Sister Apple, Sister Pig; Willing Incompatible Worlds...more

Sister Apple, Sister Pig is a new, very creepy children’s book  ...When Lee sees a rosy apple on the highest branches of a tree, Lee asks, “Is that my sister?” Her father replies, “If you would like the apple to be your sister . . . but, the winter is long and you would have to eat her!” Lee exclaims, “Nah! The apple is not my sister! The pigs will eat the apple, but the apple is not my sister!” Then Lee announces, “The pig is my sister!” Her Papa explains, “If you would like the pig to be your sister, be my guest! But will you eat her fried, stewed, or baked?” Lee finally has an answer: “No, the pig is not my sister! Look at the pig’s behind! That is not my sister’s behind!” At a certain point in the story, Lee begins to explain about her sister. “Well, she used to live in Mama and doesn’t anymore. She doesn’t live with us.” Lee’s Papa says, “That’s right, she briefly lived in Mama.” But Lee has more to say, “She lived before me, but Mama couldn’t keep her. Mama says she is a ghost.” At this point, Lee tells her father: “I’m not sad that my sister is a ghost! If you kept my sister, you would be tired, and sad, and mad!”...
Lee's Ghost Sister: An Abortion Storybook

Willing Incompatible Worlds  
To find the words that describe with accuracy the media hysterics involved with Indiana’s passing of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) may be impossible. The sanctimonious moral preening offered via social media from such figures as Apple’s Tim Cook and the historically amnesiatic Hillary Clinton are both laughable and inexcusable for their dedication to spreading flavor-of-the-moment distortions.
Phrases like “License to discriminate” populate social media timelines. Internet memes showing separate water foundations for gays and straights harken back to the days of Jim Crow segregation.

All distortions.

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act is substantially the same as the federal RFRA and the RFRAs on the books in many other states—including ones like Connecticut. What passed last week is a bill nearly identical to a bill that state senator Barack Obama voted for when he was in the Illinois legislature....

The Effect of Congregational Singing  ...Worship is a means by which we let Christ’s Word dwell in us. The ‘you’ is plural which suggests that it is not just that the Word dwells in our hearts (although it is that) but that in singing the Word dwells in the midst of our congregation. In worship the Word is to dwell in our midst. We rehearse it together as we are reflecting on God, his nature and his work, and most especially his work for us in Christ.

Paul also here points to the secondary effects of singing in the life of the individual and the corporate body. When we sing in a corporate worship we are reminding others of great spiritual truths. We are addressing God but Paul also sees us in Ephesians as addressing one another. We are saying spiritual truths together and to each other. Our joining in singing is an act of mutual confession and affirmation—we believe these things together and we are praising God together.

This can be of particular encouragement when a Christian comes to church after a particularly hard or discouraging week. We might feel so low and downcast that we have nothing to lift up before God and no ability to turn our attention to God with thanksgiving. Yet the singing of others and our own singing with them may serve to remind us of the spiritual realities of what God has done. It reminds us “I really do believe these things” or “I really do confess them.” As the Spirit works, we may find ourselves feeling again that my hope is in the Lord and it will not be dismayed. Proper worship has the effect of reminding us that we really do not have anything to bring before Him of our own strength or merit. Singing to God in a way that Christ’s Word richly dwells in us is an expression of the grace of God upon which we are all thoroughly dependent...

Palm Sunday 2015

Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang;
 Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang.
 To Jesus, who had blessed them close folded to His breast,
 The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

From Olivet they followed mid an exultant crowd,
 The victor palm branch waving, and chanting clear and loud.
 The Lord of men and angels rode on in lowly state,
 Nor scorned that little children should on His bidding wait.

“Hosanna in the highest!” that ancient song we sing,
 For Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven our king.
 O may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice,
 And in His blissful presence eternally rejoice!
...Jeanette Threlfall image

Anglican Unscripted Episode 170

Mar 25, 2015

Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate!

The God whom earth and sea and sky...

The God whom earth and sea and sky

Adore and laud and magnify,

Whose might they own, whose praise they swell,

In Mary's womb vouchsafed to dwell.

The Lord whom sun and moon obey,

Whom all things serve from day to day,

Was by the Holy Ghost conceived

Of her who through his grace believed.

How blessed that Mother, in whose shrine

The world's Creator, Lord divine,

Whose hand contains the earth and sky,

Once deigned, as in his ark, to lie.

Blessed in the message Gabriel brought,

Blessed by the work the Spirit wrought;

From whom the great Desire of earth

Took human flesh and human birth.

O Lord, the Virgin-born, to thee

Eternal praise and glory be,

Whom with the Father we adore

And Holy Ghost for evermore.

