More thoughts on gendercide

The disability lobby must now know the rules of the game - a disabled life is worthless, but aborting girls because they are girls is verboeten.

If you have two chromosomes the same you are protected, if you have an extra chromosome, you've had it.

No barbaric cultural practice is too repugnant to be accomodated under the counter. If funeral directors could find a way of accomodating suttee, it would happen.

We have abortion on demand in the UK if you have enough money. We already knew that, but I guess it matters to have it in black and white.

When even the hippies get it..

I sometimes attend a parish nearby, in case of absolute necessity of fulfilling my Sunday obligation. It's the usual North American stuff on a Sunday evening: Haugen and Haas, lyrics projected on the wall, guitars and warbling girls, polyester and hessian. You get the picture. The priest is folksy and kind enough, I am sure. I nearly fell off my pew ast week when he said:

"In my mother's day, the fast was from the night before and it gave one a sense that this was a serious business receiving Holy Communion. We've lost something big in losing that. And I must confess that the new translation of the Missal "Lord I am not worthy that Thou should enter under my roof" is good - a reclaiming of the biblical allusion and a realisation in a very concrete way that we really are not worthy..."

Something is happening. The changes are hitting home. Sometimes where one would least expect it...

Gendercide

Listen carefully. No, seriously, listen. Can you hear it? It's quite faint and in the distance. It's the sound of feminist heads exploding. It might be quite loud in areas like North London and Brighton. I'm near enough to Kitsilano, but I guess the news hasn't spread there yet.

Why? Well, it seems abortion clinics are killing off baby girls. Well, whoda thunk it?

Mr Unintended, meet Mr Consequences.

I dread to think what Polly Toynbee looks like today. You see there are two themes dear to the heart of the 'progressive' mindset in conflict here. While carefully concealed by the coverage thus far, this is not an indigenous European phenomenon, but something imported from elsewhere, so it might seem racist to criticise it. And feminists are, with a few noble exceptions, pro-abortion. So when abortion is used to cull baby girls, I can only imagine the cognitive dissonance that must be troubling the pro-abortion lobby and their fellow-travellers. And they are in a bind. Which is worse? To criticise abortion or to criticise the cultural practices they have bent over backwards to import in an attempt to undermine the culture of Europe they so despise?

I hope, no, I ardently pray, that this is a turning point. That if it suddenly becomes abhorrent to abort baby girls, that eyes can turn and the light be shone on the abhorrent practice of ripping any baby from its mother's womb.

As for the doctors involved -they've had it. Even if the cops don't, the GMC will throw the book at them and I will post the judgements on this blog.

If it makes any other doctor think twice - and believe me, it will - then a life is saved.

Well done The Daily Telegraph. Good British investigative journalism is not dead.

You didn't think I was going to let it pass without comment, did you?

Sorry about the bad language.

Rev Gerard Weston MBE

Douglas Murray points out an anniversary that won't be commemorated anywhere prominent:

What is less likely to be commemorated is what happened a few weeks later. For forty years ago today, on 22 February 1972, the IRA got in their first full-scale retaliation to Bloody Sunday. Their target was the Parachute Regiment’s headquarters at Aldershot.

At that time the barracks were publicly accessible and the Official branch of the IRA drove in a car-bomb and left it outside the officers’ mess. It detonated around lunchtime. The mess building was flattened, but the regiment were away.

Seven people were killed in the blast. Of them the only person killed who was in the Parachute regiment was thirty-eight year old Gerry Weston – the regiment’s Catholic chaplain. Only a week before the blast Father Weston had been awarded the MBE for his work in Northern Ireland. That work – which had often put him in dangerous situations – had aimed to bring together the different communities in Ballymurphy.

The other dead were a cleaner at the barracks, and mother of an eight-year-old son, Jill Mansfield (34). The tattoo on her arm was the only means of identifying her body. Also killed were John Haslar (58) a gardener, who died from a fractured skull, Thelma Bosley (44), Margaret Grant (32), Cherie Munton (20) and Joan Lunn (39) all working at the barracks as cleaners. All left behind family. Several left children.

