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Christianity Outlawed in the UK?

How long will it be before Christianity is illegal in Britain? Not long, argues Melanie Phillips. The author of Londonistan writes in the Daily Mail (September 7, 2006) that Christianity is quickly heading to extinction. It is being hounded out of existence by the forces of Political Correctness, especially the radical homosexual lobby.

Consider this example: “An evangelical Christian campaigner, Stephen Green was arrested and charged last weekend with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. So what was this behaviour? Merely trying peacefully to hand out leaflets at a gay rally in Cardiff. So what was printed on those leaflets that was so threatening, abusive or insulting that it attracted the full force of the law? Why, none other than the majestic words of the 1611 King James Bible.”

The leaflet talked about the need to turn from sin and to God. Nothing too horrendous there. “But to the secular priests of the human rights culture, the only sin is to say that homosexuality is a sin. Admittedly, Mr Green is not everyone’s cup of tea; other Christians regard him as extreme. But our society is now so upside-down that, by doing nothing more than upholding a fundamental tenet of Christianity, he was treated like a criminal. And yet at the same time, the police are still studiously refusing to act against Islamic zealots abusing British freedom to preach hatred and incitement against the West.”

Radical minority groups are effectively shutting down the religious majority. “The Bible is the moral code that underpins our civilisation. Yet the logic of the police action against Mr Green surely leads ultimately to the inescapable conclusion that the Bible itself is ‘hate speech’ and must be banned. This bizarre state of affairs has arisen thanks to our human rights culture which automatically champions minorities against the majority.”

Phillips gives other examples. “Author Lynette Burrows received a warning from the Metropolitan Police merely for suggesting that gay people did not make ideal adoptive parents. The former leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, also had his collar felt by police after he said that homosexuality was harmful. Notably, in his case the matter was swiftly dropped. If there’s one thing that terrifies our PC police even more than being called homophobic, it’s being called Islamophobic - even though Islamic fundamentalism poses a real threat to the human rights of gay people. If this wasn’t all so frightening, it would be hilarious. Christians, by contrast, get very different treatment.”

Or consider these examples: “An elderly evangelical preacher, Harry Hammond, was convicted of a public order offence after he held up a poster calling for an end to homosexuality, lesbianism and immorality. Although he had been the victim of a physical attack when a crowd poured soil and water over him, he alone was prosecuted. And Lancashire pensioners Joe and Helen Roberts were interrogated by police for 80 minutes about their ‘homophobic’ views after they had merely asked their local council to display Christian literature alongside gay rights leaflets in civic buildings.”

The PC brigade and radical secularists have declared war on Christianity: “Christianity is fast becoming the creed that dare not speak its name. It is being written out of the national script by ideologues seeking to hasten its disappearance. . . . Local authorities and government bodies are systematically bullying Christianity out of existence by refusing to fund Christian voluntary groups on the grounds that to be Christian means that they are not committed to ‘diversity’.”

The strange thing is that “Christianity is still the official religion of this country. All its institutions, its history and its culture are suffused with it; Britain would lose its identity, its values and its cohesion without it. But minority rights are now being wielded against it like a wrecking ball. What started as a commendable desire to ban hatred of the gay minority has morphed into a hatred of the Christian majority. Behaviour which was previously considered to transgress the moral norms of the Bible has now instead become the norm - and it is biblical values that are treated as beyond the pale of acceptable behaviour. This is no accident.”

Concludes Phillips: “Christianity is being steadily removed from the public sphere. Various councils have banned Christmas on the grounds that it is ‘too Christian’ and therefore ‘offensive’ to people of other faiths, and are replacing it with meaningless ‘winter festivals’. This attack on Christianity is not merely something that seems straight out of Alice In Wonderland. It is not merely a threat to freedom of speech and religious expression. It is a fundamental onslaught on the national identity and bedrock values of this country - and as such will destroy those freedoms which Christianity itself first created.”

Exactly. And the situation is the same here in Australia. Christians are being stripped of their rights on a regular basis. The question, will the church wake up and do something about, or will it stay asleep at the wheel?

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2006/09/08/christianity-outlawed-in-the-uk/

Who loves Starbucks?

Well, after a successful year at The World of Coca-Cola, I have attained a job at Starbucks. Do you see a trend with my jobs yet? Coca-Cola (global drink company), Starkbucks (global drink company).