...Fortunatus image

A.S. Haley: Tyranny in Vestments

March 24, 2014

Excerpt:
It is not enough for ECUSA’s bishops and clergy to say that the Church’s traditional definition of marriage is inadequate for “our vastly diverse and pluralistic society.” Not only is that definition no longer serviceable to society at large, but also it should not even be “permitted to influence” what society thinks marriage is!

But if they truly believe what they write, then why do the bishops and clergy join the brief as bishops and clergy of ECUSA, instead of just as private civilians? Bishops and clergy should not seek to impose their religion-based views on secular society, right? Why then tout their titles, if not to pat themselves on the back for being so “broad-minded” as to endorse views at odds with their religion?

Moreover, who gave them permission to speak using the Church’s name and offices, anyway?? It was just last year that the Presiding Bishop and several other bishops brought Title IV charges against the Communion Partner bishops and clergy—the Quincy three and the Fort Worth ten—for filing affidavits in the Quincy case and an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court. The charges were that they misrepresented the polity of the Church, and consisted only of a “minority view” (words which they were forced to acknowledge under duress of more severe punishment).

The official Book of Common Prayer used throughout the Episcopal Church solemnly declares that marriage is “between a man and a woman.” Who are these righteous prelates who betray their ordination vows to profess publicly and without shame or apology a marriage doctrine that is contrary to, and that positively undermines, the only one authorized by Holy Scripture and currently recognized by the whole Church? General Convention supposedly offered experimental rites for same-sex blessings (which it had no authority to offer until the Prayer Book was officially changed). But when did General Convention authorize the Rev. Jennings and her episcopal colleagues to appear with all their trappings and titles to offer their experimental views to aid the secular courts?

I do not ever remember, when I was growing up, any bishops in ECUSA trying to influence courts or legislatures in favor of no-fault divorce. The Church addressed the issue only gradually (including through resolutions adopted over the years at Lambeth Conferences), and no small coterie of clergy organized to promote doctrine contrary to its then teaching. Yes, the Church changed the doctrine with time, but it did so at first very reluctantly—and some (myself included) mark that apostasy as the beginning of the decline of the authority of church in Western society. By relinquishing control of the dissolution of marriage to the State, the Church next will relinquish control of marriage itself to the State. We will reap what earlier generations sowed for us. the rest

Anglican Unscripted Episode 169

Mar 23, 2015

Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate!

Boston College to Host Theologians for Dialogue on Anglican-Roman Catholic Relations

Episcopal Presiding Bishop, A Former Oceanographer, Makes Religious Case Against Climate Denial  One of the most powerful women in American Christianity is condemning the path of the climate denier...

Beautiful footage of the solar eclipse 2015

Mar 20, 2015
BBC

Canada May Allow Euthanizing Patients and Harvesting Their Organs; Presbyterian Church Formally Approves Gay Marriage...more

ISIS tweets destruction of more Christian sites  The Islamic State (IS) shared photos of the destruction of Christian relics on Twitter on Monday, increasing calls for the terrorist group to be stopped.

Pictures of smashed crosses, statues and other ancient items destroyed in Nineveh led to condemnation from across the globe.

"They don't care what it's called," Middle East Media Research Institute Executive Director Steven Stalinsky said of the destruction. "They are just following their ideology and that means getting rid of churches and minorities. It is the Islamic State, and there's no room for anyone else...

Canada May Allow Euthanizing Patients and Harvesting Their Organs  In my very first anti-euthanasia article, published by Newsweek in 1993, I warned that legalizing assisted suicide would lead to “organ harvesting as a plum to society.”

That dark prophesy has come true in Netherlands and Belgium, aimed specifically at people with “good organs,” such as MS patients and those with mental illnesses...

FactChecker: Are All Christian Denominations in Decline? ...Many Americans, both within and outside the church, share Evans perception of the decline of denominations. But is it true? Are most denominations truly seeing a decline in numbers?

Before we answer the question, we should clarify what is meant by “decline.” We could, for instance, say that Protestantism has been on the decline since the 1970s. That would be true. We could also say there are now more Protestants today than there were in the 1970s. That too would be true.

The fact is that the percentage of people identifying as Protestant has declined since the 1970s while the total number of Protestants has increased (62 percent of Americans identified as Protestant in 1972 and only 51 percent did so in 2010). Yet because of the population increase in the U.S., there were 28 million more Protestants in 2010 than in 1972...

Presbyterian Church Formally Approves Gay Marriage in Church Constitution The Presbyterian Church has formally recognized gay marriage and will allow same-sex weddings.

The Church approved a new definition of marriage in the church, which includes “commitment between two people.” The definition was approved last year by the church General Assembly, but needed approval from a majority of the 171 regional districts. The 86th vote was cast Tuesday night.

The new definition reads: "Marriage involves a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives."

"So many families headed by LGBTQ couples have been waiting for decades to enter this space created for their families within their church communities," said the Rev. Robin White, a leader of More Light Presbyterians, which supports gay acceptance within the church...