The Catholic Herald archive has some detail on Fr Weston:

Lieut. Col. Geoffrey Howlett, Fr. Weston's Commander. in Belfast, said: "Gerry did good work in Ballymurphy trying to bring the Church, the community and the soldiers together. He often went into certain areas at great danger to himself. His life was threatened more than once as it was thought he was a spy in priest's clothing.
[....]

Fr. Weston became an Army chaplain in 1967 and served with the Forces in Germany, Aden and the Persian Gulf. He volunteered for work in Belfast after a visit there last year and spent four months in the city.

He is believed to have been just beside a blue Cortina parked outside the officers' mess at Aldershot, when it exploded. Five civilian woman staff were also killed in the explosion.

His last words to his parish priest at Great Crosby, Canon Francis Danher, on Sunday, speaking about his planned return to Northern Ireland, were: "I am only doing God's will."

Capt.(Fr) Weston was the only non-civilian death resulting from the explosion.

May he, and all those murdered that day, rest in peace.

Ash Wednesday: Tiny Opportunities

I was struck by one of the intercessions at Lauds this morning (in the version on the Universalis website):

Although we long to perform grand and magnificent acts of love, may we still take all the tiny opportunities for love that each day brings.

I hope I can live up to this during this Lent.

Pray for me, a poor sinner.

I will pray for you each day this Lent.

The Book of Benedict, Chapter 2

CHAPTER THE SECOND

Wherein the good work of Benedict falls on stony ground

1 Benedict being a wise pastor of his sheep saw that the ways of worship had gone awry and that the People of God needed to be brought back to the way their fathers had prayed.

2 And the Lord was with him and he wrote a letter to all the tabernacles and the High Priests of the People of God saying that they should be free to worship as their fathers had prayed

3 And many were greatly pleased by this as they had hidden away and the priests had been afraid to pray as their fathers had prayed before them even though this was wholesome in the sight of the Lord

4 (Though some who were the Hipp-ies who were arrayed in polyester or even only in the Magic Stole who favoured the cymbals and the tambourines and the dancing of the daughters of Eve ground their teeth at this)

5 And the writers of the Scroll of the Tablet that is the Pillule raged like a lion against Benedict

6 And the letter went to the Dear Green Place which is called Glas-gow or Gles-ca in the tongue of that place

7 And the High Priest there was called Marius and he read not the scroll of Benedict

8 And the People of God said to him "Wilt thou allow us to pray as our fathers have prayed, as Benedict has promised us?

9 And Marius said "If I find 10 righteous men who ask this in each House of God, I will not allow it"

9 The People said, “Now that we have been so bold as to speak to the Lord Bishop, what if only twenty can be found there?”

10 He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not allow it.”

11 So they said "What if there are forty?"

12 Marius said "Naw, yer no gettin' it"

13 Again they said "We know we are bold who are not trained liturgists, but what if there are fifty who ask for it?

14 And Marius said "For the sake of the fifty, there will be no Form that is Extraordinary."

15 "May Your Grace not be angry" they said "but what is there are seventy five who ask?"

14 And Marius said "For the sake of the seventy five I still will not grant it"

15 "We are getting a bit desperate here, Your Grace, but what if there are a hundred?"

16 "If there are one hundred then, still, nae chance, ye will have to go across to the Town of the Bridge which is Bridgeton, and thou shalt be grateful even for that"

17 And the People of God shook their heads and went home to their Parishes where there were still the Eagles' Wings and the prayers of bidding that cried to the Lord for vengeance.

Hearts and Minds

Tonia of the great blog Attracted to the Light, questions whether in my rather irascible couple of posts I've been out to win atheist/secularist hearts and minds.

Well, I have been gently reminded before by Fr Paul Francis that honey is more attractive than vinegar and this is true.

This blog is merely a log of my thoughts of the moment. Sometimes it is a chance to vent frustration at the world or rather The World. Now, prudence may dictate that at times I restrain myself. Certainly this is the case on public blogs - I sometimes have a dig at the Telegraph Blogs. I am pondering whether I should give up that activity (on Telegraph Blogs etc) as a particularly destructive waste of time and an occasion for sin (pride, lack of charity and the like).

