How to have fun with a hacker

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A friend recently had her email password stolen by an Internet thief who promptly proceeded to email everyone on her contact list. I was one and this was our conversation – as you know, Anglicans love to have conversations (name changed to protect the innocent):

Him:
Subject: FAVOR TO ASK……………..GRETTA
Hello,
How are you doing? I need a favor from you. I would have loved to give you a call now however can’t get to call right now, Kindly let me know if you are Online..
Await Your Reply..

Me:
Sure, what do you need?

Him:
Thanks for your response, I need to get google play gift Cards for my nephew, it’s his birthday today and I totally forgot I can’t do this now because I’m currently on a short trip. can you help get from any store around you? l’ll pay you as soon as I am back. kindly let me know if you can handle this.

Thanks

Me:
Yes, of course.

Him:
Thanks so much. Total amount needed is $300 in ($100 increment). Please I will need you to scratch the back of the card to reveal the pin, then take a snap shot of the back showing the pin and have them email to me and I can forward to him.

Me:
OK. What is google play exactly and where do I find a store?

Him:
Google play is a card that is use to download online applications, You can get the cards at any grocery store or pharmacy around you. Just keep me posted once you find it, Okay?

Me:
I don’t have my car at the moment. Can you give me a ride to the store so I can pick up a Poodle Play Card for you?

Him:
I’m not around to do this that what I’m saying.

Me:
Oh, sorry. Where are you then?

Him:
I went on a short trip and I will be back tommorow noon to pay you.

Me:
Ah, OK, got it. Truth is, Gretta, I’m a bit short on cash at the moment but if you give me your credit card number, expiry and PIN, I should be able to get round to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up a Poodle Play Card for you.

And….. no answer. This fellow, neither very bright nor imaginative, was probably a drone working on commission for a criminal organisation. The only favourable thing I can say about him is that he didn’t end up swearing at me. That’s what usually happens.

Canadian Pastor arrested for breaking COVID rules

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From here:

Christian pastor Tim Stephens was arrested a second time by members of the Calgary Police Service yesterday for allegedly breaking COVID-19 health rules. The pastors’ kids were in tears as they witnessed their father being hauled away by cops from their home.

Previously, police had searched for and discovered the location of Stephens’ underground church service last Sunday by using a helicopter.

What exactly are these COVID rules, you may be wondering. I have no idea because, although this G7 bunch appear to be breaking them, no one is arresting them. Some animals are more equal than others.

The decline and fall of Bishop Lincoln McKoen

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Bishop Lincoln Mckoen was inhibited on June 1st 2021 for unspecified reasons, although there were dark hints of sexual shenanigans.

Now he has resigned or, one presumes, had resignation thrust upon him, much as Jeffrey Epstein was suicided. McKoen has been sending naughty pictures to someone with whom he was in (more than) a “pastoral relationship”.

From here:

On June 10th Lincoln Mckoen, former Bishop of the Territory of the People, resigned and relinquished the exercise of episcopal ministry. Archbishop Lynne McNaughton wrote to the people of the diocese on June 11th:

Lincoln Mckoen has resigned from his diocesan episcopal ministry because of allegations received on May 27,2021 that on occasions when Lincoln Mckoen presented himself as a priest (padre), bishop-elect or bishop he, by text and by images sent inappropriate sexualized electronic communications to an adult person who is resident outside the Ecclesiastical Province and with whom Lincoln Mckoen was in a pastoral relationship.

Lincoln Mckoen acknowledges that the allegations are well founded.

Pastoral care is being offered to the diocese and all affected. An interim Steering Committee has been put in place. The diocese now enters a time of grieving and discernment about its future episcopal leadership. Please join them in prayer.

Inhibition of Bishop Lincoln McKoen redux

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Bishop Lincoln McKoen was fired for reasons unspecified, an action that invites all manner of lurid speculation since it is so difficult to be declared persona non grata in the Anglican Church of Canada. Other than for being too orthodox, of course.

Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee has not helped by announcing that McKoen was inhibited for “sexual misconduct”. Now the ACoC is renowned for its tolerance – admiration even – of every possible sexual gratification known to man or beast; the ecclesiastical enthusiasm for the LGBT2QIA+ alphabet soup concoction is undiminished by its ever-increasing diversity or scope-creep as we like to say in the business world. McKoen could not, for example, be fired for having sex with a goat. That would be covered by the “+”. Or is it the “A”; I’m not sure but it must be covered somewhere.

Surely it would be best for everyone if the ACoC boldly announced what arcane province of sexual gratification McKoen explored to satisfy his appetites. That way we could at least add another letter to the acronymic community of LGBT… well, you know the rest. And avoid future embarrassment.

