Now we don't 'do' history

[...] In modern schools, of course, history tends to mean Hitler. A simple lesson is served up to students on a plate: fascism is bad. The political and moral ambiguities of classical history, which inspired Machiavelli and Shakespeare, Jefferson and Marx, barely intrude upon the classroom. Students who wish to study Greece and Rome - no less the bedrocks of our own civilisation now than in previous centuries - already find it difficult enough. Next year, however, they will find it impossible. OCR, the single examination board in the country to set an A-level in ancient history, has decided to abolish it. Any student inspired by seeing 300 in the cinema, or watching Gladiator on DVD, or playing Rome: Total War on a PC, will soon have nowhere to go.

At a time when the profile of classical history has never been higher in the mainstream media, and when the uptake of the AS-level alone has tripled since 2000, it seems an act of near lunatic irresponsibility to prevent students from studying a discipline that actually enthuses them. Read more

Ex-director of Ordinands attacks Oak Hill

Ed: I have now blogged on the situation at Wycliffe Hall.

Letter in Church Times

From Canon Patience Purchas

Sir, — Before I recently retired as a director of ordinands, I and many of my colleagues were increasingly concerned about the theological limitations of the training offered ordinands at Oak Hill College.

I read with interest the utterly condemnatory comments of the Bishop of Durham on the book Pierced for our Transgressions written by the Principal-elect of Oak Hill College and two of his students. (“deeply, profoundly and disturbingly unbiblical . . . systematically misleading in its outright refusal to have anything seriously to do with the Gospels”).

Assuming that Dr Wright’s judgement is fair, I wonder whether bishops are still sending ordinands for training for the ordained ministry at Oak Hill. If so, on what possible grounds can that be considered appropriate? And why should the sometimes sacrificial giving of church members finance such work?

PATIENCE PURCHAS
14 Horn Hill, Whitwell
Hitchin SG4 8AS

There is no god but politics

(Ed: And Sayyid Qutb is the prophet of politics.)

[...] Qutb’s book is obsessed with the achievement of political and social power. There is very little spiritual content in it. He says:

It is clear, then that a Muslim community cannot be formed or continue to exist until it attains sufficient power to confront the existing jahili society.

Only the total triumph of Islam (in Qutb’s sense) will bring peace to the world, just as all human conflict will end when the classless society is brought about by the final triumph of the proletariat.

The only religious aspect of Qutb’s thought is his belief that the Koran is the unmediated word of God, a belief that he does not, because he cannot, justify. For him, the will of God is indisputably known without any need of interpretation, and in fact he knows it. It isn’t difficult to see, then, that in the name of the destruction of all political authority and of the lordship of man over man in obedience to God’s will, Qutb thinks he ought to be total dictator, and that he is as obsessed with the here and now as any Marxist. Read more

Orphaned owls find 'cuddly toy' mum

(Ed: cute, eh?)

A group of orphaned baby owls snuggle up to a cuddly toy which has become their surrogate mum after they were found on the brink of death in the wild.

The tiny tawny owl chicks burrow in under the fluffy toy's wings to keep warm after they were separated from their own mothers.

The chicks, all aged between just four and eight weeks, faced certain death as they fended for themselves alone in the wild but are now recovering in an animal hospital.

'Surrendered Wife' documentary for Channel 5

(Ed Update: I have now blogged at some length on this, over on the Ugley Vicar blogspot.)

[...] The story of how this sharp-tongued working wife and mother from Leeds agreed to relinquish all control to her husband - swopping furious rows for sweet acquiescence in a bid to win back his affections - is the subject of a new Channel Five documentary, Obedient Wives.

The idea of the surrendered wife comes from a book by American Laura Doyle - a former marketing copywriter whose opinions make Ma Walton look like a feminist activist.

It has spawned a whole Surrendered Wives movement which goes far beyond the wildest dreams of your average Stepford Wife. Devotees agree to relinquish all control of their husband's life, allowing him to make all the decisions, never saying 'no' to sex, and finally learning to change themselves and not their men.

The idea is that men can't change - so women are the ones who need a radical re-think in order to preserve romance in marriages. Read more

Council home modifications possible for religious reasons

(Ed: This story has provoked considerable interest. The only problem is that I can't find any indication of a religion that requires 'cooking over an open flame'. Was this, I wonder, a wind-up? Did someone say to the Council, "Oh, and my religion means I must cook over an open flame, so could I have a new gas stove?" If anyone out there does know of a religion where this is a requirement, please let me/us know.)

Council tenants in Oxford can receive modifications to their homes for religious reasons.

Oxford City Council has agreed to promote the fact that money is available for ethnic minority tenants for home adaptations - such as making sure they had gas cookers if their religion stipulated food must be cooked over an open flame.

