Sunday, 7 November 2010
Saturday, 6 November 2010
MONSEIGNEUR LEONARD ENTARTÉ
I don't know, as yet, whether the bigoted, Belgian bishop got a pie in his face for the truly evil things he's been saying recently or if it was simply because of the lousy music he had chosen for the service. But, whatever, GOOD SHOT!!!
Full story at REUTERS.
Full story at REUTERS.
THE SOPPY SHEILA SELECTION
The original Soppy Sheila, Cathy, writes:
Would you consider running this pic of Buddy perhaps? He is the RANCHO DE CHIHUAHUA'S rescue mascot. He has a deformed nose, with a tooth growing out of it, and had a multitude of emotional problems when they rescued him due to neglect and abusive treatment, though he is now all right. He's beautiful.
Yes he is, and I'll do more than consider it, I will do it.
If anybody else has any suggestions for this ongoing OCICBW... feature, please do send them in. The only qualification is that the article or animal involved must leave us all going "Aaah, how cute."
Would you consider running this pic of Buddy perhaps? He is the RANCHO DE CHIHUAHUA'S rescue mascot. He has a deformed nose, with a tooth growing out of it, and had a multitude of emotional problems when they rescued him due to neglect and abusive treatment, though he is now all right. He's beautiful.
Yes he is, and I'll do more than consider it, I will do it.
If anybody else has any suggestions for this ongoing OCICBW... feature, please do send them in. The only qualification is that the article or animal involved must leave us all going "Aaah, how cute."
FOR BIG BABIES ONLY
I'm assuming that this one off showing at my local arts cinema is especially for infantilists as the film is Certificate 15, meaning nobody under 15 years old is allowed in to see it. It's good to see them making provision for the minor fetishes in this way. Usually it's bondage this and bondage that and other kinky types don't get a look in.
I won't be attending. I shall wait for the Tupelo honey showing next week.
OVER AT ST. LAIKA'S
I've just posted a very short sermon entitled:
"The kingdom of God is among you"
. . . over at ST. LAIKA'S.
Click on the arrow on the player to stream. Download via the MP3 icon below the player. Download podcast via the XML icon or iTUNES.
"The kingdom of God is among you"
. . . over at ST. LAIKA'S.
Click on the arrow on the player to stream. Download via the MP3 icon below the player. Download podcast via the XML icon or iTUNES.
Friday, 5 November 2010
LOUD FRIDAY
Now this is a classic Loud Friday selection. It's definitely Friday today and this band are loud. So, I don't expect any complaints from you moshers out there.
Thee Spivs are a band from Hackney in London who have been gigging for three years now at "any venue, party or street that will take them." They are releasing their debut album in a week or so and I am sure looking forward to buying it. Here's the b-side of their latest single which I dedicate to all returning Canadians.
THEE SPIVS' MYSPACE PAGE
OVER AT ST. LAIKA'S AND THE ANCHORHOLD
At ST. LAIKA'S today, I have posted an office based on the Service of The Light from the US Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
Don't forget, you can now download the daily offices and transfer the files to any mp3 player, iPod or even you mobile phone. So you can now take MadPriest out with you when you walk the dog or, even, cuddle up in bed with him. However, if you do decide on the latter please be very careful, in deed, if the service involves the lighting of candles.
And talking of candles, Ellie has some on view at THE ANCHORHOLD accompanied by a description of prayer by Thomas Merton. You know, we don't plan or agree on these perfectly dovetailing posts beforehand - it's all done by synchronicity.
Don't forget, you can now download the daily offices and transfer the files to any mp3 player, iPod or even you mobile phone. So you can now take MadPriest out with you when you walk the dog or, even, cuddle up in bed with him. However, if you do decide on the latter please be very careful, in deed, if the service involves the lighting of candles.
And talking of candles, Ellie has some on view at THE ANCHORHOLD accompanied by a description of prayer by Thomas Merton. You know, we don't plan or agree on these perfectly dovetailing posts beforehand - it's all done by synchronicity.
GOD TOLD THE POPE TO GO FORTH BUT
HE CAME FIFTH AND DIDN'T GET A MEDAL
From CATH NEWS:
Pope Benedict is in the top five of Forbes Magazine's list of "The World's Most Powerful People", and is the highest ranked religious figure on the list of 68. He came in fifth, after Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
COMMENT: I've checked the list and I can't fins our KJ anywhere on it. So it's obviously a crap "Most powerful people in the world list." I wouldn't take any notice of it if I were you.
Pope Benedict is in the top five of Forbes Magazine's list of "The World's Most Powerful People", and is the highest ranked religious figure on the list of 68. He came in fifth, after Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President Barack Obama, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
COMMENT: I've checked the list and I can't fins our KJ anywhere on it. So it's obviously a crap "Most powerful people in the world list." I wouldn't take any notice of it if I were you.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
ANTI-COVENANT CAMPAIGN GIVEN
HUGE BOOST BY THE OPPOSITION
Me and Jim were very much in the minority when we suggested an all out nasty tricks campaign against the Covenant involving playing on the natural xenophobia of the English. But there was no need for us to have worried. The opposition has told every conservative (with a small "c") member of the Church of England laity (which is most of the membership) for us, that they are going to be told what to do and think by Africans. And to add the icing to the cake he has said that anybody who doesn't want to be told what to do and think by Africans is a "Little Englander" and member of England's leading fascist party. The laity in the shires are not going to like that - not even the Little Englanders and fascists among them.
Thanks Bishop.
From THE TELEGRAPH:
Church leaders are discussing proposals for a landmark agreement intended to prevent splits in the world-wide Anglican Communion over controversial issues. Churches across the world would undertake not to act in a way likely to upset fellow Anglicans in other countries under the deal. But critics of the plan, which is known as the Anglican Covenant, claim it would cede control over the affairs of the Church of England to a foreign authority for the first time since Henry VIII. (Erm, didn't I say that?)
However, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, who was on the committee that drew up the covenant, described the opponents as “latter-day little Englanders”. In a letter to the Church Times, he said the two groups had “turned themselves into the nearest to an ecclesiastical BNP that I have encountered”.
He continued: “They resort to the old tactics of misinformation and scaremongering about foreigners and outside influences to whip up a campaign against the Anglican Covenant and replace reasoned argument with a ‘Man the barricades!’ mentality that is little short of breathtaking”.
COMMENT: My idea - breathtaking? What a compliment!
Thanks Bishop.
From THE TELEGRAPH:
Church leaders are discussing proposals for a landmark agreement intended to prevent splits in the world-wide Anglican Communion over controversial issues. Churches across the world would undertake not to act in a way likely to upset fellow Anglicans in other countries under the deal. But critics of the plan, which is known as the Anglican Covenant, claim it would cede control over the affairs of the Church of England to a foreign authority for the first time since Henry VIII. (Erm, didn't I say that?)
However, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, who was on the committee that drew up the covenant, described the opponents as “latter-day little Englanders”. In a letter to the Church Times, he said the two groups had “turned themselves into the nearest to an ecclesiastical BNP that I have encountered”.
He continued: “They resort to the old tactics of misinformation and scaremongering about foreigners and outside influences to whip up a campaign against the Anglican Covenant and replace reasoned argument with a ‘Man the barricades!’ mentality that is little short of breathtaking”.
COMMENT: My idea - breathtaking? What a compliment!
PRAYER REQUEST UPDATE
Hey! We got a result and a quick one at that.
Re THIS PRAYER REQUEST, Alison will become a member of the Third Order of St. Francis.
Good news! the Formation Director feels that my head and heart are in a good place to continue with Formation. As soon as one of the Counselors has an opening (in just a month or two) I will be good to go. Thanks be to God.
Alison
Well, yes, certainly. Thanks be to God!
Re THIS PRAYER REQUEST, Alison will become a member of the Third Order of St. Francis.
Good news! the Formation Director feels that my head and heart are in a good place to continue with Formation. As soon as one of the Counselors has an opening (in just a month or two) I will be good to go. Thanks be to God.
Alison
Well, yes, certainly. Thanks be to God!
