24 hour drinking was never a good idea

All-day drinking laws have not had the effect of slowing down drinking which Government advocates of the law said they would according to a new report. Instead most areas report a worsening in alcohol-related incidents and an increased cost to the tax-payer. See this report from MSN News

The culture of drinking amongst British young people is deeply embeddded and has been for many years. It has got worse over the last quarter-century as drink has become relatively cheaper and more easily available. Giving people even more opportunity to get off their heads on a daily basis was never going to change that culture and now we have the evidence to show that it isn’t working.

Instead town and city centres across the country have become no-go areas for most people several evenings a week as they are filled with groups of drunken youngsters tottering and staggering around, screaming, cursing and vomiting; or lying comatose across the pavement.

Church and the gay question

May the Church gives its blessing to homosexual partnerships and remain true to the will of God? Still be faithful in its witness to the love of God as shown in Jesus and revealed in the Bible?

As a minimum it seems to me this is an open question. That is, even if you are reluctant to give a definitive “yes” in answer, then neither can you give  a definitive “no”.  The reasons for this I explain below.

If it is an open question, then isn’t the only proper response of all Christians who take seriously the ethic of love for neighbour, especially bishops and church leaders, compassion and respect between those with differing answers? For me this means learning from and listening  to others; accepting, not condemning, those who in good faith and conscience want to go ahead and affirm homosexual relationships; as well as those who, also in good faith, genuinely believe this can never be an option for a faithful Church.

This much might be agreed by all Christians who have not allowed their party-line allegiances to cloud their spiritual discernment. But can it be shown that this is an open question?

I have several reasons why I think it is.

Firstly, “facts on the ground”. Clearly there are many Christians, homosexual and not, who already believe that homosexual partnerships may be good and right in the sight of God. But these may be false teachers. The New Testament itself warns against those who will lead the Church astray with spurious beliefs. But the errors the New Testament speaks of are central points of faith such as the adequacy of God’s grace in Christ. We are also taught that by their fruits you shall know them. Where there are Christian men and women who are faithful members of the Church and who clearly reveal in their lives the fruits of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and differ from Christian  brothers and sisters  in no other way than that  they answer “yes” to our question then how can they be regarded as false teachers?

Secondly, our greater knowledge of the human condition. The findings of various branches of science and the personal experiences of many people suggests very strongly that homosexuality is a given feature of human life.

Thirdly, the development of understanding of the biblical texts. Whilst it may be clear that there is very little in the biblical tradition to support a positive assessment of homosexual partnerships, and much to endorse the traditional Christian antipathy, it is not clear that the biblical material should be determinative of a developed Christian ethic for the 21st century.

Fourthly, the development of positive aspects of sexual ethics in public life. Many religiously motivated critics of homosexual partnership consider it to be part of a wider decline in sexual mores in Western society. But this ignores the evidence for many positive  changes in relation to more traditional cultures. Modern intolerance of rape, of domestic violence, of child abuse and of forced marriages shows that the so-called decadence of  Western societies actually displays many strongly moral developments in recent decades.

Therefore in my view there is no case for condemnation on religious grounds of those who believe sincerely that homosexual partnerships may be a faithful Christian expression of human love and companionship.

 

A full Sunday

I went with Lorraine to the licensing of Julian Bidgood, new minister-in-charge at Barkham parish church. Bishop Stephen preached an engaging sermon as ever and did the official licensing part. John Redwood MP was there too. Julian is married to Angela and they have three young children.He has come to Barkham from a first post at St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford. The service was well structured and conducted.Afterwards I was involved in a photo call and then there were refreshments in the village hall next door.
We went from there to the All Saints family picnic, with a brief stopover at home to change and prepare the food. (Lorraine did that bit). Miraculously there was not the prolonged rain the Met Office had threatened; it was sunny if a little breezy. So the picnic went ahead as planned on Palmer school playing field. There were outdoor bowls Parachute games, mega Connect 4 and rounders. I actually hit the ball and ran to the third post.
After that we came home for a rest - We read in the garden. I managed to penetrate further into A Secular Age - the latest and I think greatest work of Charles Taylor, Canadian philosopher and cultural historian who last year was the winner of the prestigious Templeton Prize.
On a whim I phoned Henley cinema to discover if there were any tickets remaining for the special early showing of Edge of Love, the new John Maybury film about an episode in the life of Dylan Thomas, starring Keira Knightly and Sienna Miller. there were spare seats so we rushed, the four of us to Henley instantly. The film was shown at 6pm prompt with no ads and followed by a live link-up to an interview and Q & A session with the director at a London cinema.
The film is an intense study of the human heart and as John Maybury put it its about the lives of four young people in a time of war. It is an anti-war film.

