The Terrifying Theresa Targets (In)Tolerance

This mornings interview (BBC ‘Today’ programme) with Theresa May was truly terrifying. Amazingly John Humphreys actually asked her if someone were to have a different view about Same-Sex Marriage or Homosexuality: would they fall under the cudgel of her totalitarian proposal. She manged to side-step the great JH but he asked her again, and again but eventually gave up as Ms May gave him the old one two and slipped past him until the topic changed to a more convenient one.

I have no idea what she means by ‘British Values’ or just ‘Values’ but she just kept repeating it like a mantra instead of telling us what it is. ‘British Values’ is one of the clubs Ms May will be beating us with. I suppose we are all supposed to just roll over and go back to sleep and let the Government machine bump its way over our freedoms. Freedoms, I might add, that were fought for by our Fathers. They NEVER fought for this. The other two words used were ‘Extremism’ and ‘Tolerance’. No explanation was forthcoming.

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all.”

Best get Humpty Dumpty to define them for all the good it will do to get a definition out of Ms May. We’ll find out what they mean soon enough when more Christians (and probably others, including Atheists) are hauled before the courts for daring to buck the secularist / ‘tolerant’ ideology.

The following excerpts are from a BBC News article: New laws to target radicalisation

David Cameron is to set out a string of new powers to tackle radicalisation, saying the UK has been a “passively tolerant society” for too long.
The PM will tell the National Security Council a counter-extremism bill will be in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May.
The bill will include new immigration rules, powers to close down premises used by extremists and “extremism disruption orders”.
Mr Cameron will say a “poisonous” extremist ideology must be confronted.

And of great concern is this little gem:

She said: “What we are proposing is a bill which will have certain measures within it, measures such as introducing banning orders for groups and disruption orders for individuals, for those who are out there actively trying to promote this hatred and intolerance which can lead to division in our society and undermines our British values.
“But it will be part of a bigger picture , a strategy which will also have as a key part of it actually promoting our British values, our values of democracy, rule of law, tolerance and acceptance of different faiths.”
The measures, she added, will focus on “extremism of all sorts… that is seeking to promote hatred, that is seeking to divide our society, that is seeking to undermine the very values that make us a great country to live in”.

Nowhere are any terms defined. But don’t worry, I’m sure Humpty Dumpty will be on hand to provide one as required. It’s completely bonkers and terrifying. Ironically The Queen is ‘Defender of the Faith’ but will be approving measures designed to destroy it on 27th May.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.
Psalm 20: 7-9

The Speech Police Are at the Door | truthXchange

Source: The Speech Police Are at the Door | truthXchange

You should all read this. It’s going to happen – get ready for it. The picture sent to me was of the British Police:

Marriage in the Manifestos

From The Coalition for Marriage
MARRIAGE IN THE MANIFESTOS
Dear marriage supporter,As the election approaches I thought you might like to know what the political parties are saying about marriage.David Cameron highlights same-sex marriage in his manifesto, saying it“helped drive forward equality and strengthened the institution of marriage”. This is despite the fact that most of his backbenchers voted against it.The Labour Party correctly say that it was their votes which got gay marriage onto the statute book.At the time, both Conservative and Labour Party leaderships brought huge pressure to bear on their MPs to back gay marriage. By contrast the Liberal Democrats seem to have had a genuinely free vote. But all three parties now talk about same-sex marriage as official policy and pledge to go further.

Same-sex marriage is not mentioned in the UKIP, SNP or Plaid Cymru manifestos.

Both the Conservatives and UKIP back the married couples’ allowance, which also applies to same-sex couples in a legal marriage or civil partnership. Labour, the Lib Dems, and the SNP pledge to scrap the married couples’ allowance.

Extracts from the manifestos are given below.

Over four out of five MPs from the last Parliament are seeking re-election. You should have received an email from us last month telling you how your MP voted on redefining marriage.

Ask all your candidates whether people should be punished for believing in traditional marriage. Our 30 Cases leaflet highlights some examples of concern.

We must keep on raising the issue of marriage because we know it really matters to the future of our country. The people elected on 7 May will make crucial decisions in the future, such as whether to reduce or increase legal protection for freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.