CAPTION COMPETITION
It's our old friend, Bishop Burke. And there's plenty
more where this came from thanks to Whiteycat.
There's an extra ten days off purgatory for
the first person to mention haemorrhoids.
more where this came from thanks to Whiteycat.
There's an extra ten days off purgatory for
the first person to mention haemorrhoids.
THE OCTOPUS IS DEAD - LONG LIVE THE OCTOPUS !
PLUS: WHERE DOES HE FIND THEM?
From THE LOCAL (Germany):
Paul II, octopus successor to the tentacle tipster that wowed the world with his uncanny knack of correctly predicting World Cup football games, was unveiled amid great fanfare at an Oberhausen aquarium on Wednesday.
The new cephalopod, also named Paul in honour of his world-famous predecessor who passed away last week, was lowered gently into his tank in a ceremony carried live on national television. He initially appeared more publicity-shy than his media-hungry forerunner, sticking closely to the side walls of the tank as the TV cameras rolled.
"We got him from near Montpellier" in southern France, an aquarium employee told news agency AFP.
However, the German aquarium was keen to downplay the possibility that Paul II will inflict the same pain to bookmakers as Paul I did, to the joy of punters around the world.
"No one yet knows whether Paul will be able to follow in his footsteps, or rather, his tentacle steps," aquarium spokeswoman Tanja Munzig said in a statement.
And now, a WHERE DOES HE FIND THEM? special:
"Eight More Legs In Heaven" by Jon Spanyol
SHARP RISE IN IMPOTENCY
AMONG PREACHERS IN SWEDEN
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
A Church of Sweden pastor could lose his job over comments regarding the suitability of women priests to spread the word of God, including the assertion that there were worse "grades of punishment in hell" for female bishops.
Per Linderoth, a pastor within the diocese of Linköping, is set to be assessed for his competence as a pastor after comments made at a pastors' convention in Söderköping in eastern Sweden.
"God's words fall flat (or dead) to the ground when a female pastor preaches. It may not bear any ripe fruit," said Linderoth.
Linderoth continued to elaborate on his view of female pastors, arguing that they were "not of the correct element" and that they were "impotent preachers."
However, his most severe condemnation was reserved for women who have achieved the position of bishop.
"If there are degrees of punishment in hell, then it is worse for women bishops than women pastors," he said to the assembled convention of religious representatives.
COMMENT: Well, we know already, from Dante, that there is a special place reserved in hell for bishops. But to state that women bishops will fare worse than than male counterparts is sexist nonsense. There is no inequality in hell. It's the inner circle for all of them (except that nice Bishop Alan and the Bishop of Hertford).
A Church of Sweden pastor could lose his job over comments regarding the suitability of women priests to spread the word of God, including the assertion that there were worse "grades of punishment in hell" for female bishops.
Per Linderoth, a pastor within the diocese of Linköping, is set to be assessed for his competence as a pastor after comments made at a pastors' convention in Söderköping in eastern Sweden.
"God's words fall flat (or dead) to the ground when a female pastor preaches. It may not bear any ripe fruit," said Linderoth.
Linderoth continued to elaborate on his view of female pastors, arguing that they were "not of the correct element" and that they were "impotent preachers."
However, his most severe condemnation was reserved for women who have achieved the position of bishop.
"If there are degrees of punishment in hell, then it is worse for women bishops than women pastors," he said to the assembled convention of religious representatives.
COMMENT: Well, we know already, from Dante, that there is a special place reserved in hell for bishops. But to state that women bishops will fare worse than than male counterparts is sexist nonsense. There is no inequality in hell. It's the inner circle for all of them (except that nice Bishop Alan and the Bishop of Hertford).
PUBIC DEMONSTRATION IN SPAIN AGAINST STONING
From TYPICALLY SPANISH:
A completely naked woman, apart from her face being covered with a Burka, has been walking through the central Dels Àngels square in Barcelona, close to the MACBA Contemporary Art Museum.
It’s a piece of performance art from the Argentinean artist Luizo Vega, and is to show the repulsion at the possible execution of a 43 year old women in Iran, Shakineh Mohammadi Ashtianí, by being stoned to death on charges of adultery.
The following video contains public pubic nudity.
A completely naked woman, apart from her face being covered with a Burka, has been walking through the central Dels Àngels square in Barcelona, close to the MACBA Contemporary Art Museum.
It’s a piece of performance art from the Argentinean artist Luizo Vega, and is to show the repulsion at the possible execution of a 43 year old women in Iran, Shakineh Mohammadi Ashtianí, by being stoned to death on charges of adultery.
The following video contains public pubic nudity.
YOU CAN FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
While US voters shunned the Democratic Party's traditionally redistributive policies in Tuesday's mid-term elections, most Americans actually prefer a wealth distribution model similar to Sweden's. According to a soon-to-be published study by researchers at Harvard and Duke universities, Americans believe US society is much more equal than it really is, and want it to be even fairer.
Business school professors Michael Norton and Dan Ariely asked 5,522 Americans about US wealth distribution and how it should look if things could be changed.
"Respondents vastly underestimated the actual level of wealth inequality in the United States, believing that the wealthiest quintile (20 percent) held about 59 percent of the wealth when the actual number is closer to 84 percent."
Studies show current US wealth inequality is near record highs, with the top one percent of Americans estimated to hold around 50 percent of the nation's wealth. According to Norton and Ariely this tops "even the levels seen just before the Great Depression in the 1920s."
COMMENT: It seems like the grapes of wrath have been replaced by the shrivelled up raisins of gullibility.
While US voters shunned the Democratic Party's traditionally redistributive policies in Tuesday's mid-term elections, most Americans actually prefer a wealth distribution model similar to Sweden's. According to a soon-to-be published study by researchers at Harvard and Duke universities, Americans believe US society is much more equal than it really is, and want it to be even fairer.
Business school professors Michael Norton and Dan Ariely asked 5,522 Americans about US wealth distribution and how it should look if things could be changed.
"Respondents vastly underestimated the actual level of wealth inequality in the United States, believing that the wealthiest quintile (20 percent) held about 59 percent of the wealth when the actual number is closer to 84 percent."
Studies show current US wealth inequality is near record highs, with the top one percent of Americans estimated to hold around 50 percent of the nation's wealth. According to Norton and Ariely this tops "even the levels seen just before the Great Depression in the 1920s."
COMMENT: It seems like the grapes of wrath have been replaced by the shrivelled up raisins of gullibility.
DO BEARS SHIT IN THE WOOD?
Well, yes, usually. But not in Sweden evidently.
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
Town councillors in Ytterhogdal in northern Sweden arrived at work on Tuesday to discover that a member of the local bear population had left an insalubrious pile of dung outside the front door. According to local resident Mårten Jonsson, the pile of bear pooh was a substantial mess of lingonberry-laced excrement that had been cooled by the overnight frost.
"It was not here yesterday, I am certain of that," said Jonsson to the local Östersunds-Posten daily.
While the exact time of the faecal delivery appears to be in some doubt, there is no question in Mårten Jonsson's mind that it's bearer was a brown bear.
"There are a large number of people who have been by to have a look, among them an experienced hunter, and everyone is in agreement that it is bear shit," Jonsson told the newspaper.
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
Town councillors in Ytterhogdal in northern Sweden arrived at work on Tuesday to discover that a member of the local bear population had left an insalubrious pile of dung outside the front door. According to local resident Mårten Jonsson, the pile of bear pooh was a substantial mess of lingonberry-laced excrement that had been cooled by the overnight frost.
"It was not here yesterday, I am certain of that," said Jonsson to the local Östersunds-Posten daily.
While the exact time of the faecal delivery appears to be in some doubt, there is no question in Mårten Jonsson's mind that it's bearer was a brown bear.
"There are a large number of people who have been by to have a look, among them an experienced hunter, and everyone is in agreement that it is bear shit," Jonsson told the newspaper.
MAKE HATE NOT SENSE
From ONE NEWS NOW:
A study of New York City teenagers nearly doubles the findings of previous research in suggesting that one in ten teens have same-gender partners.