Christians say under siege in Modi’s India after rape, attacks  Christians in India said on Monday that the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not done enough to protect their religion, after a spate of attacks including the rape of a 75-year-old nun at the weekend.

Christians prayed and held vigils across the country to protest against the rape during an armed assault on a convent school, the worst in a series of incidents that followers of the faith say are making them feel unwelcome in their own country...

Cross and Christ covered up as Muslims worship in Southwark parish

16 Mar 2015
George Conger

Muslim prayer services may not be held on consecrated ground, a spokesman for the Bishop of Southwark told Anglican Ink last week, following reports that a Muslim Friday prayer service or jummah had been held at St John’s Waterloo with the permission of the incumbent.

On 6 March 2015 the Rev. Canon Giles Goddard invited the Inclusive Mosque Initiative to celebrate an “Inclusive Jummah” in the church. A video of the service, released on YouTube shows Canon Goddard participating at the close of the service led by a woman imam, Dr. Amina Wadud. Reading from Psalm 139 he said: “This is from the Hebrew scripture – we all share these great traditions, so let us celebrate our shared traditions, by giving thanks to the God that we love, Allah.”

All Christian imagery and iconography, including pictures and statues of the saints, the Virgin Mary, Jesus as well as the stations of the cross appear to have been covered with sheets during the service at St John’s, the video of the proceedings appears to show, leading some critics to charge that while hiding the cross and Christ may assuage Muslim concerns, it serves to deny the divinity of Jesus... the rest

"Frozen Fever"-Dueling Piano Siblings "Frozen" Mashup

Mar 9, 2015

This piano mashup features Love is An Open Door, For the First Time in Forever, Do You Want to Build a Snowman, and Let it Go. The piano duet was arranged by yours truly and inspired by The Piano Guys.

Discrimination revealed-UK Christians have to keep faith hidden; Americans Name Government as No. 1 U.S. Problem...more

Gallup: Americans Name Government as No. 1 U.S. Problem
Americans continue to name the government (18%) as the most important U.S. problem, a distinction it has had for the past four months. Americans' mentions of the economy as the top problem (11%) dropped this month, leaving it tied with jobs (10%) for second place...

Discrimination revealed: UK Christians have to keep faith hidden ...Employees feel under increasing pressure to keep their religion hidden at work and they also feel discriminated against when it comes to wearing religious symbols or expressing their beliefs, the consultation found.

Christians in particular feel discriminated against.

Christians said they were mocked for their beliefs by colleagues who assumed they were bigoted.

Jewish and Muslim respondents also reported discrimination, such as finding it hard to get time off work, even as part of their normal annual leave, for religious observance. Others alleged that they were excluded from meetings, or passed over for promotion or recruitment due to their beliefs. They felt unable to raise the issue for fear of repercussions...

Islamic State ransacks ancient Iraqi city of Khorsabad  ...Islamic State militants have desecrated another ancient Iraqi capital, the government said on Wednesday, razing parts of the 2,700-year-old city of Khorsabad famed for its colossal statues of human-headed winged bulls.

Officials have said for several days they were checking reports of damage at Khorsabad following attacks on the cities of Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra by the Islamist radicals who control much of northern Iraq...

From Lesbianism to Complementarianism ...Though my soul was saved, and my clothing and affections had begun to change, my mind sill needed to be renewed. And my relationship with the “stronger armed-wrestling lover” was the beginning of my walk to complementarianism. I had started embracing God’s will for my life in regards to my sexuality, which in turn forced me to wrestle with the nuances of manhood and womanhood...

The U.S. scores dismally when compared with other advanced nations on literacy, numeracy...and problem solving

Albert Mohler: The Integrity of Words and Our Confession of Faith

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Excerpt:
Theological education is a deadly serious business. The stakes are so high. A theological seminary that serves faithfully will be a source of health and life for the church, but an unfaithful seminary will set loose a torrent of trouble, untruth, and sickness upon Christ’s people. Inevitably, the seminaries are the incubators of the church’s future. The teaching imparted to seminarians will shortly be inflicted upon congregations, where the result will be either fruitfulness or barrenness, vitality or lethargy, advance or decline, spiritual life, or spiritual death.

Sadly, the landscape is littered with theological institutions that have poorly taught and have been poorly led. Theological liberalism has destroyed scores of seminaries, divinity schools, and other institutions for the education of the ministry. Many of these schools are now extinct, even as the churches they served have been evacuated. Others linger on, committed to the mission of revising the Christian faith in order to make peace with the spirit of the age. These schools intentionally and boldly deny the pattern of sound words in order to devise new words for a new age — producing a new faith. As J. Gresham Machen rightly observed almost a century ago, we do not really face two rival versions of Christianity. We face Christianity on the one hand and, on the other hand, some other religion that selectively uses Christian words, but is not Christianity.