God really did provide me with this job. Thank you God!!! I start Monday, 8.27.07, and will be working part-time, while support raising part-time.

Thank you to all of those who were praying for this job!

"The Lord of Terrible Aspect" - C.S. Lewis

'When Christianity says that God loves man, it means that God loves man: not that He has some "disinterested," because really indifferent, concern for our welfare, but that, in awful and surprising truth, we are objects of His love. You asked for a loving God: you have one. The great spirit you so lightly invoked, the "lord of terrible aspect," is present; not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way, not the cold philanthropy of a conscientious magistrate, nor the care of a host who feels responsible for the comfort of his guests, but the consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds, persistant as the artist's love for his work and despotic a a man's love for a dog, jealous, inexorable, exacting as love between the sexes.'

The Problem of Pain
Chapter 3

Coming together...

Well, Chrissy and I finally met! What an awesome partner to be working with! I truly can not wait to start our ministry. Thanks for taking time to come meet me Chrissy!

It's long but interesting! Read it!

Becoming Renaissance People

by Dr Andrzej Turkanik

"The term ‘Christian renaissance’ may seem contradictory at first; it may even grate on the ears. This is not unintentional. The phrase, ‘toward a Christian renaissance in Europe’ has been chosen deliberately to challenge Christians in Europe to think long and hard about their role in society. To most people, the word ‘renaissance’ (meaning ‘rebirth’) refers to the Renaissancea specific period of history in which Europe experienced a cultural rebirth. So by talking about a ‘Christian renaissance’ are we proposing a rebirth of Christianity? Of course notbut we are talking about a reborn Christian presence within culture.

European culture is at a crossroads. Many of the old forcesmodernism, Christendom, and communismhave fallen; what will fill the void? A similar cultural crisis developed nearly 600 years ago, with the breakdown of the feudal system, severe financial crises within the Roman church, and the devaluation of the papacy. Fuelled by the decline of these dominant cultural forces, the Renaissance began in Italy in the first half of the 14th century, and spread to northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Centred on the world of ideas, its greatest influence was in the formation of worldviews. Renaissance was willing to ask bold questions, and was not afraid of experiments. Speculation, initiative, experiment, and exploration were rewarded. The old world order was beginning to make less sense; the accepted wisdom of the past was no longer satisfactory to the people of the day. A new understanding of reality encouraged new thoughts and ideas.

Initially the Renaissance was a movement within the arts, architecture, and literature. Realising the importance of history, scholars tried to reconcile the ideas (and ideals) of antiquity with the beliefs of Christianity. There was renewed interest in human life on earth and its significance. Artists began to represent human form with greater realism and accuracy, even when painting Christ. Literature, in a similar fashion, was enriched by the new possibilities. Poets showed a new fascination with human nature. These movements began to spread not only geographically across Europe, but also across disciplines. Space was created for people to venture to new territories.

But how does this apply to Schloss Mittersill today? And what would ‘Christian renaissance’ look like? Is it not better to speak of the ‘new Reformation’, especially since renaissance is often thought of as a humanistic movement away from God? The Reformation was a movement primarily identified with reforms within the Christian church. Our interest is wider; we long to see Christians authentically ‘living out’ faith in all walks of life and across all strata of society. We believe that as new forces surge into the cultural vacuum, Christians in all walks of life need to understand the bearing of the gospel on the decisions they make within their vocational and cultural contextsboth public and private.

It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to proclaim the gospel as public truth, not relegate it to our private lives. As God calls people to politics, the arts, and the marketplace; we want to encourage them to be salt and light. We want to assist them by praying for them, equipping them with biblical-theological insight, standing with them, and connecting them with others.

Today’s Christians in Europe are faced with an identity crisis. On the one hand, we areas the Bible clearly showsa minority band, following an alternate Lord, on the margins of society. On the other hand, Christianity has played a pivotal role in the formation of European culture. Lesslie Newbigin points out that before Christianity, Europe was simply a peninsula of Asiaa cul-de-sac into which Asiatic people had migrated for centuries. It was in Christianity that Europe first found shared identity and common culture.

