FEFE
Free expression
Fresh expressions
A Garden Church, The Church Army, The Church
and Non-Believers, the Church and blocking, banning and attempted censorship,
Radio Sheffield and the Church
Above, the Church Army's Wilson Carlile Centre,
Sheffield
Attribution for imag above, Mark Anderson / BBC
Radio Sheffield, Shoreham Street
The page on
Christian religion has detailed
information on most of these issues. It deals with early events. This section gives
background information about early events but it's mainly concerned with
more recent events. This strange, disturbing, grotesque case (I'm thinking
mainly of the grotesque heap of rubbish - images provided below and my
page on Christian religion) isn't over yet.
A new development, the
relationship between Radio Sheffield - or rather one of its presenters, Kat
Cowan - and the Church. This is Kat Cowan's 'advertisement for herself,' or
one of them:
From her linkedln profile:
'As well as Saturday breakfast, I now host BBC Radio
Sheffield's Sunday breakfast show: topical discussion with a faith & ethics
slant plus the legendary Gardening phone-in.'
This is Tim Ling of the Church Army Research Unit
quoting Kat Cowan in a page with the amazing title 'Honest Conversations.'
Tim Ling's view of what qualifies as an 'honest conversation' isn't mine.
https://churcharmy.org/general/honest-conversations/
Kat Cowan on BBC Radio Sheffield when interviewing Andy Wier, our lead
researcher on the project ... reflected: “It also seems, I don’t want to be
rude, but quite obvious, Andy, that actually sort of being welcoming and
saying, ‘Here we are. Here’s a safe space for you to come and we’re going to
look after you’ seems to me something that the church should be doing
automatically.”
A safe space in
which Tim Ling exercises such benevolent care, and Lu Skerratt-Love, another
'researcher' at the Church Army's Research Unit, is far from safe, to anyone
who values honest conversation, freedom of thought and freedom of
expression.
The page on 'honest
conversations' is about 'mission to young adults.' Tim Ling writes, 'With
the help of the Church Commissioners we have recently brought together both
researchers and practitioners in order to explore this question and the
opportunities and challenges of mission with young adults.'
'Mission' has a
specific meaning here. A central aim in Christian mission is the attempt to
convert unbelievers. A missionary is someone undertaking mission, most often
in a different country. Mission involves the creation of safe spaces only in
a very restricted sense - spaces in which Christian beliefs aren't
challenged, in which there is no such thing as 'honest conversation,' the
presentation of opposing views, a fair-minded attempt to foster free
expression on matters of Christian faith.
From a report in 'The
Guardian,'
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/07/church-in-crisis-as-only-2-of-young-adults-identify-as-c-of-e
'The
Church of England is facing
a generational catastrophe
with only 2% of young adults
identifying with it, while
seven out of 10 under-24s
say they have no religion,
research reveals.
'C of
E affiliation is at a record
low among all age groups,
and has halved since 2002,
according to the
British Social Attitudes
survey. Far fewer
actually attend church
services on a regular basis.
...
The
demographic breakdown in the
new data is particularly
unwelcome news for the
church. Younger people are
significantly less likely to
identify with the C of E
than older age groups, and
evidence suggests that
people rarely join organised
religion in later life. The
trend indicates that
affiliation with the C of E
could become negligible with
successive generations.'
Kat Cowan's endorsement of Church Army 'safe spaces'
is very, very misguided. It encourages the Church Army to believe that
reversing the decline of Christian belief amongst young adults, and not just
young adults, is possible by presenting Christian dogmas and doctrine as the
true way, paying no attention to all the difficulties of these dogmas and
doctrines, the grotesque unreality of these dogmas and doctrines.
Recently, I called in at the Church Army's Wilson Carlile
Centre and left two paper documents, one for Tim Ling, the other for Lu
Skerratt-Love. According to the Church Army Website Dr Ling is
'the Director of the Learning and Development Team. He provides
strategic oversight for the work of the Research Unit.' The Church Army
site explains that 'Lu Skerratt-Love supports the qualitative strand of the
Research Unit in both internal and external projects. Lu Skerratt has a
background in academia and is currently completing a Doctorate in Theology
and Ministry at the University of Durham.'
This was the note I left for Dr Ling. The one for Lu Skerratt-Love had
identical content.
'Dear Dr Ling,
There are matters which I need to bring
to your attention, and the attention of Lu Skerratt-Love. I can't use the
most convenient method, for me, email, since you've blocked my emails. This
is simply a short preliminary note. I don't discuss in any detail these
matters.
Instead of using paper and envelope,
buying a stamp and using the post, I've chosen instead to call at the Church
Army building and deliver this
note in person and I intend to use this
method whenever I can justify a further communication to you or to Lu
Skerratt-Love. I've decided further to make use of 'open' communication,
without enclosure in an envelope. The matters I need to bring to your
attention aren't confidential.
Banning, blocking and attempts at
blatant censorship should be avoided by people in any organization which
values its reputation. Your decision to block email from me was completely
unjustifiable. All I had done was to send emails to a few people and
organizations to inform them of my concerns about the proposal to set up a
garden church at the Morley Street Allotment site. The reasons I gave and
the evidence I gave were to do with matters of allotment law, security and
safety. I've documented the issues in detail and published them on my
Website. The documentation will be extended to take note of future
developments. The people and organizations who received my emails - few in
number - could be expected to find the issue of a garden church relevant,
for example, St Marks Church. Lu Skerratt-Love had publicized the issue on
the St Marks Church Website.The tone of my emails was courteous. I used Lu
Skerratt-Love's Church army email address because I had no alternative. This
was the only email address I could find.I felt at the time that it was
unwise of her not to make available an alternative email address.
Lu Skerratt-Love's decision to complain
to the police, her attempt to have me remove material from my own Website,
was disastrously misguided, like your decision to block my emails. Lu
Skerratt-Love's twitter page is full of complaints against the police but
she chose to turn to the police (as an
alternative to prayer, perhaps, or to supplement prayer). This, to me, was
wasting police time. I don't claim that it was wasting police time in the
strict legal sense but if people demand action from the police for the
flimsiest of reasons, or no good reason at all, or for thoroughly bad
reasons, then the police have less time available for all the other issues,
far more important issues, which they have to deal with, such as doing
something to curb the excesses of Extinction Rebellion, rape, violent crime,
and many more.
I don't make demands myself, although I
think that an apology is due from Lu Skerratt-Love and yourself. If you find
the arguments and evidence I've put forward on my Website unpersuasive, then
by all means let me have - better still, publicize - your counter arguments
and evidence.
As I say, this is only a preliminary
stage. I've already spent a great deal of time and effort on these matters
and I'm willing to do far more. Any necessary communication with you or Lu
Skerratt-Love will be by personal delivery of a note.'
This is a list of questions I've compiled which may
be useful to interviewers who are probing, not influenced by the ceaseless
self-promotion of the Church Army and other branches of the church -
interviewers very unlike Kat Cowan, in fact - but also unlike any
interviewer employed at any radio station. I'm aware of the dismal
practicalities and realities. It would be unrealistic to expect Radio
Sheffield to start probing the claims of Christianity with as much energy as
this (imaginary) interviewer, but Radio Sheffield has no need whatsoever to
treat Christianity and Christians with the deference to be found in the
broadcast material I've listened to so far on the station. I have to
say that Kat Cowan seems to be a very pleasant person, with an easy-going informality quite unlike the deference
of a previous era, respectful, starchy types who genuflected
(metaphorically) before starchy Churchy types who fully expected to be
treated with respect. Kat Cowan isn't deferential to her Christian
interviewees at all times - his is far from the case - but I have to say
that on the evidence available to me, she seems to have got the balance
wrong and is too pliable.
So much of the material gives a very misleading
state of the Christian Churches. Obviously, the Churches vary very much in
the doctrinal views to be found in them, and in other ways. What
doesn't vary nearly as much is the abysmal staleness to be found in them,
the consequence of believing in unbelievable things and things not worthy of
belief, or leaving out bits of orthodox Christian doctrine and ignoring
inconvenient facts about orthodox Christian doctrine - such as the fact that
according to the New Testament, Jesus had other ideas, and not the ideas of
very very liberal believers and semi-believers.