How does this happen? Rarely does an institution decide, in one comprehensive moment of decision, to abandon the faith and seek after another. The process is far more dangerous and subtle. A direct institutional evasion would be instantly recognized and corrected, if announced honestly at the onset. Instead, theological disaster usually comes by means of drift and evasion, shading and equivocation. Eventually, the drift accumulates into momentum and the school abandons doctrine after doctrine, truth claim after truth claim, until the pattern of sound words, and often the sound words themselves, are mocked, denied, and cast aside in the spirit of theological embarrassment... the rest image

The Cost of Relativism; An African Ordination; Six Christians Murdered at Nigeria Church...more

Soldiers Kill Six Christians at Nigeria Church Upset that watchmen of a Catholic Church in Kaduna state on Sunday (March 8) set up a road-block as a security measure, Nigerian soldiers killed five church members, eyewitnesses said.

Shortly after opening fire on St. Peter's Catholic church in Gidan-Waya, the soldiers shot and killed a Christian from another church as he returned to his home near the site in the Jama'a Local Government Area of southern Kaduna, they said. In the clash that ensued between soldiers and area residents, a soldier was reportedly killed an several people were injured...

ISIS’s Sledgehammer Against Civilization
 Scenes of Islamic State mauls smashing ancient statues—one a winged bull from ninth century, B.C. Assyria—in the museum of Iraq’s northern city of Mosul and in the ancient city of Nimrud, reveal a new and profound dimension in radical Islam’s twenty-first century war on world civilization. When the slaughter, enslavement, and genocidal designs on other religious groups are joined by culturally catastrophic destruction of non-Islamic arts and artifacts, then the world faces a fully totalitarian enemy whose rationale is directly declared: “Oh, Muslims, these artifacts that are behind me were idols and gods who lived centuries ago [and were] worshipped instead of Allah,” the smasher said to the camera. “Our Prophet,” he continued, “ordered us to remove all these statues as his followers did when they conquered nations.”...

David Brooks: The Cost of Relativism
 ...The health of society is primarily determined by the habits and virtues of its citizens. In many parts of America there are no minimally agreed upon standards for what it means to be a father. There are no basic codes and rules woven into daily life, which people can absorb unconsciously and follow automatically.

Reintroducing norms will require, first, a moral vocabulary. These norms weren’t destroyed because of people with bad values. They were destroyed by a plague of nonjudgmentalism, which refused to assert that one way of behaving was better than another. People got out of the habit of setting standards or understanding how they were set.

Next it will require holding people responsible. People born into the most chaotic situations can still be asked the same questions: Are you living for short-term pleasure or long-term good? Are you living for yourself or for your children? Do you have the freedom of self-control or are you in bondage to your desires?...

‘Star Wars’ to Introduce First Gay Character ...Del Rey Books editor Shelly Shapiro has revealed that the upcoming Star Wars novel Lords Of The Sith, written by Paul S. Kemp, will introduce the first canonical LGBT character in the world of the science fiction juggernaut.

Sci-fi website Big Shiny Robot reports the upcoming novel will feature a character named Moff Mors, who is described as “an Imperial who has made some very serious mistakes but she is an incredibly capable leader.“ Moff also happens to be a lesbian...

A Glimpse into an African Ordination ...Each candidate was asked to quote 50 Bible verses. They did not falter or hesitate. Each one started then picked up speed and more zeal as they quoted. The audience started to respond right during the quoting. They stood up as the quotes rose to a fever pitch. Then they began cheering and taking pictures. The candidates were not just reciting, but passionately declaring the words of Scripture as the best news ever heard. It was better than football, because the audience felt every verse was a glorious goal...

Anti-Christian harassment around the world; What’s really behind Ontario’s new sex-ed...more

 Former SEALs chaplain could be kicked out of Navy for Christian beliefs ...Michael Berry, a military veteran and attorney with Liberty Institute a law firm that specializes in religious liberty cases is representing Modder. He accused the military of committing a gross injustice against the chaplain in a letter to the Navy. He told me they will respond forcefully and resolutely to the allegations – which they categorically deny.

“We are starting to see cases where chaplains have targets on their backs,” Berry said. “They have to ask themselves, ‘Do I stay true to my faith or do I keep my job?’”

He said Modder is being punished because of his Christian faith...

Kidnapped Missionary in Nigeria Released The Free Methodist Church USA announced the release of its kidnapped missionary in Nigeria, Phyllis Sortor.

In a statement signed on behalf of the Board of Bishops of the church, David W. Kendall said the 71-year-old Sortor was released by her captors on Friday evening (March 6). Kendall said armed gunmen abducted Sortor on Feb. 23 (not Feb. 24 as previously reported) from Hope Academy school in Emi-Oworo village in the central Nigerian state of Kogi.