Yours sincerely,

Colin HartColin Hart
Campaign Director
Coalition for Marriage

Extracts from the manifestos

Conservative Manifesto 2015

  • “We will back the institution of marriage in our society, enabling married couples to transfer £1,060 of their tax-free income to their husband or wife, where the highest earner is a basic rate taxpayer. This applies to civil partnerships too”. (page 27)
  • “Our historic introduction of gay marriage has helped drive forward equality and strengthened the institution of marriage. But there is still more to do, and we will continue to champion equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people.” (page 46)

Labour Manifesto 2015

  • “We will create a fairer tax system, helping those on middle and lower incomes by introducing a lower 10p starting rate of tax, paid for by ending the Conservatives’ Marriage Tax Allowance.” (page 18)

Labour Party LGBT Manifesto 2015

  • “Since Harold Wilson’s Government finally decriminalised homosexuality in 1967, Labour has continued to lead the fight for LGBT equality. We abolished the hateful section 28, equalised the age of consent, gave statutory rights for NHS fertility treatment for lesbians, created civil partnerships and delivered the votes that put equal marriage on the statute book.” (page 3)

Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2015

  • Under ‘A Record of Delivery’: “Introduced equal marriage for gay and lesbian couples”. (page 105)
  • “A fair society should treat its citizens equally and with dignity. In this Parliament, thanks to Liberal Democrats in government, there have been key advances in the fight for equality – like introducing same-sex marriage and banning age discrimination.” (page 105)
  • The Liberal Democrats say they will: Promote international recognition of same sex marriages and civil partnerships as part of a comprehensive International LGBT Rights Strategy that supports the cause of decriminalising homosexuality in other countries.” (page 107)
  • They will also: “Give legal rights and obligations to cohabiting couples in the event of relationship breakdown or one partner dying without a will.” (page 107)

UKIP Manifesto 2015

  • In the next Parliament, UKIP pledge to “increase the transferable personal tax allowance for married couples and civil partners”. (page 5) Again, UKIP will: “Increase the transferable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners to £1,500.” (page 7)

SNP Manifesto 2015

  • “We will also look to release additional resources by backing a series of revenue raising measures…reversal of the married couples’ tax allowance. (page 8)

Plaid Cymru Manifesto 2015 – no mention of same-sex marriage or marriage tax breaks

Green Party Manifesto 2015

  • The Green Party manifesto pledges to: “Legislate to remedy inequality in pension inheritance for same-sex marriage partners and same-sex civil partners.” (page 26)

Breaking News: Street preacher on trial today

Breaking News: Street preacher on trial today. Follow link for source. Story below.

It’s incredible that Preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ could land you in a court of law. I’m presuming (not always a good thing to do) his offence is to mention sin. And it doesn’t take the brain of Britain to work out which sins – or even alluding to them. The worse crime one can commit in David Cameron’s United Kingdom is the sin of being ‘offensive’. It needs no definition. I pray Christian Concern will win their case. May God have mercy on our land!

______________________________________________

Street preacher on trial today for gospel preaching

Please pray for Mike Overd and the Christian Legal Centre team

Mike Overd – Street Preacher

Mike Overd, a Christian street preacher from Somerset, begins his trial in Taunton today for proclaiming the gospel in Taunton town centre.

Mike has been preaching the gospel on the streets of Taunton for over five years. But he’s faced real opposition — police even appealed to the public in a local newspaper to record him preaching so that they could get evidence of him making “offensive remarks”.

Now the Crown Prosecution Service is bringing charges against him under the Public Order Act. A number of witnesses say that they can’t remember what Mike said, just that it was “offensive”.

Mike preaches on the street because he loves people and wants them to come to Christ.

He says: My motivation for preaching the gospel is my love for Jesus Christ and my deep concern for people who do not know His great love and are heading towards an eternity separated from God.

Please pray for Mike and the Christian Legal Centre team as the trial begins today, asking that they will give clear testimony and that justice will be done.

Letter to my MP – Same-Sex marriage

Not sure if I’ll get arrested for this, but here’s the letter I just sent to my MP….

Dear Mr ——–,

Given the recent anti-Christian manifestations of just where the Same-Sex Marriage issue has taken us, I thought an email to my Member of Parliament might be appropriate.

I’ve appreciated the fact that you have replied to earlier emails over this issue even though there seemed, to me, to be a veiled threat within them.

The manifestations I refer to are the Ashers Bakery case in Northern Ireland and the Red Cross case dismissal. Just to note: Same-Sex marriage is not legal in NI and the protest by Bryan Barkley was before the law had been passed here. Both cases could, even should, I would think, be open to a counter-claim of discrimination. But I don’t see the Government leading on this. The reason is obvious. The UK Government has made its position clear in that it opposes ANY disagreement with Homosexuality / Same-Sex marriage and would rather ‘celebrate’ an LGBTQ lifestyle.