Kat Cowan doesn't seem to talk to obvious fanatics.
To give one example, the woman Kat Cowan talked to about the proposed garden
church seemed eminently reasonable but appearances can be deceptive. I don't
claim that she was a fanatic hiding behind the appearance of calm
reasonableness, only that her objectives and her beliefs aren't all they
seem. According to the Facebook page of the garden church, she plans, or did
plan, to talk about the Parable of the Sower, described in all the Synoptic
gospels. It appears in Mark 4: 1-20. The parable includes the appearance of
Satan and Jesus obviously believed in Satan, the Devil. Enormous numbers of
his followers have believed in Satan, the Devil as well, and the results
have often been devastating in their effect, leading to the torture and
execution of people accused of working in the name of the devil, being in
league with the devil, possessed by the devil. The young woman who hopes to
start the garden church isn't one of those persecutors, of course not, but
many contemporary Christians have very different views. The Facebook page of
the Garden Church, which seems to belong to her - she writes most of the
material - endorses and gives publicity to the appearance of the
Bishop of Lancaster at a garden church in Blackburn. This Bishop has
hard-line views on matters of doctrine. Obviously, she's not a persecutor
either, but she's an outspoken opponent of various liberal views.
The Garden Church Facebook page mentions the use of the land to promote what is
referred to as 'mission.' The word has a special
meaning for Christians. This is a commonly cited
definition:
'A Christian mission is
an organized effort to spread Christianity to new
converts.'
The
inaugural event of the garden/forest church
was to have taken place at the allotment site in
September
SHEFFIELD
FOREST CHURCH – SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER AT 2.30PM
and the theme was announced as 'God's creation.'
Now, well into October, the inaugural meeting stall
hasn't taken place. The event was rescheduled for
October 17 but it was cancelled. The organizer
mentioned the need to make improvements to safety on
the site - safety was one of the issues I stressed
in my emails.
I can justify a short comment on the subject of
'God's creation.' Things aren't all they seem.
These photographs show some fruit and vegetables
harvested at my allotments - which have produced fruit and vegetables in
large quantity every season.
Kat Cowan obviously knew nothing about the practical
objections to a garden church at these allotments. They are subject to
allotment law. The garden church aren't the tenants of this land. They
aren't entitled to use it, unless they become tenants. In that case, they
have to ensure that at least 75% of the land is used for growing fruit and
vegetables. The Community Group which I believe are still the tenants - they
took on the land in 2013 - have never come anywhere near that proportion. A
minute percentage of the land has been used to grow food crops. Kat Cowan
asked the Garden Church representative if the group would be eating produce
they have grown there. As the Garden Church aren't the tenants, they're not
entitled to grow crops there.
In any case, the Community Group was and still is
incompetent. They have never reduced the height of the hedges, which were
enormously high at the time they took on the land and are now much higher.
The hedges shade the plot. Almost all food and vegetable crops couldn't
possibly succeed there. And Kat Cowan obviously knows nothing about the very
long, the immense pile of discarded rubbish. Kat Cowan obviously knows
nothing about past and present security issues at these allotments and
allotments not far away, which include a murder, a boy stabbed to death with
a garden fork. She mentions reflecting at various times in her programmes but she could try reflecting on safety issues.
One of the photographs on the Facebook page of the
garden church shows members of the 'garden church team' working on the land
in these allotments. Enlarging the image makes this clear - the team are
working in an unsafe way. There are tools lying on the ground which could
trip people up - including children, if they are present. Worst of all is a
garden fork with the pointed tines facing upwards. Children and adults are
at risk here.
Kat Cowan's programmes are astonishing. I'm
astonished to find promotion of Christianity at this on a BBC source, astonished
that she's got away with this sustained bias, or promotion of one set of
views time after time without, so far as I can see (or so far as I can hear)
any real attempt to give dissenting views, or coverage to dissenting views
which have even a fraction of the time given to Christianity. She could be
working for a radio station which has the outright aim of evangelizing and
promoting Christianity. This is wrong, this isn't what the BBC should be
doing or allowing, unless they allow secular views, views critical of
Christianity, something approaching equal time.
It isn't only Kat Cowan who's at fault here but a
section of the Radio Sheffield management. They haven't given nearly enough
thought to the balance of the station, the need to avoid wherever possible
the promotion of outright ideology, in this case, a religious ideology, a
religious way of looking at the world and other people which distorts
perspectives. My page on Christian religion gives argument and evidence to
support my view that Christian ideology does have a seriously distorting
effect. Christians who find fault with the arguments and evidence I use are
free to criticize and to give their own counter-arguments and evidence if
they want to or are capable of doing that. I certainly won't be banning them
or blocking their emails or reporting them to the police or demanding that
they remove material concerning me from their Websites, if they have a
Website and they ever criticize me on their Website. I'll be happy to
publish their objections on my Website, in fact.
To return to the list of questions, the list could be extended
indefinitely. My page on Christian religion
gives background information, often detailed information, on many of the
issues raised here. This is a list of questions which could conceivably be
asked - some of them at least - by a very bold and adventurous interviewer
at a conventional station preparatory to getting the sack or by an
interviewer at a bold and adventurous station with bold and adventurous
policies. It's inconceivable that a BBC station would tolerate the asking of
these questions, of course, and the station with bold and adventurous
policies would find it impossible to find Christians willing to enter the
lion's den. It's likely that the operation could take place only once, and
the operation would need a degree of subterfuge, with an unsuspecting
Christian. But all of this is speculative, to an extent. In the world as we
find it, Christian Mass Timidity seems to be the rule and tedious timid
questioning is certainly the rule. And it's perfectly possible for a person
who is bold and adventurous in some respects to be a timid conformist in
other respects. The baffling contradictions of human nature emerge again and
again.
There's some repetition of material from the page on
Christian religion, necessary to an extent to make this page relatively
self-contained.
Dr Wier / Dr Ling / Bishop X, Archbishop Y (or other
Christian dignitary) could you answer some questions?
Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God,
or, amongst other things, a generally reliable guide to ethics?
Would you comment on these verses from the New
Testament and the Old Testament?
[Some of the 'teaching of St Paul]
Ephesians 6:5 'Slaves,
obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere
heart, as though you were serving Christ.'
Colossians 3:22 'Slaves,
obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you
because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart
because of your reverence for the Lord.'
These were two sugarcane growing estates on the island
of Barbados. In 1710, they came into the possession of the Church of England
'Society for the Propagation of the Christian Religion in Foreign Parts.'
The plantations were run by managers, nominally supervised by a Board of
trustees of the Society headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a
committee of Church of England bishops.
The plantations depended upon a regular supply of new slaves from West
Africa. For almost a decade after the 'Society for the Propagation of the
Christian Religion in Foreign Parts' inherited the plantations, slaves were
branded on the chest with the word 'Society.'
During the debate, the fact was mentioned that when
the emancipation of slaves took place in 1833, compensation was paid not
to the slaves but to their owners. The information was given that the Bishop
of Exeter and three colleagues were paid nearly £13,000 compensation
for 665 slaves. This compensation was well over
£ 1,000,000
in current values. The Bishop of Exeter, William Philpotts, had
opposed the Abolition of Slavery Act. After all, St Paul didn't oppose
slavery and the 'teaching' of Jesus included nothing on the subject of
slavery - the buying and selling of men, women and children.
In the parts of the Roman Empire where Jesus and St Paul lived or knew
about, as in the whole of the Roman Empire, slaves could be seen everywhere,
the mistreatment of slaves would have been a completely familiar sight, St
Paul and Jesus would certainly have known that an 'owner' of a slave family
could, and often did, split up the family, selling the father to one new
owner, the mother to another new owner, and the children to yet another
owner. Jesus and St Paul obviously accepted the practice of slavery, with
all its hideous cruelties.
[In the 'safe space' offered by the Church Army and approved by Kat Cowan,
such questions as these never arise, people are protected from them,
illusions and evasions are fostered, not challenged.]
Exodus 22:18 The translation of the 'Authorized Version,' also
known as the King James Version.
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
The 'Good News
Translation (!) is 'Put to death any woman who practises magic.'
