The story of the Canadian minister who wishes to ban Catholics teaching the evil of abortion under the countries mysogny laws, the black, deaf diversity officer who was suspended for signing a petition for a referendum on "gay marriage", my own MP who wants to ban Christian ministers marrying anyone, if they won't "marry" same sex couples, are all signs of political or legal positivism.
An American priest friend, Fr Z, put up on his blog recently a short video about Western versus Islamic birthrate, I don't know about the States but here it would be considered racist, I ceratainly thought that when I saw it. Cardinal Turkson came in for the same criticism, principly from North Americans Euopeans. It is the same video as was shown in the Synod Hall!
I agree there are lies, damned lies and statistics, and statistics can be managed, massaged and manipulated.
What I see as being a serious problem is the shutting down of debate by political correctness, which is just a gnat's whisker away from forbidding by law. For example, we can't any longer discuss the health problems involved in certain sexual practices, the effects of having both parents working on a child, or having a absent father or multiple partners on the social develpopment of a child. There so many other areas which are simply not spoken about today, it is a new type of fundamentalim.
Listen to this, from yesterday's BBC Today Programme (1.29) it is Mehdi Hasan trying to discuss his problem with abortion with the Guardians, Suzanne Moore. That is where progress seems to be leading us. Debate, as in the case of Cameron's redefinition of marriage will be made impossible, first of all activists screaming at us, then by politicians trailing the bizarre, and then by the constraints of law. So much for Voltaire's: I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
The growing facism of the illiberal left (even if they are on the right, like Cameron) is quite frightening, it bodes ill for society's cohesion and civilised debate.
18 comments:
PILLARS
OF
SALT
Our leaders don't lead anymore
Our heroes aren't valiant anymore
Our fathers aren't home anymore
Our mothers won't birthe anymore
Our churches don't awe anymore
Our futures aren't safe anymore
Our past no roots anymore
Our present not ours anymore
The truth glossed o’er anymore
But hang a cross anymore
They'll all appear anymore
Outraged at faith anymore
They share their lusts and explore
They're seasoned whores to the core
They're salt of the earth they implore
These Sodomed - souls at Hell’s door
Banning the "casting couch" for employment in the entertainment industry would be more politically correct than encouraging MURDER of the unborn.
According to the video there are now more mosques than churches in southern France. People do themselves - and their arguments - no favours by making stuff up. It's hard not to agree with the thrust of the case made by the video but it does make certain assertions as though they are facts when they are merely assertions. I worried that Father Z is putting more and more of this kind of conspiracy theory stuff on his blog. His recent post about Obama wearing an Isalamic wedding ring was shameful.
If you want to give the good Fr Z advice on his blog do so there not here.
Suzanne Moore is a nasty individual on the basis of that interview.
Amfortas
How many churches are there in the south of France and how many mosques are there? If you know the numbers and they show that there are more churches than mosques then fine but at the moment all I hear are two contrasting opinions.
Father
Did you see the news item in Georgia where there has been a big increase in births. The Patriarch had offered to be the godfather for every child born to Christian families who already have 2 children.
If this is, indeed, the video which was shown at the synod then I am sorely disappointed. It is racist and scare-mongering and I was struggling not to press 'stop' more than once.
There are certainly serious issues to be addressed regarding the birth rate in European countries and one place to start would be for our governments to promote a more family/child friendly society.
Also, the Church must be boldly evangelical as I fear that, in Europe at least, it is more concerned with maintenance than mission. None of this justifies videos such as this one; I find it akin to the type of films the Nazi regime used to sow the seeds of distrust and hatred in the early days of the Third Reich.
Although I love Europe, and in particular the UK, I am so glad I live in the United States, where political correctness can really do nothing more than elicit the lemon-sucking sneers of the left or at worst cause teachers to tell little children Christopher Columbus was a really bad guy.
Thank God for the First Amendment.
Were I in Britain, however, I'd pin a picture of Hilaire Belloc to my lapel and dare the thugs to toss me into prison. Sic semper tyrannis.
Quite so Highland Cathedral. But then I'm not sure what counts as 'southern France' for the purposes of the survey.
I have posted comments on Father Z's site but he does like to get his red pen out. He's a man of strong opinions!