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), finds the research, which is published in the journal Pediatrics, to be shocking. So he wonders if the information is true and if it is "possible that a lot more kids are practicing homosexuality because of all the propaganda in the culture."
The latter, he believes, could be the result of school systems in New York and other cities pumping information into students' heads about homosexuality being an acceptable lifestyle.
COMMENT: Let's just pretend for a moment that the common perception that those who shout the loudest against gay relationships are themselves gay, or have some inclination towards being gay, is true. Such people would be trying to conform their sexuality to rules rather than to their own natural inclination. They would have a completely different view of how to go about forming sexual relationships to everyone else. They would probably end up believing that ordinary, non-homophobic people, both gay and straight, can be persuaded to have sex with people they find unattractive. Not for a moment would they consider that people with a healthy attitude towards their own sexual identity always try to get it off with people they are sexually attracted to or that persuading a fervently heterosexual young man to have sex with another man, out of choice, is an enterprise on par with trying to persuade a mouse to have sex with an elephant. A couple of lessons at school combatting bigotry and prejudice is not going to change that age old truth.
Of course, despite his drag queen name, I am not suggesting that LaBarbera is in the slightest bit gay. It could be that he is just incredibly stupid.
A study of New York City teenagers nearly doubles the findings of previous research in suggesting that one in ten teens have same-gender partners.
Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), finds the research, which is published in the journal Pediatrics, to be shocking. So he wonders if the information is true and if it is "possible that a lot more kids are practicing homosexuality because of all the propaganda in the culture."
The latter, he believes, could be the result of school systems in New York and other cities pumping information into students' heads about homosexuality being an acceptable lifestyle.
COMMENT: Let's just pretend for a moment that the common perception that those who shout the loudest against gay relationships are themselves gay, or have some inclination towards being gay, is true. Such people would be trying to conform their sexuality to rules rather than to their own natural inclination. They would have a completely different view of how to go about forming sexual relationships to everyone else. They would probably end up believing that ordinary, non-homophobic people, both gay and straight, can be persuaded to have sex with people they find unattractive. Not for a moment would they consider that people with a healthy attitude towards their own sexual identity always try to get it off with people they are sexually attracted to or that persuading a fervently heterosexual young man to have sex with another man, out of choice, is an enterprise on par with trying to persuade a mouse to have sex with an elephant. A couple of lessons at school combatting bigotry and prejudice is not going to change that age old truth.
Of course, despite his drag queen name, I am not suggesting that LaBarbera is in the slightest bit gay. It could be that he is just incredibly stupid.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
DEATH OF A CHILD
Now the sun wants to rise as brightly
as if nothing terrible had happened during the night.
The misfortune had happened only to me,
but the sun shines equally on everyone.
You must not enfold the night in you.
You must sink it in eternal light.
A little star went out in my tent!
Greetings to the joyful light of the world.
FROM BEHIND THE PAY WALL
From ANGLICAN INFORMATION (‘A voice for the voiceless in the Anglican Province of Central Africa’):
Could this be an apology to Leonard Mondoma from UK journalist Ruth Gledhill?
To a minority audience safely behind the ‘paywall’ of the online U.K. Times newspaper Ruth Gledhill, their Religious Affairs correspondent, has issued a terse article headed:
‘Man accused of poisoning English missionary acquitted’
Ruth Gledhill
November 3 2010 1:19PM
This is a reference to the acquittal of Leonard Mondoma of the so-called ‘poisoning’ of the late Canon Rodney Hunter, a British missionary who died of natural causes in 2006 in Nkhota-kota, Malawi.
Leonard Mondoma, Hunter’s faithful cook had been accused of poisoning by a twice-suspended Forward in Faith priest, the Rev Denis Kayamba. This story was subsequently enthusiastically taken up as apparent fact by Religious Affairs Correspondent, Ruth Gledhill of the U.K. Times newspaper.
In her article of today’s date, in two short sentences, Gledhill writes: ‘A judge in Malawi has ruled that evidence linking Leonard Mondoma to the murder Canon Rodney Hunter was circumstantial.’
She goes on: ‘A man accused of poisoning an English missionary in Malawi has been acquitted. Leonard Mondoma was found not guilty of the murder of the Canon Rodney Hunter by a court in Nkhotakota.’
ANGLICAN-INFORMATION comments that this is a very tardy (the acquittal was three weeks ago) and minimalist report from a journalist who previously was quick to attribute Hunter’s death to an unqualified ‘poisoning’ and ‘murder’. For example, 26th April 2007 in an article headed ‘Enemy of liberal Anglicans was poisoned’ and again in her ‘Articles of Faith’ weblog of the same date in which she claimed three poisons, metronidazol, phenothiazine and promethazine hydrochloride, were ‘used to kill him’ – these were actually medications provided at Hunter’s request. Later Ruth Gledhill tried to claim that others too had been poisoned.
The whole sorry saga has been reported by us over the years and is on our website. We have been very critical of Miss Gledhill’s reportage because writing for the Times her reports have been taken up all over the world by conservative websites, by the U.K. organisation Forward in Faith and by African newspapers, as actual fact and real evidence. Mondoma was therefore found guilty online with no hope of response and languished in terrible conditions in prison for 18 months the first year of which he was uncharged of anything.
We have cautioned that Gledhill in presenting the Mondoma case as a near proven case of murder, presumably in the pursuit of a sensational story, was extremely foolish. This is all the more terrifying as Malawi is a country where the death penalty is still on the statute books.
We have called for a public apology.
Could this now be what we asked for? In the last few days we have noted that all online articles from Ruth Gledhill concerning the case have mysteriously become unavailable. In addition her short article on her paywall blogsite continues: ‘Justice Robert Chinangwa decided that the evidence linking Mr Mondomo (Gledhill’s misspelling) to the murder was circumstantial and that the medical evidence did not conclusively show that the cause of death was by poison’ .
Interestingly she finally writes: ‘The website Anglican-Information, which has campaigned for Mr Mondoma’s aquittal, welcomed the verdict and said the original prosecution was a “disgraceful saga.” The website said “justice has prevailed.”’
This is the first time we have ever been reported favourably by Miss Gledhill!
ANGLICAN-INFORMATION says this whole story was indeed a disgraceful saga of the kind we never wish to have to report on again. At least Leonard Mondoma can now get on with his life, although with what means of living is a mystery and he may be consigned to a lifetime of unemployed penury.
We’ll make sure he gets to read this article, it may be of some small consolation to him.
COMMENT: I can report that Ruth has definitely been deeply effected by this incident although the last I heard she was going through the denial phase, blaming the whole damn mess on her original source. I can also report that The Times pay wall has pretty much scuppered her blogging activities, which is a great shame as, like her or not (and I like her), you have to admit she was a good friend to the blogging community and treated us with far more respect than any other journalist of such influence. If I was a fundie I would probably blame the Times pay wall on Ruth's incredible lack of journalistic judgement that led to the incarceration of an innocent man for three years. But I'm not, so I won't.
Could this be an apology to Leonard Mondoma from UK journalist Ruth Gledhill?
To a minority audience safely behind the ‘paywall’ of the online U.K. Times newspaper Ruth Gledhill, their Religious Affairs correspondent, has issued a terse article headed:
‘Man accused of poisoning English missionary acquitted’
Ruth Gledhill
November 3 2010 1:19PM
This is a reference to the acquittal of Leonard Mondoma of the so-called ‘poisoning’ of the late Canon Rodney Hunter, a British missionary who died of natural causes in 2006 in Nkhota-kota, Malawi.
Leonard Mondoma, Hunter’s faithful cook had been accused of poisoning by a twice-suspended Forward in Faith priest, the Rev Denis Kayamba. This story was subsequently enthusiastically taken up as apparent fact by Religious Affairs Correspondent, Ruth Gledhill of the U.K. Times newspaper.
In her article of today’s date, in two short sentences, Gledhill writes: ‘A judge in Malawi has ruled that evidence linking Leonard Mondoma to the murder Canon Rodney Hunter was circumstantial.’
She goes on: ‘A man accused of poisoning an English missionary in Malawi has been acquitted. Leonard Mondoma was found not guilty of the murder of the Canon Rodney Hunter by a court in Nkhotakota.’
