Muslim Labour frontbencher accused of encouraging 'mob rule' after joining anti-Israel protest which forced supermarket to close... then demanding goods boycott Daily Mail

  Shabana Mahmood was involved in protest at Sainsbury's in Birmingham

  Store closed for several hours as campaigners lay down outside the shop

  MP bragged about actions on YouTube, calling for a boycott of Israeli goods

  Birmingham Ladywood MP accused of 'promoting public disorder'

  Labour says she told Ed Miliband she 'does not support a boycott of Israel'

  But critics have demanded that she apologise for her comments

A Labour frontbencher was accused of encouraging mob rule last night after she boasted of taking part in an anti-Israel protest that forced a supermarket to close. 

Shabana Mahmood lay in the street outside a Sainsbury’s store in Birmingham alongside dozens of pro-Palestine campaigners, protesting against the fact that it was ‘stocking goods from illegal settlements’.

Her ‘direct action’ forced the supermarket to close for several hours on a busy Saturday. She then used YouTube to brag about her actions, calling for a boycott of Israeli goods – in direct contravention of Labour policy. 

Last night the Muslim MP, who speaks for the party on tax and growth policy, was accused of ‘stirring up tensions’ by Jewish leaders. They said the Birmingham Ladywood MP was promoting public disorder, and branded her behaviour ‘completely inappropriate’.

Labour said Ed Miliband had spoken to Miss Mahmood, who told him she does not support a boycott of Israel. But critics said this did not go far enough and called on her to apologise. 

Simon Johnson, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: ‘It is completely inappropriate for a Member of Parliament to promote public disorder that forced a supermarket to close. We believe that she has been made aware of her party’s opposition to boycotts and has back-pedalled, but an apology is yet to be heard.’ 

Vivian Wineman, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: ‘Such rabble rousing is extremely irresponsible.’

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I fear our panic stricken politicians are leading us into another bloody shambles in Iraq, says GENERAL SIR MICHAEL ROSE, Daily Mail

Like panic-stricken rabbits caught in the headlights, our political leaders do not appear to know which way to go.Amid the rising tide of horror stories coming from Iraq, there seems to be little constructive thought emerging from Western politicians on how to solve the political and humanitarian issues that confront the country.

The only thing that they do know is that something must be done. But developing a viable, effective strategy against the brutal campaign of the Islamic State has, so far, clearly been beyond their competence.

Although I strongly believe that military intervention must be instigated only as a matter of last resort and I firmly opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I am convinced that there is a powerful moral — and practical — case for intervening now against the Islamic State.

For what we are witnessing is the terrible consequences of the so-called Arab Spring, so naively celebrated by our leaders just a few months ago.

As I have watched and read news reports from this embattled and disintegrating region, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we must intervene to protect the lives of Iraqis and hold back the rising tide of the Islamic State.

Stumbling

During my military career, I have been involved in many interventions that have proved highly successful and were an enormous benefit to civilians caught up in war. But for such interventions to succeed, there must be clear direction from the politicians.

Sadly that is lacking as the West’s leaders seem to be stumbling daily as they try to configure exactly what they want to achieve.

Indeed, I have grave fears that they do not have a clear idea of what form such military intervention should take. For it is imperative that before we send so much as one British soldier back to Iraq, our government’s strategists must decide with absolute clarity and precision the objective of the mission.

They must also commit sufficient resources to ensure the job is done with as little risk as is possible to the lives of our men.

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Cameron must recall MPs over Iraq crisis says ex-head of Army: Lord Dannatt earlier warned that returning Jihadists could 'bring mayhem to our streets' Daily Mail

Lord Dannatt believes Iraqi crisis requires the recall of Parliament

The former Army general said MPs and Lords want to discuss the situation

He also warned that returning British Jihadists could bring 'mayhem' home

David Cameron said he will return from holiday if the crisis worsens 

David Cameron was under mounting pressure last night to recall Parliament to debate Britain’s response to the terrifying advance of Islamist fanatics in Iraq.

As the Prime Minister began his third holiday of the year, the former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, said ‘the nation would expect’ Parliament to be recalled.

Lord Dannatt, a former defence adviser to Mr Cameron, said the potential implications of the conflict – which Mr Cameron warned this week could bring ‘mayhem to our streets’ – meant that Britain’s response should be fully debated.

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John Swinney sets record straight after claiming Scottish Government were involved in currency union talks with Bank of England, Daily Record

SNP finance secretary John Swinney yesterday made a climb-down six days after claiming the Scottish Government were already having technical talks over the use of the pound after independence.

He set the record straight in Holyrood by conceding he did not mean to make people believe discussions are under way.

Swinney told MSPs: “If by my choice of words last week I have given the impression that the Bank of England has been in negotiating a currency union, I can say to Parliament that was not my intention.”

Technical and factual discussions have taken place between government officials and the bank in the run up to the referendum - but not on the specifics of the SNP’s preferred deal, he admitted.

The bank had taken the highly unusual step of publicly rubbishing his original claim at the end of last week.

At the time, Swinney’s aides said they were baffled by the reaction.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser - who raised the issue in Holyrood yesterday - said Swinney was at risk of losing his reputation as a “straight talker”.

Fraser said: “I cannot understand why it has taken six full days for the finance secretary to set the record straight on such a critical matter.