[King James 1 is best known amongst Christians for his association
with the Authorized Version of the Bible but he was a relentless persecutor
of women he saw as witches. Under his jurisdiction, women were tortured and
executed for 'witchcraft' and it can be regarded as certain that he saw his
actions as divinely sanctioned.]
The Gospel according to St John, 3:18, 'He that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God.' (King James Bible.)
One of the modern translations for the whole verse- like others, it updates
the language but not the theology:
'Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son
of God.' (English Standard Version.)
The Gospel according to St John, 3:36 in the King James Bible:
'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.
[A probing interviewer, one not impressed by the superficially
impressive language so often used by Christians - again, an interviewer very
unlike Kat Cowan - could ask some searching questions on everlasting life,
on heaven and hell, and the grotesque implications of a belief that faith in
Jesus is so important that people's eternal destiny is linked with their
faith in Jesus as redeemer or their lack of faith, with all the insuperable
contradictions and distortions of orthodox Christian belief - and the fact
that non-orthodox Christian beliefs, kinder views of these matters, are in
conflict with views spelled out in the New Testament.]
[From my page on Christian religion:
'Church Society, a Conservative
Evangelical group in the Church of England:
' ... all people are under the judgement of God and his righteous
anger burns against them. Unless a person is reconciled to God they
are under His condemnation and His just judgement against them is that they
will be separated from Him forever in Hell. (Romans 1 v18, 2 v16, Revelation
20 v15)
'Jesus will come back and the world will end, there will then be a final
judgement where those who have not accepted Jesus will be cast into hell
with Satan and his angels. Christians will receive new bodies and live in
eternal bliss in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Spirit. (Hebrews 9 v27, Revelation 20 v11, 1 Corinthians 15 v51)
'The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the
centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of
England.
...
'Article XII of 'Good Works' states 'Good Works ... cannot put away our
sins, and endure the verity of God's Judgement.'
'Whether the good works include bringing safe drinking water to people
ravaged by water-borne diseases such as cholera by means of massive
engineering works, or rescuing Jews from the Nazis, or opposing the Nazis by
heroic action in battle, or everyday goodness and self-sacrifice, if there's
no belief in Jesus Christ, the good works are ignored, in this loathsome
scheme, and there's no salvation.'
More questions that an adventurous questioner could ask the Christian (eg
a member of Church Army) on this central issue of salvation and redemption -
central for believers in orthodox or semi-orthodox Christian belief, not
central or important for most non-believers. I think it is an important
issue, since the Christian Churches do have influence, even if the influence
is far less than in the days when a large number of people took the
pronouncements of Archbishops and Bishops and other clergy seriously.
Do you believe that NHS staff - including, of course, the NHS staff who
care for coronavirus patients - are destined to be eternally separated from
God if they have no belief in Jesus and don't acquire a belief in time?
In actual fact, a Christian who answered this question by stating that he
or she does believe that eternal separation from God is the fate of these
non-believers need to go further and make it more generally known, and
similarly for organizations such as the Church Army. If these people and
organizations have such faith in the Gospel and they believe that these
beliefs are an impartant part of the Gospel, what is stopping them from
proclaiming the fact? In practice, if my own experience is anything to go
by, they are very, very reluctant to admit to these beliefs. Sheffield
people are very, very unlikely to find that a Sheffield Church or a
Sheffield church member will admit to believing that loving (but
unbelieving) fathers and mothers are destined to be eternally separated from
God, unless, of course, they repent in time.
Meanwhile, St Augustine is presumably not eternally separated from God
but is in Heaven. Augustine is the Saint who taught that unbaptized babies
spend eternity in hell. There are many Churches named after him, of course.
But young people are assured that if they choose to join a Church Army 'safe
space,' they will be protected from such distressing information, at least
when they are in the safe space. In the safe space, it can be expected that
they will learn to adopt the safe ways of thinking that will 'protect' them
from being harmed in the real world.
Do you believe that allotment holders are destined to be eternally
separated from God if they have no belief in Jesus and don't acquire a
belief in time? Orthodox Christians are likely to believe that not everybody
who supports a garden church is saved - unitarians, people who don't believe
in God the Son and the Holy Spirit as well as God the Father, are excluded
from salvation. And of course, many, many Evangelical Christians believe
that Roman Catholics are excluded from salvation.
Do you believe that the people who service and repair your vehicle, if
you have one, the people who deliver your post and collect any rubbish,
bottles, cans and recyclable paper, the people who built the sewers which
take away human waste, the people who constructed the reservoirs which
supply your drinking water (remembering that water-borne disease was the
most important single cause of disease), the people who work in the shops
which supply the necessities of life as well as so much else, the musicians
and artists and entertainers are only saved from an eternity of separation
from God if they have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour?
What of the countless numbers of people who have lived and still live in
societies where it's impossible or virtually impossible to be presented with
the 'gospel' (which I think can't possibly be described as 'good news')?
What of the Russians who died of starvation and disease during the Siege
of Leningrad, when Nazi forces encircled the city almost completely?
What of the countless numbers of people whose life has been, or still is,
so hard that they are preoccupied with survival or fighting against the
odds? The miners doing back-breaking work underground, at risk of
underground flooding and explosions and other dangers - people who have
never had the time or the opportunity for an examination of the issues?
Is there an age below which people aren't damned for failing to find this
faith in Jesus as Saviour, or are young children to be damned, including the
millions of children who died of diseases which are now preventable -
preventable as a result of such scientific advances as vaccination and
economic progress, not the result of Christianity?
Do you believe that the Jews who died in the extermination camps and the
concentration camps are excluded from salvation? Do they share exactly the
same fate as the Nazis who executed Jews and took part in the organized mass
murder of Jews?
From the back cover of John Bierman's book 'Righteous Gentile,' about the
heroism and determination to save lives of Raoul Wallenberg:
The 'Author's Note' includes this quotation from Attorney Gideon Hausner,
chairman of Yad Vashem and the man who prosecuted Adolf Eichmann:
'Here is a man who had the choice of remaining in secure, neutral Sweden
when Nazism was ruling Europe. Instead, he left this haven and went to what
was then one of the most perilous places in Europe, Hungary. And for what?
To save Jews.'
The back cover of the book pays tribute to his endless resourcefulness
and his incredible acts of courage.
Adolf Eichmann was one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. From the
Wikipedia entry:
Germany invaded Hungary
in March 1944, and Eichmann oversaw the deportation of much of the Jewish
population. Most of the victims were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp,
to where about 75 per cent were murdered upon arrival. By the time the
transports were stopped in July 1944, 437,000 of Hungary's 725,000 Jews had
been killed. Dieter Wisliceny testified
at Nuremberg that Eichmann told him he would "leap laughing into the grave
because the feeling that he had five million people on
his conscience would be for him a source of extraordinary satisfaction."
Again, a question to the Christian - do you really
believe that Raoul Wallenberg (to the best of my knowledge he had no
Christian faith at all) and Adolf Eichmann share exactly the same fate,
eternal separation from God? If you do believe that, do you have any idea of
the monstrous, disgusting implications?
Should a Church Army 'safe space' shield people from
reflecting upon such things, from making decisions which take such things as
these into account, from making informed decisions, decisions not based on
selective presentation of facts, or 'facts?'
Kat Cowan was very unwise to claim that the Church Army could provide a
'safe space' for young people. The provision of 'safe spaces' has become a
growth industry. Again and again, people demand that other people should
think in the same way. Many people have very different ideas of what counts
as a safe space. This is just one of them. The passage in bold print,
supplied by me, is one of many applications:
Lu Skerratt-Love explains
herself and her interests (or themselves and their interests - one of her
interests is personal pronouns and she's insistent that 'she' should be
described as 'they' if she, or they, find it necessary, important,
necessarily important.) From the Website OneBodyOneFaith.
https://www.onebodyonefaith.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/lu-skerratt/
Lu Skerratt-Love is a queer Anglican living in
Sheffield. They grew up in North Essex where their introduction to
Christianity was varied but allowed them to explore and encounter all sorts
of worship styels and expressions of church.