ANGLICAN-INFORMATION comments that this is a very tardy (the acquittal was three weeks ago) and minimalist report from a journalist who previously was quick to attribute Hunter’s death to an unqualified ‘poisoning’ and ‘murder’. For example, 26th April 2007 in an article headed ‘Enemy of liberal Anglicans was poisoned’ and again in her ‘Articles of Faith’ weblog of the same date in which she claimed three poisons, metronidazol, phenothiazine and promethazine hydrochloride, were ‘used to kill him’ – these were actually medications provided at Hunter’s request. Later Ruth Gledhill tried to claim that others too had been poisoned.
The whole sorry saga has been reported by us over the years and is on our website. We have been very critical of Miss Gledhill’s reportage because writing for the Times her reports have been taken up all over the world by conservative websites, by the U.K. organisation Forward in Faith and by African newspapers, as actual fact and real evidence. Mondoma was therefore found guilty online with no hope of response and languished in terrible conditions in prison for 18 months the first year of which he was uncharged of anything.
We have cautioned that Gledhill in presenting the Mondoma case as a near proven case of murder, presumably in the pursuit of a sensational story, was extremely foolish. This is all the more terrifying as Malawi is a country where the death penalty is still on the statute books.
We have called for a public apology.
Could this now be what we asked for? In the last few days we have noted that all online articles from Ruth Gledhill concerning the case have mysteriously become unavailable. In addition her short article on her paywall blogsite continues: ‘Justice Robert Chinangwa decided that the evidence linking Mr Mondomo (Gledhill’s misspelling) to the murder was circumstantial and that the medical evidence did not conclusively show that the cause of death was by poison’ .
Interestingly she finally writes: ‘The website Anglican-Information, which has campaigned for Mr Mondoma’s aquittal, welcomed the verdict and said the original prosecution was a “disgraceful saga.” The website said “justice has prevailed.”’
This is the first time we have ever been reported favourably by Miss Gledhill!
ANGLICAN-INFORMATION says this whole story was indeed a disgraceful saga of the kind we never wish to have to report on again. At least Leonard Mondoma can now get on with his life, although with what means of living is a mystery and he may be consigned to a lifetime of unemployed penury.
We’ll make sure he gets to read this article, it may be of some small consolation to him.
COMMENT: I can report that Ruth has definitely been deeply effected by this incident although the last I heard she was going through the denial phase, blaming the whole damn mess on her original source. I can also report that The Times pay wall has pretty much scuppered her blogging activities, which is a great shame as, like her or not (and I like her), you have to admit she was a good friend to the blogging community and treated us with far more respect than any other journalist of such influence. If I was a fundie I would probably blame the Times pay wall on Ruth's incredible lack of journalistic judgement that led to the incarceration of an innocent man for three years. But I'm not, so I won't.
THE SOPPY SHEILA SELECTION
Interestingly, once I started really caring for the dogs, the dogs began returning the favour. There was a day I went out for a bike ride and came back with a broken finger, a few bruised ribs and an absolute terror the dogs would jump on me when I got home. But they knew, and they knew immediately. No one jumped, no one barked. Instead, the entire pack calmly escorted me to the couch, where they took careful turns licking the side of my face and resting their heads on my shoulder. Turns out that the other side of detachment was the very intimacy I had come looking to find.
Once I realised this – realised that detachment was not only impossible, but also detrimental – I started making progress. I became a better dog rescuer, more patient, more empathetic. Empathy was the real doorway into wonder. Once I started feeling for the dogs, I also started really noticing their behaviour. It was something to see.
During our second year, behaviours began to show up in our pack that do not show up in the scientific literature. I won't go into much detail – you probably won't believe me anyhow – but I will say that very few researchers have studied large packs of dogs living together with humans (despite the fact that this was how our species co-evolved).
In the end, though, it's the dog's recoveries that have become my great joy. When dogs arrive in our care their state of affairs is often severe shell-shock. It usually takes them a few weeks to sleep it off, a few more to integrate into the pack. Afterwards, when they start feeling vaguely normal again, there's a point when the new arrival realises this is not actually a hallucination: they really do get to romp through our fields and sleep on the couch and these humans keep on feeding them. Their eyes get big and they run wild laps around the yard and dance and bark and sing and literally fall in love with life again or – as is the case with many of the dogs in our care – they fall in love with life for the very first time. Let's just say this too, it's something to see.
COMMENT: You simply have to read the rest of this article posted at THE GUARDIAN. It is quite long but, I promise you, it will add a thousand times as much time to your life as the time you spend reading it, just because of the joy it will bring you.
Thanks to the original Soppy Sheila
for sending in the link to this story.
Once I realised this – realised that detachment was not only impossible, but also detrimental – I started making progress. I became a better dog rescuer, more patient, more empathetic. Empathy was the real doorway into wonder. Once I started feeling for the dogs, I also started really noticing their behaviour. It was something to see.
During our second year, behaviours began to show up in our pack that do not show up in the scientific literature. I won't go into much detail – you probably won't believe me anyhow – but I will say that very few researchers have studied large packs of dogs living together with humans (despite the fact that this was how our species co-evolved).
In the end, though, it's the dog's recoveries that have become my great joy. When dogs arrive in our care their state of affairs is often severe shell-shock. It usually takes them a few weeks to sleep it off, a few more to integrate into the pack. Afterwards, when they start feeling vaguely normal again, there's a point when the new arrival realises this is not actually a hallucination: they really do get to romp through our fields and sleep on the couch and these humans keep on feeding them. Their eyes get big and they run wild laps around the yard and dance and bark and sing and literally fall in love with life again or – as is the case with many of the dogs in our care – they fall in love with life for the very first time. Let's just say this too, it's something to see.
COMMENT: You simply have to read the rest of this article posted at THE GUARDIAN. It is quite long but, I promise you, it will add a thousand times as much time to your life as the time you spend reading it, just because of the joy it will bring you.
Thanks to the original Soppy Sheila
for sending in the link to this story.
NO MORE DANCING WITH THE DEVIL
- WHEN GOOD CATHOLICS REBEL
From THE VANCOUVER SUN:
Belgium's Catholic primate Tuesday faced a mounting church backlash, including demands he step down, after urging mercy for elderly child abusing priests and saying AIDS was justly deserved.
Controversial remarks over the last few days by Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, a conservative close to Pope Benedict XVI, have hit specially hard in a country reeling from a major church child abuse scandal.
The latest sign of growing unease within the church was a sudden announcement Tuesday by Leonard's spokesman Juergen Mettepenningen he was quitting the job only three months after joining the archbishop's office.
"An accumulation of different reasons and a lack of trust mean that I neither wish nor want to continue working as Monsignor Leonard's spokesman," he said in a statement, followed by a news conference later in the day.
Belgium's Catholic primate Tuesday faced a mounting church backlash, including demands he step down, after urging mercy for elderly child abusing priests and saying AIDS was justly deserved.
Controversial remarks over the last few days by Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, a conservative close to Pope Benedict XVI, have hit specially hard in a country reeling from a major church child abuse scandal.
The latest sign of growing unease within the church was a sudden announcement Tuesday by Leonard's spokesman Juergen Mettepenningen he was quitting the job only three months after joining the archbishop's office.
"An accumulation of different reasons and a lack of trust mean that I neither wish nor want to continue working as Monsignor Leonard's spokesman," he said in a statement, followed by a news conference later in the day.
DISCUSSION STARTER
From THE HERALD SUN:
Many children with Down Syndrome are being eliminated because of abortion, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in Madrid said ahead of a weekend visit by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope will bless the first stone for construction of a new home for children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities in Barcelona on Monday. It is being built by the Roman Catholic Church's Nino Dios foundation, which used to work only with Down's Syndrome children but has since broadened its work.
"We know that the number of these people has declined mostly because a good number of them are eliminated before they are born," said the press director for the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Isidro Catela.
The Pope, "will extend his hand to the defence of life, the life of everybody, whether or not they have greater or less intellectual capacity," Mr Catela said.
