As those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ celebrate the notional anniversary of his being raised from the dead after suffering crucifixion, some understand the key messages of their faith, while others do not. Many Christians are deeply conservative people for whom the idea of welcoming strangers and helping those less fortunate than themselves are a deeply alien concept. Some of the latter have achieved ministerial office.
Still looking for those elusive benefits of Brexit, Jacob Rees Mogg, the member for times long past, was proclaiming “
Christ is risen, Alleluia. He is risen indeed, Alleluia, Alleluia” at the same time as the leader of his particular branch of Christianity was reminding his flock of their obligation to welcome migrants and refugees. Mogg has not sought to distance himself from the Tories’ move to transport refugees to Rwanda.
But a more virulent strain of Christian intolerance was on view among those who contribute to Gammon Broadcasting™ News (“
Bacon’s News Channel”), where Calvin Robinson was blubbering “
I am not being ordained in the Church of England this Petertide. It seems that having conservative views and orthodox Christian beliefs is a big no-no. Go woke, get promoted; go Scriptural, get booted. We need to return the Church to God”.
Well, given that being alert to injustices in society (the actual definition of “
Woke”) is what Christianity is supposed to be about, he should have no complaints. But that hasn’t fazed the GB News massive,
who have told that he “
is currently in theological college training to eventually become a priest … But Calvin says the Church has blocked his progression and cancelled his ordination because of his political stance, adding that figures in the COE ‘sneer’ at GB News and its audience”. No names, no citation, and nor will there be.
So what’s his problem? “
I’m an Orthodox Anglican and the Church of England has become very woke on issues in human sexuality, holy matrimony and transgenderism … I prefer to stick to Scripture on these issues … They’ve tried to silence me and asked me to come off Twitter and GB News”. Maybe they saw
his pushing of Covid-19 misinformation.
No matter, though, a sympathetic ear was close by: mercenary hack Isabel Oakeshott, soon to jump ship to Murdoch’s TalkTV, chipped in “
Wow. The [Church of England] seems to have completely lost it under woke [Justin Welby]”. Yes, being alert to injustices in society means that any branch of Christianity doing that has lost it completely!
Thus the disconnect between Christian teaching and those who claim to be following it. Rees Mogg attends Latin Mass, enjoys the ceremonial part of his faith, while managing not to be too concerned that
more than a quarter of his fellow citizens are having to either cut back on heating their homes, or are not heating those homes at all.
Calvin Robinson whinnies about the rotten “
they” in the C of E, while having no problem appearing on a broadcast channel where intolerance, bigotry and misinformation is a significant part of the daily diet. And Isabel Oakeshott either doesn’t know the meaning of the words she uses - worrying for someone who’s been in and around journalism for so long - or has lost sight of the teachings of Christ. Or maybe a bit of both.
If the Second Coming happened, many of those who claim to follow Jesus would get one heck of a shock when they realised what He was actually about.
Have a peaceful Easter.
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15 comments:
Seems coordinated and involves all the usual suspects including Andrew "never knowingly right about anything" Lilico and Tim Montgomerie. See the latter's spectacularly non-Christian rant here:
https://twitter.com/montie/status/1515604145759305733
Apparently Justin Welby is against the Gov's Rwanda policy solely because he is a Woke, pro-abortion, remoaner
It's not as if we needed any further proof that the Hon. Member for Salem Witchtrial is a suitable case for treatment, but really?
I hope the sermon was on Matthew 24:43 'I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me
They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’’
Anybody who believes a dead carpenter was resurrected deserves the kind of dying society they get.
All organised religion is superstitious manipulated bullshit, not just christianity. The Bible is an appalling litany of insane slogans and myths copied and diluted from previous superstitions. All "holy books" and staged rituals are similar crackpot distortions framed by men and women in medieval dress with mentalities to match - all claiming the lunacy of their "exceptionality". Everything wrong with Homo sapiens.
Human beings have promising possibilities. Crazy religions are an evil obstruction to progress. To Hell With Them, pun intended.
To paraphrase something made famous in 2015:
"You ain't no Christian, Bruv"
To quote Half Man Half Biscuit:
"If Jesus came to Earth today
They'd crucify him straight away
Upon a cross of MDF
And they'd use No Need For Nails."
Michael Moorcock (amongst others) has pointed out that if Jesus returned today in Middle England, he would immediately be arrested by the bizzies for 'public order offences', brought before a church-attending magistrate and consigned to a secure psychiatric institution. And Steve Reed and Mere Stumer would probably cheer the beak on.