I gave up blogging for a year when I felt I had given offence, but came back deterimined to be more robust - not rude or cruel or gratuituosly offensive, but merely to state the truth as I saw it. My positions are clear: I stand full-square behind the Magisterium and will defend the orthodox interpretation of the Catholic Faith as it has been expressed thrugh the ages. If that hurts the feelings of anyone, then I'm sorry but, well, grow a spine. These views are expressed in love not hate.

The language of 'hate' has been co-opted by a strand of 'progressive' thought in the public square. According to this any statement critical of a designated group is branded 'hate-speech' or '[Insert ludicrous prefix]phobia'. It's classic Frankfurt School stuff at its highest, at its lowest it is merely name calling to snuff out and degrade the opposition. To be tagged a bigot is to marked as one unworthy of further consideration in polite company.

In such a scenario, I'm not sure I can win hearts and minds. It may be that all I can do is pray for them. 40-odd years of 'Opening The Windows" would appear to have merely encouraged burglars to come in. It might be time to get out the metaphorical M1 Garand. I suspect they respect us the more for it. Certainly, secularists fight shy of Islamists and seemed to quake at the late Cardinal Winning when he got medieval on their ass, so to speak.

When they step on my rights as a free-born Englishman I will react as Clint did below, with manly defiance. If it comes to bearing witness as our recusant forefathers did, I hope I do not have to, but if I do, I pray I have the strength to do it.

A Message To Secularists #1

True Secularism: a Manifesto

I’m fed up of the League of Godless Atheists and their picking away at the fabric of the country and culture like an agitated dement carphologising at a fraying sofa. The latest has been a successful bid to stop prayers before council meetings in that hotbed of religious fundamentalsm, Bideford, Devon.

I think they neeed to come clean and I think they need to put down what they want. But no half measures. If, as is their stated demand, they want religion to be an entirely private business and there to be no religion in the public square then I suggest the following as a manifesto:

[1] No public prayers or religious services as part of public life. This includes the end of the Remembrance Service each year – 'remembrance' is a private act and everyone should be allowed to do it in their own way. The State has no role conducting or organising ‘spiritual’ acts in any way;

[2] All schools to pass to secular control. No religion to be taught in schools, but also all mention of religion, including any anti-religious texts to be removed. No spiritual or moral guidance about behaviour to be given at all. These are private matters and not a matter for the State;

[3] As a matter of justice, of course, the communities that paid the capital costs for schools should be recompensed for the nationalisation of schools.;

[4] The removal of all art, painting, sculpture, books or films with any mention of religion- either pro- or anti- to be removed from public libraries and galleries (this will include Bibles, Korans, Works of Philosophy with religious , anti-religious or metaphysical themes, religious works of art and anti-religious works of art). No public funding for any art , theatre or film with a religious, or for that matter anti-religious subject. No broadcasting of anything on State media of anything with religious or anti-religious messages (including Prof Dawkins, but also including A Service of Nine Lesson and Carols). This is not the business of the State.

[5] All marriages to be secular and conducted in municipal property without any ceremony at all, merely the exchange of promises under affirmation. No restriction on marriage to anyone or anything - men may marry women, men or anything in between; adults may marry animals, children or inanimate objects. It is not the job of the State to dictate such a private matter. Any religious services may be added on in the privacy of whatever religious venue (see below for religious venues);

[6] All buildings in public view to be secularised. All churches, temples, synagogues and mosques with religious appearance to be altered to look entirely secular or demolished (planning law to be altered to facilitate this). All chapels attached to secular buildings (universities etc) to be entirely converted to secular use with the removal of all symbols or religion (stained glass, statues etc) . No exceptions on sentimental grounds - if religious people want to take the religious symbols away to use them, fine. The banning of the ringing of bells except for public clocks. No sentimentality about Cathedrals - St Pauls, York Minster, Ely: they were built with an explicit religious purpose and their form is entirely religious, they are in the public square, the must come down. Any protest on 'artistic' grounds is sentimentality, unworthy of a true secularist.

