The self-righteous and short-sighted Anglican dhimmis could put the Christians in Iraq in an even more difficult position than they are in now. From CNSNews, with thanks to Beverly:
(CNSNews.com) - An Anglican church leader in Baghdad has warned that Iraqi Christians could be adversely affected by a Church of England bishops' report criticizing the Iraq war and suggesting that Christians apologize to Muslims."They've got to take seriously the Anglican churches in these [Muslim] nations," the Church of England Newspaper quoted Canon Andrew White as saying in its weekly edition published on Friday.
"The situation is dangerous on the ground and what is said in the U.K. has a profound effect," he added.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1801772,00.html
From The Times of 28 September, ie 5 days later:-
"The entire lay leadership team of the main Anglican church in Iraq is presumed to have been killed after they were attacked while returning from a conference in Jordan.
The team of five Iraqi-born Anglicans including the lay pastor and his deputy, should have returned two weeks ago from the conference.
Canon Andrew White, of the Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East, who is the clergyman in charge of the church, said: "Anglican leaders in Baghdad have been missing for two weeks and they are presumed dead.".....
The loss brings to 12 the number of Iraqis that Canon White has lost in his reconciliation work in Iraq, although these are the first connected to the church. He did not think they were targeted because they were Anglicans.
"The fact is that attacks on people on that road happen all the time, particularly on people who appear to be richer or middle class."
Canon White, until recently the Archbishop of Canterbury's representative to the Middle East, and who helped reopen St George's in Baghdad after the Iraqi war in 2003, said: "We are all devastated. This is the very core of our Anglican Church in Iraq. With such a large congregation of about 800 strong, losing key leadership will be devastating."
This Bishops works at the coalface. He knows what's what. Please Lambeth, LISTEN TO HIM ! ! !
Sorry, he is not a Bishop, he is a Canon, he just descerves to be a bishop.
The quizzling nature of these UK based Anglican Bishops with regards to Islam & the war in Iraq is beyond doubt.
I don't believe in hell, but if I am wrong I know that these good Bishops will have a hot seat just a few feet away from me there.
Its not like they are not "politically aware" - they have free access for life to seats in the House of Lords - though that is becoming a bone of contention for our UK Muslim brethren who will, in the fullness of time, expect a British "Grand Mufti" to have a seat as well.
All religions should be ousted from all British seats of power asap.
As if it needed reiterating, the Church of England is a complete joke, & I look forward to its ultimate demise & the reclaiming of all land stolen from the English people by that Church - which judging by the shrinking & non existent congregations & of course their growing dhimmitude, won't be many decades away.
"He [Canon White] did not think they [the five murdered Iraqi-born Anglicans] were targeted because they were Anglicans.
"The fact is that attacks on people on that road happen all the time, particularly on people who appear to be richer or middle class."
-- from the article above
This may be true, but it has the ring, rather, of someone desperate not to believe that Christians would not be killed by Muslims simply because they were Christians. But why not? It has been happening all over the world, in the Sudan, in Pakistan, in Lebanon (think of the massacres at Damur and in many other Christian villages), in the Philippines, in Indonesia.
When an whole party of Anglicans, no doubt carrying or wearing crosses and quite possibly other identifying marks (including at least one Bible), is waylaid, and every single one of them murdered, would it not be far more likely to believe that there was a motive that went beyond mere robbery (if in fact they were robbed), or that motive for murdering them in addition to robbing them was the discovery that they were Christians, and therefore fair, even justified, game? Nothing like combining the business of robbery with the pleasure of furthering the Jihad.
Hello Albion
I don't want to fall out with you but we have had this conversation before.
1 You may regard my church as a joke. I don't.
2 My own parish and many others are neither shrinking nor diminishing. We are busy and flourishing. And working hard for our local communities.
Thats the real point that needs reiterating.
Yes, I want to pick these bishops up and shake them hard. Probably more than you do.
Hugh
I think the fact that they are Christians is the reason they did not survive, even if the attack started off as a "normal" robbery.
No worries Granny, I have a very poor impression of the Church of England & sometimes my fingers run faster than my brain - I think my problem with the Church of England is more to do with the structure of organised religion, particularly at the top, in England.
I apologise to you & anyone else for causing you any stress in my posting.
As I always read your postings & have learnt much from you, I wish there were more people like you active in the Church, with access to the ears of the great & the good within that Church - at the moment it seems that Sir Iqbal has more access to them than people like your good self at the grassroots.
I do believe that unless there is root & branch "rebranding" & revitalisation of the Church of England, it will face an ever diminishing future.
Apologies again & best regards
Albion
Albion
Thank you, I appreciate that very much. We are both singing from the same hymn book in the bigger battle and there are other issues I know we agree on.
I hope that once we get over the hurdle of the Church in England accepting the appointment of women bishops (which logically should follow on from ordination of women priests but doesn't, I don't understand why) that some women bishops will be more in touch. Except that a woman bishop from New Zealand has taken a similar stance, so you can't guarantee it. Likewise the appointment of John Semantu as Archbishop of York was a good move. There is a man who has met evil up close and personal.
Granny:
I can’t speak for England but my impression of the Anglican Church in Canada is that it’s dying a slow death. When I accompany my mother to church occasionally in suburban Montreal, I would guess the average age of the small congregation present is about 75. There are many new, young families in the neighbourhood so local demographics aren’t the problem.
I can remember going to a church in a small village while on holiday and thinking where is everybody?
There are 4 churches in our parish, 7 services on a Sunday morning, 2 most Sunday evenings and a midweek communion. An African church use one of our halls elsewhere in town for a 6 hour service, although they do break for refreshments at intervals. Not all services are as well attended as others of course. The earliest tend to be less well attended, and mainly by older people who prefer the quiet of less children. This Sunday was harvest festival at 10.30, we just about got everybody in but we did have the full compliment of Guides, Scouts and Church Brigade. Our summer holiday club took less children this year for the week (only 200) as 20 of our young leaders were working with a sister diocese in Africa. As well as the usual brownies etc we have 4 mother and baby clubs, teenage activities (drama, sport trips), mens and womens fellowship, visiting the housebound, my friends in the MU run a centre for supervised child access and a prison creche and as for the choir.... + Other things I won't mention as that would identify us.
It doesn't happen all by itself but I do consider myself very lucky to be part of it all.
Melanie Philips has a post about her encounter with a short-sighted, self-righteous Anglican clergyman: http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001427.html
Her encounter with Canon Andrew White himself - from June 29, 2005 A decent churchman speaks
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/001293.html
Let the fair-weather phony Christians go the way of the Bethlehem dhimmis.... who sold out the truth to appease their overlords.
Christianity is a joke when it comes to Islam... Muslims walk all over Christianity, demanding "interfaith" dialoges in Churches (and getting them)... making the bible-thumpers in Arab nations criticize the hell out of Israel (where ulitmately many of them from Bethlehem have run.)
Robertson, Franklin Graham, and Jerry Falwell say something bad about Islam, get a call from "someone important" and apologize three days later.
Not even the chickensh*t Hitler Youth Alumni Pope has the nerve to speak up about the terrorist attacks against Israel because the "palestinians" are sooooo oppressed.
And Mel Gibson, the great Catholic "reformer" denies the Holocaust and makes snuff flicks (praised by Arafat btw) that serves to make more fools hate Jews.
Maybe NASA will open a colony on the moon soon. I'll be that speck pointing at the earth and laughing his ass off.