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Vicky Beeching and the Reason So Many 'Christians' Are Coming out as Gay - Ed Vitagliano, Charisma Magazine

Gays or lesbians who have read my writings for the AFA Journal for 18 years probably don't believe that statement. I can't say I blame them. When it comes to homosexual activism in this country, I have firmly resisted it for almost two decades. Why? Because I believe the homosexual movement is a part of the sexual revolution that, by and large, has been extremely destructive to individuals and society.  

I was disappointed to read about yet another Christian artist who has "come out" as a homosexual and claimed that God had a hand in the process. In other words, she stated that God (1) made her a lesbian and (2) led her to declare it unashamedly to all who would listen. 

Her name is Vicky Beeching. I had never heard of her, but that's not unusual. Let's just say I'm slightly behind the curve and leave it at that. Being a Brit, she may have been better known "across the pond" than in America, but folks I spoke with here at American Family Radio had heard of her.

She joins other well-known Christian artists such as Ray Boltz, Jennifer Knapp and Clay Aiken who came out of the closet.

So I feel compassion toward homosexuals. I don't believe most of them woke up one day and decided they'd be attracted to same-sex people. Neither do I believe they're born that way. I think the answer lies somewhere in between.

What causes homosexuality? I think there's probably a web of causes—some apply to this group, some to that, etc. I believe that some homosexuals have endured sexual abuse or other trauma; others suffer from a deficit of some sort that turned them toward the same-sex side of the aisle in an attempt to heal.

At this point I realize I have offended most of the homosexuals reading this. So let me even the score and offend some Christians: I believe some percentage of homosexuals (I have no idea how large or small) simply grew up just like me—only different. Instead of having a crush on an opposite-sex person, they experienced a crush on a same-sex person. To them it appeared just that natural.

But if there's a God who designed us—and I believe there is—then we obviously aren't designed to be attracted to the same sex. With my apologies to the Vicky Beechings of the world, the human race is clearly designed as male and female, . We are obviously intended to grow through childhood and enter puberty attracted to the opposite sex—because that's the only thing that makes sense of the biological design inherent in humankind.

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Scottish independence: John Swinney clarifies Bank of England discussions, BBC News

 

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has clarified comments he made regarding discussions with the Bank of England over a currency union.

Last Wednesday Mr Swinney said the Scottish government had held "technical discussions" with the bank.

The Bank of England denied holding talks about future monetary arrangement proposals.

Mr Swinney has since said it was "not my intention" to give the impression the bank had done so.

He faced calls in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday to explain his initial claim that "the Scottish government has had technical discussions with the Bank of England regarding our proposal for a currency union."

Mr Swinney said: "Following agreement in March 2012 from Mervyn King and as set out to the Scottish Parliament, a number of technical and factual discussions have taken place with the Bank of England.

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Is Suicide a Ticket to Hell? Charisma Magazine, Tom Brown

The Bible describes two believers who committed suicide: King Saul and Judas. For sure Judas went to hell. Peter said about him in Acts 1:16-18: "'Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus--he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out."

This Scripture implies that Judas was not saved.

The other story is about King Saul. He was mortally wounded in battle, so to avoid torture he killed himself. From David's words about Saul, it appears that Saul went to heaven. He says in 2 Sam. 1:23, "Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted."

We know that Jonathan was godly, so if Saul and Jonathan were not parted in death, this would mean Saul is with Jonathan in heaven. I should also note that this passage may simply mean that they died together in battle, not necessarily that they are still with each other in death. At any rate, Saul killed himself only because he was trying to avoid torture, and he was going to die soon anyway

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Can a Christian commit Suicide?

This controversial topic has unfortunately often been addressed in emotional ways, not through biblical analysis. Those of us who grew up Roman Catholic have always heard suicide is a mortal sin that irretrievably sends people to hell. Influenced by the arguments of Augustine and Aquinas, this belief dominated through the Reformation. However, for Luther, the Devil is capable of oppressing (not possessing) a believer to the point of pushing him to commit the sin of suicide (Table Talk, Vol 54:29). As the salvation became better understood, many Reformation thinkers and theologians distanced their views from the Church of Rome.

TGC Nunez

Besides this traditional position of the Catholic Church, we encounter three others:

a) A true Christian would never commit suicide, since God wouldn't allow it.

b) A Christian may commit suicide, but would lose his salvation.

c) A Christian may commit suicide without losing his salvation.

So what does the Bible say? Let's begin by talking about those truths we know as revealed in God's Word:

Humanity is totally depraved (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:10-18). This doesn't mean we're as evil as we could be, but that every human capacity—intellect, heart, emotions, will—is tainted by sin.

Even after regeneration, a Christian is capable of committing any sin except the unforgivable one (Rom. 7).

The unforgivable sin is mentioned in Mark 3:25-32 and Matthew 12:32-32, and from these passages we can conclude it refers to the continual rejection of the Holy Spirit in the work of conversion. Others believe this passage speaks of attributing to Satan the work of the Spirit. It's clear that in any case it's referring to an unbeliever.

It's important to remember a believer is capable of taking the life of someone else, as David did in the case of Uriah, without this action invalidating his salvation.

Christ's sacrifice at the cross has forgiven all of our sin—past, present, and future (Col. 2:13-14; Heb. 10:11-18).

The sin a Christian will commit tomorrow was forgiven at Calvary—where Jesus justified us, declaring us positionally righteous. He accomplished this work through one single offering that didn't need to be repeated again. On the cross Jesus didn't make us justifiable; he made us justified (Rom. 3:23-26; 8:29-30).