'Lu first read Theology at the University of Leeds
before doing a MA in Biblical Studies at King's College London. After a
period working in the refugee and mental health sector, Lu is now a
qualitative researcher with Church Army's Research Unit where they research
all sorts of exciting and dynamic projects [she describes them as 'exciting
and dynamic' so they MUST be 'exciting and dynamic,' as she sees it, or they
see it] relating to evangelism, mission and ministry in the UK and Ireland.
They are also studying for a DthM at Durham University (St John's College)
where their research topic is 'Decolonising Space and Place: Identities of
belonging in the Church of England.' Lu worships at St Mark's Broomhill and
Broomhall in Sheffield and has particular interests in the intersections of
faith and ecofeminism, ant-racism, queer identities of living as 'betwixt
and between' and contemporary expressions of liberation theology. Lu is in a
civil partnership and in their spare time enjoys spending time with their
Pink Palace chosen family, reading, playing squash, bouldering, and board
games!'
On the issue of pronouns, the Website
https://lgbt.ucsf.edu/pronounsmatter
has this:
'Pronouns are used in every day speech and writing to take the place of
people's names. We frequently use them without thinking about it. Often,
when speaking of someone in the third person, these pronouns have a gender
implied. These associations are not always accurate or helpful.
'Mistaking or assuming peoples' pronouns without asking first, mistakes
their gender and sends a harmful message. Using someone's correct gender
pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their
identity. Join the LGBT Resource Center as we aim to advance the knowledge
of using everyone's correct gender pronouns and strive for a more inclusive
environment at UCSF.'
And this:
'Why is it important for UCSF faculty, staff, and students to respect
gender pronouns?onouns?
-
'The University of California's nondiscrimination
policy includes protections for sex and gender
identities. A key element of creating a safe space for people of all
sexes and gender identities is the respectful use of gender pronouns.
-
'The UCSF PRIDE set a clear
direction for all members of the UCSF community to appreciate and
celebrate differences in others, creating an environment of equity and
inclusion with opportunities for everyone to reach their potential.
-
'Asking UCSF community members what their gender pronouns are and
consistently using them correctly is one of the most basic ways to show
your respect for their gender identity. This can determine within the
first few minutes if they will feel respected at UCSF or not.
-
'Discussing and correctly using gender pronouns sets a tone of
allyship. It can truly make all of the difference, especially for new
community members that may feel particularly vulnerable in a new
environment.
-
'You can't always know what someone's gender pronoun is by looking
at them. When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make
them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, alienated, or hurt.
-
'Many people may be learning about gender pronouns for the first
time, so this will be a learning opportunity for the UCSF community. You
will be setting an example for your colleagues.'
Evangelism
and counter-evangelism
'Fresh expressions ... a movement of Christians who establish and grow
new Christian communities where they don’t yet exist ...
A fresh
expression of church might look somewhat (or very) different to a
traditional church but worship, prayer and service to Jesus and the
community can all still happen there wonderfully, but it would be tailored
to the context.' One example of a Christian 'fresh expression,' a
garden church. I comment on a garden church in Sheffield here and in other
places on my site.
FEFE asks questions which Christians can't answer or won't answer or if they
do answer, the answers aren't ones they are prepared to see publicized. Their
confidence deserts them, the 'Holy Spirit' fails to guide them, they become
evasive. Questions such as these:
Do you believe that NHS workers who have worked
tirelessly to combat Coronavirus are destined to spend eternity in
separation from God if they fail to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour?
Do you believe that loving mothers and loving
fathers, and their children, are destined to spend eternity in separation
from God if they fail to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour?
Do you believe that the Jews who died in the Nazi
extermination camps are destined to spend eternity in separation from God if
they fail to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour? (only a tiny minority will
have been Christian converts.) Is their fate the same as the fate of the
Nazis who worked in the extermination camps (but not the same fate as Nazis
who found a faith in Christ in time.)
The translation of Exodus 22:18 in the 'Good News
Bible' is 'Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft.' (The
translation of the Authorized Version is, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live.') Do you believe that this is or was an order made by God?
The New Testament in the Good News translation and
other translations puts forward a view of salvation (but not the only view
of salvation - there's also to be found a conflicting, contradictory view,
so-called 'justification by works' rather than by faith). The view of
salvation by faith could be summarized as 'God loves the person and calls
upon the person to accept Jesus, God the Son, as personal Lord and Saviour -
but if the person doesn't accept the invitation, then that person will spend
eternity in separation from God. Do you believe in this version of
salvation? Do you believe in salvation by works?
There are many more questions in the column to the
left on salvation and redemption.
Questions can be asked which concern Christian creationism
- not just the Christians who believe in the literal truth of the account in
Genesis, the creation of the the world in a matter of days, but the
Christian creationism of people who accept that the world, the universe as a
whole, may have developed over millions of years, who may accept Darwin, in
theory, but who imagine that God shows an active interest in his 'creation,'
is responsive to prayers to do with his 'creation,' and who ignore all the
difficulties and problems, difficulties and problems which emerge in
questions such as these:
At Christian services of 'Harvest Festival,' the
congregation thanks God for his 'gifts,' the food that sustains us.
Potatoes, tomatoes, French beans, runner beans, courgettes aren't native to
this country. They were brought to this country from the Americas, by a
dangerous sea journey. God gave as his gifts to the people of this country
(not that I accept this Christian view) very, very few food plants.
Why did God include in his creation (allegedly) not
just potatoes but the causative organism of potato blight (and tomato
blight), the fungus Phytophthora infestans? The potato, after being brought
to Ireland, sustained generations of Irish people, including the desperately
poor, who found the potato a sustaining, nutritious food which involved very
hard work but one which was much easier to grow than grain crops. What
answer do you give to these particular difficulties - and the difficulties
posed by all the other causative organisms of plant disease, animal disease,
human disease - all the organisms allegedly created by God or part of God's
creation?
He made very little provision for fuel to cook the
food and to keep people warm in winter. The peat which is a naturally
occurring fuel would be rejected by ecologically-minded Christians as
a fossil fuel. Coal, an abundant fuel, could only be obtained in general by
dangerous methods which have claimed countless lives. Is the God you believe
in an incompetent God, a God who has taken hardly care to provide for
fundamental human needs?
Why did God provide poisonous fungi as well as
edible fungi, poisonous berries as well as edible berries?
The liberal Christians who don't believe in these
doctrines are evasive too, unable or unwilling to accept the embedding of
orthodox Christian claims in the text of the New Testament whilst settling
for a compromise which ignores the realities.
FEFE promotes fresh forms of counter-evangelism but
not counter-productive forms of counter-evangelism. Dramatists, actors,
actresses, composers, singers, instrumentalists, visual artists, authors
have to be prepared for criticism. Here, I'm concerned only with
well-informed criticism and constructive criticism, although well-informed
criticism can put an end to a career. Interrupting a performance isn't
constructive criticism. Interrupting a sermon, heckling during a sermon
would be counter-productive criticism.
But there are many, many opportunities for
counter-evangelism, for giving evidence and arguments to counter Christian
evangelism, for publicizing the issues. The 'fresh expressions' of Christian
evangelism, away from Church buildings, give new opportunities - although I
don't neglect the opportunities near to Church buildings.
FEFE began as a response to one instance of
Christian 'Fresh expression,' a garden church. This garden church has
absolutely no legal right to use the land for Christian worship and
evangelism. The land is four allotments, subject to allotment law. I pointed
out some difficulties, mentioned in the column to the left and in more
detail in the column on the far right of
my page on Christian religion. The
difficulties include ones to do with security and safety and issues to do
with evangelism. The Facebook page of the Garden Church endorses a garden
church in Blackburn, where the Bishop of Lancaster, Jull Duff, baptized
babies. There's a profile of the Bishop in my page on Christian religion and
in the column to the left.
The 'Fresh Expressions' of the Churches promote the
same stale doctrines, the same hideous doctrines. In the column to the left,
and in the column of my page on Christian religion underneath the image of a
slave who has been flogged, I focus my attention on challenges to Christian
faith to do with salvation, redemption. Bishop Duff believes that people who
don't take Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour are destined to spend
eternity in separation from God.
