British Prime Minister David Cameron has a hidden agenda of "aggressive secularism", and is alienating Christians by promoting gay marriage. So says Very Rev. George Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Anglican Communion), in a strongly worded article in the Daily Mail.
The still-influential Anglican cleric said Mr. Cameron's plan to legalize same-sex unions threatened the link between church and state. For American readers not clear on this point, Britain's largely unwritten constitution is opposite to that of the USA in that church and state are not separate, but linked together in the person of Her Majesty the Queen, who is both head of state and head of the schismatic Anglican church.
Wrote Lord Carey (as he is now known), "The danger I believe that the government is courting with its approach both to marriage and religious freedom is the alienation of a large minority of people who only a few years ago would have been considered pillars of society."
The former leader of the world's 80 million Anglicans also condemned what he saw as a lack of government support for Christians who choose to wear a cross at work, a practice that has been challenged in the past due to politically correct rules on religious expression at the workplace.
He referred to a ComRes survey, reported here earlier today, which revealed that more than two-thirds of British Christians felt they were a "persecuted minority".
Lord Carey opined that "it was a bit rich to hear that the prime minister has told religious leaders that they should 'stand up and oppose aggressive secularization' when it seems that his government is aiding and abetting this aggression every step of the way."
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Most British Christians see themselves as persecuted minority
Yesterday (Holy Saturday) brought depressing news from the Disunited Kingdom, a.k.a. Once-great Britain. A survey done by pollsters ComRes revealed that more than two-thirds of British Christians feel they are now part of a "persecuted minority".
And guess who the persecutors are? Not Romans and Jews, as in the time of Jesus, or even Muslims, but the promoters of what the polling firm calls "aggressive secularism", which churchgoers increasingly feel threatens freedom of religion.
In the UK, even more than in the USA and Canada, court rulings against people who want to wear crosses at work, and legal action preventing prayers before council meetings, have combined with a persistent anti-religious bias in the press to make Christians feel marginalized.
Adding fuel to the flames of resentment is the British Government's decision to legalize "marriage", in spite of the opposition of the Church -- including, in a half-hearted way, the Church of England -- and a significant chunk of popular opinion.
According to the PressTV article on the poll, if the march of secularism continues unabated, by 2030 Britain will no longer be a Christian country. By that date, there will be more non-believers than Christians. Why, because immigrants from Asia keep their faiths, and "born Christians" (as opposed to "born-again Christians") don't.
In the past six years, the report says, the number of Muslims has surged by 37% to 2.6 million. Hindus have increased their numbers by 43%, and Buddhists by a massive 74 per cent. Meanwhile, people who choose to call themselves Christians declined in number by more than 4 million between the censuses of 2001 and 2011. In the latter census, fewer than 60% of all residents of the UK described themselves as Christian. That's down from 72% in 2001.
A former Archbishop of Canterbury -- head of the so-called Anglican Communion -- has a comment on the role of Britain's government in the decline of Christianity in his country. Walt will be posting a précis later today.
And guess who the persecutors are? Not Romans and Jews, as in the time of Jesus, or even Muslims, but the promoters of what the polling firm calls "aggressive secularism", which churchgoers increasingly feel threatens freedom of religion.
In the UK, even more than in the USA and Canada, court rulings against people who want to wear crosses at work, and legal action preventing prayers before council meetings, have combined with a persistent anti-religious bias in the press to make Christians feel marginalized.
Adding fuel to the flames of resentment is the British Government's decision to legalize "marriage", in spite of the opposition of the Church -- including, in a half-hearted way, the Church of England -- and a significant chunk of popular opinion.
According to the PressTV article on the poll, if the march of secularism continues unabated, by 2030 Britain will no longer be a Christian country. By that date, there will be more non-believers than Christians. Why, because immigrants from Asia keep their faiths, and "born Christians" (as opposed to "born-again Christians") don't.
In the past six years, the report says, the number of Muslims has surged by 37% to 2.6 million. Hindus have increased their numbers by 43%, and Buddhists by a massive 74 per cent. Meanwhile, people who choose to call themselves Christians declined in number by more than 4 million between the censuses of 2001 and 2011. In the latter census, fewer than 60% of all residents of the UK described themselves as Christian. That's down from 72% in 2001.
A former Archbishop of Canterbury -- head of the so-called Anglican Communion -- has a comment on the role of Britain's government in the decline of Christianity in his country. Walt will be posting a précis later today.
Easter Greeting
Christ is risen
Truly He is risen
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Walt [and Ed.]
wish all our readers
a
HAPPY AND HOLY EASTER
Saturday, March 30, 2013
New tests date Shroud of Turin to time of Christ
Andrea Tornielli has been mentioned in WWW before as one of the preeminent Vaticanistas (Vatican watchers). It is rumored that the "Pope Emeritus", as they want us to call Benedict XVI, used to turn to Sr Tornielli's "Vatican Insider" blog to make sure he was getting the straight goods from the Great Prevaricator (Cardinal Bertone).
Sr Tornielli's column of March 26th has an extremely interesting report on the results of fresh experiments on the Shroud of Turin, conducted at the University of Padua. The latest tests confirm that the Shroud does indeed date back to the 1st Century A.D. -- the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This makes its compatible with Catholic tradition, which holds that the cloth with the image of the crucified man imprinted on it is the very one Jesus' body was wrapped in when he was taken down from the cross.
