Thursday, 15 January 2015
Archbishops Justin Welby And John Sentamu Make Their Biggest Political Intervention Yet, Huffington Post
The Church of England has labelled income
inequality "evil" in a scathing assessment of the coalition, in which
it questions how David Cameron has allowed entire communities to be "cast
aside."
In one of the Church's biggest ever political
interventions, timed to coincide with the general election campaign, the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York said valuing communities on purely economic
output was a "fundamental sin", and claimed Britain has become
dominated by consumerism and selfishness.
In a video to launch the collection of essays in
his new book Rock or Sand?, which includes a contribution from the Archbishop
of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, admitted
the Church was making a political intervention but said it was not trying to be
party political, despite remarks being clearly aimed at coalition policies.
Dr Sentamu said the UK faced a "deep, deep
economic crisis" during the last four and-a-half years and said inequality
trapped "hard-working" families on "poverty wages".
An extract from Archbishop Welby's essay,
published in the Daily Telegraph, also criticises the "un-Christian"
principle of of what is known as Social Darwinism - "every person for
themselves", and said while London and the South East are growing
economically, "entire cities are being cast aside" and left to
decline.
Further Reading
Words for the Wise, Romans 10:15, Oswald Chambers Where Am I? A Spiritual Stock-Taking
Oswald
Chambers
Where
Am I?
A
Spiritual Stock-Taking
Why
Do I Want to Work? (Romans 10:15)
Romans 10 The
Voice (VOICE)
10 My brothers and sisters, I pray constantly to
God for the salvation of my people; it is the deep desire of my heart. 2 What I can say about them is that they
are enthusiastic about God, but that won’t lead them to Him because their
zeal is not based on true knowledge. 3 In their ignorance about how God is
working to make things right, they have been trying to establish their own
right standing with God through the law. But they are not operating
under God’s saving, restorative justice. 4 You see, God’s purpose for the law
reaches its climax when the Anointed One arrives; now all who trust in
Him can have their lives made right with God.
God’s plan to restore the world disfigured by sin and death reaches its
climax with the resurrection of Jesus. When the King enters, all the
prophecies, all the hopes, all the longings find in Him their true fulfillment.
There may have been earlier fulfillments; but these are only partial
fulfillments, signposts along the way to God’s true goal. The goal has been the
restoration of people to a holy God. With Jesus, we find the only perfect man
with right standing before God. He comes to blaze a path defined by God’s
justice, not by our own sense of right and wrong. All men, women, and children
who commit their lives to Him will be made right with God and will begin new
lives defined by faith and God’s new covenant.
5 Moses made this clear long ago
when he wrote about what it takes to have a right
relationship with God based on the law: “The person devoted to the law’s
commands will live by them.”[a] 6 But a right relationship based on faith
sounds like this: “Do not say to yourselves, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’”[b] (that is, to bring down the
Anointed One), 7 “or, ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’”[c] (that is, to bring the Anointed
One up from the dead). 8 But what does it actually say? “The word is near
you, in your mouth and in your heart”[d] (that is, the good news we have
been called to preach to you). 9 So if you believe deep in your heart
that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice
your allegiance by confessing the truth that “Jesus is Lord,”
then you will be saved!10 Belief begins in the heart and leads to a
life that’s right with God; confession departs from our lips and
brings eternal salvation. 11 Because what Isaiah saidwas true:
“The one who trusts in Him will not be disgraced.”[e] 12 Remember that the Lord draws no distinction
between Jew and non-Jew—He is Lord over all things, and He pours out His
treasures on all who invoke His name13 because as Scripture says, “Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[f]
Faith is not something we do. It is a
response to what God has done already on our behalf, the response of a spirit
restless in a fragmented world.
14 How can people invoke His name when
they do not believe? How can they believe in Him when they have not heard? How
can they hear if there is no one proclaiming Him? 15 How can some give voice to the truth if
they are not sentby God? As Isaiah said, “Ah, how
beautiful the feet of those who declare the good news of victory, of
peace and liberation.”[g] 16 But some will hear the good news and
refuse to submit to the truth they hear. Isaiah the prophet also says,
“Lord, who would ever believe it? Who would possibly accept what we’ve been
told?”[h] 17 So faith proceeds from hearing, as we
listen to the message about God’s Anointed.
18 But let me ask this: have my people ever heard?
Indeed, they have:
Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voice has gone out;
the whole world has heard what they have to say.[i]
the whole world has heard what they have to say.[i]
19 But again let me ask: did Israel perhaps
hear and not understand all of this?Well, Moses was the
first to say,
I will make you jealous with a people who are not a nation.