Free expression - I posted material on the garden
church on this site. I mentioned Lu Skerratt-Love, who has been prominent in
the 'fresh expression,' the 'Forest Church' in Sheffield. I mentioned the
fact that she supports or endorses 'Extinction Rebellion,' I mentioned other
matters. I was aware that the material k wouldn't be to her liking but it
was expressed in a courteous way. Similarly with the material I posted on
Tim Ling. Like Lu Skerratt-Love, he's employed by the Church Army, as a
member of the Church Army Research Unit.
The response of Lu Skerratt-Love? She demanded that
I should remove the material from my Website, not by contacting me directly
but by contacting the police, who contacted me. I pointed out to the police
that removing the material was out of the question. Lu Skerratt-Love's
attempt to interfere with free expression has come to nothing.
Tim Ling did contact me directly, but only to inform
me that all future emails to Lu Skerratt-Love, to himself, to all the
members of the Research Unit, would be blocked.
These members of the Church Army have behaved like
members of a cult. It seems that they want to evangelize, but only to reach
people who are pliable, or willing to be force fed, people who don't raise
questions about matters to do with Christian doctrine. They want to take the
safe way. They seem to be people who like living in sheltered accommodation,
a Christian environment which protects them from the free expression of
people who find the arguments and evidence against Christian belief
compelling, decisive.
Royal Holloway, University of London,
and a case of attempted censorship
I received an email from Royal Holloway, including what's described as a
'letter' from a solicitor who occupies the post of General Counsel' at Royal
Holloway, Mrs Elaina Moss. The Home Page of this site gives my policy on
quoting emails. I don't quote any emails unless with the permission of the
sender. I replied, with a request to quote the email but didn't receive a
reply. I can give the demand made in the email I received. The demand was to
remove all references to Dr Berry and Royal Holloway from my Website.
I made it clear to [the General Counsel] that this is out of
the question. To ask me to remove the material from my Website is
outrageous ... Royal Holloway is welcome to take any action which comes
to mind in response to the existing material and new material. It
should be unnecessary to issue a reminder that we live in a liberal
democracy, with certain guarantees of freedom of expression and a
precious tradition of upholding freedom of expression, despite the
threats to legitimate freedom of expression - but a reminder is needed,
it seems, for certain people at Royal Holloway.
It's difficult to credit that some people at Royal Holloway believe they are
entitled to issue demands as ridiculous, disturbing and unrealistic as
these. Was Dr Berry aware that Royal Holloway was demanding that I
remove all references to Dr Berry? If he knew about it - and it's likely
that he did know - did he agree with the demand? It would have been to
his advantage if I'd complied meekly with the demand.
Mark Berry would obviously have known about the demand, as well as the
Principal of Royal Holloway, Paul Layzell.
The page on
Cambridge University and other universities
has material on Royal Holloway. Mark Berry dominates the section on
Royal Holloway, although I'm sure he doesn't dominate the academic life
of Royal Holloway. The first section is
Profile of Mark Berry, Cambridge historian
and Royal Holloway Marxist musicologist.
It quotes many of his tweets. Some examples,
with comments:
' ... No one will take to the streets to rid us of
Johnson and his fellow fascist criminals ...'
(He studied history at Cambridge University but seems not to be aware of a
much earlier recommendation to 'rid' the world of an unwanted person: Henry
II's 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?' Four knights took the
king's words literally and assassinated Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Does
Mark Berry advocate assassination of Boris Jomnson? I hope not, but he isn't
advocating the methods of democratic politics.)
this, on the former Labour MP Kate Hoey
'the Nazi Hoey ... '
this, on eliminating New Labour
'The racist obscenity that is New Labour must go'
(and again, not by the methods of democratic politics)
this opinion of the Spectator magazine
'a cesspit of unabashed Nazism'
(he didn't provide any quotes
from the Spectator to support his deranged claim)
this description of
Sarah Ludford
'mass murderer'
He wrote this tweet on Keir Starmer:
'Shocking just how
dreadful Keir Starmer is. None of is
thought he would be great, but that
he has proved quite so mendacious,
vengeful, and inept has come as a
surprise.'
He went on to quote Malcolm Fincken,
who wrote:
'Eh? In what ways has
he been any of those things?
and
'Note that I didn't
get any reply!'
Mark Berry's response to that:
'Sorry, Malcolm.
Life's too short. Blocked.'
So he casually blocked the man.
'Streets of light'
Above, the possible consequences of a house
fire caused by a candle or faulty electrical wiring near a window
And the risks to firefighters
In preparation: a comprehensive section on the
'Streets of Light' initiative started by STC (St Thomas Church) in
Sheffield - some of the people involved, the difficulties and problems
which arise from the project, arguments against the project, with
evidence - and the
opportunities which this and other forms of Christian 'fresh expression'
present for 'fresh expression' of a very different kind: non-Christian
fresh expression, counter-evangelism.
As always, I'll make every effort to ensure that the
treatment is fair-minded. I'll be happy to receive any comments by email,
including any objections to what is published on this page, like other pages
of the site. As always, any emails sent to me won't be published in whole or
in part and won't be publicized in any form without the permission of the
sender.
Above, STC (St Thomas Church): the modern
extension and and main entrance.
Copy of an email I sent to the STC
Administration address. Ruth Aidley, mentioned below, is the Administrator
at STC.
Address of the Youtube video showing unsafe
working|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrwLEBnKk4o&t=4s
Address of the 'Streets of Light' website -
which pays absolutely no attention to safety:
https://www.streetsoflight.co.uk
The page
https://www.streetsoflight.co.uk/inspiration
includes this:
'If you don't want people to see into your
house, then you can use greaseproof paper or tissue paper to cover your
windows or as a backing for your design.' From a section of the site
with the heading
The key things to remember are
Safety isn't one of these 'key things. No mention of the fact that working so close to glass, at a height -
when the top part of the paper is added - is dangerous if the person is
standing on a chair or a rickety step ladder - dangerous if a much
better step ladder is used, if the ladder isn't checked and used
properly. A fall against a window would very likely be catastrophic, a
fall through the window would definitely be catastrophic. No mention of
the fact that a child shouldn't be expected, shouldn't be allowed, to
carry out the work.
The email I sent:
Ruth Aidley's comment that the dangers of putting up (or taking down)
the decorations for making a 'Streets of Light' Display are no more than
the dangers of putting up (or taking down) Christmas decorations - in
our conversation at STC (St Thomas Church) yesterday - was
unintentionally perceptive. The risks can be equated, broadly speaking,
but she's obviously unaware of the evidence that Christmas is a
particularly dangerous time of year for household accidents. People are
58% more likely to experience a house fire in the Christmas period than
at other times of year, for these reasons: use of candles, overloaded
sockets, heating of lights, unsafe wiring to supplementary lighting.
The Streets of Light Website has nothing whatsoever on safety. It would
have been so easy to have included a section on this topic, but none was
included. Pumpkins are 'allowed,' with the qualifications mentioned (no
references to Halloween, for example) but an ordinary member of the
public who signed up to the initiative would assume that candles too are
allowed. If a candle is used, there's the danger of fire and the danger
is intensified by the proximity of tissue paper or other paper, the
method recommended by the 'Streets of Light' Website to prevent a view
into the room.
ROSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) gives
information about the very large numbers of people who have fallen while
using unstable chairs to put up their decorations (or take down their
decorations.) Most falls from a height, in industry as in the home, are
falls from a relatively low height. Even falls from a relatively low
height can have catastrophic consequences for the victim.
I've made copies in whole or in part of the STC 'Streets of Light
Website' and the STC Youtube video so that if St Thomas Church chooses
to delete the material, I still have the evidence. More of this evidence
(it will have to be used with great care and sensitivity, by blocking
out sections of the images, since children are portrayed), varying is
degrees of seriousness:
A child is shown in the first few sections of the Youtube video using
blunt scissors. These supposedly 'child-proof' scissors can still cause
injury (in medicine blunt trauma is distinguished from penetrating
trauma.' but the scissors are used in the child's lap - very unsafe.
Shortly after, another child is using scissors over a table, a much
safer position, but the scissors have sharp points.
