Anglican extremists at it again

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In 2008 a 16 year old was arrested in Australia for wearing an anti-Christian, pornographic T-shirt dedicated to  Cradle of Filth, a metal band whose output bears no resemblance to music. The T-shirt was also banned in New Zealand. Now, it is on display at New Zealand’s Canterbury Museum.

Anglican extremists in New Zealand have called not, as everyone expected, for the producers of the T-shirt to be beheaded, but for the offending garment to be placed in a corner behind a large warning sign.

I haven’t included a photo of the shirt for fear of life-threatening reprisals by the numerous fundamentalist Christians who run amok here in Ontario at the slightest provocation. If you do choose to be offended, though, you can view the disagreeable item here.

From here:

Anglican leaders in New Zealand have said that a banned, offensive T-shirt being displayed in Canterbury Museum should prompt a nation-wide debate about freedom of speech versus respect.

The T-shirt, produced for an English extreme metal band, was part of an exhibition of 1000 T-shirts at the museum. It features a graphic image of a nun and explicit abuse of Jesus.

So strong has been the reaction to it that the T-shirt is in a separate corner, with a large warning sign and museum staff checking people’s ID before they are allowed to see it.

Franklin Graham comments on the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians

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From here:

The militant Islamic terrorist group ISIS has released a video called A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD TO THE NATION OF THE CROSS showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians who had been kidnapped in Libya. Can you imagine the outcry if 21 Muslims had been beheaded by Christians? Where is the universal condemnation by Muslim leaders around the world? As we mourn with the families of those 21 martyrs, we’d better take this warning seriously as these acts of terror will only spread throughout Europe and the United States. If this concerns you like it does me, share this. The storm is coming.

He is correct, of course; Christian leaders would have unanimously denounced such an evil act by Christians. As it is, since the Archbishop of Canterbury has no contemporary Christian barbarity over which to lament, he is forced to confine himself to wringing his hands over the bombing of Dresden during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, ISIS redoubled its efforts to convince us that Islam is a religion of peace by burning to death 45 people in Iraq.

Diocese of Niagara wants to address Ontario’s Dignity Deficit

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You could be forgiven for thinking that that means throwing out Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal Government. But no: the diocese wants what every left thinking Anglican wants: a bogus utopia in which wealth is redistributed through increased taxation. Except for the diocese itself, of course, which deserves to maintain its tax exempt status because it campaigns so tirelessly for – well, wealth redistribution for everyone else.

From here:

In a recent submission to the Minister of Finance’s 2015 Pre-Budget Consulation, [sic] the Diocese articulated its conviction that a socially just society is one in which all citizens have enough to flourish. While Ontario’s fiscal deficit is a pressing issue, so is its dignity deficit according to the Reverend Bill Mous, Director of Justice, Community and Global Ministries.

The diocese reckons that the charitable work done by St. Matthew’s House in Hamilton is “inadequate”. Perhaps if the diocese donated more of its tax free income to St. Matthew’s House it would be less inadequate.

Anglican Church of Canada to make a prophetic announcement on euthanasia

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But before it does so, it wants to make sure it doesn’t say anything too definitive because, after all: “There’ll be some Anglicans who-as the Primate said-strongly welcome this, and there’ll be others who think this is terrible, and others who are more ambivalent.”
In other words, expect the usual wishy-washy muddle.
From here:

In the wake of a historic ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada on doctor-assisted suicide, an Anglican task force is looking to hear the views of interested church members on this controversial issue.

[….]

He invited church members to articulate their concerns, potentially with reference to their own experiences, in order to help the task force determine its actions going forward.

Submissions to the task force should be sent to the Rev. Dr. Eileen Scully, director of Faith, Worship and Ministry, at escully@national.anglican.ca

Anglican Church of Canada Lenten Study: finding God in the Darkness

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Every so often the ACoC does something so unintentionally apposite to its saprogenic condition that the urge to advertise it becomes overwhelming. The Anglican Church of Canada has a new Lenten study: finding God’s presence in darkness.

Intrepid participants will have little difficulty in finding an abundance of darkness in the ACoC but the prospect of finding God in such dense, impenetrable darkness in just 40 days is, surely, absurdly optimistic.

