Look, I'm not referring to us pesky traditional Protestants who look on such things as sport! I refer instead to those pesky Anti-papal activists in Australia who have won permission to annoy Catholic pilgrims at the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney after a court upheld their right to hand out condoms and coat hangers!!

The decision, by the Federal Court, strikes down a law introduced by the state of New South Wales that would have fined anyone “causing annoyance” to the estimated 225,000 pilgrims who have flocked to Sydney to celebrate with Pope Benedict XVI. The fines could have been up to A$5,500 (£2,700).  As soon as the court had given its ruling, Rachel Evans, one of two protesters from the No To Pope Coalition who brought the case, started handing out condoms to pilgrims. “We’re not seeking to annoy or inconvenience anyone,” she said, wearing a T-shirt declaring: “The Pope is wrong, put a condom on.”

Way to go Rachel. Looking forward to your "Muhammad is wrong, take your Burqa off" t-shirt.....

I read that "Key elements of Christian doctrine are offensive to Muslims" according to  the Archdhimmi of Canterbury in a letter to Islamic scholars.  Dr Rowan Williams also spoke critically of the violent past of both religions and Christianity's abandonment of its peaceful origins. (No mention of Islam's current Jihad across the world) His comments came in a published letter to Islamic leaders, intended to promote closer dialogue and understanding between the two faiths.

Pathetic. It is NOT the job of a senior allegedly Christian church leader to apologise for Christian values to Islam yet that seems to be the main function Williams has these days, when he is not encouraging the embrace of homosexuality and gay weddings. Wonder how Islam feels about THOSE trendy liberal notions? Williams is an absolute disgrace and it must pain many people within the Anglican communion to see their leader grovel to the Religion of Peace.

Wonder what you reckon to the row which has erupted over Roman Catholic Church rules for funerals?

It flared up after jazz musician Paddy Cole revealed yesterday that he was not allowed to play at his mother's funeral Mass. The flames had earlier been fanned when priests in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan circulated a leaflet at the weekend setting out the rules for funeral Mass from the Bishop of Clogher, Joseph Duffy. The leaflet states that specially composed poems and favourite songs are in breach of the diocesan regulations. And even the traditional practice of mourners lining up to shake hands with bereaved families in church is banned during Requeim Mass, although it is still permitted during the removal ceremony.  Mr Cole's comments sparked a rash of calls to a radio show from bereaved families who had been banned from playing "goodbye songs" or giving funeral eulogies.

I have sympathy wth both parties. The Diocese has a fair point and is quite entitled to enforce its religious rules. But at times of intense grief, a little generosity of spirit is also required.  

I see that The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, has said that practising homosexuals should not be barred from becoming bishops.  He accused conservative Anglicans of being “exclusive” and narrow-minded in their opposition to gay clerics. His comments, which come on the eve of the Lambeth Conference - the Anglican communion’s ten-yearly gathering of bishops - are set to inflame the bitter controversy over homosexuality. I can but hope so.

You see I agree with him. I think that "conservative" Anglicans should be exclusive and narrow-minded. That's a GOOD thing when it comes to matters spiritual. You see Christ did not take preach that you can do whatever you want, let it all hang out and and that it doesn't matter. It DOES MATTER.  Now whether you hold Christian views are not is irrelevant to the point I am making - namely that faith does by necessity require the embrace of stated values - and whether gay activists like it or not, sodomite Bishops ain't one of them.  So thanks Bishop Morgan - God works in mysterious ways. 

Delighted to see that  a marriage registrar who was harassed for refusing to conduct same-sex ceremonies has won her case! Lillian Ladele, who said the civil partnership ceremonies went against her Christian faith, hailed the decision as a "victory for religious liberty". The tribunal ruled that Miss Ladele was discriminated against on grounds of religious beliefs and was harassed. Islington council said it was "disappointed" and was considering an appeal against the ruling. I bet it was! Islington is the typical uberleftist little Hitler council and when THEY are disappointed you can be sure that justice has been done.   

Well now, the first gay "marriage" to be held in an Anglican church has reignited controversy over homosexual clergy and same sex civil partnerships.