Mums get breastfeeding rights

Mothers are to get the legal right to breastfeed in a public place under the terms of the Equality Bill, which will make it an offence to stop any woman from breastfeeding a baby up to the age of six months. Under current laws, women breastfeeding in places such as restaurants or bars can be charged under public order or indecency legislation. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The government is keen to give new mothers complete confidence to breastfeed while going about their normal business, for example while on the bus or in a café.” (Daily Mail 16.06.0 [Source: mumsnet.com]

Israel is Deporting Jerusalem Christians

Hundreds of Jerusalem Christians are loosing residency rights in their City due to policies of the Israeli Ministry of Interior. The policy that aims to reduce the number of non-Jews in the City takes its toll on families and individuals who hold residency permits at foreign countries. No matter how long they travel abroad, no matter if they were born in Jerusalem before or after Israel occupied East Jerusalem , they are considered visitors in their own city.

Palestinian Christians who make today not more than 9,000 will lose 15% of their population as a result of this policy. While Jews from all over the world and even converts to Judaism are allowed to immigrate to Israel under the Israeli “Law of Return”, the indigenous Jerusalemites are considered temporary residents. Originally, Seven years of being out of Jerusalem was the deadline for losing one’s right to live in his own city. Now, only a proof of residency in another country is enough for Israel to consider Jerusalem as not “the center of life” for this person or family and thus deny them the right of living in their home town once they travel abroad.  

In addition to this particular policy, the Israeli authorities are still implementing other regulations aiming at further decreasing the numbers of Palestinian, Christians and Moslems, in Jerusalem . From freezing the law of family reunion to impossible requirements for building in the city, to the Separation Wall that separated hundreds from the center of Jerusalem . Palestinian Christians of the city will soon lose half of their population.

The local Churches in Jerusalem are gravely concerned, and join the call of their communities to put an end to Israel’s policies and refuse any kind of exclusivity over the City. At this stage Israel cannot be entrusted in the fate of this Holy City and its people. The International and Christian Communities need to act fast to defuse Israeli policies at the highest level.

 

We want peace and justice in the Holy Land , where followers of all faiths will live in dignity and their rights will be preserved.  And we believe that the international community can help us make it happen.  

 

 

 

Laity Committee in the Holy Land

info@holylandchristians.com

Tel: 054 779 7719 -050 5545 179

What are today’s social evils? » Social evils: your responses

This recently published survey data by the Joseph Rowntree trust has one of the most intelligent comment threads I’ve ever seen.

The results of the original survey also make interesting reading.

Religion is identified as a major player alongside government, media and big business as having responsibility for social evils.

What are today’s social evils? » Social evils: your responses

Share, don’t attach!

Documents attached by email are the bane of life for a busy committee member. My local school governing body for example regularly attaches upto twenty different documents to the email sent before the meeting. But there is another way. This is to share the document by simply giving the weblink to its location on the internet. And an easy way to do this has been provided by the amazing people at Zoho - the online applications people. The Zoho viewer application allows you simply to upload your document and then grab its URL (internet address) which you can share in an email or blogpost. Try it here.