Later, a child and woman are standing near a window with outstretched
arms in a very unsafe position. What they are standing on isn't shown,
but it's not likely that it was a stable, secure base. Nowhere are
strong step ladders of adequate height shown. Members of the public who
signed up may well be using flimsy, very unsafe step-ladders or the
chairs which are shown as providing support in the video. A boy wearing
socks was evidently standing on the smooth surface of a chair (both
low-friction, of course) before he jumped off.
At this time, it's essential that the overburdened emergency services
and other public services shouldn't have their time taken up with the
accidents which are the result of avoidable risks. STC seems completely
unaware of its practical responsibilities in certain respects. There are
legal obligations to be considered, including the duty of care,
particularly the duty of care to children, the duty to do everything
possible to avoid claims against it for negligence. It's unlikely that a
catastrophic accident will occur during taking down of the window
decorations or earlier, as a result of a house fire caused by a candle,
but if legal proceedings did take place and the Anglican Church was
found not to have been negligent in the legal sense, the victory would
surely be a hollow one - an injured victim would likely be left
embittered, the family of a fatality would likely be left embittered.
One single accident could do great harm to the reputation of the
Anglican Church.
After mentioning some issues to do with safety, I just had time to
mention to Ruth Aidley a different matter, the image on the STC Youtube
video concerned with 'Streets of Light' which showhe side of a house
with lights on in multiple rooms. I pointed out that the electricity
used for lighting these rooms for 5 hours each evening for the duration
of the 'Street of Light' initiative would have a negligible, almost
non-existent impact on climate change, but this is the case with all the
electricity used by any house. What counts is the cumulative effect of
millions - billions - of houses and, also, the signal which this house
with its wasteful lighting sends out, that this is a church which isn't
willing to do nearly enough to combat climate change. The Streets of
Light initiative amongst other defects encourages waste of resources.
After mentioning this, after just a few minutes in the building, Ruth
Aidley ordered me to leave at once. I didn't leave at once, not quite,
and she repeated the order. I left after a very short delay. This is no
way to promote the reputation of the Anglican Church, or the STC section
of the Church. It blocks means of communication and is a sign that, for
all the talk of love and the writing about love, STC's pursuit of
positivity at all costs, even when the situation can't be given positive
'spin,' STC is capable of abysmal failure when dealing with people. I'm
a non-Christian, and this experience has had an effect. I had made it
clear to Ruth Aidley that I had called at STC simply with this in mind:
I had great concerns about the implications for safe working of the
'Streets of Light' initiative, the practical work needed to put up a
window display, I didn't expect anyone to listen to the evidence I had
available at the time - I recognized that there were many demands on
people's time - but I was happy to return on any day and at any time to
speak about the matters, which I regarded - and still regard, of course
- as very important.
Best Wishes,
Paul Hurt
Safe use of Christmas lights demands some attention to detail. Safe use
of lighting for a 'Streets of Light' window display demands some
attention to detail too, but the 'Streets of Light' Website ignores
electrical safety completely, since it ignores general safety
completely. This is a very detailed guide to electrical safety
https://blog.christmas-light-source.com/can-led-fairy-lights-catch-fire/
Any electrical device or appliance can start a fire if it is damaged or used
in poor operating conditions
...
Safety things to remember when installing Christmas lights:
-
Make sure the wiring of all the lights is in great condition.
-
Use a timer or turn off the lights when you aren’t in the same room or
home with them.
-
Don’t stretch lights across metal edges or put stress or tension on the
wiring.
-
Don’t decorate a Christmas tree with flammable decor
-
Be sure to choose a fresh tree if you go the natural, real-tree, route,
cut off the end of the trunk, and make sure it stays watered. See this
artcle about Christmas tree safety for more information.
-
Don’t use staples when installing lights since they could be
accidentally pierced.
-
Don’t install too many light strings in a project and exceed the
manufacturer’s specification for maximum number of light strings to be
run in series.
-
Don’t exceed more than 85% of your household breaker’s maximum
capability (ask an electrician to help calculate this figure for your
breakers)
-
Never daisy chain extension cords or exceed a cord’s maximum current
rating
-
Have a Master Electrican examine your Christmas light display to make
sure you are staying inside the lines of common sense electrical
practices.
'Don't decorate a Christmas tree with flammable
decor.' But the 'Streets of Light' Website recommends using flammable paper
in quantity at a window to block views of the room from outside, and has
nothing to say about the light sources near to the flammable material, if
any are used - and it's likely that in many cases, supplementary light
sources will be used near the diplay. There's no mention of candles or
electrical lights which work at a higher temperature than LED lights, or the
need to check the wiring of LED and other lights or to observe any of the
precautions in this detailed list.
A Youtube video produced by Which?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95g7z73vG-k
'Fire or
electrocution were the
risks faced with half of
the Christmas lights we
tested from online
marketplaces. Christmas
tree fires can take hold
very quickly so having
any ignition source near
them can be a real risk,
that's why we tested 13
sets of lights from
eBay, Wish and
AliExpress for safety.
For our test, we bought
lights from both the
high street and online
marketplaces and what we
found was shocking.
We’re calling for online
marketplaces to have
greater legal
responsibility for the
products that are sold
on their sites.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr6b9b8FYKk
The title of the Youtube
video: 'Christmas tree
fire turns devastating
and deadly within
seconds.'
The step-ladder I'd use
if I were putting in
place a display at this
small window for 'The
Streets of Light'
initiative - not that
I'd ever have done that.
The step ladder is
strong and heavy.
There's this warning
clearly visible on the
step ladder:
WARNING
For your safety, follow
the instructions on the
left hand side of this
product.
Even when using a step
ladder of this quality
and following the safety
rules for using step
ladders, working on the
step ladder still needs
great care. It should be
unthinkable to expect a
child to use the step
ladder or to expect a
child to help with
putting up decorations
on a window or putting
tissue paper on a window
whilst standing on a
chair or something just
as unsafe.
Below, screen-shots taken from the 'Streets of Light' Youtube video. I've
blocked parts of the image to conceal evidence of identity and converted the
colour images to a sepia tone.
Profiles, with images: churches
in Sheffield participating in 'Arise 2021,' - and people
Not all the churches taking part in 'Arise 2021) are included in the
list of churches below. Profiles, mainly of people but also
of churches, have been inserted into the list. Existing profiles will be
revised and extended and many more profiles, of people and churches, will be
added, but only of churches, and people at the churches, listed below.
Before the list of churches, there's a list of people discussed here, with
links. It will be extended, of course. If people move on, to a different
church, the material won't be removed but it will be updated, if information
about the move is available to me. I'm always willing to consider removal of
a profile, but I resist very firmly demands for removal of this page or any
other page - the importance of free expression is stressed on this page, my
page on Christian religion and other pages of the site. Contact would have
to be by email but I make clear on the Home Page and other places my policy:
'Emails
sent to me won't be released into the public domain, including publication
on this site, unless with the sender's permission.'
List of profiles of people, in appearance-order
Alex Shilkoff (Diocese)
Pete Wilcox (Diocese: Bishop of Sheffield)
Alan Ward (STC)
Helen Ward (STC)
Ruth Aidley (STC)
Liam Brennan (STC)
After the list of churches, there's background
information on this section. A good way of approaching
the section but not the only way, of course, would be to scroll down quite
quickly. You'll find that the images are a prominent part of the section. If you think the
material seems to merit a closer look, you might take a more leisurely look
at some of the material. This is the newest section of the newest page of
the site. The material here will be revised and extended, with more
profiles, fuller profiles and more background information.
All Saints Church, Totley
All Saints, Aston
All Saints, Ecclesall
Antioch Community Church
Attercliffe & Darnall Centre of Mission
Bamford Methodist
Bents Green Church
Bents Green Methodist
Bethel Sheffield
Bride of Christ
Bushfire Ministries
They believe in the 'Last Days' at Bushfire Ministries - and almost
certainly at almost all the Churches in this list. From the Bushfire
Ministries Website
https://bushfireministries.co.uk
'Founded by leaders Andy & Heidi Tiplady in 2005, Bushfire has the
DNA of revival running through its veins. With a church base in the north of
Sheffield, there is a contingency of believers in Sheffield and across the
world, who believe that there will be a mighty end time harvest of souls. We
also believe the words of Jesus said in Matthew 24 that there will be an
increase of difficulties both in society, in nations, and in the physical
earth.'