The Reverend Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord exchanged vows at St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London last month. Church of England guidelines say gay clergy can enter a civil partnership if they provide reassurance that they will abstain from sex. Couples who ask a priest to bless their union must be dealt with "pastorally and sensitively" on an individual basis. This is the first time a full ceremony has been held for a same sex couple. Reverend Martin Dudley, who led the ceremony, said he disagrees with the official guidance.

A few questions.

In a gay wedding, is there a bride and groom..or is it two grooms and no bride?

Do they kiss as an expression of their life-long commitment to each other - and does the Reverend Dudley believe that God approves of this display of overt homosexuality in a Church og God?

I don't get the "it's alright if there is no sex" angle here. I mean, is full sex out but heavy petting ok? There is NO way that homosexual unions can have ANY form of Christian blessing and I am sorry if that offends some but that's the way it is with sin - kinda hard to make it seem nice and cozy.

In my view, the Anglican Church has become an ABOMINATION on this and many other issues. I hope that those deviant Vicars involved will be disciplined for breaking Church teachings but in the final analysis, judgement will be passed on them  by a higher power than even Druid Williams.

It's a simple enough answer but first let's consider the question.

Church of England leaders have accused the government of favouring Islam and other religions while paying only "lip service" to Christianity.  A report commissioned by the Church - "Moral, But No Compass" - says ministers failed to understand the full range of the Church of England's work. It asks WHY government is focused on listening to Islamic voices and disinterested in listening to Christian voices?

Let's get the establishment lie out of the way to start with, shall we?

Alvin the chip-munk look-a-like Hazel Blears - Communities Secretary -says it is untrue that the government ignored the Christian majority in the UK in favour of engaging with Muslims. But she said there was a good reason for discussions with Britain's young Muslims: "We've got a tiny minority of people in this country who seek to pervert Islam (LOL) and use it as a backdrop to the kind of extremist messages that pose a significant threat to this country. "That's the reason that we're working with young Muslim people to try and make sure that they're resilient to the extremist message."

Now, let's strip away this evasion and nail the issue. The Government listens to Islam because Islam represents a violent threat to this country. Government is scared of Islam. Government seeks to appease Islam. By contrast, Christians offer no threat. So Islam IS given preferential treatment by this government of fools and the Church of England (and RC Church) is sidelined. That's how it is with appeasers. They believe that if you feed the tiger enough steaks, it may turn vegetarian.

Did you read that the policies of the Labour government have helped to generate a spiritual, civic and economic crisis in Britain, according to an important Church of England report?

Labour is failing society and lacks the vision to restore a sense of British identity, the report says in the Church’s strongest attack on the Government for decades. It accuses the Government of “deep religious illiteracy” and of having “no convincing moral direction”. The report, commissioned for the Church of England and to be published on Monday, accuses the Government of discriminating against the Christian Churches in favour of other faiths, including Islam.

All true. This government is morally bankrupt, is anti-Christian but pro-Islam, and has spent its time in power undermining just about every value that once made Britain great. Where I profoundly disagree with this report is its suggestion that we need a "Minister for Religion." No, we just need less godless Ministers. End of story. 

This story makes me so angry I could spit nails. Tyler Hurd, a student teacher, was forced to leave a high school where he was training because his service dog was taunted and threatened by Muslim students.

"The school district calls it a misunderstanding, and officials there say they hoped Tyler Hurd, a 23-year-old junior from Mahtomedi who aspires to teach special education, would continue his training in the district.

Hurd said a student threatened to kill his service dog named Emmitt. The black lab is trained to protect Hurd when he has seizures. The seizures, which can occur weekly, are from a childhood injury. The dog has a pouch on his side that assists those who stop to help Hurd.

Hurd trained at Talahi Community School and Tech. He said his experience at Talahi was good. The Somali students there warmed to the dog and eventually petted him using paper to keep their hands off his fur, Hurd said. Things didn't go as well at Tech, Hurd said. Students there taunted his dog, and he finally felt he had to leave after he was told a student made a threat. Hurd met with Lockhart but said he did not feel comfortable continuing."