From here:

On Tuesday, June 3, 2021 I received notice that Archbishop Lynne McNaughton has, pursuant to canon law, formally inhibited Bishop Lincoln Mckoen from performing any of the duties of his office as bishop of the Territory of the People while allegations of sexual misconduct are being investigated. There is due process in the church, and he will have the support he needs to answer these charges. There are no criminal charges in this case.

Bishop Lincoln McKoen inhibited

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Lincoln McKoen, bishop of the Territory of the People, was consecrated on September 19, 2020 and fired on June 1st 2021. If nothing else, he can congratulate himself on holding the record for the shortest time between consecration and inhibition.

From here:

Announcement from the Primate
In 2001 the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada adopted A Call to Human Dignity: A Statement of Principles for the Anglican Church of Canada on Dignity, Inclusion and Fair Treatment.
In keeping with A Call to Human Dignity, the Council of the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada expressed a commitment to ensuring that those who hold positions of trust or power in the church do not take advantage of, or abuse, that trust or power. It is with this commitment in mind that I share with you the difficult decision made today by Archbishop Lynne McNaughton to inhibit Bishop Lincoln McKoen from his duties as diocesan bishop of the Territory of the People, effective immediately.

I am painfully aware of the impact this action will have on the Territory and parishes and I can assure you that the pastoral needs of the community will be a priority for the church over the coming months. Our calling is to prepare the way of the Lord by embracing truth, promoting healing and acting in love.

Whatever his transgression, it was not one of deviating from the unorthodoxy of the Anglican Church of Canada. McKoen resides proudly in the Camp of the Non-Saints. In response to an external legal opinion scolding the ACoC on its flouting of canon law by marrying same-sex couples, he recently wrote this:

I want to make this perfectly clear: I will not be closing the marriage canon. The Territory prides itself on being open, and inclusive for all people. I will not exclude members of the LGBTQ2SI+ community from the life of the Church. I will not consider Same Sex Marriage as “provisional” or “temporary” as the ACA wishes. I have found this document written by the ACA to be offensive and deeply insulting, regardless of whom wrote the legal opinion. I am terribly saddened this is one more attempt at relegating members of the Church, followers of Jesus Christ, as second class citizens of the kingdom of God because of their sexual orientation.

Sing Spirit

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Another song for Pentecost.

Sing Spirit                                                                               David Jenkins
Streams of living water flowing from the throne, bringing joy to the city of God.
Rushing like a river through your church today, bringing life to all who are yours.
Chorus
Come Spirit, come Spirit, Fire burning bright, drive the darkness out with your light,
Sing Spirit, sing Spirit, in this heart of mine.
Sing your songs of love, divine.

The breath of God is a mighty wind, blowing through this tired old world.
A whispered song, a still small voice; for all who can hear His words.

Falling from heaven, the fire of God, brings life to a heart of stone;
to re-awaken the people of God; revive your Church, O Lord.
© 2005 David Jenkins

Sitting on my Garden Wall

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A song for Pentecost. Either a song of deep and profound theological significance or one of irredeemably silly shallowness.

Sitting on my Garden Wall                               David Jenkins
Waiting for Messiah to come, sitting on my garden wall,
Balancing: try not to fall down.
Looking at the world today, listen to what people say,
Dancing to the tune that they play.
Chorus
Rushing wind and tongues of fire,
Knock me down, spoil my composure.
Jesus lives and the church is born;
I’m falling off my garden wall.

Waiting ’till the time is right: do not want to die of fright,
Balancing: try not to fall down.
Seeking through the light so dim, opening my heart to Him.
Dancing to the tune that He sings.

Waiting for felicitous signs from the Omnipotent,
Balancing: try not to fall down.
Timing is everything, now I know I must give in,
Dancing to the tune from within.

Waiting so long is for chumps, sending you into the dumps,
Balancing, try not to fall down.
The Spirit’s here among us now,
Flowing from the Father’s throne,
Dancing to the tune that They play.
© 2007 David Jenkins

Primate Linda Nicholls prays for the peace of Jerusalem…. sort of

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The Primate starts out with this:

To seek the prosperity of Jerusalem is to seek a just and lasting peace that recognizes the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis—Christians, Jews and Muslims—in this land.

A statement that is designed to sound high-minded, right thinking – virtuous. Who, after all, doesn’t want lasting peace and justice in the Middle East?