COMMENT: To be honest the possibility of a baby being born with disabilities, my unsureness about abortion and the likelihood of being a crap parent to such a child is one of the reasons I do not have children. Perhaps such selfishness such exclude me from this debate but I would say one thing. Before trying to persuade parents to proceed with the birth of babies they know will be severely disabled, the Pope should try to persuade governments, and selfish "tea party" sorts, that much more money from public coffers (from higher taxes) should be made available to make the lives of parents with disabled children a beautiful experience rather than being full of hardship and poverty.
Over to you . . .
Many children with Down Syndrome are being eliminated because of abortion, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in Madrid said ahead of a weekend visit by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope will bless the first stone for construction of a new home for children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities in Barcelona on Monday. It is being built by the Roman Catholic Church's Nino Dios foundation, which used to work only with Down's Syndrome children but has since broadened its work.
"We know that the number of these people has declined mostly because a good number of them are eliminated before they are born," said the press director for the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Isidro Catela.
The Pope, "will extend his hand to the defence of life, the life of everybody, whether or not they have greater or less intellectual capacity," Mr Catela said.
Over to you . . .
PRAYER REQUEST
Please pray for Alison who will find out tomorrow if she can continue on a path that means everything to her but which was disrupted because of serious illness.
FOR THOSE WHO WANT THEIR COUNTRY BACK
A REMINDER OF WHAT THEIR COUNTRY USED TO BE
Looks like the South has gone and risen again.
WARNING: This post is deliberately ambiguous.
It could mean one of two things.
But it probably means both.
WARNING: This post is deliberately ambiguous.
It could mean one of two things.
But it probably means both.
A DREAM COME TRUE FOR LESBIAN ANCHOR
( and MadPriest, JCF, Straight David et al )
For the full story check out THE BBC.
Thanks to Cathy for sending the link in to me.
I mean THANKS! What excellent dancing :-)
WHEN YOUR BABY GROWS UP AND LEAVES HOME
From EPISCOPAL LIFE ONLINE:
The campaign against the Anglican Covenant was stepped up a gear on Nov. 3 with the formation of an international coalition that says the covenant would constitute "unwarranted interference in the internal life of the member churches of the Anglican Communion, would narrow the acceptable range of belief and practice within Anglicanism, and would prevent further development of Anglican thought."
The coalition -- made up of Anglicans in Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States -- has launched a website, called NO ANGLICAN COVENANT that it says provides resources "for Anglicans around the world to learn about the potential risks of the proposed Anglican Covenant."
"We believe that the majority of the clergy and laity in the Anglican Communion would not wish to endorse this document," said the REV LESLEY FELLOWS, the coalition's moderator and a member of the Church of England. "Apart from church insiders, very few people are aware of the covenant. We want to encourage a wider discussion and to highlight the problems the covenant will cause."
COMMENT: The quality newspapers and media websites in England have picked up on the new impetus against the Covenant. At long last! This should raise the issue in the awareness of the members of General Synod and the Church of England in general.
I predict that the General Synod at the end of this month will vote for the Covenant to be passed "down" to the individual dioceses for discussion. It is there that the "No Covenant" campaign on my side of the pond will win the day or fail miserably, depending on the organisational skills of the leaders of the campaign (with the exception of Lesley - all the usual suspects). Being, company types, there's a lot of insistence on no dirty tricks and negative campaigning. I say "bollocks!" Persuade the laity that England will be giving up her sovereignty to a bunch of foreigners who will then tell them what to think and, no matter how much the House of Clergy love their Grand Tufti or how much the House of Bishops stick together like ecclesiastical frog spawn, the chances of the covenant being approved by all three houses in 2012 will be zilch.
The coalition -- made up of Anglicans in Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States -- has launched a website, called NO ANGLICAN COVENANT that it says provides resources "for Anglicans around the world to learn about the potential risks of the proposed Anglican Covenant."
COMMENT: The quality newspapers and media websites in England have picked up on the new impetus against the Covenant. At long last! This should raise the issue in the awareness of the members of General Synod and the Church of England in general.
I predict that the General Synod at the end of this month will vote for the Covenant to be passed "down" to the individual dioceses for discussion. It is there that the "No Covenant" campaign on my side of the pond will win the day or fail miserably, depending on the organisational skills of the leaders of the campaign (with the exception of Lesley - all the usual suspects). Being, company types, there's a lot of insistence on no dirty tricks and negative campaigning. I say "bollocks!" Persuade the laity that England will be giving up her sovereignty to a bunch of foreigners who will then tell them what to think and, no matter how much the House of Clergy love their Grand Tufti or how much the House of Bishops stick together like ecclesiastical frog spawn, the chances of the covenant being approved by all three houses in 2012 will be zilch.
DON'T BLAME MADPRIEST, BLAME MAD DAD
Written across the wall of the cave were the following symbols. It was considered a unique find and the writings were said to be at least Three thousand years old!:
The piece of stone was removed, brought to the museum, and archaeologists from around the world came to study the ancient symbols. They held a huge Meeting after months of conferences to discuss the meaning of the markings.
The President of the society pointed to first drawing and said: "This is a Woman. We can see these people held women in high esteem. You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol is a donkey, so they were smart enough to have animals help them till the soil. The next drawing is a shovel, which means they had tools to help them. Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish which means that if a famine hit the earth and food didn't grow, they seek food from the sea. The last symbol appears to be theStar of David which means they were evidently Hebrews."
The audience applauded enthusiastically. Then a little old Jewish man stood up in the back of the room and said, "Idiots, Hebrew is read from right to left....... It says: ‘Holy Mackerel Dig the Ass on that Chick.'
The piece of stone was removed, brought to the museum, and archaeologists from around the world came to study the ancient symbols. They held a huge Meeting after months of conferences to discuss the meaning of the markings.
The President of the society pointed to first drawing and said: "This is a Woman. We can see these people held women in high esteem. You can also tell they were intelligent, as the next symbol is a donkey, so they were smart enough to have animals help them till the soil. The next drawing is a shovel, which means they had tools to help them. Even further proof of their high intelligence is the fish which means that if a famine hit the earth and food didn't grow, they seek food from the sea. The last symbol appears to be theStar of David which means they were evidently Hebrews."
The audience applauded enthusiastically. Then a little old Jewish man stood up in the back of the room and said, "Idiots, Hebrew is read from right to left....... It says: ‘Holy Mackerel Dig the Ass on that Chick.'
KNOW YOUR SAINTS - SPECIAL FEATURE
I recently received this image of the BVM from Bruce who refers to it in his accompanying email as
Our Lady of the CD.
However, Bruce is talking out of his rear end on this one. This is in fact a fine piece of stained glass representing
Our Lady of the Pineapple Ring.
I asked the man from Del Monte if I was correct in my attribution and he said, "Yes!"
DON'T BLAME MADPRIEST, BLAME BRUCE
A dog lover, whose dog was a female and "in heat', agreed to look after her neighbors' house and male dog while they were away on vacation. She had a large house, however, and believed that she could keep them apart.
But as she was drifting off to sleep on the first night, she heard awful howling and moaning sounds. She rushed downstairs and found the dogs locked together, in obvious pain and unable to disengage as so frequently happens when they mate. Unable to separate them and perplexed as to what to do next, although it was late, she called the vet, who answered in an extremely grumpy voice.
Having explained the problem to him, the vet said. "Hang up the phone and place it down alongside the dogs. I will then call you back and the noise of the ringing will make the male lose his erection and be able to withdraw".
"Do you think that will work?" she asked.
"It just worked for me" he replied.
But as she was drifting off to sleep on the first night, she heard awful howling and moaning sounds. She rushed downstairs and found the dogs locked together, in obvious pain and unable to disengage as so frequently happens when they mate. Unable to separate them and perplexed as to what to do next, although it was late, she called the vet, who answered in an extremely grumpy voice.
Having explained the problem to him, the vet said. "Hang up the phone and place it down alongside the dogs. I will then call you back and the noise of the ringing will make the male lose his erection and be able to withdraw".
"Do you think that will work?" she asked.