 The pansy multiculturalist Director Of Curriculum's mealy-mouthed pandering response:

"Steffens said it is important to respect different cultures and the rights of disabled students. “I think this is part of the growth process when we become more diverse," Steffens said."

Why wasn't this "good student and committed young man" kicked out of school? Why wasn't the student body made to understand that taunting the dog was unacceptable? It makes me sick that violent religious student minoritiy groups trump disabled adult high school teachers in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We have laws and customs that should NOT be thrown under the bus by irrational complaints from foreign religious minorities. They can take their Somali selves back home if they can't abide our culture, laws and dogs. Since I'm on a tear, I would fire that stoneless Director Steffens as well.

Via TNOYF & Hotair 

In what one way, you could look upon this as good news.

Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published today suggests.

The fall - from the four million people who attend church at least once a month today - means that the Church of England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially unviable. A lack of funds from the collection plate to support the Christian infrastructure, including church upkeep and ministers’ pay and pensions, will force church closures as ageing congregations die.

In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims will have increased from about one million today to 1.96 million in 2035. The number of actively church going Christians will decline to 899,000. Islam becomes the faith of choice in the UK. 

Why might this be a good thing? Well, because the established Churches are more about themselves than about Christ. They have abandoned much of the Christian gospel and so deserve to die - with the Anglican Church as the worst offender. Christianity is about much more than going along to a whitened sepulchre each week and so perhaps it is a good thing that these former shrines to Christ are allowed to run empty.

The problem of course is NOT the decline of these established Churches, but the decline of faith itself. THAT is the key issue for me. It is said when people stop believing in God they start believing in anything. But with the rise of Islam, that may be a little luxury denied to them. As a nation, Britain has turned its collective back on God, and so who can be surprised that we wallow in degeneracy?

Following in the steps of the lovely hymn "I vow to thee my country", I see that the hymn "Jerusalem" will no longer ring from the spires of the rather lovely Southwark Cathedral after it was banned by the church’s dean on the grounds that it was unchristian and too nationalistic.  Regarded by many as a paean to Englishness, it has over the centuries become an unofficial national anthem, sung at the last night of the Proms and by England rugby and cricket fans.

Consider these words..

"And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green
And was the holy lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen

And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark Satanic mills..."

The music is uplifting, the words are interesting - it should NOT be banned  but given the dribbling leftism anti-Britishness  that infests this Cathedral, I can only imagine the reaction to "Onward Christian soldiers" - better replace it with the "Red Flag", eh?

I very much enoyed read THIS POST by Lao over at An American Expat in Southeast Asia on the issue of the Ayatollah of Canterbury's lastest pontifications re Sharia law. Lao will hopefully shortly resume posting here on ATW and I look forward to his insights...it's all part of the ATW global warning!

Joseph Ratzinger's 2004 essay entitled "If Europe hates itself" gives a glimpse into the source of a faithless Archbishop's torment when he states that "The West reveals here a hatred of itself, which is strange and can be only considered pathological; the West is laudably trying to open itself, full of understanding, to external values, but it no longer loves itself; in its own history, it now sees only what is deplorable and destructive, while it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure."

The Constitutions of numerous nations, all with their emphasis on the principles of secularism, democracy, the rule of law and, above all, the equality of all human beings irrespective of caste, community, language or ethnicity are all derived from the British colonial legacy and Britain's gift to the world, the Magna Carta. There is a Commonwealth of Nations from Australia and New Zealand to India, Malaysia and Singapore who still value, cherish and respect their judiciary, legal system, bureaucracy and police. All cherished institutions, and all derived from British colonial administration.

Answer these questions quickly and honestly...!

1. According to the story in the Christian Bible, where was Jesus born?

2. Who told Mary that she would give birth to a son?

3. Who was Jesus' cousin?

4. Where did Joseph, Mary and Jesus go to escape from King Herod when Jesus was a young child?

According to a new study, one third of Brits don't even know where Christ was born! The same kind of % failed to get the other answers right. Doesn't surprise me a jot - as we move into post-Christian mode,  even poor old secular Santa will get erased from the scene as people worship at retail and swallow any old multiculti codswallop.