Holy Bishop Patrick, Faithful shepherd of Christ's royal flock, You filled Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel: The mighty strength of the Trinity! Now that you stand before the Saviour, Pray that He may preserve us in faith and love!
Hi Happy Jack, sorry to be off-topic, I just came across this news item, and I am not sure if you have already seen it or if it has been posted on an earlier thread:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-members-blast-uk-harassment-christians-rare-rebuke-close-us-ally (Published 15 March 2023)
'As a Methodist institution, Cliff College is committed to being a safe and hospitable place where those with differing convictions are welcomed and encouraged to live and learn together as faithful disciples of Christ.'
"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n" (Satan, Milton's Paradise Lost) Introduction Before the serpent, before any human being drew breath, or any garden was planted, something turned. That's the question this essay sits with. Not why evil exists in some abstract philosophical sense, but how the very first act of rebellion was even possible. Lucifer, the tradition tells us, had no excuses. No tempter whispering in his ear, no passion clouding his judgment, no ignorance to hide behind. Pure spirit and intellect; created good and held in grace, and yet, at some point in what we can only call the morning of creation: non serviam . I will not serve. The human fall has contextual factors. There's a serpent, there's embodiment, there's the particular vulnerability of creatures who learn gradually and can be deceived. When Adam and Eve make a wrong choice, we can see contributing conditions. But Lucifer strips the problem to its bones. His ...
The Church of England decided a few months ago to adopt a compromise position on same-sex unions. While maintaining its prohibition of same-sex marriage, it will allow its priests/ministers to “bless" these unions. It will not mandate such blessings; the choice of whether to bless or not to bless these will be left to individual ministers. This arrangement is a compromise between twenty centuries of Christian tradition and the spirit of the age. This approach is now prevalent across many Catholic dioceses in Western Europe. Pope Francis has just appointed Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal-elect Fernández has expressed reservations regarding the Church's prohibition on same-sex blessings - or, at least its wording - and has undertaken to reassess this so that it is in conformity with the “recent Magisterium” of the Church. The current position is laid out in the 2021 reply to the query, “Does the Church h...
The fund follows a Church Commissioners 2022 interim report looking into the origins of its investments. It found that the Queen Anne’s Bounty, a financial scheme established in the 18th century, was linked to transatlantic chattel slavery. The report’s writers found that the Queen Anne’s Bounty fund “invested significant amounts” of its funds in the South Sea Company, a firm founded in 1711 to refinance England’s national debt which was awarded the monopoly on Britain’s trade of enslaved people to the Spanish Americas." They estimate that the South Sea Company transported 34,000 slaves “in crowded, unsanitary, unsafe and inhumane conditions” during its 30 years of operation. A significant portion of the Bounty’s income during the 18th century was derived from sources that may be linked to transatlantic chattel slavery, principally interest and dividends on South Sea Company annuities and benefactions from wealthy individuals,” Justin Welby, apologised for...
Holy Bishop Patrick,
ReplyDeleteFaithful shepherd of Christ's royal flock,
You filled Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel:
The mighty strength of the Trinity!
Now that you stand before the Saviour,
Pray that He may preserve us in faith and love!
And the lovely Fáed Fíada - The Cry of the Deer or St. Patrick's Lorica.
@雲水,
DeleteAmen! Happy St Patrick's Day to everybody.
Hi Happy Jack, sorry to be off-topic, I just came across this news item, and I am not sure if you have already seen it or if it has been posted on an earlier thread:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/congress-members-blast-uk-harassment-christians-rare-rebuke-close-us-ally
(Published 15 March 2023)
Be warned, it is (sadly) a rather long read!
Thanks, RA. These are developments HJ is following.
DeleteYet another item to add:
Deletehttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11877861/Christian-theology-lecturer-sacked-threatened-counter-terrorism-referral.html
'As a Methodist institution, Cliff College is committed to being a safe and hospitable place where those with differing convictions are welcomed and encouraged to live and learn together as faithful disciples of Christ.'
DeleteHow ironic!