Saying Sortor was released into the care of authorities and Free Methodist Church leaders, Kendall thanked all in Nigeria and in the United States for efforts to secure her release. He did not state whether the church or Nigerian authorities paid a ransom...

Are LARCs [long-acting reversible contraceptives] the Solution to Nonmarital Childbearing?  ...What might happen should the government encourage a sustained period of sterilization among a poorer population already experiencing high rates of early premarital sexual activity, serial cohabitation, and sexually transmitted infections, but low rates of marriage? While the St. Louis study indicated that abortion rates (abortions per 1000 women of childbearing age) would probably decline, the abortion “ratio” (abortions per pregnancies) soared; in other words, the usual ratio is one abortion for every five pregnancies, but in the St. Louis project, there was one abortion for every pregnancy...

The CIA Campaign to Steal Apple’s Secrets ...By targeting essential security keys used to encrypt data stored on Apple’s devices, the researchers have sought to thwart the company’s attempts to provide mobile security to hundreds of millions of Apple customers across the globe. Studying both “physical” and “non-invasive” techniques, U.S. government-sponsored research has been aimed at discovering ways to decrypt and ultimately penetrate Apple’s encrypted firmware. This could enable spies to plant malicious code on Apple devices and seek out potential vulnerabilities in other parts of the iPhone and iPad currently masked by encryption.

The CIA declined to comment for this story...

A global problem: Anti-Christian harassment around the world ...“The world’s two largest religious groups, Christians and Muslims, continued to be harassed in the most countries, and there was a notable increase in the number of countries in which Jews and adherents of folk religions were harassed,” the Pew Research Center said in a Feb. 26 report on trends in religion-related restrictions and hostilities.

Christian groups suffered social or government harassment in 102 countries in 2013, while Muslims faced similar problems in 99 countries. Jewish groups faced harassment in 77 countries, a seven-year high...

Florida Town Threatens To Shut Down Churches Who Violate Strict New Code  Pastors and parishioners across Lake Worth, Fla., are up in arms following a recent city decision to begin forcing churches to secure permits or risk hefty fines and the possibility of being forced to close.

According to recent reports, at least one church – which met inside a local coffee shop – was visited by a clandestine code enforcement officer sent to gather information about the gathering. Fox News released a portion of the officer’s report, which included the fact that he witnessed “what appeared to be a ministry in progress” complete with “people holding what appeared to be Bibles or religious books” and “an unknown man with a cross around his neck.”

Local authorities returned the following week, reports confirm, and informed Pastor Mike Olive that his congregation would have to leave the premises within a week, citing the absence of a permit as the cause...

What’s really behind Ontario’s new sex-ed    ...The sex-ed will teach kids that the homosexual relationship between “two mothers or two fathers” is ordinary. It will teach them to embrace various sexual deviations in the name of “accepting differences, being inclusive.” With ideas such as “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” it will teach them that one can be a boy on the outside but a girl on the inside. It will teach them that the dangerous and unhealthy practices of ‘anal and oral sex’ are biologically and morally equivalent to vaginal intercourse.

According to this vision, there is no right or wrong way to live and act as humans. It is a vision that is not only at odds with the sciences that study man, such as psychology, biology, and medicine, but it is also at odds with common sense, the wisdom of the ages, and with God’s own revelation to man. Human nature is not malleable and open to manipulation. Kids formed according to this false vision of man become hurt when they act in ways contrary to human nature. In turn, they can hurt others...

Here’s How the New Christian Left is Twisting the Gospel ...Faith and culture will continue to collide in America. The culture wars, the growth of family, the success of missions, the prosperity of our great nation—the future rests on millennial evangelicals’ worldview. And that is cause for concern, because something has gone wrong with young evangelicals’ theology.

The millennial generation’s susceptibility to “feel-good” doctrine is playing a big part in America’s moral decline. Millennials’ religious practices depend largely on how the actions make us and others feel, whether the activities are biblical or not. For example, we only attend churches that leave us feeling good about our lifestyle choices, even if those choices conflict with God’s clear commandments. We dismiss old hymns that focus on God’s transforming salvation, love and mercy and opt for “Jesus is your boyfriend” songs. Or we contribute to nonprofits that exploit and misuse terms such as justice, oppressed and inequality because tweaking the language makes us feel more neutral, less confrontational.

Popular liberal evangelical writers and preachers tell young evangelicals that if they accept abortion and same-sex marriage, then the media, academia and Hollywood will finally accept Christians. Out of fear of being falsely dubbed “intolerant” or “uncompassionate,” many young Christians are buying into theological falsehoods. Instead of standing up as a voice for the innocent unborn or marriage as God intended, millennials are forgoing the authority of Scripture and embracing a couch potato, cafeteria-style Christianity all in the name of tolerance...