However, some councillors warned that the policy was divisive and that all tenants should be treated the same. Read more

Do gays really want 'equality'?

[...] Before December 2005 and the passing of the civil partnerships bill, I had not had to ask of myself the questions straight people do in terms of their relationships. It is all very well thinking your union is as valid as your straight friends', but is it really? Are homosexuals more likely to have fleeting relationships because they are not biologically compelled by child-rearing?

Though as a political measure civil partnerships are one of Tony Blair's more radically society-shifting ideas, what has emerged in the aftermath of the bill is a sort of civil partnership angst. Because of the climate they grew up in, British gay men and women of a certain age are a nervous enough demographic. Throw the possibility of lifetime partnerships into the brew, and the part they play in society at large is put under a microscope. Excluded legally as children and teens, were we really going to institutionalise our relationships in a world that had previously restrained them? Read more

Episcopal bishop hits Anglican installation

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is confronting Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola head-on with a new demand that he not install Truro Church rector Martyn Minns as head of a parallel denomination this coming weekend.

At the ceremony, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, Archbishop Akinola and four other Nigerian bishops will make Bishop Minns, 64, the head of the Fairfax-based Convocation of Anglicans in North America. He has headed CANA, in addition to pastoring the 2,300-member Truro, since he was consecrated as a bishop Aug. 20 in Abuja, Nigeria.

"Such action would violate the ancient customs of the church" in terms of the sacrosanct boundaries of individual bishops, the presiding bishop wrote in a letter released yesterday. Read more

Almost a quarter of GPs 'won't refer abortions'

Almost a quarter of family doctors are refusing to sign forms that women need completed in order to have an abortion, according to a survey.

The poll, published by the doctors' newspaper Pulse, said 19 per cent of GPs believe abortions should be illegal.

Some 24 per cent of the 309 doctors surveyed said they refused to sign abortion referral forms and 55 per cent said they thought the 24-week limit for terminations should be reduced.

The law states a woman must get two doctors to sign the form to show she meets the grounds that make abortion legal.

Dr Rob Hardie left his Wiltshire practice in 2004 after refusing to sign the new GP contract, partly, he said, because of the guidelines on abortion.

He said: "With abortion, there's the ethical problem of destroying a life, and even if you have different beliefs, there's surely an ethical problem in doctors being forced to do something that they do not believe in. It's immoral and unjust.

"So it's fantastic to see young doctors making a stand against this - not just Catholics but other Christians and Muslims too." Read more

Missionary 'not poisoned' says Anglican group

[...] Despite speculative and irresponsible press reports based almost entirely on the accounts of the Rev’d Dennis Kayamba, suspended Dean of All Saints Cathedral, there are, in the light of the above, reasonable doubts expressed by those who have felt that the ‘murder’ of Canon Hunter by poisoning is simply not credible. (rg notes: although I did interview Dennis for a subsequent blog report, our initial press report on this was based almost entirely on talking to a member of Canon Hunter's family in England.)

As a result of subsequent mischievous and unsubstantiated reporting, innocent people (including Canon Hunter’s loyal and faithful cook – who is still in prison) have been arrested, the Diocese of Lake Malawi is still without its elected Bishop, and the good name of the Church has been brought into disrepute. Not least, also, Canon Hunter’s good name and reputation has been dragged into controversy. Read more.

Missionary 'not poisoned' says Anglican group

[...] Despite speculative and irresponsible press reports based almost entirely on the accounts of the Rev’d Dennis Kayamba, suspended Dean of All Saints Cathedral, there are, in the light of the above, reasonable doubts expressed by those who have felt that the ‘murder’ of Canon Hunter by poisoning is simply not credible. (rg notes: although I did interview Dennis for a subsequent blog report, our initial press report on this was based almost entirely on talking to a member of Canon Hunter's family in England.)

As a result of subsequent mischievous and unsubstantiated reporting, innocent people (including Canon Hunter’s loyal and faithful cook – who is still in prison) have been arrested, the Diocese of Lake Malawi is still without its elected Bishop, and the good name of the Church has been brought into disrepute. Not least, also, Canon Hunter’s good name and reputation has been dragged into controversy. Read more.

Evidence of huge 'personation' via postal votes

(Personation)

More than 20,000 people have dropped off the register for postal votes in the wards in Birmingham at the centre of fraud allegations three years ago.

In Aston and Bordesley Green - both the focus of the investigation - the number of postal voters is down by 80%. Read more.

Canadian House of Bishops: cohabitation, gay relationship "no bar" to confirmation or communion

[...] * We hope no baptized Christian will be denied communion or confirmation because of being in a committed homosexual relationship or because of their marital status.