To me this has been and will be a Vote-Loser. I have voted Conservative many times in the past but I’m no longer able to do so. Regarding Free Speech & Freedom of Religion, I believe Theresa May is a dangerous person believing in neither. That’s Atheists as well saying that about the Home Secretary.

The only party that I’m able to vote for with a good conscience is UKIP. Yes it might be (probably will be) a wasted vote, or even a vote for Labour as it were, but my conscience will be clear. Others will, but I can’t vote for a party that forces me to go against my conscience. At least UKIP seem to understand the need for Freedom of Speech and seeks to uphold it. Unlike the current HS who seeks to deny it. Since my conscience is being assaulted, abused and denied by the Conservative Party (not necessarily individual Conservative MP’s) I have no choice but to vote for someone else.

I’ve wavered at the Ballot box in the past and when push came to shove I have voted Conservative. But not this time. There will be no wavering.

The thing is MP’s generally think money is the only issue. I don’t have a particularly well paid job (???) but I’d prefer to have that and a clear conscience than loads of money. It’s not just the Same-Sex issue. It’s climate change, It’s the response to Islam and the whole politically correct agenda that’s helping to sink this country. If someone wants to believe something else – fine. But I believe in robust dialogue. The Christian faith is abused EVERY SINGLE DAY in one way or another. David Cameron etc really don’t have the first clue about Islam or Christianity. He claims to be a Christian, but his actions clearly show him to be deceived at best. Maybe his advisor’s are feeding him false information.

To conclude. What I really want – I’ve said this before, but things continue to get worse, is a commitment by the Government to Free-Speech. Many Atheists get that and want the same. For believing the Bible, many an Atheist would tell me I’m sick, insane, deluded, stupid, even dangerous. I’m ok with that. That is their right. But I just might speak similarly about them.

I do not want to ‘affirm’ homosexuality (LGBTQ). The Bible is very clear in its condemnation of Homosexuality & Same-Sex marriage. The Bible calls it Sinful. The implications of denying this Biblical teaching is huge. I don’t think politicians quite understand what is at stake. Homosexuality is in one sense a non-issue. We are all sinners, all under the condemnation of God, all have broken the Law of God, all are in need of a Saviour. My sin will take me to hell just as much as a practising homosexual. But if I choose to say my sins are OK I haven’t just re-defined my sins, I have changed everything. God, the Bible, Jesus and every single Bible teaching and ALL morality becomes a wax-nose for me to fashion in any way I choose. Why not have a threesome marriage, or four, or five? I could marry and have sex with my mother, cousin, daughter, son, father. Everything is allowed. Why? Any moral authority for saying those things are wrong has been, or is in the process of being destroyed. Worst of all, if there is no sin, there is no need for a Saviour. There is no longer any good news – no Gospel. This is why (some) Christians are making a noise about this. It’s not simply a lifestyle choice.

I’ll leave it there. If you have read this far, thank you for your time. Sadly I will not be voting Conservative at the next election. And if UKIP get on the ‘Gay’ bandwagon I will not be voting for them either.

Kind Regards,

I’ll let you know if I get a response.

Where we are – Implications of The ‘Gay’ marriage debate

If anyone thinks the ‘Gay-Marriage’ debate is ‘merely’ about the sin of homosexuality then they haven’t been thinking. Few issues cross over into so many critical areas for the Christian Church today. Not necessarily in order of importance, but here’s a few to think about:

The Person & Work of Christ
The Authority of The Bible (Scriptures)
The Doctrine of Sin
The Judgement of God
Freedom of Religion
Freedom of Speech
The Doctrine of Marriage
The Creative Order
The Creation / Doctrine of Man
The Creation / Doctrine of Women
The Doctrine of The Trinity
The Doctrine of The Church
The Doctrine of Salvation
Objective Truth claims
Worldview thinking
Preaching the Gospel

James White lays this out with a very sad and depressing yet realistic appraisal of where we are at in The West. Christians need to have their faith firmly rooted and grounded in their Lord and The Scriptures and not in their favourite celebrity Pastor or Author.

View or download Audio of The Dividing Line. Relevant to this subject is in the first 15 minutes or so.

It’s important to keep the ‘protest’ going otherwise one day we’ll wake up and be forced to bow down to the ‘Gay’ ideology. Let’s pray it doesn’t come to that.