"It just worked for me" he replied.
MADPRIEST IS APPEALING
BUT FIRST, A BIG THANK YOU
Yes, a ginormous thank you for all your prayer and financial support in October. Because of your generosity I received nearly a third of the stipend of a proper Church of England priest, which was more than enough to cover my bills, keep my (quite expensive to run) blog on the road and keep the bailiff from the door. Myself and Mrs MadPriest even got to go out to a concert one evening.
Of course, it is now November and so I must, once again, ask you to consider helping me out. I promise that I'm still actively seeking gainful employment (in fact, I've got an interview coming up in the next couple of weeks), and I promise that I am putting in as many hours in my online ministry as I did in my parish ministry. And I promise that I don't keep a mental note of those who are in the position to help me out financially. And I promise that I really am as thankful for your prayers and moral support as I am your financial support, although the cash really comes in handy :-).
CARROT: Every month, everybody who sends in a donation to my online ministry receives a special thank you photoshoppie which automatically, for as long as you keep it, at least triples the value of your computer (maybe).
Anyway, here's the usual blurb:
The administrator of this site is the Reverend Jonathan Hagger (a.k.a. MadPriest). He is a licensed Church of England priest but he receives no salary from any church or any other employer. At present his ministry consists entirely of his work at St. Laika's and OCICBW... However, he likes to eat occasionally and his blogs cost quite a bit of money to run. So, in true Anglican style a collection plate will always be available for your donations (via PayPal). Full accounts will be posted here each year. You will never be asked to pledge or tithe but a regular monthly contribution from you would give him security and peace of mind. Another way to help Jonathan is to buy Amazon products via his Amazon shop.
Of course, it is now November and so I must, once again, ask you to consider helping me out. I promise that I'm still actively seeking gainful employment (in fact, I've got an interview coming up in the next couple of weeks), and I promise that I am putting in as many hours in my online ministry as I did in my parish ministry. And I promise that I don't keep a mental note of those who are in the position to help me out financially. And I promise that I really am as thankful for your prayers and moral support as I am your financial support, although the cash really comes in handy :-).
CARROT: Every month, everybody who sends in a donation to my online ministry receives a special thank you photoshoppie which automatically, for as long as you keep it, at least triples the value of your computer (maybe).
Anyway, here's the usual blurb:
The administrator of this site is the Reverend Jonathan Hagger (a.k.a. MadPriest). He is a licensed Church of England priest but he receives no salary from any church or any other employer. At present his ministry consists entirely of his work at St. Laika's and OCICBW... However, he likes to eat occasionally and his blogs cost quite a bit of money to run. So, in true Anglican style a collection plate will always be available for your donations (via PayPal). Full accounts will be posted here each year. You will never be asked to pledge or tithe but a regular monthly contribution from you would give him security and peace of mind. Another way to help Jonathan is to buy Amazon products via his Amazon shop.
NEW FRIENDS
The following bloggers have all made the very basic mistake of putting themselves in a position where I noticed them. For their foolishness they are now consigned to THE NEIGHBOURHOOD where there is wailing and a gnashing of teeth. They all pass the MadPriest "Decent Sort" test so do please check them out.
THE HEATHEN HUB: Gurdur is an atheist with a pragmatic, insightful and, usually, quite accurate, understanding of both the faults and the good bits of religion. If you want reasoned debate (and I emphasise "reasoned") about the new atheism and stuff, I strongly recommend you check this bloke out. But be quick. Bear in mind that you may have eternity but Gurdur only has this one life to say all he wants to say :-)
THEOLOGY DEGREES ONLINE: Behind the rather uninspiring title, Tim Dalton has created one of the best online resources for thinking people interested in all kinds of theology that I have ever come across. Go check out such features as "50 Best Kabbalah Blogs & Resources on the Web," "10 Famous Megachurch Founders and the Story Behind Them" and "50 Very Insightful Blog Posts on GLBTQ Spirituality" (Ooh, look! There's a MadPriest post). I do warn you though, you go to Tim's blog to look up one simple thing and you are drawn into checking another post, and then another post and, before you know it, you've been there for hours.
BETWEEN THE LINES: Loads of posts about politicians and vegetables (no, they are not quite the same thing). Plus a very interesting blogroll.
PHELPS WATCH: We have established this blog to maintain a watching brief on religious and racial bigotry of whatever flavor. The Fred Phelpses of this world go by many names and claim many different religious affiliations as their justification. These people need to be called to task and exposed for the hypocrites they are. Phelps Watch is here to shed the light of day on them.
The PhelpsWatch blog is seeking contributors who want to call to the bigots, racists, and religious fanatics who cloak their poison in the guise religious authority and scriptural misrepresentation. Whether you want to write a single article to get something off your chest or you want to become a PhelpsWatch contributing writer, contact us.
BLUE TRUCK, RED STATE:
Howdy guys and welcome to the Blue Truck, a blog for mature gay men with news and views on gay rights, history, art, spirituality, humor, and whatever comes to mind. Plus a few hot men. The truck's all washed and gassed up, so hop in buddy, let's go.
This blog should have been on my lists ages ago. It is very remiss of me to have overlooked it. I am donning the sackcloth and daubing on the ashes as I write.
BETWEEN THE LINES: Loads of posts about politicians and vegetables (no, they are not quite the same thing). Plus a very interesting blogroll.
PHELPS WATCH: We have established this blog to maintain a watching brief on religious and racial bigotry of whatever flavor. The Fred Phelpses of this world go by many names and claim many different religious affiliations as their justification. These people need to be called to task and exposed for the hypocrites they are. Phelps Watch is here to shed the light of day on them.
The PhelpsWatch blog is seeking contributors who want to call to the bigots, racists, and religious fanatics who cloak their poison in the guise religious authority and scriptural misrepresentation. Whether you want to write a single article to get something off your chest or you want to become a PhelpsWatch contributing writer, contact us.
BLUE TRUCK, RED STATE:
This blog should have been on my lists ages ago. It is very remiss of me to have overlooked it. I am donning the sackcloth and daubing on the ashes as I write.
A FAULTY ANALOGY
From THE DAILY MAIL:
A Church of England bishop caused outrage last night by linking those who support the ordination of women bishops to the Nazis. The Right Rev Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes, said church traditionalists were in a similar situation to those who faced the Nazis in January 1939.
The conservative bishop told a conference: ‘I’m about to use an analogy and I use it quite deliberately and carefully. And it slightly frightens me to use it but I do think it’s where we’re at. I feel very much increasingly that we’re in January of 1939. We need to be aware that there is real serious warfare just round the corner. It’s actually arrived in some places already. And we’re in a challenging and serious situation.’
Last night the bishop was condemned by charities and those who support the ordination of women bishops. Christina Rees, of Women and the Church, which lobbies in support of the ordination of women bishops, said: ‘The more I read what Wallace Benn said the more I am outraged by his analogy and comments. That Bishop Wallace Benn can describe his position as “Churchillian” with the clear implication that, as Hitler was the problem then, so women bishops are the problem now, is mind-boggling.’
COMMENT: I have no problem with Bishop Benn implying that those who support women bishops are Nazis - I have accused his lot of being a bunch of fascists on many occasions. I have no problem with him likening the situation in the Church of England to the start of a major war - because he is right in that respect and he is right to state that many of those who hold the same views as himself will eventually not be able to remain in the Church of England. They will have to make the choice between pragmatism and idealism and those with integrity will leave. But his analogy is wrong. He is no Churchill and Reform are not the plucky English. Unlike the Allies in World War II, his "side" will not win in the end. For a start, the Americans will not be coming to their assistance - not late, not ever.
A better analogy for his faction's position would be the fall of the Berlin Wall in which Reform and their like could be compared to the communist rulers of Eastern Europe. For years the communists suppressed the aspirations of the citizens of those countries under their power. They did not allow dissent and their policies plunged those countries into a grey depression where all hope seemed forlorn. But the perseverance of those citizens who dreamed of a better life, who put freedom before their own safety, finally paid great dividends. The captives were set free. The former communist overlords are still there and looking for an opportunity to get back their power. They try to fool the people into believing that life was so much better back when they were prisoners in their own land. But they will never prevail. For Reform to think they will ever force women back into a place of subservience and disenfranchisement is as realistic as the Ku Klux Klan believing that one day Black Americans will be slaves on the plantations of the south again. Okay, there are many people with evil hearts who want it to happen but, at the end of the day, their are more good people around and they will stop it happening - in the same way that good people eventually defeated Hitler and the Nazis.