With a senseless people I will anger you.[j]
With a senseless people I will anger you.[j]
20 Then Isaiah the fearless prophet says
it this way:
21 And as to the fate of Israel,
God says,
Romans
10:14f The Voice
14
How can people invoke His name when they do not believe? How can they believe
in Him when they have not heard? How can they hear if there is no one
proclaiming Him? 15 How can some give voice to the truth if they are not sent
by God? As Isaiah said, “Ah, how beautiful the feet of those who declare the
good news of victory, of peace and liberation.”[g] 16 But some will hear the
good news and refuse to submit to the truth they hear. Isaiah the prophet also
says, “Lord, who would ever believe it? Who would possibly accept what we’ve
been told?”[h] 17 So faith proceeds from hearing, as we listen to the message
about God’s Anointed.
18
But let me ask this: have my people ever heard? Indeed, they have:
Yet
from here to the ends of the earth, their voice has gone out;
the whole world has heard what they have to
say.[i]
The
Christian worker must be sent; he must not elect to go. Nowadays that is the
last thing thought of; it is a determination on the part of the
individual—“This is something I can do, and I am going to do it.” Beware of
demanding that people go into work, it is a craze; the majority of saved souls
are not fit to feed themselves yet. How am I to know I have been sent of God?
Firstly, by the realisation that I am utterly weak and powerless and if I am to
be of any use to God, God must do it all the time. Is this the humiliating
certainty of my soul, or merely a sentimental phrase? Secondly, because I know
I have to point men to Jesus Christ, not to get them to think what a holy man I
am.
The only way to be sent is to let God lift us
right out of any sense of fitness in ourselves and place us where He will. The
man whose work tells for God is the one who not only realises what God has done
for him but who realises his own utter unfitness and overwhelming
unsuitability—the impossibility of God ever calling me. God allows us to
scrutinise ourselves in order to understand what Paul said: “We also are weak
in him.”
Occasionally
it may happen in your life as a worker that all you have been trying honestly
and eagerly to do for God falls about your ears in ruins, and in your utterly
crushed and discouraged condition God brings slowly to your mind this truth—“I
have been using your work as scaffolding to perfect you to be a worker for
Myself; now arise, shake off the dust, and it shall be told you what you must
do.” Before ever God can use us as workers He has to bring us to a place of
entire poverty, where we shall have no doubt as to where we are, “Here I am,
absolutely no good!” Then God can send us, but not until then. We put hindrances
in the way of God’s working by trying to do things for Him. The impatience of
modern life has so crept into Christian work that we will not settle down
before God and find out what He wants us to do.
The Church, God's Divine Masterpiece
Can
you imagine the scene ?, you’re sitting
in front of your Television set, watching the Football Team you’ve supported
since you were a Child, lose 4 – 0 to a
team two divisions below you, You shout
at the TV Screen, and starting blaming the referee and his obviously dubious decisions, you can’t understand why such a famous, well
known and previously successful team have lost,
The TV cameras pan onto the manager and his support team, and think to
yourself why aren’t they doing more. This is your team’s third loss in 3
games, and all against what many
consider second and third rate teams.
If
you are Manchester United fan, this unfortunately has happened,
“United are Don Four!
Manchester United's Premier League millionaires humiliated 4-0 by League One
minnows MK Dons” The first game of the Premier League you loss to
Swansea City 2-1, and who are exactly
are Swansea City ? , then in the second game of the 2014-2015 your loss to
Premier League rivals , Sunderland 1-0,
you hope for a drastic change, and pin your hopes on your new star
player, Angel di Maria, who has signed
from Real Madrid for a record fee of £59.7 Million. Now it’s a match against MK
Dons who play in League 1, two divisions
below the Premier League for the Capital One Cup[, it should be a walk over for you, and then
you lose 4-0! You think can this season get any worst?
After 20 plus years that you have been for a
majority of the time, the most successful British Team under your
long term manager, he retires and his
chosen successor hasn’t lived up to the hype and expectation, he is replaced by a player who has spent his
entire career at your club, and suddenly your club start once more being
successful, because of this player’s
inexperience of management, despite his love, commitment and loyalty to the
club, he ‘s replaced by an international respected and experienced manager,
although this former player is now assistant manager.
For
many here in the United Kingdom,
Football has become a form of quasi-religion and football clubs from the
Premier League to the lower leagues will
have various levels of almost seemingly tribal support, where people will wear
with pride their tribal colours, the replica shirts, scarfs, hats and other sundries. With the Premier League being described as
the richest and most successful Football Leagues in the World, their support base well for the most well
known clubs, such as Arsenal, Liverpool,
Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City,
will be on a global and international level, where their success is celebrated by
supporters in numerous countries and regions,
and where foreign players are sourced from clubs and countries in other
lands. I noticed today that there are 7
different language options on the Manchester United Website, English, French,
Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, many club teams
are like the Premier League’s Foreign Legion.
With
the global fan base and support for the Premier League, many foreign
individuals have invested heavily in or have bought English and sometimes Welsh Football
clubs hoping with their investment they can find greater business success for
themselves. The Premier League has gained a degree of global success and a lot
of investment, however this has come with
huge debts for some clubs, and a rise in gambling and all that is associated
with that such as criminal activity and possible match fixing.