The Diocese of Huron wants to demolish St. Barnabas, Windsor

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From here:

A discussion on the potential destruction of a landmark 1950s church in Windsor has been postponed until next month.

St. Barnabas Church at 2115 Chilver Rd. is the subject of a demolition request by the Anglican Church of Canada’s Diocese of Huron, who own the property.

The stated intent of the demolition is to make way for construction of a drugstore.

There is nothing particularly surprising about that, since it follows the received ACoC survival strategy of Deconsecrate, Demolish and Trade (DDT). What makes this a little different is what happened to the congregation:

The church’s congregation relocated and merged with the congregation of St. Aidan’s last year, forming the new congregation of St. Augustine of Canterbury at 5145 Wyandotte St. East.

The building situated at 5145 Wyandotte St. East used to belong to St. Aidan’s congregation, a congregation that voted to join ANiC in 2008. The congregation was sued by the diocese of Huron for possession of the building; the diocese won and promptly locked the congregation out of the building. 165 people left and about 12 remained, so to claim that St. Barnabas and St. Aidan’s “merged” is misleading: the diocesan version of St. Aidan’s was taken over – replaced – with the congregation of St. Barnabas, leaving St. Barnabas empty.

Why would the diocese do this? For the diocese to maintain the fiction that it needed St. Aidan’s building, it could not sell it shortly after winning a thoroughly nasty court battle. Instead, the diocese moved another congregation into St. Aidan’s and sold the building that belonged to the moved congregation.

This is what, in church parlance, is called being missional; or is it incarnational – I forget.

Some Anglican reactions to Canada’s doctor assisted suicide ruling.

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The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down Canada’s existing Criminal Code prohibition on euthanasia and assisted suicide, declaring them to be constitutional rights. Parliament has a year to come up with a replacement law. This ruling follows the pattern of the Supreme Court’s throwing out of Canada’s abortion law in 1988. As I’m sure you are aware, no law has replaced it and Canada is one of the few countries that has no abortion law whatsoever: a baby in the womb can be legally murdered at any stage in its gestation. For those of you in your golden years: don’t get sick and inconveniently occupy a hospital bed: they will be coming for you – and your organs.

Here are some reactions from North American Anglicans.
ACNA’s is straightforward:

The Anglican Church in North America is committed to defending life from conception to natural death.

The Anglican Church of Canada has a diversity of opinions on the matter, “diversity” being the only intact dogma left in the ACoC.

Care in Dying: A Consideration of the Practices of Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide was published in 2000 and commended for study across the church by General Synod. While acknowledging the diversity of opinions on the matter within the church, the report suggested that the church should “oppose any shift in public policy leading to the legalization of euthanasia in our society at the present time.”

Bishop John Chapman from the Diocese of Ottawa – the bring out your dead diocese – is ecstatic.

I’m ecstatic…Current practice, prior to the new legislation, has been so black and white that it has been unhelpful for those people who are living with unbearable suffering. This new legislation actually now puts the decision back into the hands of the individual, medical professionals, and drawing upon the strength of their faith to make a determination about what action they should take. It’s a compassionate decision.

Funnily enough, just after this ruling descended, Toronto City Council endorsed the proposal to install platform-edge doors in the subway system to prevent suicides. Health regulations dictate that suicides can only be safely prescribed and performed by doctors. The anti-suicide doors will cost around $1billion, apparently. Think of the money saving opportunities in simply wheeling euthanasia candidates onto inward facing ramps on local subway platforms. I understand Bishop Chapman is preparing a generous pastoral response for those eager to participate in missional subway terminations. It’s only a matter of time before this makes it into the Five Marks of Mission.

Winston Churchill’s view of Islam

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In 1899 Churchill wrote:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property – either as a child, a wife, or a concubine – must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die: Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome

Considering what we have seen since he wrote this, he may have been too generous.

Sharia law in action

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The woman in this video was accused of adultery, a character flaw which is un-Islamic.

It seems her public execution is Islamic, though, although there is some disagreement about how Islamic.

A fine application of Matthew 7:16.

Christianity disapproves of adultery, too, of course, but in Christ there is forgiveness for all who seek it – even the cowardly, murdering, Islamic thugs in the video.