The study was made by Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurement, who cooperated with Saverio Gaeta to produce a new book, Il Mistero della Sindone ("The Mystery of the Shroud"), which cites the evidence of the new tests, conducted on fibres taken from the Shroud.
Further testing was required because some years ago a different group of researchers, after making Carbon-14 tests, claimed that the cloth was manufactured in medieval times. It now appears that the fibres tested previously were taken from a part of the Shroud that had been repaired following a fire around the 13th century. But the medieval dating was at odds with the style of painting used by artists of that period. Moreover, analysis of the "paint" itself failed to match any pigments or dyes known at that time or this.
The research conducted more recently included three new tests, two chemical ones and one mechanical one. The average dating of the three tests is 33 BC ±250 years -- 95% certain and 100% compatible with the historic date of Jesus' death on the cross.
Click here for more details of this and other stories on the Shroud of Turin. And -- believe it or not -- there’s an app for that! It’s called "Sindone 2.0" and you can get a free preview (in Italian) of the app in operation by viewing the video clip in this article from Oggi.
Sr Tornielli's column of March 26th has an extremely interesting report on the results of fresh experiments on the Shroud of Turin, conducted at the University of Padua. The latest tests confirm that the Shroud does indeed date back to the 1st Century A.D. -- the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This makes its compatible with Catholic tradition, which holds that the cloth with the image of the crucified man imprinted on it is the very one Jesus' body was wrapped in when he was taken down from the cross.
The study was made by Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical and thermal measurement, who cooperated with Saverio Gaeta to produce a new book, Il Mistero della Sindone ("The Mystery of the Shroud"), which cites the evidence of the new tests, conducted on fibres taken from the Shroud.
Further testing was required because some years ago a different group of researchers, after making Carbon-14 tests, claimed that the cloth was manufactured in medieval times. It now appears that the fibres tested previously were taken from a part of the Shroud that had been repaired following a fire around the 13th century. But the medieval dating was at odds with the style of painting used by artists of that period. Moreover, analysis of the "paint" itself failed to match any pigments or dyes known at that time or this.
The research conducted more recently included three new tests, two chemical ones and one mechanical one. The average dating of the three tests is 33 BC ±250 years -- 95% certain and 100% compatible with the historic date of Jesus' death on the cross.
Click here for more details of this and other stories on the Shroud of Turin. And -- believe it or not -- there’s an app for that! It’s called "Sindone 2.0" and you can get a free preview (in Italian) of the app in operation by viewing the video clip in this article from Oggi.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Message for Holy Week
Agent 3 saw this sign in front of the Church of Our Lady of the Scapular, in Niagara Falls, Canada. (The reference is to the Brown Scapular which Our Lady gave to St. Simon Stock.) Very appropriate for Holy Week.
The Fatima Network offers you a Brown Scapular -- Our Lady's Garment of Grace -- FREE and with no obligation. Click here for details and an order form.
The Fatima Network offers you a Brown Scapular -- Our Lady's Garment of Grace -- FREE and with no obligation. Click here for details and an order form.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Incredibly meaty burger from McDonald's China
Walt's agents in China -- actually it's McDonald's Chinese website -- report that in their quest to be richer, better...and fatter...than Americans, the Chinese have come up with a "meal" that out-bigs the biggest Bic Mac.
Are you ready for the Sausage Double Beef Burger? Never mind a slice of cheese or a rasher of streaky. This is two -- count `em, two -- beef (?) hamburger patties plus two gynormous schnitzengrubens (you've seen Blazing Saddles, right?) drizzled with mustard.
No rabbit food but you do get a bun, of sorts, apparently added as an afterthought. At least that's the opinion of Charisma Madarang [a name to conjure with! Ed.], writing in Food Beast.
It's available now at McDonald's in the more progressive parts of China. Sightings and tastings have been reported from Shenzhen, Hangzhou and of course Shanghai, whose denizens fancy their city China's answer to New York. "Fucking delicious", says James Griffiths in Shanghaiist.
Is this an original Chinese idea? [Or is "original Chinese idea" an oxymoron? Ed.] Apparently McDonald's offers something similar in Germany. According to McD's press office, the "Nuremburger" includes three Nuremberg sausages topped with crispy fried onions and mustard sauce.
The Sausage Double Beef Burger will cost you 17.50 yuan -- about $2.80 in real money -- plus the plane fare to China. If you eat enough of them, a one-way ticket should do you.
No rabbit food but you do get a bun, of sorts, apparently added as an afterthought. At least that's the opinion of Charisma Madarang [a name to conjure with! Ed.], writing in Food Beast.
It's available now at McDonald's in the more progressive parts of China. Sightings and tastings have been reported from Shenzhen, Hangzhou and of course Shanghai, whose denizens fancy their city China's answer to New York. "Fucking delicious", says James Griffiths in Shanghaiist.
Is this an original Chinese idea? [Or is "original Chinese idea" an oxymoron? Ed.] Apparently McDonald's offers something similar in Germany. According to McD's press office, the "Nuremburger" includes three Nuremberg sausages topped with crispy fried onions and mustard sauce.
The Sausage Double Beef Burger will cost you 17.50 yuan -- about $2.80 in real money -- plus the plane fare to China. If you eat enough of them, a one-way ticket should do you.
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