Anglican Unscripted Episode 166

Mar 9, 2015

Anglican Unscripted is the only video newscast in the Anglican Church. Each Episode Kevin, George, Allan and Peter bring you news and prospective from around the globe. Please Donate

Muslim Radicalization and The Dark Future of Europe; Planet Fitness revokes woman's membership over her complaints about a man in women's locker room...more

Once I began thinking, reasoning, and examining my life, an extraordinary thing happened: I couldn’t stop. Reason led me to acknowledge natural law, which led me to begin rejecting some of my former ways of thinking and acting. Reason then led me to recognize God...

The Dark Future of Europe, by an Expert on Muslim Radicalisation   In a remarkable interview given just days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, a British free speech advocate and expert on Muslim radicalisation gave his worrying analysis of the coming challenges facing Europe, on Islamist colonisation, and the politicians who through neglect or design have allowed it to happen...

The Night Prayer of the Church as a “Rehearsal for Death”  Some years ago I was addressing a group of young adults at a “Theology on Tap” gathering. I was asked by an attendee of some ways to avoid temptation. Among the things I offered was to meditate frequently on death, especially at night before going to bed. The bar got very quiet and everyone looked at me as though I had just been speaking Swahili. “What did he just say?…Could you repeat that?” Perhaps my remarks were the right answer but the wrong answer at the same time. In these modern, medically advanced times, those in their 20s don’t really relate to death as a concept or near reality. Meditating on death seems strange and foreign to most of them...

Leave It to Beaver, Sex and the City, and a Woman's Happiness ...In the early sixties, a landmark book, The Feminine Mystique, burst onto the scene. It claimed that women were NOT happy as housewives—at least they shouldn't be happy in that role! Those women who were content as wives and moms simply hadn't had their eyes opened to the extent of their oppression. Men had duped them to believe that a June Cleaver-type of existence was worthwhile and satisfying, when, in fact, such a role was subservient, and demeaning. As this feminist message spread, women in the sixties and seventies began to vilify Billingsley's June Cleaver ideal.

Fast-forward the tape fifty years. A whole generation has had its consciousness raised to believe the idea that homemaking and caring for family is demeaning to women. The June Cleaver "Leave It to Beaver" ideal for womanhood has been replaced with a Carrie Bradshaw "Sex & the City" one. We've denigrated the value of marriage, children, home, self-sacrifice, and morality, and elevated the value of independence, career, self-indulgence, and sexual freedom. And our marriages and families have suffered as a result...

Planet Fitness Revokes Woman’s Membership After Speaking Out About Man in Womens’ Locker Room ...“Planet Fitness is committed to creating a nonintimidating, welcoming environment for our members,” Gosselin continued. “Our gender identity nondiscrimination policy states that members and guests may use all gym facilities based on their sincere self-reported gender identity.”

But Cormier says that she finds it ironic that instead of the man being addressed about the matter, she was the one who was reprimanded...

Anglican Primate Nicholas Okoh Preaches Detribalised Nigeria

Mar 9, 2015
Igho Oyoyo

The Bishop of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Diocese of Abuja, Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh has called for a united and detribalized Nigeria, in order for the country to grow and developed to its desired height in the face of the challenges confronting it.

Okoh who made this call at the official flag-off of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the church said that the challenges affecting the nation, which is as well affecting the church is the issue of tribalism and the absence of unity.

According to the clergyman, the issue of unity in Nigeria is what the church has taken upon itself to teach the people during the anniversary celebration, adding that it wants to unite Nigerians and make the issue of tribalism less attractive... the rest

“You will agree with me that we are in a country where we are not really united. If we are truly united, Nigeria would have made much progress. So, we want to emphasize it, we want to teach it and we want to make everybody accept it and give it as a gift to the nation and anybody who has gone through the teaching would have no difficulties in relating with anybody from any part of Nigeria.

Episcopal leader in spotlight after bishop charged in Baltimore hit-and-run

By Jonathan Pitts
The Baltimore Sun

Just over two months ago, when Heather Elizabeth Cook, a newly ordained Episcopal bishop, was involved in an accident that left a bicyclist dead, the tragedy made headlines around the world, while sparking controversy within and outside the church..

Cook — who was drunk at the time of the accident, according to Baltimore police and prosecutors — had been made a bishop despite an arrest on DUI charges four years earlier. The Dec. 27 crash raised questions about how the Episcopal Church, already split over dogma and facing steep membership declines, chooses its leaders.

And it has put the stewardship of the national church's presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, in the spotlight.

Jefferts Schori, 60, has headed the 1.9 million-member national church since 2006. Her tenure has been a period of major schism, and she has drawn criticism for what some say is her overly litigious response to conservative Episcopalians who have broken with the church over its official support of same-sex marriage and gay clergy.