[7] All dress to be secularised. No wearing of clerical collars or soutanes in public or vestments in procession. Ban also for hijabs, niqabs, kippahs and turbans in public. The wearing of any sort of religious clothing is a form of public witness and visual prosetylisation. Likewise the wearing of any political, philosophical or religious badge or imagery (eg kirpans, CND badges or any philosophical or political message) . Personal ideas - political, philosphical or religious either pro- or anti- have no place in the public square. No fancy-dress with any allusion to religion (tarts and vicars etc.)

[8] No performance of any music (oratorios, masses, chorales etc) in public facilities – schools, colleges, publicly funded concert halls - with a religious theme (including but not restricted to relevant works by Handel, Monteverdi, Tallis, Bach, Beethoven, Purcell). No performance of plays or other dramatic works with religious theme (including works by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Chaucer etc) in public facilities –schools, colleges etc.

[9] No public preaching or canvassing in any public place – these are entirely private matters to be discussed away from the public space. If you want a meeting – hire a hall with your own money.

[10] No public religious or anti-religious processions, walks or demonstrations. But likewise a ban on all Pride Marches, trades union rallies, political demonstrations, or parades of any description - including public acts of Remembrance. No Christmas parades with elves or Santas - these are mythical, quasi-religious figures with no place in the public square Any religious or philosophical discussion is a private matter to be conducted away from the public space. A road is for walking down, not for making a religious, political or philosophical points. No public display of Christmas or any other seasonal decorations visible to the public. including shop windows and private homes visible to the public highway. These are private matters, not for the public space.

[11] The banning of all holidays, religious or secular (Christmas, Easter, May Bank Holiday, August Bank Holiday, all other bank holidays). Since the taking of holidays is an entirely personal matter, there is no need for the state to dictate to individual businesses when they should give time off to workers. Likewise weekends. Public buildings, offices etc to be open 7 days a week for efficient public service. It is not for the State to define which days of the week people should, as a rule, take off. Having Sunday and by extension Saturday as non-working days unfairly privileges Judaeo-Christianity.

[12] The changing of all placenames and institutions with any religious significance (eg Christchurch, Bury St Edmonds, Charing Cross, Magdalen College etc). The removal of all religious symbols from the apparatus of the State, including the Crown, the Crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick, the flag of Northern Ireland and the Union Flag (likewise the corresponding emblems of the armed forces)

I have absolutely no doubt that there are secularists, whose mad ravings you see in the comments of blogs etc who would want this. All of it.

I make the point because, if you look at all the above you see how much religion is part of life in our country, for good or ill (and I accept sometimes for ill)

But let’s put it to a vote. No half measures. No pick-and choose. No ‘cafeteria secularism’. Full, red-blooded, Dawkins-in-tooth and claw, Terry Sanderson secularism or nothing. No sentimentality about the language of the KJV and Milton. If you want religion out of the public square, then it goes, as do all anti-religious messages, too. Sauce for the goose and all that, a level playing field.

And if you lose – no, not if, you will lose – please go away.

The Book of Benedict, Chapter 1

CHAPTER THE FIRST

1. In those days , the High Priest John-Paul, grew old in years and dim of eye and weak of limb and was gathered unto his fathers and was buried with the other great High Priests under the Great Dome.

2. And some called him Great. Though others sayeth the jury is out.

3. And when he was laid in the earth, the words were spoken by Joseph, who was wise and had served in the House of the LORD as a faithful servant of John-Paul

4. And there gathered there the High Priests who were dressed in their scarlet, to cast lots to choose a new High Priest

5. And all the nations of the earth gathered outside the Tent of Meeting to see the smoke, which was of black or of white to signal the beginning of the Office of the Great High Priest

6. And there were many who spake day and night giving their thoughts and meditations on who the lot might fall to

7. There were scribes of the daily scrolls who wrote and heralds of the air who spake amongst themselves saying “Who shall it be?”.