We believe that Christians can and should have a unique voice in Europe. Christians should be ‘renaissance people’, willing to ask bold questions, and not afraid of living in a way that is counterintuitive to the world around themchallenging that world with the values of the Kingdom of God in all strata of society, and across vocational and cultural contexts in all parts of Europe.

Two things will help this process. First, Christians need to become connected in order to encourage, inform, and disciple each other. Christian artists need to network with Christian artists, and Christian bankers need to meet Christian bankers, butin the cross-disciplinary renaissance spiritvital connections also need to be made across vocations and cultures. Second, Christians need to be theologically and culturally equipped to discern the bearing of the gospel upon the decisions they have to make and the priorities they have to establish within their vocations and culural contexts. We believe that as people are connected and equipped in these ways, they will become part of an avant garde that is prepared and inspired to have a voice in the marketplace of ideas.

As we seek to be faithful in our generation, we must remember that we are not only to pursue societal change, or only to seek individual conversion. As we follow Christ together, we must live out an alternative culture that fuses the eternal goodness, beauty, and truth of the Kingdom of God with a clear understanding of our times
and its challenges."

This is the website that the article came from. It is instigating a Christian Renaissance in Europe!

http://www.schlossmittersill.org/

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life."
- A.W. Tozer -

It's Official...

The title says it all. It is official. I am not leaving for training until Spring 2008. But, I'm content. 100%. It took a lot of prayer, and God finally said to just wait. It will be good to go in the Spring because it will give me a chance to really raise support and say my goodbyes. Prayerfully I will have 100% of my support raised and pledged before February 2008. That way I will go to CIT and then go into the field by April or May.

A couple of other good things about not going until February is that I will be able to go to CIT with my teammates, Alex and Amanda (if they end up going then...). Also I will be able to get more involved at my new church home, Perimeter Church.

I was so stressed about raising support. I felt like God wasn't responding. But, the thing is, it was me who wasn't responding to Him. I was rushing Him, and He was just sitting there saying, "Just wait." I know that it is going to be a lot less stressful from here on out.

Please pray that I find a job close to home. I would rather not go back to The World of Coke (aka Church of Coke) because it is 30 miles from home and, well yea, it's 30 miles from home.

(Great picture huh? I typed in "Contentment" in google and this is what came up...)

Unpacking before packing...

Have you ever been running somewhere you really needed to go? (Yes, I am almost sure everyone has.) Now, have you ever been running somewhere, very important, and had a backpack on, or some sort of luggage? Airport... school? Well, if you have I am sure you have the thought of, "Gosh, if I could just drop this stuff, I could get to where I am headed a lot faster!"

This is what God was telling me last night. Except I am running to Him. I have all of this baggage that I am trying to run to Him with, but I just can't do it. I really heard God telling me, as I was praying about this, to just lay it down and run full speed toward Him. Sometime I feel like I need to carry this stuff with me. But, the truth is that Christ already took care of it. I don't need to deal with it, Jesus will pick it up for me.

He gave me scripture to think about.

Matthew 19:24 says, " Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Now, I have never interpreted this verse like this, but here it goes... Rich men are rich because they have a lot of money. Some people are rich because they have a lot of things in general. When Jesus says it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, I think He is implying to some of us that we have a lot of baggage. A lot of unneeded things.

For me, its this baggage thing. I can't enter the Kingdom of God, 100%, if I have all of these things. I just need to give them up to Him. God told me last night, as I was praying about leaving for England, that I need to unpack those bags before I start packing up or thinking about packing up for England.

Does this mean I'm not wise anymore?

I had my first surgical experience yesterday. Something that I have been putting off since I was a senior in high school. I am sure you know what I am talking about, but if you don't let me give you some hints... First off, I have 2 tea bags hanging from my mouth, also, I am on 300 mg of Codeine and 800 mg of Ibuprofen. Yep, you guessed it, my wonderful and much missed wisdom teeth have been pulled.

So far, it has been a great, euphoric process. I have made friends with many a flying pink elephants and I don't remember a thing. (If this isn't making any sense, I am blaming it on the meds.) It was at about 10:45 EST yesterday morning when the nurse came into the waiting room and called my name. I walked in the room with him and he sat me down on the very luxurious dentist chair. You know the ones with the clear plastic at the foot of the chair and the faded tan pleather? Oh yes.