From the 'Arise' Website
https://www.arisesheffield.org/
Arise Sheffield arranged for Royal
Mail to send an Easter card to every home in Sheffield.
Over 240,000 Sheffield-themed Easter cards were printed so that Royal Mail
could deliver one to every home in Sheffield, offering prayers, practical
support, and the opportunity to connect with someone from a church near
them.
Did the people who received these cards realize that
there were ulterior motives, that the cards had been delivered not just to
direct the people to a welcoming church but to save their soults from hell?
Calvary Deliverance Ministries
Cemetery Road Baptist Church
Central United Reformed Church
Christ Abiding Ministries
Christ Church Central
Christ Church Darnall
Christ Church Dore
Christ Church Endcliffe
Christ Church Fulwood
Christ Church Gleadless
Christ church Heeley
Christ Church Hillsborough & Wadsley Bridge
Christ Church Pitsmoor
Church of Christ Darnall
Church on the Corner (Elim Pentecostal Church)
City Church Sheffield
City of Refuge Foursquare Church
Cornerstone Benefice (Stocksbridge, Deepcar & Bolsterstone)
Crown of Life Community Church
Diocese of Sheffield
Alex
Shilkoff, Strategic Programme Director, Diocese of Sheffield
From the twitter page of the Strategic Programme
Director, Diocese of Sheffield
https://twitter.com/ashilkoff
'Some great jobs working with some fab people.
Take a look'
Pete Wilcox, Bishop of
Sheffield
This is a copy of a letter I wrote which was
published in the Sheffield newspaper 'The Star' on January 28, 2019. It can
also be found at
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/your-say/can-public-c-of-e-services-be-defended-1-9560350
The letter gives a brief summary of my reasons
for opposing the Church of England's role at Remembrance Sunday
commemorations. The letter contains this direct question: ' ... does he
believe that C of E Remembrance services for the general public can be
defended?' It may be that the Bishop doesn't read the newspaper, or didn't
see this particular issue of the newspaper, or that some of the clergy at
Sheffield Cathedral did see the letter but thought it might be tactless to
bring it to the attention of the Bishop, or that the Bishop did read the
letter and thought that the matter wasn't important enough for him to reply,
or that he couldn't think of a defence. I won't speculate any further. The
letter published in 'The Star:'
'According to the British Social Attitudes Survey,
affiliation with the Church of England (C of E) has never been lower in all
age groups: it amounts to only 2% of young adults.
'What can justify
the C of E's dominant role in Remembrance Sunday commemorations, then? I
attend the event in the city centre or at Weston Park. Like ones throughout
the country, it takes the form of a C of E service.
'There are many,
many prayers and after each one, this is the expected response (as given in
the Order of Service booklet):
'All Hear our prayer
'What is a non-believer or a believer in another religion to do? Mumble
insincerely? Stay silent? Should non-believers pretend to believe in the
power of prayer, or in the Trinity - the doctrine that there's God the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (also in the booklet)? We attend to
remember the fallen, to show gratitude for their sacrifice, to show
gratitude and appreciation for present members of the armed forces, not to
witness a C of E service.
'Sometimes, a decline in support for an
organization is unfair, but not in this case. There are and have been many,
many exceptional C of E members but the catalogue of C of E failings is
long.
'Edward Wightman was the last person in this country to be
burned alive for heresy. He had denied the Trinity and questioned the status
of the Church of England. The C of E still remembers and celebrates John
Calvin, who denounced Michael Servetus (also burned alive after denying the
Trinity). The Bishop of Sheffield's doctoral thesis was on the subject of
John Calvin! The C of E remembers and celebrates to this day St Augustine,
who actually taught that unbaptized babies are in hell.
'A large
number of Anglicans believe in hell, of course, although not for unbaptized
babies. This is the view of the C of E conservative evangelical group
'Church Society.' (There are obvious implications for the fallen and for
those who attend Remembrance events.)
' ' ... all people are under the judgement of God and his righteous anger burns against them. Unless a person
is reconciled to God they are under His condemnation and His just judgement
against them is that they will be separated from Him forever in Hell.' The
Society claims this is 'clearly stated in the 39 Articles of the Church of
England.'
'I understand that the Bishop of Sheffield has evangelical
beliefs, with a conservative tendency. Perhaps he may be able to comment on
this doctrine, perhaps on John Calvin as well. And does he believe that C of
E Remembrance services for the general public can be defended?'
'Pete Wilcox describes
himself as 'an
evangelical, and quite a conservative person.' He says that 'The bible matters to me a
great deal.' These comments were made in an article published un 'The Star,'
Church Society, a Conservative
Evangelical group in the Church of England:
' ... all people are under the judgement of God and his righteous
anger burns against them. Unless a person is reconciled to God they
are under His condemnation and His just judgement against them is that they
will be separated from Him forever in Hell. (Romans 1 v18, 2 v16, Revelation
20 v15)
' Jesus will come back and the world will end, there will then be a final judgement where those who have not accepted Jesus will be cast into hell
with Satan and his angels. Christians will receive new bodies and live in
eternal bliss in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Spirit. (Hebrews 9 v27, Revelation 20 v11, 1 Corinthians 15 v51)
' The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the
centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of
England:
Article 6: Of the sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation.
Article 1: Faith in the Holy Trinity
Article 9: Of Original or Birth-sin
Article 2: The Word, or Son of God, who became truly man
Article 4: The resurrection of Christ
Article 11: Of the Justification of Man
' Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under his condemnation ...'
Good works are no defence. Article XII 'Of Good Works' states
'Good Works ... cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's
Judgement.' Whether the good works include bringing safe drinking water to
people ravaged by water-borne diseases such as cholera by means of massive
engineering works, or rescuing Jews from the Nazis, or opposing the Nazis by
heroic action in battle, or everyday goodness and self-sacrifice, if there's
no belief in Jesus Christ, the good works are ignored, in this loathsome
scheme, and there's no salvation.
Are the Bishop's Conservative Evangelical views the
same, or are they different in some ways? The Church Society statement has
obvious implications for Remembrance. Does Pete Wilcox believe that those who
fell in war are separated from God forever if they never accepted Jesus
Christ as their personal lord and saviour ?
This is from The Church of England Website (A Christian presence in every community)
https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/morning-prayer-contemporary-saturday-26-may-2018
¶ Morning Prayer on Saturday
Saturday, 26 May 2018
Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605 [Lesser
Festival]
John Calvin, Reformer, 1564
[Commemoration]
Philip Neri, Founder of the Oratorians, Spiritual Guide,
1595 [Commemoration]
The service begins with this:
O Lord, open our lips
All and
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
The doctoral thesis of Pete Wilcox was on the 'thought and practice of
John Calvin:
'Restoration, Reformation and the progress of the
kingdom of Christ : evangelisation in the thought and practice of John
Calvin, 1555–1564.'
As is well known, Calvin denounced Michael
Servetus as a heretic. Michael Servetus had denied the doctrine of the
Trinity, the doctrine that God consists of God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Spirit. Michael Servetus was burned alive.
Above, John Calvin
Above, Michael Servetus being burned alive
My own view is that Calvin has obvious historical importance, for
people interested in Reformation theology, and historical importance in the
history of humanitarian thought and practice, as a hideous example of cruel
intolerance. I haven't been able to consult the Bishop of Sheffield's thesis, but
his interest is obviously in Calven's place in Reformation theology. Is this
aspect of his
background, obviously important to him, of any use whatsoever in approaching
the problems of this industrial city and the people who live and work here?
Sheffield's industrial past and present will be of
far less importance to the Bishop of Sheffield than the theological
controversies of the past and present, but industry has always presented
problems for theology, generally unrecognized, and continues to do so. This
is just one example. From Friedrich Engels, 'The Condition of the Working
Class in England (1844) described conditions at the time. Here, he compares
conditions in Sheffield with conditions in Manchester:
'In Sheffield wages are better, and the external
state of the workers also. On the other hand, certain branches of work
are to be noticed here, because of their extraordinarily injurious
influence upon health ... By far the most unwholesome work is the
grinding of knife-blades and forks, which, especially when done with a
dry stone, entails certain early death. The unwholesomeness of this work
lies in part in the bent posture, in which chest and stomach are
cramped; but especially in the quantity of sharp-edged metal dust
particles freed in the cutting, which fill the atmosphere, and are
necessarily inhaled.'