Jefferts Schori, who presided at Cook's consecration Sept. 6, has faced criticism before — perhaps most notably when she welcomed a former Roman Catholic priest who was a pedophile into her home diocese without telling parishioners about his past.

Now, some Episcopalians in the Baltimore area have been asking how their diocese could have put forward a candidate it knew had a drunk-driving arrest without telling them. The selection committee that vetted Cook knew of the 2010 DUI on the Eastern Shore — though not all its details — and decided not to pass the information on to those who would vote in her election last May. the rest

A.S Haley: The Meaning of the Fort Worth Decision

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Excerpt:
...A partial summary judgment is one, then, that grants summary judgment, but only as to part of the whole case. Perhaps there were some claims raised by one of the sides that will require a jury to sort out the facts. The court cannot grant a summary judgment as to those issues -- while it is able to do so on the other claims in the case.

And that was what happened in the Fort Worth case. The parties each brought motions for summary judgment as to the issues of who controlled the diocesan corporation that owned all the real property, and whether or not there was any permanent trust imposed upon that property. As to those issues, Judge Chupp ruled that the trustees elected by Bishop Iker's diocese controlled the corporation, and that the corporation held its real property free and clear of any trust in favor of the national Church.

ECUSA and Bishop Iker each had additional claims against the other, however, which could not be resolved by summary judgment. For the most part, ECUSA alleged that Bishop Iker breached his "fiduciary duties" owed to the national Church, or converted property that was not his, or committed trespass, while Bishop Iker asserted claims against ECUSA for trademark infringement and damages.  These raised disputed questions of fact which would need to be tried before a jury. So ECUSA was not able to move for summary judgment as to its whole complaint; nor could Bishop Iker move for summary judgment on his whole complaint -- they both had to settle for motions for partial summary judgment, as to the facts that were undisputed, and as to just the claims that turned on those facts.

Now, however, that Judge Chupp has ruled in Bishop Iker's favor on the main claims, the lesser claims by ECUSA are, for all practical purposes, "moot" -- that is, they no longer matter to the outcome of the case. Because Bishop Iker is the rightful head of the diocesan corporation, then nothing he did with the corporation's property could ever amount to conversion, trespass, or breach of fiduciary duty. As just noted, however, there are still some claims to be tried on Bishop Iker's side. The judgment is only partial, and not final, as long as there are still claims which have not been resolved; an appeal may be taken only from a final judgment... the rest

Anglican Unscripted Episodes 163 and 164

The Gospel of #LLAP
Feb 28, 2015

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Is the Mother Church finished?
Mar 2, 2015

Added #165 165 - Another bad day for TEC

March 3, 2015

Court denies TEC claims to Diocese of FW property

March 3, 2015

On Monday, March 2, 2015, the 141st District Court granted our Motion for Partial Summary Judgment regarding all diocesan property, with the exception of All Saints’, Fort Worth, which Judge Chupp severed for a separate trial.

Nearly six years after we were first sued by The Episcopal Church and its local representatives, the court has confirmed the Diocese’s right to dissociate from TEC and for the Corporation to retain its property.

“We are grateful for the ruling in our favor,” said Bishop Iker. “It’s clear that both church laws and Texas laws have been rightly applied to this dispute.”

In granting our motion, the Hon. John Chupp has ruled that Bishop Iker and the duly-elected officials of the Diocese and Corporation control the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, its Corporation, all endowments and funds, and all property that has been disputed in this litigation. The ruling is binding on all parties.

The judge severed out all the claims concerning ownership of the property of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, and this case will be heard by him at a future time. All Saints’ is the only incorporated parish in the Diocese and claims to hold title to property in its own name. In a February 20 hearing before the court, Judge Chupp strongly encouraged the leadership of All Saints’ to pursue the Canon 32 process with the Diocese, which might settle the issues without the need for a trial.
The following statements from our Motion for Partial Summary Judgment are confirmed by Judge Chupp’s order:

“According to the deeds, church charters, and Texas law:

• using neutral principles of Texas law to decide this case is not retroactive;
• the properties at issue are owned by the Corporation;
• the Defendant Trustees are the properly elected Trustees of the Corporation;
• Bishop Iker is the proper chairman and a member of the Corporation’s board;
• no express trust exists in favor of Plaintiffs (TEC);
• no implied or constructive trust exists in favor of Plaintiffs;
• the Defendants are not estopped to defend themselves; and
• the Defendants properly control the funds, trusts, and endowments at issue.

As a matter of law, the Defendants are entitled to title, control, and use of all of the property at issue in this case.”

The laity and clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth rejoice with Bishop Iker and join him in giving thanks to God for this ruling. We pray for a quick resolution to the remaining claims and disputes. We will continue to carry out the mission given us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: to win the world for Him. Found here

Read the one-page court order.