It
has been some tens of hundreds of years since the people in Britain have been part
of tribes based on geography, family
connections and affiliations , although Scotland will have Clans and each Clan
will wear a distinctive tartan kilt, however with some sports such as Rugby
League, Rugby Union and Football many people will feel a tribal loyalty to
certain clubs, and would wear with pride their tribal colours, and will feel an affinity with people, who look like us, sound like us and talk in a way we understand,
and they would have the same collective memories as we do and are part a support system we are part of through their loyalty to the same chosen tribe as we belong to.
This
has lead me to think about the way we do and are the Church today ?
When
we look at the Church today, what do we see and what do we mean by the word
Church ? to some the word Church has a negative effect on the other hand, the
word Church has a positive effect, to others Church should be consigned to the
past, and it doesn’t have any relevance to them and society both today in the
present or indeed tomorrow the future, some think of the word Church and they
think of a physical building others think of the New Testament concept of God’s
people or a spiritual building.
The
Church today is divided into various camps or tribal groups, that more often or
not have very little to do with other camps or tribal groups, sometimes
different churches can be close to each in terms of a physical distance, but
miles apart in so many other ways. Is
the Church somewhere we can go to or is it a body of people that we belong to,
and are joined alongside each other to work alongside each other to see the
Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom preached to those without the Good News
of Salvation through our Lord and Saviour Jesus.
We
are divided into groups or denominations that have more to do with our past,
and very little to do with our present or future. We hold onto ways of both
doing and being church because of our history and our responsibilities to that
history, and the expectancies of others. Sometimes we're divided into seemingly
rival tribal groups, because for some our revelation of being and doing church
is driven by being the people of God where His Presence dwells, but on the
other hand we're divided because of politics and personalties !.
The
Church is a movement for change and transformation but for many of us The
Church has become a monument to our spiritual forefathers who were a movement
for change and transformation !.
We, the Church are the visible representation
of God’s Kingdom Rule and Reign here on Earth, we are his messengers of hope,
love and compassion, salvation & restoration, the people we see every day
are the people for whom Jesus died on the Cross for, we are the ones who are to
bring hope and healing to our communities.
We
follow men and sometimes women, we follow the traditions that were our
spiritual forefather’s doctrines and their distinctiveness from other tribal
groups and when someone from another tribe says let’s meet together for
fellowship and to share together, we say we can't because we’re group a and
your group b and our big chief said in 1920 said that we need to avoid group b
because your understanding of church and Christianity is different from way he
told us to be the church and to be a Christian and therefore you’re wrong, or
we do meet together but in a spirit of reluctance and/or a spirit of mistrust,
we’ve created theories, doctrines, theologies
and solutions how we’re to be the church and to life our Christian lives and be
a Christian Witness, but many of those theories etc belong in the past, and
have become hindrances and obstacles for us today.
Many
of our tribes or denominations have become tied to the way we did Church, 10,
20, 30, 40, 50 or a 100 plus years ago, we look for structure and safety in the
past.
We
think that the way we do and are the Church is the right or indeed the only way
to be do or be Church, we mistake our history
for our present and future and wonder why despite our best efforts, our prayers
indeed our prophecies, we’re unfulfilled !
I
remember some recent conversations I have had,
that described a particular group of churches that would say that they’re
not a denomination, but when you examine
closely their practices, principles and message, it sounds a lot to me and others like a
denomination, I grew up in a Pentecostal
Denomination that has a strong base in the South Wales Valleys, I spent my formative years in that particular
group of Churches, and even today that I’m no longer part of that particular group
my understanding of theology is basically what I learned and studied when I was
part of that denomination and I have many friends there.
Ephesians
3 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
God’s
marvellous plan for the Gentiles
3
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you
Gentiles –
2
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to
me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have
already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to
people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s
holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the
Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and
sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
7
I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through
the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s
people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches
of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,
which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His
intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be
made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according
to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him
and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I
ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you,
which are your glory.
A
prayer for the Ephesians
14
For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in
heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches
he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s
holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of
Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be
filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Christian pupils asked 'do you know what lesbians do?'
Christian pupils asked 'do you know what lesbians do?'
A Christian school has complained to the education
inspector after pupils were asked if they knew what lesbians did.
It's claimed Ofsted staff spoke to children at Grindon
Hall school in Sunderland about transsexuals, if they felt trapped in the wrong
body and if tom boys were bullied.
It is a free school which means it receives state
funding but is not under the local authorities control.
Head teacher Chris Gray has now formally complained to
Ofsted about the inspection, which was carried out in November.
He claims girls aged 10 were asked what lesbians did
after one child questioned how it was possible to have two mums.
Mr Gray said the inspection was "negative and
hostile at every stage" and claims it was like the "data collected
had to fit a predetermined outcome".
It's the latest in a long list of complaints made
against Ofsted since new rules were introduced to ensure British values are
being taught at schools.
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