I live near to a valley where a large number of
industrial operations flourished during the industrial revolution and in
some cases later. The work included the manufacture of cutting tools,
absolutely essential tools, without which society would have ground to a
halt. The grinding operation was an essential step in their manufacture,
and the workers paid the price. They were exposed to these dangers but
they weren't exploited. It was impossible to protect them. Modern
methods of protection depend upon technical advances which lay in the
future. The Articles of Faith of the Church of England are relevant to
these workers if you accept these articles of faith. They aren't
relevant in any way if you regard them as hideous. They are given on the
Church of England Website - so much the worse for the Church of England.
Dore
Dore & Totley Christian Fellowship
Dore & Totley URC
Dore and Totley IRC
Dore and Totley United Reformed Church
Ecclesall All Saints
Ecclesall Church of England
Elim Central Church
Emmanuel Church Sheffield
Emmanuel Waterthorpe
Galeed House Darnall
Gatehouse
Gleadless Valley Methodist Church
God’s Righteousness Bible Church
Grace Church, Handsworth
Greenhill Methodist Church
Hampden View Wesleyan Reform
Harvest Field International
Hatfield House Lane Methodist Church
Heeley Parish Church
Hillsborough Baptist Church
Holy Cross Gleadless Valley
Hope Centre
Hope City Church
Hope Family Arbourthorne
International Christian Worship Centre
Jubilee Centre
Kings Centre, Nether Edge
Lansdowne Chapel
Liberty Church
Living Waters Christian Fellowship Darnall
Meadowhead Christian Fellowship
Meersbrook Park United Reformed Church
Millhouses Methodist
Mosborough Elim Church
Mount Tabor Methodist Church
NCS Sheffield – St Thomas Philadelphia
Nether Green Methodist
New Christian Covenant
New Hope Community Church
Oughtibridge Parish Church
Our Lady of Beauchief & St. Thomas of Canterbury
Our Lady of Lourdes
Pitsmoor Methodist Church
RCCG (Amazing Grace Tab) Hillsborough
Richmond Church
Rock Christian Centre, Burngreave
Sacred Heart Catholic Church Hillsborough
Salvation Army Sheffield Citadel
Share Pioneer Ministry (Parson Cross)
Sheffield Central Elim Pentecostal Church
Sheffield Christian Life Centre
Sheffield Nazarene
Sheffield Vineyard
Shiloh United Church
Shiregreen IRC
South Anston Methodist
South Sheffield Evangelical Church
Southern Light Community Church
Spa View Community Church
St Alban’s House Community
St Andrew’s URC
St Catherine of Siena
St Chad’s Woodseats
St Francis Bramley
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
St Gabriel’s, Greystones
St James Anston
St James Woodhouse / Central Mission Partnership / St John’s Park
St John’s Chapeltown
St John’s Owlerton
St John’s Park
St Leonard & St Mary’s Armthorpe
St Luke’s Lodge Moor Sheffield
St Margaret’s and St Thomas
St Mark Mosborough
St Mark’s, Grenoside
St Mary Magdalene Whiston
St Mary the Virgin, Beighton
St Marys Handsworth
St Matthew Carver Street
St Patrick’s, Sheffield Lane Top
St Paul’s Norton Lees
St Paul’s Parson Cross
St Paul’s, Wordsworth Avenue
St Peter’s Church Ellesmere
St Peter’s Greenhill
St Philip’s
St Polycarp’s
St Vincent’s Catholic Church
St William of York Sheffield
STC (St Thomas Church) Sheffield
Alan Ward
STC (St Thomas Church, Sheffield), 'Sunday
talks,' 17 October 2021
https://stthomascrookes.org/talks/does-god-heal-today/
Alan Ward on Acts 3, 6, 7, 8, the 'miraculous' healing of a lame man,
a man unable to walk from birth: 'They see Paul and Barnabas and this
incredible miracle, this incredible healing, and they think - these guys
must be something special.' (His commentary begins at 6:0.) The spectators
are superstitious, credulous pagans - thy think Paul and Barnabas are pagan
Gods. Alan Ward has a very different interpretation, a superstitious,
credulous Christian interpretation - this is a healing by the Christian God.
He never mentions, he's obviously never considered the obvious difficulty:
if God healed the lame man, why has God done nothing to heal the countless
victims of plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, coronavirus, the victims
of accidental injury? Is he unable to - are his powers limited - or is he
not good at all?
The achievements of modern medicine could be called 'miraculous,' but not in
any religious sense: achievements which are the result of arduous,
protracted work as well as magnificent achievements of the intellect and
scientific insight. He's the beneficiary of modern medicine - in his talk,
he mentions that he's had knee surgery and cartigale repair. The knee
surgery will have required anaesthesia, which is yet another medical
'miracle,' the result of human achievement, not at all the achievement of
'God.'
The image above shows a man unable to walk suddenly cured, no longer having
to use a wheelchair. The Roman Catholic Church claims that miracles happen
at Lourdes. Alan Ward would probably regard this claim as Popish
superstition. The claims he makes amount to Protestant superstition.
Helen Ward
Ruth Aidley
Above, the large display at STC followed by window displays in houses which
signed up to the 'Streets of Light' initiative, all including the word
'love' - a word which is grotesquely overused and misused. It's easy to use
the word, much harder to try to make realities match up to claims which can
be blatantly insincere.
I don't know what LOVE Ruth Aidley has for her fellow Christians and for
non-Christians. Behaviour can be a better guide than professions of faith. I
hope Ruth Aidley would regard me as an opponent rather than an enemy, but I
wouldn't want Ruth Aidley to love me. A person often needs fair treatment,
not love, and never needs insincere expressions of love. This is
disastrously misguided as a general precept:
Countless examples could be given which falsify it, which show its
unreality. During and after the uprising in Warsaw to oppose the Nazis, any
Poles who claimed to love the Nazis would have been lying. j
Ruth Aidley is the Administrator at STC. In the column to the left there's a
copy of an email I sent to Administration at STC. An extract:
' ... after just a few minutes in the building, [... after I had been in
the building a few minutes] Ruth Aidley ordered me to leave at once. I didn't leave at once, not quite,
and she repeated the order. I left after a very short delay. This is no
way to promote the reputation of the Anglican Church, or the STC section
of the Church. It blocks means of communication and is a sign that, for
all the talk of love and the writing about love, STC's pursuit of
positivity at all costs, even when the situation can't be given positive
'spin,' STC is capable of abysmal failure when dealing with people. I'm
a non-Christian, and this experience has had an effect. I had made it
clear to Ruth Aidley that I had called at STC simply with this in mind:
I had great concerns about the implications for safe working of the
'Streets of Light' initiative, the practical work needed to put up a
window display, I didn't expect anyone to listen to the evidence I had
available at the time - I recognized that there were many demands on
people's time - but I was happy to return on any day and at any time to
speak about the matters, which I regarded - and still regard, of course
- as very important.'
Liam Brennan
Tapton Hill Congregational Church
The Crowded House
The Michael Church Lowedges United Reformed Church
The New Hope Community Church
The Rock Christian Centre
The Salvation Army
The Vine
The Well Sheffield
Totley Rise Methodist
Trinity URC Hunters Bar
Upperthorpe christian community
Victory Assembly
Wadsley Parish Church
Welcome Baptist Church
Wesley Hall Methodist Church
Whirlow Spirituality Centre
Wisewood Methodist Church
Yorkshire Baptist Association
Zion United Rerformed Church Oughtibridge
Navigation: to other pages.
Clicking on highlighted text takes you to the
page
PAGE-HOME
SITE: MAP
PAGE-TRAVEL
SITE: ABOUT
EMAIL
Navigation: to sections of this page. Clicking on
highlighted text takes you to a page-section.
This is the newest page on the site. It will be
revised and extended.