We are committed, as bishops in Canada, to develop the most generous pastoral response possible within the current teaching of the church. We offer the following examples of possible pastoral responses:

* When a civilly married gay or lesbian couple seeks our church's reception of their civil marriage and asks their parish's recognition, it may be possible, with their bishop's knowledge and permission, to celebrate a Eucharist with the couple, including appropriate intercessory prayers, but not including a nuptial blessing.

* When a gay or lesbian married or committed couple seeks to hold a reception or celebration in a church for their life in Christ, again intercessory prayers for their mutual fidelity, the deepening of their discipleship and for their baptismal ministry may be offered, not including the exchange of vows and/or a nuptial blessing. Read more

"I don't want to be [just] English"

[...] We shouldn’t be fooled, for here’s what will happen if the SNP are the largest party on Friday morning. One, they will form the Scottish government. Two, from that moment on, every setback to their plans, every frustration, every failure to deliver, will be the consequence of the Bloody Union. That will be the backdrop to the referendum, and as a result I no longer will be part of Scotland or have Scotland as part of me. Read more

Back to Church Sunday reaches Canada

[...] Not all those who came have kept coming, but several have - enough to encourage us to do it again this year. Back to Church Sunday is, I think, at most a once a year opportunity. It would lose its impact if it were held more frequently. But, it gives an all-important once-a-year chance for former parishioners to re-think their reasons for non-attendance and a chance for them to re-integrate in an embarrassment-free way. It is also a wonderful way for parishioners to fulfill the gospel mandate to go and make disciples, to encourage others to 'come and see.' Read more

Summit to discuss future of local church in Europe

Next Wave International will host a unique summit of European church leaders in May, to discuss the future role of local churches in European society.

“There's a huge spiritual vacuum across much of Europe today,” says Mal Fletcher, director of Next Wave International. “Church leaders have decided to be proactive in their response, looking for positive ways to reshape life in Europe.”

The 2020Conference will take place in Malaga in Spain from 3 to 5 May and focus on the big challenges facing European societies and how the church can respond to these with faith and hope. Read more

A night at a Jihadist training camp in Crawley

[...] Then Omar Bakri gave them a lecture. It would have been a variation on a lecture he frequently gave: "There is a time when a military struggle must take place in the UK. Jihad. It's called conquering. One day, without question, the UK is going to be governed by Islam. The Muslims in Britain must not be naive. You must be ready to defend yourselves militarily. The struggle is a struggle between two civilisations, the civilisation of man against the civilisation of God." Read more

Bishop Gladwin tells Essex Councils to build for community

[...] Essex, far from being stuck in some stereotypical identity of the 1970s and 80s is on the front line of change and development in our country and across Europe. What happens here is the shape of the future. If we are to speak for our people we need confidence in our identity and a growing respect for those in authority who seek to address these needs. Steering the County through this time is an awesome task.

It is not my task to make party political points. But one issue, it seems to me, dominates our agenda. The development proposals for this region and for our County. We have a history in this County of Government thinking, for honourable reasons, that simply building houses is the way to build for the future. Having done that we give a nod in the direction of what is called ‘sustainable communities’. Is it not time we turned the argument round? That would mean beginning with the human agenda of community living – the things that make people’s lives good and wholesome – and then moved into thinking about what this means for homes (not houses) and services (not infrastructure). We start, as people entrusted with a divine task for the people, to use languages that are human rather than structural and functional. Read more

BBC Broadcast "not a gay mass"

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is refuting the Evening Standard's claim that a service to be broadcast worldwide this Sunday by the BBC from a San Francisco parish is a "gay Mass".

With the headline, "BBC to broadcast gay mass from San Francisco" the Evening Standard reported today that the event, recorded last October 22, was presided over by Jesuit Fr. Donal Godfrey with preaching from one of Britain's leading homosexual theologians, James Allison. The Standard reported that the "Mass" will feature prayers and readings tailored for the gay community.

Maurice Healy, Communications Director for the Archdiocese, however, was adamant that what will be broadcast is neither a Mass nor endorsed by the Archdiocese. Healy told LifeSiteNews.com, "The event was not, repeat not a 'gay mass' it was a prayer service organized by Jesuit father Donal Godfrey." Read more. Listen to the service here.

39% of Anglican parishes have 'Fresh Expression' of church

[...] A Church of England spokesperson said, “Recent figures show that 39 per cent of Church of England parishes have started a Fresh Expression since 2000. All over the country, Christians are beginning new initiatives to connect with those who are currently outside church, and many are using Fresh Expressions as a key component in this innovative mission work. Read more