8. And they spake unto the Bee-Bee-Cee and the Cee-En-En and even to the heralds of the Fox, that is of Rupert the Australian.

9. And many of them were foolish men who said unto themselves and to each other and all who would listen “Give us a High Priest who is like unto us! Who will not gainsay those who would lie with a man as with a woman.”

10. And others said “Give us one who will permit us our dancing at the altar, like as though we were at the Dis-Co and the music with the strumming of the guitars of the acoustic and the electric type. For we do not want to pray as our fathers prayed, for they are dead.”

11. And others who said “Give us one who will not be so harsh with adulterers and fornicators – for we have had too much of judgements and we are a bit fed up with it.”

12. “And give us women at the altar. For we do not know what to say to them that come to our tables and eat of the shavings of the Parmesan with the bitter herbs and the vinegar that is balsamic and talk of the Lady Vicars. For the Spirit of the Council is upon us and we are drunk with it.”

13. “And speak not too much of the LORD. For it is embarrassing to them that have not the LORD and are of the Dawkinsites, sons and daughters of the Counter-of-Chickens. And we are discomforted talking of it at our tables of granite and scrubbed pine.”

14. And in their midst was Robert who is known as Bobbie, of the tribe of Mickens. And he lifted up his voice to the scribes and the heralds of the Bee-Bee-Cee

15. And he said unto them “Verily I say unto ye, it shall be Carlo of the tribe of Martini, for he is a man filled with Spirit of the Council.’

16. “And he will not do too much speech about the LORD. And he will care not where falls our seed. And he will see the daughters of Eve come unto the altars of the LORD, yea and dance there.”

17. “Or the lot may fall to Godfried of the tribe of Daneels of the Lands that are Low. For he has given us the bread of sacrifice even into our hands and not placed it on our tongues as in the days of our Fathers, who were wrong.”

18. “But let it not be Joseph the Bavarian. For he is too harsh and weighs us down with his words. For he sayeth all the time ‘THIS is the Word of the LORD’. And we know it is, but it appealeth not to our friends that are in Is-Ling-Ton.”

19. For Bobbie, who was Robert of the tribe of the Mickens was filled with the Spirit of the Council and he was a fool, for the Spirit of the Council is not the Spirit of the LORD.

20. And the lots fell and the LORD chose Joseph the Bavarian but whose name was thereafter to be Ben-e-dict, for he was Blessed of the LORD, with Wisdom and Good Counsel.

21. And when he heard the great bells and saw the smoke and heard the name “Joseph” Bobbie cried bitter tears and he raged and gnashed his teeth to the Bee-Bee-Cee and to the scroll that is of The Guardian and in the scroll of the Tablet that is the Pilule and to all who would listen:

22. “Hear me. For I have read the scrolls of Leornardo who is called Boff and Hans who is of the tribe of Kung and Anthony who is also called de Mello, who were filled with the Spirit of the Council and I know wisdom which is unknown to this Joseph.”

23. But the people laughed: “Who is this jackass who brays when he does not get his way and who cries in the street like a babe because of the falling of the lots. Away with you, for you are a fool!”

24. And the LORD was with Joseph who is also hereafter Ben-e-dict and he grew in wisdom, and favoured not the scroll of the Tablet which is also called the Pilule

25. And there was weeping at the tables of scrubbed pine of Is-Ling-Ton where they drank of the Merlot of the Chileans for they were sad of heart

26. And they would not be comforted, even with the bread of Ciabatta for even this was now bitter to them.

Comment of the Week

I am very impressed by Edward Feser. His skewering of New Atheists from a Thomist/Natural Law perspective is a wonder to behold. His 7th installment of a review of Alex Rosenberg’s The Atheist’s Guide to Reality is chilling in its exposure of the moral vacuum that is the logical consequence of the New Atheism. Rosenburg spills the beans about New Atheist morals himself:

There is really one bit of bad news that remains to trouble scientism. We have to acknowledge (to ourselves, at least) that many questions we want the “right” answers to just don’t have any. These are questions about the morality of stem-cell research or abortion or affirmative action or gay marriage or our obligations to future generations. Many enlightened people, including many scientists, think that reasonable people can eventually find the right answers to such questions. Alas, it will turn out that all anyone can really find are the answers that they like. The same goes for those who disagree with them. Real moral disputes can be ended in lots of ways: by voting, by decree, by fatigue of the disputants, by the force of example that changes social mores. But they can never really be resolved by finding the correct answers. There are none.