Bishop Charlie Masters responds to the Supreme Court of Canada decision removing legal prohibitions on euthanasia

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7 February 2015

My dear brother and sisters,

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a deeply disappointing decision striking down Canada’s existing Criminal Code prohibition on euthanasia and assisted suicide, declaring these to be constitutional rights. The unanimous decision gave Parliament 12 months to legislate restrictions if it so chooses.

You can read an analysis of the decision on the Association for Reformed Political Action Canada website.  And the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s response is on its website.

As the issue has been presented by media in more palatable terms and with compelling personal accounts, public opinion has changed in recent years.  So while the decision will be widely applauded, the rationale for Canada’s historic legal prohibition of euthanasia and assisted suicide is largely ignored.

Like previous legal decisions that have undercut the Judeo-Christian moral foundation of our society, this decision favours the few who have politically powerful advocates and who’s stories have been given high profile in the media; but it ignores the harm that may come to the many who are politically weak, physically vulnerable, and have few if any advocates.

In anticipation of this decision, Father Raymond de Souza wrote in the National Post, “that to embrace euthanasia and suicide as constitutional rights involved three revolutions in jurisprudence: i) abandoning the legal principle that every life is always a good to be protected, ii) embracing the idea that suicide is a social good, and iii) removing the particular obligation of the law to protect the weak and vulnerable.”

Citing the experience of Belgium where euthanasia and assisted suicide were legalized in 2002 and where the safeguards have rapidly eroded and the categories of those eligible have grown to the point that even children can now be euthanized, Father de Souza, expects that soon “we will hear positive reviews from the telegenic advocates of expanding the number of suicides and people euthanized in Canada. They will have compelling stories to tell.  We will not hear from those who have no advocates – the isolated elderly, alone with no one to speak for them, judged to be burdensome to our health system. The disabled who will now wonder if their doctors are coming with counsels of death do not have fashionable advocates. The truly weak and vulnerable, the exploited and abandoned, do not hold press conferences.  The Charter becomes a tool of the powerful against the weak, much like medicine will increasingly become in the age of euthanasia and suicide.”  

Rather than give in to despair however, we Christians have constructive options.  We can pray and we can act.

In fact, we ought to pray and act because, in the Bible, we know that Jesus saw death not as a friend to be embraced when there is great pain, but rather as an enemy to be destroyed.  The One who came to conquer death said: ”

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (ESV)

How then should we pray?

  1. Pray that our elected leaders will carefully craft legislation imposing stringent limits on euthanasia and assisted suicide and that these will be scrupulously monitored and enforced.  The “ball” is now in Parliament’s court; if Parliament fails to act, the result could be one of the most unrestricted euthanasia regimes in the world.
  2. Pray for our physicians and their governing bodies. Pray that no physician or other healthcare worker would ever be required to participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide against his or her conscience.
  3. Pray for the vulnerable – the elderly, the socially isolated, the depressed, the ill – that they would have loving advocates to encourage, care for, and protect them.

How can we act?

  1. Write to parliamentarians encouraging them to put in place stringent laws governing euthanasia and assisted suicide, laws which will provide maximum protection for the vulnerable, and absolute protection for medical professionals whose conscience will not permit them to be associated in any way with euthanasia or assisted suicide.
  2. Work to ensure that high quality, compassionate palliative care is available so those suffering terminal illness will be well cared for and able to live out their natural lifespan with dignity and minimal pain.
  3. Become involved as individuals and as churches in caring for and advocating for the vulnerable, the elderly, the lonely, the disabled, and the physically and mentally ill.  By becoming engaged in their lives, we can help people who otherwise might be attracted to death, choose life instead.
  4. Be bearers of the Good News. People need to know that they are not accidents of evolution, but were created by an infinitely wise, loving God who treasures them, and has given them inherent dignity and immeasurable value. They desperately need to be introduced to our Saviour who offers them unconditional love, forgiveness and spiritual wholeness. And they need to know that we too care for them and will walk with them.
  5. Become actively involved in Anglicans for Life Canada or Anglicans for Life (US).  Physicians can connect with Canadian Physicians for Life.

Because He lives and death is defeated,

CM