Say “no” to further attacks on our liberties as free citizens

The case of Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir of Nottingham University is a clear example of why the powers to detain people without charge under the Terrorism Act should not be extended to 42 days; in fact, the time should be reduced. The Government says that the new powers will only be used in exceptional cases; but the situation for Hicham and Rizwaan was not exceptional. They were going about their normal daily work of study and research at the university, doing nothing illegal, when suddenly they were incarcerated without the chance to explain themselves and held without charge for six days. For Hicham Yezza the situation was then complicated by confusion over his immigration status which has resulted in his further detention at immigration holding centres, with a threat of immediate deportation within a week; a threat only stayed by the intervention of lawyers who have obtained for him the right to a proper hearing.

Hicham is a respected member of the University and local community; holds a doctorate from the University and is currently an employee there; he has lived, studied and worked in Britain for 13 years and has a settled personal and social life in Nottingham. You can’t help thinking his only “crime” was to be a Muslim and a foreign-born.

The new laws and powers, and their ongoing extension, are creating a culture of fear and suspicion in our country. The right to liberty, to be free from arbitary arrest by the authorities, to be considered innocent until proven guilty - all of these ancient rights which we have taken for granted are part of what makes ours a civilised and democratic country - and which our grandparents’ generation defended with their lives in the Second World War, are being swept away by a government in a state of moral panic.

How can we believe the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary when they tell us these additional powers are necessary? This is the same government that told us the bombardment and  invasion of Iraq was necessary because of the weapons of mass destruction which we were assured remained a clear and present danger.

 

 

Free Hicham Yezza

I read with growing horror about the fate of Hicham Yezza; a member of staff at Nottingham University (in which I’m a Master of Theolgy). Hich was arrested last week, together with a student doing a Masters on political Islam, for downloading the Al Quaeda training manual which is publicly available for academics on a US government website. Both men were held six days without charge before being released. BUT Hich was re-arrested days later in connection with his immigration status and he is now being held in a detention centre and due to be sent back to Algeria on 1st June. Hich has been in the UK for 13 years. He is a well-respected member of the local community and employee of the University. Some reports suggest that university authorities were less than unequivocal in their support of Mr Yezza and the student arrested with him. A public reading of the research material and demonstration is planned by academics and students for tomorrow to protest at the assault on academic freedom and call for the immediate release of this innocent man.
What kind of coutry are we now living in where innocent people can be arbitrarily arrested and treated as guilty until proven innocent? ‘It is only necessary that good men do nothing for evil to triumph’ R W Emerson.
Read more on the website http://freehichamyezza.wordpress.com/

Recently I read about a major change taking place at Willow Creek Community Church in the USA. It’s one of the largest churches in the world, which has grown by adapting a thoroughly contemporary style to its worship and life; geared totally to the lifestyle and experiences of the  younger non-churchy suburban Americans of Chicago. They didn’t only chuck out the chintz and build swish corporate-style facilities; they ditched the candles, the cassocks, the collections; even the crosses; everything that smelt of old-style irrelevant boring church; and they gave people what they wanted. In the words of the Baptist Press report last year:

 

“We were told that preaching was out, relevance was in. Doctrine didn’t matter nearly as much as innovation. If it wasn’t “cutting edge” and consumer friendly it was doomed. The mention of sin, salvation and sanctification were taboo and replaced by Starbucks, strategy and sensitivity….Forget what people need, give them what they want. How can you argue with the numbers?”

 

But now a new report for the church based on a multi-year study has shown that most of what they have been doing for so many years has not been forming responsible sincere Christians. It’s been drawing in the crowd for sure; but it has not been helping people grow and develop spiritually. The founding guru of Willow Creek, Bill Hybels has said this:

 

“We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility…..”

 

Many churches have looked at the Willow Creek model in the past and felt that it has been the way to go. But it has diluted the challenge of being a Christian. Surely, candles, cassocks and tatty carpets are not intrinsic to Christian worship! But the call to follow Christ in the way of service is an indispensable element of our faith. Willow Creek Community Church has always done things in spectacular style – now they are repenting of their mistake in a big way – but all Christians are on that same journey to fulfil that promise made at baptism: to turn to Christ.