Just sit back and take that in. The logical consequence of atheism is that there are no moral guides about anything. The strong may dominate, enslave, abuse, crush and ultimately kill without a minute’s thought, because there is no consistent morality in such a system. Whatever the Great Chicken-Counter may say, the abandonment of morality in favour of ‘scientific’ atheism leads to the killings fields, the death camps and the gulags as night follows day. You have it from the mouth of one of the chief philosophical exponents of atheism above.

Feser, however, can’t help but throw his readers a characteristic North Americanism to smile at (ephasis mine):

What non-question-begging reason can be given for supposing that observation, experiment, mathematical modeling, etc. really do give us reliable information about the world and don’t just falsely seem to? Rosenberg’s only answer is the shit-eating grin he wears in the book’s dust jacket photo.

On the Monks of St Augustine's, Ramsgate

"They've closed the chapel at Brideshead, Bridey and the Bishop; Mummy's requiem was the last mass said there. After she was buried the priest came in -- I was there alone. I don't think he saw me -- and took out the altar stone and put it in his bag; then he burned the wads of wool with the holy oil on them and threw the ash outside; he emptied the holy water stoup and blew out the lamp in the sanctuary and left the tabernacle open and empty, as though from now on it was always to be Good Friday. I suppose none of this makes any sense to you, Charles, poor agnostic. I stayed there till he was gone, and then, suddenly, there wasn't any chapel there any more, just an oddly decorated room. I can't tell you what it felt like. You've never been to Tenebrae, I suppose?"

"Never."

"Well, if you had you'd know what the Jews felt about their temple. Quomodo sedet sola civitas...it's a beautiful chant. You ought to go once, just to hear it."

- Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited.

The Book of Wreckovation

CHAPTER THE FIRST

1 And all the multitude of the People of God (TM) being gathered together, he said to them: These are the things which the LORD hath commanded to be done.

2 Six days you shall do work: the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath, and the rest of the Lord: but only go to Mass if thou canst be arsed

3 You shall kindle no fire in any of your habitations on the sabbath day, except maybe the Bar-Be-Cue.

4 And the bishop said to all the assembly of the People of God(TM): This is the word the LORD hath commanded, saying:

5 Set aside with you firstfuits to the LORD. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass, but the diocese doth take Mastercard, Visa and transactions via the web that is inter.

6 Polyester, white , purple and green. Oh and that creamy shade,too

7 Felt of varied colours for the making of banners to adorn the walls

8 And fluorescent lights and light that are of the EL-EE-DEE and bulbs that make light but are small in the footprint of carbon, for the footprint of carbon that is large is an abomination unto the bishops of the Conference.

9 Concrete, both reinforced and non-reinforced

10 Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the LORD hath commanded:

11 To wit, the cathedral and the and the roof thereof, one that is likely to be flat and therefore to be a bit leaky and causative of the cancer of the concrete and the unsightly stains on the wall

12 The tabernacle, which is small and tucked away in a little side chapel

13 The table with the bars and the vessels, and the wafers of proposition, which shall be very big, yea even as a Fris-Bee and shall be wholemeal and Fair-trade:

14 The candlestick to bear up the lights, the vessels thereof and the lamps, and the electricty for the nourishing of fires, for the concrete, it is fair cold on a Winter’s day, because it is all open-plan:

15 The thurible of incense, and the incense of spices which shall moulder in the cupboard of the sacristy, for we do not use these things these days:

16 The altar of the People of God(TM) which shall be concrete, ten cubits by ten cubits so that all the priests in their raiments of polyester shall be gathered around it

17 The vestments that are to be used in the ministry of the sanctuary, of polyester and other manmade fabrics the vesture of the high priest, and of the other priests, to do the office of priesthood to me of white, off-white and cream, of purple and green and sometimes red, but definitely not Rose.

