses a biased Palestinian narrative using demonizing terms such as “apartheid” and “war crimes” to describe Israel and said that most volunteers become active in anti-Israel campaigns on returning to their hometowns.

The report says that 12 volunteers from the Methodist Church in the UK have so far volunteered with EAPPI and spoken at numerous church gatherings.

“EAPPI members have a history of promoting anti-Israel agendas under the facade of peace,” NGO Monitor president Prof. Gerald Steinberg said.

“Christian groups that promote anti-Israel demonization and international isolation display a very disturbing insensitivity and fuel the conflict. The report reflects the distortions of the World Council of Churches, Amos Trust, KAIROS, EAPPI and other groups in this one-sided and biased document. The exclusive emphasis on “occupation” strips away the context of Palestinian terror and rejectionism for seven decades, which forced Israel to response in defense of its citizens.

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I notice good ol’ Stephen Sizer is mentioned in this article. Coincidentally, Joseph over at Seismic Shock posted about Sizer’s links with Stephen Lendman earlier today:

Seismic Shock – Stephen Sizer Links To Stephen Lendman

UPDATE: Joseph has now blogged about this:

Seismic Shock – Dr Stephen Leah & The Anti-Israel Methodists

This is odd.

Ruth Gledhill has just penned a piece on the BP oil spill, which alludes to the Christian blogosphere being replete with references to this disaster as a potential fulfillment of certain aspects of the Biblical book of Revelation.

The odd thing is, even though I traverse the Christian blogosphere, including the US based blogs, I have not seen one reference to this in any blog post, anywhere.

Ruth Gledhill’s article seems to have been partially based on an article from NewsWeek which claims the following:

A growing conversation among Christian fundamentalists asks the question that may have been inevitable: is the oil spill in the gulf a sign of the coming apocalypse?

[.....]

Now blogs on the Christian fringe are abuzz with possibility that the oil spill is the realization of Revelation 8:8–11. “The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed … A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter.” According to Revelation, in other words, something terrible happens to the world’s water, a punishment to those of insufficient faith. The foul water, according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, mirrors one of the plagues God called upon Egypt on behalf of his people Israel.

Though maybe it’s Revelation 16:3: “The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.”

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I’m totally baffled frankly. Both the NewsWeek article and Ruth Gledhill’s article seem very thin on the ground for actual links to all of these Christian blogs which claim such a connection.

TimesOnline

If followers of the Christian blogosphere  are not yet familiar with Revelation 8:8, they soon will be:

‘And the second angel sounded and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.’

I’m a little reluctant to link directly to any of the YouTube and other sites making a connection between this chilling passage from the last book of the Christian bible and the BP Gulf disaster.  But Lisa Miller at  Newsweek has done a useful round-up of the apocalyptic premillennial dispensationalism that I didn’t think I’d be writing about again quite so soon after 2000 passed into history with all the other false end-time dates.

It is intriguing to reflect on the historical fact that the very foundations of BP were laid on a prophetic message from the Psalms: ‘That he may bring out of the earth oil to make him a cheerful countenance.’

Countenances are not so cheerful now of course.

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Ruth Gledhill goes on to tell us that she…

….called two of the great living British prophets, Gerald Coates and Lord Carey, to see what they thought.

Well, you can make your own mind up. It is of course not unusual for some Christians to see apocalyptic evidence under every stone, however, in relation to this disaster, I personally haven’t seen a peep of such thinking.

UPDATE: Polycarp has just put a post together on this one also:

BP, the Oil Spill and Armageddon, The End is Near