Islam and Christianity in Australia

What is true of Australia is also true in the UK and the US. The Media generally hate Christianity. The video is an interview with Dr. Mark Durie and Anglican pastor and theologian. He's one of the good guys. You can find out more about him here and here. There may be issues with the latter 

I cannot post the video, but you can follow the link to see it here. 


Dr Mark Durie is a theologian, human rights activist, Anglican pastor, a Shillman-Ginsburg Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and Adjunct Research Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology. He has published many articles and books on the language and culture of the Acehnese, Christian-Muslim relations and religious freedom. A graduate of the Australian National University and the Australian College of Theology, he has held visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, MIT, UCLA and Stanford, and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1992.

Essentially, he knows what he is talking about! 

Jews, Christians , Muslims and others - unite! Well, sort of... the devil

According to Archbishop Cranmer:

"It is announced from Lambeth Palace that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was joined by Pope Francis and other Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders in a joint declaration to bring an end to the curse of modern slavery. The ground-breaking Global Freedom Network, which was launched with the support of the Archbishop and Pope in March 2014, brought together global faith leaders in a commitment to eradicate modern slavery by 2020 – throughout the world and for all time. It is estimated that over 36 million people around the globe (and at least 13,000 in the UK) live under the yoke of slavery, most commonly coerced prostitution or forced labour."

"The Joint Declaration emphasises that modern slavery – in terms of human trafficking, forced labour and prostitution, organ trafficking, and any relationship that fails to respect the fundamental conviction that all people are equal and have the same freedom and dignity – is a crime against humanity, and must be recognised as such by everyone and by all nations."

All the following were signatories to the Declaration:

Pope Francis (pp Roman Catholicism)
Her Holiness Mata Amritanandamayi (pp Hinduism)
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) (pp Buddhism, represented by Venerable Bhikkhuni Thich Nu Chan Khong)
The Most Ven. Datuk K Sri Dhammaratana, Chief High Priest of Malaysia (pp Buddhism)
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Skorka (pp Judaism)
Chief Rabbi David Rosen, KSG, CBE (pp Judaism)
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (pp Orthodoxy, represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France)
Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (pp Sunni Islam, represented by Dr. Abbas Abdalla Abbas Soliman, Undersecretary of State of Al Azhar Alsharif)
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi (pp Shi’a Islam)
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Basheer Hussain al Najafi (pp Twelver Shi’a Islam, represented by Sheikh Naziyah Razzaq Jaafar, Special advisor of Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Omar Abboud (pp Shi’a Islam)
Most Revd and Right Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury (pp Anglicanism)

'All this is good, very good', to quote Cranmer. Quoting older sources, "The Devil is in the detail".

So what is the detail here?

Apparently, there was a caveat, "of sorts".

Take a look at the declaration:

We, the undersigned, are gathered here today for a historic initiative to inspire spiritual and practical action by all global faiths and people of good will everywhere to eradicate modern slavery across the world by 2020 and for all time.

In the eyes of God*, each human being is a free person, whether girl, boy, woman or man, and is destined to exist for the good of all in equality and fraternity. Modern slavery, in terms of human trafficking, forced labour and prostitution, organ trafficking, and any relationship that fails to respect the fundamental conviction that all people are equal and have the same freedom and dignity, is a crime against humanity.

We pledge ourselves here today to do all in our power, within our faith communities and beyond, to work together for the freedom of all those who are enslaved and trafficked so that their future may be restored. Today we have the opportunity, awareness, wisdom, innovation and technology to achieve this human and moral imperative.

*The Grand Imam of Al Azhar uses the word “religions”.

Note the little asterisk - my highlighting.

This is his, 'Get out of Jail Free' card. You can read the "Archbishop's" justified fulminations and conclusions here.

So no real unity then?

What is also interesting is another detail, and according to an even older quote, "Le bon Dieu est dans le détail" (the good God is in the detail). Certainly, any Bible expositor, Jewish or Christian, knows the truth of this. The quote is attributed to someone who was unlikely to have experienced the moment of realisation or revelation that comes from a new insight into scripture.

This detail is also in the above declaration.

In the eyes of God, each human being is a free person, whether girl, boy, woman or man, and is destined to exist for the good of all in equality and fraternity.

This seems to me to be a reasonable summary of Judeo-Christian teaching. I doubt that you would find it anywhere else. 

It would seem that we have persuaded most of them to accept a Biblical perspective. This is what it means to be a light to the nations. They will accept your teaching but not accept you or your God.

 

Where your charity money goes... you won't like it!

While Christians are massacred in Baghdad and are being driven out of the Middle East, others who call themselves Christian see fit to demonize Israel and fund terrorism. They do this with your money. Find out the charities to avoid. 

I make no apologies for all the links. This is part of my contribution towards raising awareness of what is really happening.

The massacre in Baghdad as reported by the BBC here and Google for more information.

The excellent Danny Ayalon on the decline of Christians in 'Palestine' and a potted history of the name of Palestine, see below.

Blogger Edgar Davidson has a jaw-dropping report on the Charity 'War on Want', see here . Read it all, especially if you are British.

Robin Shepherd of 'thecommentator' has an article in his online journal about the same subject. He names a range of charities and their funding sources. Perhaps non-European readers should look at their charities more closely.

There is also an excellent article by Steve Apfel on 'Borrowing Jesus' - like this: -

It makes an interesting contrast to what Danny Ayalon has to say. I know whom I believe.

According to Daphne Anson, this temporary wall in London cost several thousand pounds.

You can read more about this expensive obscenity in another excellent piece by Robin Shepherd. He gives links to a video publicising the stunt and to a letter protesting it.

 I wonder how much good could have been achieved if the money spent on this stunt had gone elsewhere?

Hadas Fogel, three months old, was killed by terrorists on March 11, 2011. The terrorists confessed that they left the Fogel home after murdering Hadas’ parents and two sleeping brothers but returned to murder Hadas when they heard her start crying.

I finish with a quote from Robin Shepherd.

To abuse that most admirable of Christian traditions, and turn Christmas into a message of hate, is not just anti-Semitic; it is the grossest of insults to Christians as well.

Fear, Guilt and Shame: which one drives you?

Whilst catching up with some online reading I came across a link to the following article: Marching for Allah: How should we respond to the Muslim protests?

It has some excellent insights into the difficulty of dialogue with Islam and the very different ways in which cultures think. It is well worth reading for anyone who has to deal with Muslims.

The West tends to be guilt based, until recently. We need to be right. The East is generally shame based, hence the need for honour and to be seen to win. Some tribal groups are fear based and hence their hostility as threats must be eliminated.

Having said that, I know plenty of people who are eaten up with all three. I believe that Love casts out fear, Hope answers guilt and Trust (Faith) replaces shame. 

Jesus is the answer to all of this.