18 And all the multitude of the People of God(TM) going out from the presence of the bishop (for they are an Easter People and Alleluia is their song, yea, even in Lent)

19 Offered firstfruits to the LORD with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the postconciliar churches. Whatsoever was necessary to the service, and to the holy vestments, because surely the bishop knew what he was doing,

20 Both men and women gave unto the treasury of the diocese and unto the parish funds

21 All both men and women with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the LORD had commanded by the hand of the bishop. All the People of God(TM) dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord with gold and silver and brass and notes of paper and transactions with the plastic cards.

22 And the bishop said to the People of God(TM) : Behold the LORD hath called by name Richard of the tribe of Vosko of the U-Ess-Of-A.

23 And hath filled him with the spirit of modern architecture, and understanding and knowledge and all learning of how to build in concrete and glass and steel and plastic.

24 To devise and to work in aluminium and more glass. And maybe some lead on the roof for it is a bit leaky being of the flatness thereof.

25 And in engraving stones with abstract patterns, and in the pouring of concrete. Whatsoever can be devised artificially,

26 And lo, when it was built the priests came unto the assembly and began there to sing a new song, which was very High-Pitched, and musicians there with their drumkits and the cymbals and guitars both acoustic and of the electric kind and their flutes, which are played by the nice girl with Grade 8 of the flute

27 And they played the songs of Haugen and Haas, and the People of God (TM) stopped their ears, though some of them joined in,

28 And the people looked at the church which their gold and silver and bronze and transactions with paper and the plastic had paid for and they said, “What is this that ye have done?”

29 “The priests are clothed in polyester which will not last five years with their vestures with the zip uo the front which will fray and break”

30 “And what is this place that is so unlovely and colored of the gray concrete and which has only the felt banners upon it”

31 “And yea, we do not see the tabernacle of the LORD for thou hast hidden it away in a cubby hole round the corner”

32 And the bishop said, “It is so. For I have a friend who is an architect and he says it is very nice and he hath much skill in the making of modern buildings”

33 And the People of God(TM) left the assembly with wailing and gnashing teeth, and they shook their heads saying “What hath happened to the beautiful temples of the LORD, with the marble and the gold and the vessels for the offering of silver and gold and the vestments of silk and velvet and fine white linen, with the birettas of silk and the mozzettas furnished about with edgings of fur, and the lampstands of the altar and the candles of beeswax”

34 And the prelates said unto themelves “We have sold them at auction. And we are off.”

Mujahedeejit

Apparently the Irish actor Liam Neeson is considering converting to Islam. Neeson was born in Ballymenaand raised in a devout Catholic family.

'The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week,
it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing,' he said.

So you never heard the Angelus rung at home? Or the bells in a French or an Italian town?

One must be charitable. The poor man lost his wife in a skiing accident a couple of years ago and I'm sure that does funny things to your head, but then again he's been coming out with all sorts of nonsense for a while, saying of Aslan:

"Aslan symbolises a Christlike figure, but he also symbolises for me
Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries."

Which is not how CS Lewis saw Aslan. As he wrote ina letter in 1958:

“What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?”

The aesthetics of the Mohammedan call to prayer, is one thing, but if Neeson walks the walk and makes his shahada, what of it.? Well, it's apostasy. He trades in the Living God, the Trinity, Father-Son-And-Holy-Ghost, a Saviour, Jesus Christ, Word-made-flesh, the infallible word of God and an unbroken line of tradition to the Apostles and the promise of Eternal Life for a false god (the moon-god Mohammed turned into Allah, is not the God of Israel, Isaac and Jacob) for an intemperate, incontinent warlord and for the Koran, the ravings of a madman and a false gospel.

And he risks his immortal soul in knowingly swallowing such falsehood.

Sorry to put it so starkly but he would trade the Truth for a lie.

Pray for him.