Regrettably, it doesn’t end there. Nicholls goes on to prove a point that I’ve thought for a while: it is impossible not to take a side in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The difference between those who take sides is this:

Those who side with Israel admit it. I am one of them because Israel, the only democratic, free, civilised country in the region, is in a conflict with a group of people who will not stop attacking it until it ceases to exist. It has an obligation to protect its citizens and it is doing so.

Those who side against Israel pretend to be impartial, but they are not. This is a deceit that becomes transparently obvious as soon as they voice their opinions. Or, if they are clerics, threaten to pray for justice.

This is the duplicitous camp into which Nicholls has placed herself. She would like us to believe she is above the conflict, an impartial ecclesiastical arbiter unmoved by bias or irrational animus: in other words, a typical liberal. But her words betray her:

Request the implementation of UN resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 194 (1948)

Call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories and the end of illegal Israeli settlements

Call Israel, as an occupying power, to respect the 4th Geneva Convention

Request measures by the Palestinian Authority to reduce poverty and unemployment, and to improve services to Palestinians

Recognize the city of Jerusalem as a shared holy place for Christians, Muslims and Jews

Recognize the need for trade between Palestine and Canada

The unbearable incoherence of the Church of England

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The Church of England is cheering on the UK’s banning of conversion therapy:

The General Synod has voted overwhelmingly to reject coercive Conversion Therapies so we welcome the Government’s commitment to explore these matters further with a view to enshrining that position in law.

Notice that the word “coercive” has been slipped in, whereas the Queen’s speech left it out:

Measures will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy.

I’m sure that no one is under any illusion that, once the law has passed, the banning of conversion therapy will be confined to the coercive variety. If that were so, there would be no need for a new law: it is already illegal to coerce someone into being something she is not by kidnapping her, confining her and subjecting her to uninvited brainwashing.

Come to think of it, that is a moderately accurate description of what we are doing to our children in school: brainwashing them into believing that boys can be girls and vice-versa. This non-binary conversion therapy is a heinous corruption of innocence that the church should be denouncing but isn’t.

Once the law is passed it will be illegal for a person who experiences unwanted same-sex attraction to seek help in combatting it. The best she can hope for from the Anglican church is to have it affirmed.

The church’s incoherence intensifies on reading the motion agreed by General Synod in July 2017:

That this Synod: (a) endorse the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK of November 2015, signed by The Royal College of Psychiatrists and others, that the practice of gay conversion therapy has no place in the modern world, is unethical, potentially harmful and not supported by evidence; and 3 (b) call upon the Church to be sensitive to, and to listen to, contemporary expressions of gender identity; (c) and call on the government to ban the practice of Conversion Therapy.

Note that there is no mention of coercion. Moreover, the church is going to listen to contemporary expressions of gender identity. That means the church will nod sympathetically when a man comes to a priest to declare he is a woman, is taking hormones to grow breasts and will soon have surgery to remove the parts God gave him but are now unwanted. In short, the church will approve his conversion therapy.

No wonder no one takes the church seriously.

Anglicans on the trailing edge

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The Anglican Church of Canada has largely abandoned thousands of years of Biblical wisdom, tradition and theology in favour of the latest secular fads.

So far, we have galloped through gay equality, global warming, fossil fuel divestment, Indigenous rights, transgender mayhem, obsessive/compulsive pronoun selection disorder, ancestor condemnation, Israel excoriation, to arrive finally, panting with exhaustion, at Dismantling Systemic Racism. This week, at least. Next week a new fad will undoubtedly assault the malleable affections of our senior Anglican clerics.

One of the problems with all this is the puzzling question of why the keepers of our moral boundaries do not notice all these abject ethical failures before the secular world points them out? Could it be because, having abandoned the faith once handed down, the Anglican Church of Canada finds itself wandering aimlessly in a wasteland of witless ideas, staggering helplessly from one stupidity to the next? Yes.

Thus, we have the Council of General Synod busily engaged in Dismantling Racism:

In its latest meeting, the general secretary said, CoGS had been challenged to learn how to see something that is very obvious for people not in the dominant culture, but which may be less so for those in the dominant culture: the reality of racism. “We had some very moving revelations of those realities,” Perry said of Saturday’s panel discussion on dismantling racism. “I hope that we will all learn how to see those very difficult realities so that we can address them effectively.”

CoGS has also been invited to see what God has been doing in the pandemic, he added, “in ways that perhaps we’ve not been open to seeing because we’ve been tied up just trying to get through it.” Perry described Surprised by the Spirit as an invitation to the Anglican Church of Canada “to see what God is doing and will be doing.”

I think I have seen what God is doing: He is dismantling the Anglican Church of Canada.