RECOMMENDED:
"The world is full of foolish chumps" at THE GUARDIAN.
The conservative bishop told a conference: ‘I’m about to use an analogy and I use it quite deliberately and carefully. And it slightly frightens me to use it but I do think it’s where we’re at. I feel very much increasingly that we’re in January of 1939. We need to be aware that there is real serious warfare just round the corner. It’s actually arrived in some places already. And we’re in a challenging and serious situation.’
Last night the bishop was condemned by charities and those who support the ordination of women bishops. Christina Rees, of Women and the Church, which lobbies in support of the ordination of women bishops, said: ‘The more I read what Wallace Benn said the more I am outraged by his analogy and comments. That Bishop Wallace Benn can describe his position as “Churchillian” with the clear implication that, as Hitler was the problem then, so women bishops are the problem now, is mind-boggling.’
COMMENT: I have no problem with Bishop Benn implying that those who support women bishops are Nazis - I have accused his lot of being a bunch of fascists on many occasions. I have no problem with him likening the situation in the Church of England to the start of a major war - because he is right in that respect and he is right to state that many of those who hold the same views as himself will eventually not be able to remain in the Church of England. They will have to make the choice between pragmatism and idealism and those with integrity will leave. But his analogy is wrong. He is no Churchill and Reform are not the plucky English. Unlike the Allies in World War II, his "side" will not win in the end. For a start, the Americans will not be coming to their assistance - not late, not ever.
A better analogy for his faction's position would be the fall of the Berlin Wall in which Reform and their like could be compared to the communist rulers of Eastern Europe. For years the communists suppressed the aspirations of the citizens of those countries under their power. They did not allow dissent and their policies plunged those countries into a grey depression where all hope seemed forlorn. But the perseverance of those citizens who dreamed of a better life, who put freedom before their own safety, finally paid great dividends. The captives were set free. The former communist overlords are still there and looking for an opportunity to get back their power. They try to fool the people into believing that life was so much better back when they were prisoners in their own land. But they will never prevail. For Reform to think they will ever force women back into a place of subservience and disenfranchisement is as realistic as the Ku Klux Klan believing that one day Black Americans will be slaves on the plantations of the south again. Okay, there are many people with evil hearts who want it to happen but, at the end of the day, their are more good people around and they will stop it happening - in the same way that good people eventually defeated Hitler and the Nazis.
RECOMMENDED:
"The world is full of foolish chumps" at THE GUARDIAN.
A REMINDER
From Susan:
MadOne – may I suggest that you make it explicit on your Amazon link that it includes Kindle downloads. I will try to use it for all my semi-impulse “book” purchases.
Thank you, Susan. I will do that.
In fact, any purchase made from Amazon UK or USA made via my Amazon widget in the right hand sidebar earns me commission. It's not much but it adds up over time and I use it to buy stuff for my blogging activities from Amazon (I get more commission if I spend it with them). So, if you do not have a worthier cause to support with your Amazon purchases then please do get in the habit of making MadPriest rich (if only).
MadOne – may I suggest that you make it explicit on your Amazon link that it includes Kindle downloads. I will try to use it for all my semi-impulse “book” purchases.
Thank you, Susan. I will do that.
In fact, any purchase made from Amazon UK or USA made via my Amazon widget in the right hand sidebar earns me commission. It's not much but it adds up over time and I use it to buy stuff for my blogging activities from Amazon (I get more commission if I spend it with them). So, if you do not have a worthier cause to support with your Amazon purchases then please do get in the habit of making MadPriest rich (if only).
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
WHY DID GOD BOTHER?
This is definitely the big story of the last 24 hours. This incident, the reactions to it and the comments on the BBC's website, show very starkly, and beyond doubt, that God created two types of human beings. To put it into words Jesus would have used, people are either blind or they can see.
This is not an African thing, even though this happened in Africa. This is a worldwide phenomenon. It is not a catholic versus evangelical thing, even though the outcry is mostly from the fundamentalists. This spit in perception is found in all the churches. Once people could see both the scientific and the artistic. In fact they would not have thought for a moment that there was a dividing line between the two. But over the last three hundred or so years much of humankind has lost the ability to be renascent and the dominating zeitgeist of our time, from the new atheists to the new religious fundamentalists, is one of a mechanistic, black and white, binary worldview. Computers are not becoming more human. Humans are becoming the machine.
From THE BBC:
"Today I will start with a three-part sermon on: Jesus was HIV-positive," South African Pastor Xola Skosana recently said in a Sunday church service.
The words initially stunned his congregation in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township into silence, and then set tongues wagging in churches across the country. Some Christians have been outraged, saying he is portraying Jesus as sexually promiscuous.
However, as Pastor Skosana told those gathered in the modest Luhlaza High School hall for his weekly services, in many parts of the Bible Jesus put himself in the position of the destitute, the sick and the marginalised.
"Wherever you open the scriptures Jesus puts himself in the shoes of people who experience brokenness. Isaiah 53, for example, clearly paints a picture of Jesus who takes upon himself the infirmities and the brokenness of humanity," he told the BBC.
He is also quick to emphasise that he is using the metaphor to highlight the danger of the HIV/Aids pandemic, which still carries a stigma in South Africa's townships.
"Of course, there's no scientific evidence that Jesus had the HI virus in his bloodstream," says the pastor, whose non-denominational Hope for Life Ministry is part of a growing charismatic movement in South Africa.
"The best gift we can give to people who are HIV-positive is to help de-stigmatise Aids and create an environment where they know God is not against them, he's not ashamed of them."
But Pastor Mike Bele, who officiates at the Nomzamo Baptist Church in nearby Gugulethu, said most clergy in Khayelitsha and other Cape Town townships are strongly opposed to associating Jesus with HIV.
"The subject of my Jesus being HIV-positive is a scathing matter," he says.
"I believe no anointed leader with a sound mind about the scriptures and the role of Christ in our lives would deliberately drag the name of Christ to the ground."
For Pastor Bele portraying Jesus as HIV-positive means he becomes part of the problem, not the solution.
"The pastor needs to explain how it came about for him to bring Christ to our level, when Christ is supreme and is God," he says.
But Pastor Skosana, who has been in the ministry for 24 years and lost two sisters to Aids, argues that religious leaders have to play a much bigger role in combating the spread of the pandemic in South Africa where more than 5.7 million people live with the virus - more than in any other country.
And he concluded the last of his three-part sermon by taking an HIV test in front of the congregation - after which 100 churchgoers followed his example.
"The message to the church is that it is not enough for us to give people food privately and give them groceries, we must create an environment that's empowering because most people who are HIV-positive will not necessarily die of Aids-related sickness but more of a broken heart, out of rejection," he says.
COMMENT: Anybody who cannot understand exactly where Pastor Skosana is coming from and exactly what he is saying and why he is saying it cannot possibly understand the good news of jesus Christ as it has been given to us in the scriptures and from within our faith tradition. Heck, they are not even going to begin to understand the parables of Jesus. They are no different to the disciples who had to ask Jesus to explain the parables to them. And, unlike the disciples, these people have not been through the Pentecost experience and had their eyes opened.
Pastor Xola Skosana is our:
BRICK OF DAY
Heck, I would even sit through one of his charismatic services just to have the honour of being in the same room as him.
A big thank you to both Graham and Mrs MadPriest for bringing this story to my attention.
This is not an African thing, even though this happened in Africa. This is a worldwide phenomenon. It is not a catholic versus evangelical thing, even though the outcry is mostly from the fundamentalists. This spit in perception is found in all the churches. Once people could see both the scientific and the artistic. In fact they would not have thought for a moment that there was a dividing line between the two. But over the last three hundred or so years much of humankind has lost the ability to be renascent and the dominating zeitgeist of our time, from the new atheists to the new religious fundamentalists, is one of a mechanistic, black and white, binary worldview. Computers are not becoming more human. Humans are becoming the machine.