This video seems pretty accurate if holding to the thoguht that non-integrative muslim communities in the west continue to refuse to integrate whilst taking converts. Look around you, read the essays of Theodore Dalrumple. Or 'Political Islam World Politics and Europe' by western educated muslim scholar Bassam Tibi. Take a look at thereligionofpeace site to see how many are falling prey to the not so silent jihad every day. In a mosque in london a couple of years ago a jeering crowd called for the death amd/or conversion of QEII. This wouldn't be so daunting if the Church seem to support evangelizing muslims because, Lord knows, gevin a chance they want to - read 'Why We Left Islam'. I found this on a traditional site - Islam is definitley an enemy of our faith: Islam was the first direct, major religious contradiction of and attack on Christian revelation and belief. Islam has also been considered a Christian heresy because many of Muhammed’s beliefs appear to have been garnered from heretical Christian communities living in his area during his lifetime. God went to tremendous effort and trouble to reveal Himself to mankind through His Son. He became man, taught, healed, laughed, loved, suffered and died for us. He wanted us to know Him personally, "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30) and "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9). He did not just dictate another book, albeit a miraculous, perfect one, again. No, that wouldn't do. He became one of us, and handed on the faith to other humans and told them to do likewise, calling us to genuinely become His children: "Through faith, you are all children of God in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26) On the other hand, this new purported revelation from Muhammad reverted mankind's relationship with God back thousands of years, arguably even more. Muhammad gave us another book, no Holy Spirit, and insisted we are not sons and daughters of the Father, but merely bondservants or slaves. "Islam" literally means "submission" or "slavery". It insists on pushing us away from God, holding Him at a distance, a distance He once lovingly bridged with outstretched arms. It is revealing that of all the Muslim names for God, none is "Father" or "Love" As for Mr Hasan's speech - Melanie Phillips summed it the situation up well: http://melaniephillips.com/the-biters-on-the-left-are-bitten
PS how's this headline for the latest in christian-muslim dialogue:
Muslims enraged by cross on Swiss flag: "Many Muslims feel this Christian slogan is a provocation and an assault against Islam"
PSS the polygamy in islam and the fact that unmarried women of a certain age become targets of hatred lend to the pop increase.
It is surprising that so many people do not know that Abortion is not permitted in Islam or Judaiism although in exceptional circumstances an early temination may be permitted
Reap as you sow. Contraception and abortion have real world consequences and this is one of them. Our politicians will bury their heads in the sand and blame it on something else but its the elephant in the room.
No doubt if somebody brings it up in polite company they'll be called racist. Honest debate will just be closed down.
BJC
On re-reading Lumen Gentium I am struck by how the comments about non-Christians, particularly Muslims (see section 16), jar in the current age. My reaction was 'this is just so much heresy'. I hadn't received this passage in this way before. This reaction must be a reflection of the times we live in when the Church is beset by enemies (both within and without).
When I was young and was being told the Bible stories of the Israelites and their promised land, I wondered why the Canaanites were ejected from their land milk and honey and exterminated. But the Canaanites practised child murder, sacrificing their children to pagan gods.
So there seems to me some sort of analogy today where in Britain and in Europe we are killing our unborn children, can we complain if God wills it that our country is taken over by a different tribe?
Abraham Lincoln in his second inauguration speech, about 5 weeks before his assassination, said of the civil war where the blood and toil of the bondsman were being paid by the sword, “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether”
FYI, in islam the fetus ain't a human till after four months in the womb. That aside, so Mother Teresa's warning goes further - in that abortion opens the satanic fissure of nuclear threat on more than a physical, but a spiritual level as well.Abortion, mostly as a result of athiesim and me-ism, radical 'death-culture-indoctrinated' ignorance, i.e. the 'welcome' Satan to the west. Paganism, false prophets (althoough, God help us we have enough in the west) and heretics are the theistic, 'welcome satan' to the east. ( which means - well, dare to take a gawk at jihad watch).
Bassam Tibi has a point about how Islam has 'progressed', it is not simply 'dark ageism' that needs a bit of democratic light: Read H. Crocker http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/crocker/00175.html
Why Christendom, at least in the West seems more bent on supporting the anti-Christ convictions of islam - have we become too anti-Christ?
Ps. If you're not touched read the wiki bio of Lara Logan (us (born in SA) journalist in 2011 she was, in front of her crew, the victim of a couple of hundred mobaked blokes covering a protest in Egypt...I digress,or do I, anyhow, remember there is a father-of-lies who tells lies to theists as well as atheists. That's why Christ said 'I Am the Truth'. Or was he just being relative/contextual?
Freedom of speech is far too precious to be exercised by any individual. It must be done for him, responsibly, by his government.
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