Taliban Tribulation, a taste of the Apocalypse and Armageddon?

The advance of the Taliban throughout Afghanistan is striking fear and panic among areas of the population. This is not what some would call Islamophobia, an irrational fear of Islam or Islamic sharia law. It is fear of a frightening reality, a force that opposes the education of girls, forces young women into sex slavery and awful oppression if they are not following the correct and strict ways established by the Taliban clerics.  

Under the Taliban, music will be banned. Schools will be subject to strict Sunni theology endorsed by Taliban leaders. There will be no freedom of the press, as it is allowed in western democracies. In fact, the Taliban will bring about jihad and sharia law. This will lead to bloodshed, harsh punishments, death penalties, a prison state, a state of affairs arguably worse than the Handmaiden's Tale. The open society beloved by western democracies will not exist. Taliban tribulation will reveal its ugly head and for some it will be a taste of hell on earth: death, destruction and despair, days of darkness. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTVfCpLrIrc

The Dear Old Church of England declines and fails to keep its flock

So many churches, parish churches, are empty and are now in united benefices to help them to survive. It is a sorry sight. Many parish churches seem more like museums. There is a famine in the land, a famine of the word of God. The church often is more of a museum than a place of mission and  ministry of the Gospel. It preaches, in some parishes, a false gospel of sanctified good manners, anodyne beliefs, a god without wrath, people without sin, a kingdom without judgment and a Christless religion, religion without conviction, conversion and repentance. It is often impotent and sterile, without the means of reproduction, the ability to renew, replace and restore. It buries more than it baptises and confirms, in many parishes. It is a very sad state of affairs. 

Yes, there are pockets of hope, places where Alpha courses and good preaching bring folk to faith, repentance and regeneration. But this is rare and the CofE declines and decays around us. In some parishes it is a geriatric institution, withering away in a sad, sorry way.  

Hats off to Hatun Tash, heroine and courageous Christian communicator

 The cowardly attack on Ms. Hatun Tash at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park recently shows us how free speech is under threat and any criticism of Islam can bring violence and bloodshed. Ms Tash nearly lost her life when she was attacked, stabbed and abused by a man who took exception to her Gospel message.

The Metropolitan Police failed to protect her and have allowed violent men to abuse her. Her attacker, who clearly attempted to stab her to death, has not been caught yet, although the attack has been filmed, posted on YouTube and shown throughout the world.  Ms Tash had a providential escape from death!

Many are appalled that this slight and small woman has been so badly treated at a place where free speech, open discussion and honest debate flourished.

We live in dark days when an alleged religion of peace cannot be criticized in a public place dedicated to free speech.

Please see the YouTube videos to see the gravity of the situation.

 

Mentioning sex offenders in high places and positions of responsibility

 I was truly shocked to read about Lord Devlin and the testimony of his daughter, Clare, whom he sexually abused. Patrick Devlin was one of the most celebrated judges in High Court.  He was apparently above reproach and very highly respected. Yet according to his daughter in a Special Report in The Observer, last Sunday 25.07.21, Sins of a father, Judge Devlin subjected Clare to sadistic sexual assaults during her childhood.  Her memories of such abuse were from the age of seven.  The psychological scars go deep. Clare is now 81 years of age and has finally revealed her suffering at the hands of a sex offender with such a high reputation. He will be now known as Devilish Devlin, dark lord of dastardly deeds.

The BBC documentary on Hillsong in the Storyville series

It was fascinating but uncomfortable viewing. It touched on the subject of child sex abuse and the devastating consequences of the distasteful crime. 

The documentary used the fly on the wall, cinema verite, technique with frank and penetrating interviews alongside footage of the phenomenal popularity of Hillsong services in enormous worship centres packed to capacity.  The growth of Hillsong and its popularity among young adults cannot be ignored. 

Having worked in the area of public protection and custody of sex offenders, and in prison ministry, I know how tragic and truly horrific these crimes can be.  The care of post custodial sex offenders raises many problems and painful decisions.  We need the vetting and safeguarding processes in our churches, youth organizations, workplaces and leisure clubs etc. 

 In the 20th century many sex crimes were not reported, recorded and recognised. Some have only come to light in recent years, because of fear, guilt, denial and disgust. During the wartime evacuation of children in 1939 onwards, children were put in perilous situations and sometimes people in positions of responsibility took advantage of these troubled times. Some children were too traumatised to complain and to tell what they had experienced.  In some cases the perpetrators were considered to be completely above reproach, like Pentecostal Pastor Houston in the Hillsong documentary.  

For some the effervescent Hillsong worship will be appealing and edifying, but others will find it shallow and ephemeral, without depth and substance.  I rejoice in seeing thousands singing praise to God. I also want to see serious measures taken when child abuse takes place.

     

 

 

The Dear Old Diocese of Winchester Dispatches its Bishop

 For the first time in history a motion of no confidence against a senior bishop in the Church of England, the Right Reverend Timothy Dakin, had been levelled but withdrawn when the Bishop agreed to resign. He was clearly an unpopular church leader, as the motion was signed by more than a quarter of the diocesan synod. There were many voices calling for him to go, which seemed inevitable in the face of such strong opposition. Tim Dakin knew that his disputed decisions and style of ministry had caused division, sorrow and anger. The highly controversial Bob Key/Channel Islands affair was a nail in the coffin of his career at Winchester. A financial and staffing crisis followed, and dogged demands for Tim Dakin to go were forthcoming. 

Tim Dakin will lose his seat in the House of Lords, among the Lords Spiritual, as the bishopric comes with a peerage while in office. The Diocese of Winchester ranks highly in the dear old Church of England, being only one below the Sees of Canterbury and York. It is one of the oldest bishoprics in Western Christendom, dating back to 676 A.D.

Penalty Pain Again

Well, not so well, we blew it again on penalties. It was very painful to see three penalties missed. The first miss was the worst as it was off target. Woeful. The next two were down to some extent to good goal keeping by the Italian giant keeper, Donnarumma, who is a hero. So is Jordan Pickford, who was magnificent and did not deserve to lose a penalty shoot out. It is sad for Saka and Sancho. They were not ready for this occasion, boys out of their depth. After two misses, Saka looked so nervous, and deep down I knew he was going to fail. Sadly he did, but I blame Gareth Southgate for putting him in this painful position. (I understand that he has now taken responsibility for this gamble.) Three misses will be remembered and not forgotten; the forlorn three (Rashford, Sancho and Saka) will be forgiven but they will carry the pain all of their days.

Roberto Mancini was the master manager. Southgate is still learning his trade. Yes, he has done wonderfully well and deserves praise for England performances, but his selection of penalty takers was unwise. Mancini's decisions at half time were magnificent and Italy were the better team with England on the back foot and struggling to retain the ball. Look at the possession stats. Italy were putting England under pressure and causing problems. England failed in the second half to make much impression on the Italian goal. Kane had no service and dropped deep in a midfield overrun by Italian maestros. Chiesa was brilliant. When Jordan Henderson came on as a substitute I knew that England would not win. He was not up to the job, not at that stage of the game.

 Roberto Mancini is now a national hero and his record is impressive, excellent. He will go down as one of the great head coach/managers in Football History.

 It did not help England when the referee failed to look closely at the monitor to review the Jorginho tackle on Grealish. Jorginho should not have been allowed to play on. A red card, in the opinion of many commentators and a former referee, was justified. It was a very bad and reckless tackle. Somehow it was not given, even with state of the art technology. Italy were, when all is said and done, the better side on the day. Even at Wembley, home turf, England could not win. The trophy did not come home, but will now go to Rome. That hurts!