Texas Diocese Wins Court Battle Over Property Dispute With the Episcopal Church

Iker's group wins Episcopal Church property ruling

A.S. Haley: ECUSA and Freedom of Association: a Showdown Is Due

Monday, March 2, 2015

Litigation between the Episcopal Church (USA) and its parishes has been ongoing for more than fifteen years. It is a myth to say that the Church did not start any of the lawsuits: you can read all of the dreary details in this post. The Church and its several Dioceses, in fact, are responsible for more than 90% of the cases that have been filed.

The first Diocese, however, did not vote to dissolve its union with General Convention until December 2007. Before that time, the cases all involved individual parishes that attempted to withdraw from their respective Dioceses. Thus, the All Saints Waccamaw case in the Diocese of South Carolina began in 2000 (it was not finally resolved until 2009). So also did the case of St. Andrew's, in Morehead City, North Carolina, which was finally decided in June 2003. The former was decided for the parish; the latter for the Diocese.

And that has pretty much been the story of the parish cases: mostly wins for ECUSA, with some occasional losses (particularly in those States which still adhere to the requirements of the Statute of Frauds, which requires that in order to create a legally binding trust in real property, there must be a trust instrument in writing that is signed by the actual owner of the real property).

The details, again, are all in the post linked before. By my count, 40 of the 91 cases listed resulted in legal victories at the trial or appellate level for ECUSA; just two parish cases (All Saints and the Good Shepherd San Angelo case in Texas) went the other way, but three of the five cases involving Dioceses resulted in rulings against ECUSA. A fourth diocese case (San Joaquin) is on appeal; the fifth one (Pittsburgh) gave a victory to ECUSA on the basis of a very strained reading of the effect of a stipulation between the parties... the rest

So why is it spending so much money on a futile legal dispute? Ah, that is the question. Whenever someone who is wealthy as ECUSA is spends so much on an uphill legal battle, which it has no rational hope of winning, the motive has to be simply to hope to win by outspending one's opponent. Make it so costly for them that they will just fold their tents and walk away from all their property. 

The strategy did not work in Illinois. And it has not worked to date in Fort Worth or South Carolina; I have little difficulty in predicting it will not work in San Joaquin. The decision in Fort Worth has just come out, and confirms what I wrote above; the one in South Carolina (affirming the trial court's ruling) is at least a year away; and the one in San Joaquin is probably eighteen months to two years away. But at the end of it all, ECUSA will lose, and lose big -- especially after having spent so much money.

Isis threatens Twitter employees; Sudan. The Other Caliphate Builder...more

Will Christians Soon Need to Leave Their Faith at Home?  Bakers are being forced to bake wedding cakes for gay couples, students are being punished for speaking up for their faith in schools and our soldiers are even being denied the opportunity to read their bibles. Is the kind of freedom loving culture our Founding Fathers envisioned?...

Isis threatens Twitter employees over blocked accounts     Isis supporters have threatened Twitter employees, including co-founder Jack Dorsey specifically, with death over the social network’s practice of blocking accounts associated with the group.

In an Arabic post uploaded to the image-sharing site JustPaste.it, the group told Twitter that “your virtual war on us will cause a real war on you”. It warned that Jack Dorsey and Twitter employees have “become a target for the soldiers of the Caliphate and supporters scattered among your midst!”

“You started this failed war … We told you from the beginning it’s not your war, but you didn’t get it and kept closing our accounts on Twitter, but we always come back. But when our lions come and take your breath, you will never come back to life.”...

Sudan. The Other Caliphate Builder. ...As we commit to pray for the minority groups that ISIS is persecuting and slaughtering, and to pray against the spread and effectiveness of ISIS in building a caliphate, we should pray for the Christians and other “marginalized people groups” in Sudan (basically, the indigenous African people groups, treated with contempt and racism by the elites who rule the country). Pray against the evil works of the Sudan government both in country, and in working with other terrorists and jihadists around the world. And pray that this genocidal regime attempting to eradicate the marginalized people groups as well as establish a worldwide caliphate would be brought down and replaced with a government founded in justice and righteousness.

The building of a caliphate, a global Sharia-based hegemony, requires the elimination of all the unwanted elements — infidels and other unworthies. We have the ability to watch this in gruesome, graphic, live action social media by ISIS. But the National Islamic Front regime in Sudan is much further below the radar for most people. Below you will find two recent examples of what that government is doing to its own people in Darfur and Nuba Mountains...

'Jesus Christ' banned when ordering from Marks and Spencer... but 'Jihad' is ok Customers ordering flowers online from Marks and Spencer can use words such as "jihad", Buddha and Allah inmessages.

But other words such as "Christ" and "Jesus Christ" are banned, along with profanities, and the word "gay".

Customers who try to add a free message when they buy flowers cannot complete their order if they attempt to use one of the banned words. A pop-up message tells them: "Sorry, there's something in your message we can't write."...