All religions produce hypocrisy in their followers, especially when wedded to an apparatus of state power; what the self-identifying 'Christians' are doing here is merely the standard modus operandi for those (like the novelty pencil case Rees-Mogg) who love the outward form of their 'faith' but bridle at the suggestion that they must follow the substance of it in toto rather than just pick out the bits they themselves like.
Jacob Rees Mogg as a christian is already eye turning, causing your mouth to grimace stuff but Isabel Oakensnob and that bloke from GMB being Christian? Now there is lip biting stuff and wanting to invoke head ache stuff !
Three grade A shitsters hiding behind the grubby veil of Christianity. We can add IBS and MAN DIDDICOMBE to that list as well as quite a few more. An hour a week at the pew won’t get you into heaven when your crimes against humanity are finally totted up you evil self sanctimonious cruel robbing bastards.
Jimmy Savile apparently died with his fingers crossed- a sign that he really believed that the raising money for charity would balance out the 400 sex crimes against vulnerable children and sick people in hospital over 60 or more years, and see those pearly gates opened. We must also remember that despite amazing individuals in the 18th C such as Benjamin Franklin America, in the early 17th century was founded initally by a cult of puritan extremists, too extreme even for the not so merrie England ofJames 1, and who brought fear, disease, greed , violence and prejudice in their wake.
Most clear eyed people can see Mogg for the oh so polite evil nutter he is. As to Oketwat, she has self fashioned herself, mutated to fit whatever platform will give her a fee. She knows what is expected. Hell is the place that in my imagination I enjoy placing such self righteous evil beings as Putin, Patel, Johnson, Sunak, Mogg, Farage Widdicombe,Trump, Netenyahu, Assad, and on and on ad infinitum. But it does not exist. However, it is the palce history if it remembers them at all, will remember them.
If Christ or an equivalent figure were alive today, the likes of Calvin Robinson (whose physical appearance would make him persona non grata to most of those at GBN if it were not for his ultra-right views) would call him 'woke' and a 'lefty' despite abiding by the rules of the Bible he claims to follow.
It's just like those who proclaim to be 'pro-life' but fail to take an interest in the welfare and upbringing of a child once he or she leaves their mum's womb. And indeed have no care for the mother herself and would seek to prosecute her to the point of putting her to death!
Allow me to help those hapless dupes in a never-ending search for Jesus.
There is a Jesus who plays for Manchester City. But he's a bit shit at football, and it's written on his always-sad face.
However, keep trying, "faith" people. One day The Big J In The Sky might actually manifest....even though two thousand years of mass murder wars, genocides, indoctrination, ritual dances, hallelulias, slogan repeats, architectural monuments, artistic propaganda and self-righteousness have failed to produce said "miracle".
Did "well" with organised paedophilia and wealth-theft, though.
@iMatt: spot-on. I have always maintained that the soi-disant “pro-life” arsewipes should be known as “pro-birth”, coz the moment the umbilical cord is cut they lose all interest until the child is old enough to join the army/be sentenced to death. There was one woman who when confronted by pro-birth demonstrators outside a clinic claimed to have been convinced by the arguments and demanded the leader's name so she could put him down as her preferred adoptive parent.
“Nooooo! Nononononononono! Idon’t want a child!”
I think the are's (a little bit) more to this than meets the eye. The reports are written by people who clearly aren't familiar with the internal machinery of the C of E.
What I KNOW about Calvin Robinson:
(1) He has been training for ordination at St Stephen's House, Oxford. This is a theologically quite conservative seminary at the Anglo-Catholic end of the spectrum, where the piss was probably taken over his protty name. ;-) It would NOT be biased against a student because he was a Tory. At the same time, it would not throw the first (or any subsequent) stone at gay people, having had something of a reputation of being welcoming to gay ordinands. Mr Robinson has effectively completed the entire course there.
(2) The bishop sponsoring Calvin Robinson was the Rt Revd Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham. He is of the same type of churchmanship as the college.
What I SURMISE about Calvin Robinson:
The "church in Holborn" where he was to serve his title may be St Alban's, again with fairly conservative Anglo-Catholic tradition.
If these two known, and one surmised, actors have got cold feet about ordaining Mr Robinson only two months before ordinations are to take place, they must have very serious reasons indeed.
William Rees Mogg's book on profiteering is perhaps even more Christian than the Bible.
Remember the parable of Jesus selling off the bread before it lost its value, thus securing Jesus a tidy profit.
When the poor asked Jesus for food, he said he had moved it to a food haven to increase his wealth at their expense, as any good Christian would.
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