Then he strapped this nose piece on me that had the faint smell of vanilla to it. He claimed it was just plain old oxygen, but to this second I disagree. About 5 minutes later, he started to ask me questions, and he was talking very slow. Little did I know that this oxygen had slowed down time, and I too, was talking slow. What a liar! He put me on nitrous! I didn't mind though, it was very relaxing. Kind of like being on the beach with a nice cold ice tea... Anyway, then came Dr. Booker. She was a wonderful lady. I asked her how she was (very slowly) and she replied in the same monotone slowed voice, "IIII'mmm, fffiiinnneee... thhhaaaannkk yyoouuu." I told her that I felt great, and that she looked great, and she laughed.

About 5 minutes after she walked in, she gave me my I.V. I closed my eyes, then opened them and I asked her again how she was, and she laughed again and said that we were done. What a great day. I don't even remember getting in the car, splling water all over myself, or getting home for that matter. But otherwise, I am in a great amount of pain! I do not recommend this process. At all!

Words from Chrissy!

"God's plan is not this end result His plan is happening right now. Right now your living the plan. England is just a small part of the plan. The plan is here! Live it."

Thanks Chrissy!

Leaving a Legacy!

So, I told you earlier that I volunteered for the Star94 American Idol auditions at the World of Coke on Friday. Well, it was a lot of fun, besides the fact that I cost the Coca-Cola company a lot of money...oops. Heres how it happened...

We were working for the event team that day, so everything was practically brand new to us. The first task they us (Scottie and me) was to put the Coca-Cola banners up. This required three things: the banner, a stake, and a rubber mallet. Two of those things no one should ever entrust me to handle. Anyway, we were told to stake the banners at the edge of the lawn on either side of the front entrance path. So, we went over there and started pounding in the first stake. Everything was going well, we put the first banner up and it was slanted. Therefore, we pulled the stake out and re-staked it. Then it was straight up, it looked great! I was so proud of myself! Then cam the second stake, I measured it precisely to line up perfectly with the other banner on the other side.

So, I started pounding in the stake. This one was a little harder to get in. Maybe it was a rock, or some cement. So I hit it even harder, and success! I got it in! Little did I know, there was a little "sizzling" sound coming from the stake. I kept hitting it in until the sizzling became audible. I asked Scottie what it was, he didn't know. I shrugged it off and gave it one more good hit to really get it in there. Then it came, the water from ground. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I pulled out the stake and there we had Coca-Cola's own Old Faithful. A geyser of water came shooting up, at least 2 or 3 feet into the air.

Apparently, they had buried the sprinkler pipes right where I wanted to put the banner. The maintenance people came over, laughed it off, and turned off the water. But, little did they know that Coca-Cola had hired some specialist plumber in California to bury and install the pipes. So, they had to call in this "plumbing specialist" to come in a fix what I did. Later that day, the same maintenance people said that I had staked the other banner 3 inches from the other tube!

What did I tell you, me + stakes + rubber mallets = BIG MISTAKES!!! (no pun intended)
The mess I made, after they covered it with sand!

To Soon...

Wow... after 3 1/2 years of being out of high school, one of my good friends got married. Is it really time for all of us to start settling down? It is so crazy to think that just 4 years ago, we were just 18 years old. And, now we are maturing, and starting to settle down with our loved ones.

My friend Lauren Alston, now Lauren Bridges, got married today... CONGRATS!!! if you are reading this! It was really great to see her, now a mature women of God, standing at the alter trading vows. I still feel like we should be 16 years old, roaming the halls of our high school, loitering at the Cold Stone parking lot, or at Katherine's house watching a movie. These past years have flown by, and we are all at a pinnacle point in our lives. Most of us are getting ready to graduate college and go into the "real" world, some are not...

My prayer is that we all would come back at a reunion and have one thing in common... that is we are all following our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ. I pray that God would show us the way to pleasing Him and trusting Him. I pray that we would drop everything we are finding acceptance in and Go with Him. He is the only way!

The Day has come

So, today was my last day at the World of Coca-Cola! After 332 days employed under the Coca-Cola Regime, I am a free man. Well, except for tomorrow... I volunteered to help out with the American Idol auditions, so I will be there for 4 hours tomorrow morning, but that will be fun!

Now I get to concentrate on God and support raising 100%! I really am excited to see how God will provide me when I focus on Him!