Iraq crisis: British jihadi fighting for Isis in Syria was ‘radicalised by imam at Coventry mosque’, father says – Home News – UK – The Independent

Iraq crisis: British jihadi fighting for Isis in Syria was ‘radicalised by imam at Coventry mosque’, father says – Home News – UK – The Independent.

Confirming these news stories, I have it on good authority that an Iman in Coventry in sending young men out to Lebanon for training in Jihad. But apparently the same Iman is making sure his own sons go to university.

Sudan Christian Meriam Ibrahim ‘detained’ again: Call to Prayer and Action | The Domain for Truth

Sudan Christian Meriam Ibrahim ‘detained’ again: Call to Prayer and Action | The Domain for Truth.

Lots of contact info from The Domain for Truth.

BBC News – How do you define Islamist extremism?

BBC News – How do you define Islamist extremism?.

From the opening paragraph:

Today, the government defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.

Off the top of my head that definition probably needs working through. Governments publish these definitions without realising how it could be used. For example (can’t remember the exact words) yesterday on Radio 4’s Today programme David Blunkett (MP) was interviewed about the same issue but included in his description of extremism ‘Crazy Creationists’. How he would describe a Creationist is not known but the point is this definition will (I hope and pray it won’t) be used to go after Christians that believe the Bible – how crazy is that!

Discussion – Are we a Christian Country?

The recent remarks by David Cameron has sparked a series of comments and debates on whether England is a Christian country. Among others Nick Clegg has weighed in with his personal view and Justin Welby has responded to the criticisms aimed at the Prime Minister.

I’ve already responded to David Cameron here but it’s worth making some comments on Nick Clegg’s response and the Blog post on Thursday by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby).

Nick Clegg

Good old Nick, trust him to enter the discussion. Like him, I too would like to see the separation of Church & State. His motivation however, I would question. It ought to make sense for the State to not interfere in the affairs of the Church. And likewise the Church should not interfere with the affairs of the State. What that shouldn’t mean though is that politicians as individuals should have no right to make comments and the Church should be free to pass comment on the activities of the State. As I see it, this is simply free speech in action. But in addition the Church in that capacity acts as conscience of the State as it addresses sin in all its manifestations and in all quarters of society. Where it sees injustice and immorality it should be free to comment but have no vote as a Church. This should also, I believe, predominately be the activity of individual Christians or Christian lobby groups such as Christian Concern or The Christian Institute. The Mission of the Church is to Preach the Gospel of the Grace of God not get involved in politics.

But I would see the motivation of Nick Clegg and other militant atheists or New Atheists as merely an opportunity to separate Church & State in order to attack and seek to destroy an unprotected Church. His motivation is to divide and conquer as he clearly abhors the Christian faith. What else should be expected from someone ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ that ‘suppresses the truth of God in unrighteousness’. We should pray for Nick Clegg that his eyes might be opened.

Justin Welby

The Archbishop couches his language as inoffensive as it’s possible to be all things to all men and save none. The Gospel to sinful man is offensive. It strikes at independence from God. I read his Blog post ‘A Christian Country?. I also followed the link and read one of his sermons picked entirely at random – though attracted by the word repent expecting to find some Gospel content. Truth of the matter is there is absolutely no Gospel content at all. I also read the section on ‘Evangelism‘ but the ‘Evangel’ was markedly absent. Should a reader happen on the Archbishop’s Blog they would stay in the same darkness about what the Gospel is afterwards as before. One would think Jesus never said “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24: 46-47). Everything just like his predecessor is not written in plain speech but in words of human wisdom thus emptying the Gospel of its power.

A Christian Country?

The answer is we have never been a Christian country and are not one now. I’ll be doing another post to flesh this out.

The Good News

What is the Gospel? In a nutshell, it’s this. I, we, you, all of us have fallen short of the standard God requires – a perfect keeping of His law. We all have sinful natures. We have all sinned and are under His righteous wrath and judgement. We need a Saviour. God has graciously provided a Saviour – Jesus Christ who is truly God & Man in one person. He alone bore our sins in His body on the Cross, rising from the dead the third according to the Scriptures. The forgiveness of our sins can only be found in Jesus Christ & no-one else. To reject Jesus is to reject God and is to reject all hope with only the expectation of a fully conscious eternity in hell. Call upon God for forgiveness, repent and believe the Gospel of the Grace of God.

 

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