From THE BBC:
"Today I will start with a three-part sermon on: Jesus was HIV-positive," South African Pastor Xola Skosana recently said in a Sunday church service.
The words initially stunned his congregation in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township into silence, and then set tongues wagging in churches across the country. Some Christians have been outraged, saying he is portraying Jesus as sexually promiscuous.
However, as Pastor Skosana told those gathered in the modest Luhlaza High School hall for his weekly services, in many parts of the Bible Jesus put himself in the position of the destitute, the sick and the marginalised.
"Wherever you open the scriptures Jesus puts himself in the shoes of people who experience brokenness. Isaiah 53, for example, clearly paints a picture of Jesus who takes upon himself the infirmities and the brokenness of humanity," he told the BBC.
He is also quick to emphasise that he is using the metaphor to highlight the danger of the HIV/Aids pandemic, which still carries a stigma in South Africa's townships.
"Of course, there's no scientific evidence that Jesus had the HI virus in his bloodstream," says the pastor, whose non-denominational Hope for Life Ministry is part of a growing charismatic movement in South Africa.
"The best gift we can give to people who are HIV-positive is to help de-stigmatise Aids and create an environment where they know God is not against them, he's not ashamed of them."
But Pastor Mike Bele, who officiates at the Nomzamo Baptist Church in nearby Gugulethu, said most clergy in Khayelitsha and other Cape Town townships are strongly opposed to associating Jesus with HIV.
"The subject of my Jesus being HIV-positive is a scathing matter," he says.
"I believe no anointed leader with a sound mind about the scriptures and the role of Christ in our lives would deliberately drag the name of Christ to the ground."
For Pastor Bele portraying Jesus as HIV-positive means he becomes part of the problem, not the solution.
"The pastor needs to explain how it came about for him to bring Christ to our level, when Christ is supreme and is God," he says.
But Pastor Skosana, who has been in the ministry for 24 years and lost two sisters to Aids, argues that religious leaders have to play a much bigger role in combating the spread of the pandemic in South Africa where more than 5.7 million people live with the virus - more than in any other country.
And he concluded the last of his three-part sermon by taking an HIV test in front of the congregation - after which 100 churchgoers followed his example.
"The message to the church is that it is not enough for us to give people food privately and give them groceries, we must create an environment that's empowering because most people who are HIV-positive will not necessarily die of Aids-related sickness but more of a broken heart, out of rejection," he says.
COMMENT: Anybody who cannot understand exactly where Pastor Skosana is coming from and exactly what he is saying and why he is saying it cannot possibly understand the good news of jesus Christ as it has been given to us in the scriptures and from within our faith tradition. Heck, they are not even going to begin to understand the parables of Jesus. They are no different to the disciples who had to ask Jesus to explain the parables to them. And, unlike the disciples, these people have not been through the Pentecost experience and had their eyes opened.
BRICK OF DAY
Heck, I would even sit through one of his charismatic services just to have the honour of being in the same room as him.
A big thank you to both Graham and Mrs MadPriest for bringing this story to my attention.
OVER AT ST. LAIKA'S
I have cobbled together a service of daily prayer for All Soul's Day and posted it at ST. LAIKA'S. The music today is very beautiful. There are two famous versions of "Pie Iesu" and a setting of Psalm 23 by John Bell of Iona.
St. Laika's has also gone all multi-media. You now have the option of streaming, downloading or subscribing to a podcast version. Hopefully this and future podcasts will be accepted by iTunes and other hosting sites.
Ellie has also gone all multi-media on us over at THE ANCHORHOLD with a video and prayers for All Soul's Day.
As we celebrate this feast in which we remember those who have died, please remember, above all here at OCICBW..., Roseann, whose company brought us so much joy and whose death brought so much sadness to our community. She is resting in peace and she will rise in glory and we will all meet again in the Kingdom.
St. Laika's has also gone all multi-media. You now have the option of streaming, downloading or subscribing to a podcast version. Hopefully this and future podcasts will be accepted by iTunes and other hosting sites.
Ellie has also gone all multi-media on us over at THE ANCHORHOLD with a video and prayers for All Soul's Day.
As we celebrate this feast in which we remember those who have died, please remember, above all here at OCICBW..., Roseann, whose company brought us so much joy and whose death brought so much sadness to our community. She is resting in peace and she will rise in glory and we will all meet again in the Kingdom.
Monday, 1 November 2010
VERY, VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Good news! Very soon we will know the answer to life, the universe and everything. For full details check out NEWSBISCUIT.
WHERE DOES HE FIND THEM?
I'm pretty confident that this will unnerve most of you more than anything else you will have seen and heard on All Hallows' Eve. So, it's 20000 days off purgatory if you get all the way through it without passing out.
However, there are some of you out there who are so perverse and, well, basically weird, that you will actually enjoy this. You get no days off purgatory.
BEFORE YOU GO
From THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD:
Religious extremists have been sending cards to elderly people asking them to pick the date they are going to die. The cards ask recipients to predict the date and time of their death and advise them to get in touch with evangelists to avoid going to hell.
Waiheke resident Marianne Taylor, 89, was shocked to receive an "appointment card" in the post last week. The card, published by livingwatersnewzealand.com, was addressed to her by name and asked her to fill in the date and time of her death.
"Please don't forget to call me on the date you're going to die, then we can discuss your eternity," it says. However, the cards do not have a contact name or phone number printed on them.
California-based Living Waters was founded by New Zealand evangelist Ray Comfort.
COMMENT: I have never written a list of people I would not want to meet on the day I die, but if ever do write one I am pretty certain that Mr. Ray "The Banana" Comfort would be right up there near the top of it. In fact, the thought of such a last minute encounter is almost enough to scare you to death. Quite honestly I think I would rather endure eternal damnation than such a meeting.
Religious extremists have been sending cards to elderly people asking them to pick the date they are going to die. The cards ask recipients to predict the date and time of their death and advise them to get in touch with evangelists to avoid going to hell.
Waiheke resident Marianne Taylor, 89, was shocked to receive an "appointment card" in the post last week. The card, published by livingwatersnewzealand.com, was addressed to her by name and asked her to fill in the date and time of her death.
"Please don't forget to call me on the date you're going to die, then we can discuss your eternity," it says. However, the cards do not have a contact name or phone number printed on them.
California-based Living Waters was founded by New Zealand evangelist Ray Comfort.
COMMENT: I have never written a list of people I would not want to meet on the day I die, but if ever do write one I am pretty certain that Mr. Ray "The Banana" Comfort would be right up there near the top of it. In fact, the thought of such a last minute encounter is almost enough to scare you to death. Quite honestly I think I would rather endure eternal damnation than such a meeting.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This has already been flagged up on more worthy blogs than this but, if you have not done so already, check out Malcolm's "Aesop's fables" post at SIMPLY MASSING PRIEST. Very clever, bearded one!
Found at the ON HOLLADAY - FLORIDA STYLE blog:
Found at the ON HOLLADAY - FLORIDA STYLE blog:
ANOTHER GOOD MAN DONE GONE
Jazz bassist
and sousaphonist
23rd. August 23, 1942
– 28th. October 2010
Strike up the band!
Walter Payton Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Young Tuxedo Brass Band, and led his own group called the Snap Bean Band. He also taught music at New Orleans' McDonogh 15 Elementary. His recording credits include Lee Dorsey's "Working in the Coal Mine" and Payton variously worked with Aaron Neville, Harry Connick Jr., Champion Jack Dupree and Chuck Carbo. (WIKIPEDIA)
MADPRIEST'S HALLOWEEN STAY AT HOME MEME
If, like me, you've been stuck at home today (I've been comforting dogs because Halloween in England is now just another opportunity to let off fireworks), then you've probably seen your fill of horror films already on the television. But what are the scariest films that you have ever sat through? Which ones actually managed to give you nightmares and why?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)