John Harvey bravely intervened after a gang of 12 yobs started vandalising a cricket club where he works in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and grabbed the main culprit.
The groundsman at Linden Park Cricket Club called police as he held the teenager telling cops he had caught the yob in the act and they should send an officer to arrest the teen.
But as the 47-year-old was desperately trying to keep hold of the teen as the other yobs - armed with sticks surrounded him - the police operator warned him he could be charged with assault.
Mr Harvey said: "I expected to be thoroughly supported by the police as a civilian and not rebuked.
"I was expecting a response car immediately. I had restrained someone in the act of vandalism and she said 'I must warn you, you are leaving yourself open to an assault charge'." Read more
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Thursday, 28 April 2011
University campuses are 'hotbeds of Islamic extremism'
Islamic fundamentalism is being allowed to flourish at universities, endangering national security, MPs and peers said yesterday.
Academics are turning a blind eye to radicals because they do not want to spy on students, a report claimed.
Despite "damning evidence" of a serious problem, little progress had been made in tackling the unsustainable situation, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security said.
They urged the Government to tackle the issue on campuses with "utmost urgency".
Such extremism "endangers our security at home and has international implications that are serious enough to threaten our alliance relationships", said the group, which includes the former home secretary Lord Reid. Read more
Academics are turning a blind eye to radicals because they do not want to spy on students, a report claimed.
Despite "damning evidence" of a serious problem, little progress had been made in tackling the unsustainable situation, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Homeland Security said.
They urged the Government to tackle the issue on campuses with "utmost urgency".
Such extremism "endangers our security at home and has international implications that are serious enough to threaten our alliance relationships", said the group, which includes the former home secretary Lord Reid. Read more
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Bishop of Chelmsford's Easter Morning sermon
[...] Perhaps Mary was able to stand and wait at the tomb, because she had also stood and waited at the cross. When the others had gone, she remained.
Can we do the same? Can we look long at the cross of Christ; can we linger at the tomb. For if we do, beauty, truth, hope is ours; even this: a share in the resurrection of Christ.
So look again. Do you see? Blood and water flow from Christ’s wounded heart? And from the scars of his passion flowers grow, the green shoots of something new.
It happened in a garden. It happened in spring, when flowers are blooming. Mary Magdalene stood in the garden on the dawning of the first Easter day and she beheld the Risen Christ. It can be so for us today, this Easter. No, Mary didn’t recognise him at first. But when he spoke her name she knew him.
Do you believe that Christ calls your name today? That he loves you? That he is looking for you? That he has a purpose for your life? Read more
Can we do the same? Can we look long at the cross of Christ; can we linger at the tomb. For if we do, beauty, truth, hope is ours; even this: a share in the resurrection of Christ.
So look again. Do you see? Blood and water flow from Christ’s wounded heart? And from the scars of his passion flowers grow, the green shoots of something new.
It happened in a garden. It happened in spring, when flowers are blooming. Mary Magdalene stood in the garden on the dawning of the first Easter day and she beheld the Risen Christ. It can be so for us today, this Easter. No, Mary didn’t recognise him at first. But when he spoke her name she knew him.
Do you believe that Christ calls your name today? That he loves you? That he is looking for you? That he has a purpose for your life? Read more
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Atheist Ricky Gervais – A Better Christian than Christians?
Are atheists better Christians than Christians are today? Famous comedian and English actor Ricky Gervais likes to think so.
Posting a holiday message for Easter entitled “Why I’m A Good Christian” in The Wall Street Journal, Gervais, a professing atheist, revealed that he is a “good Christian” compared to a lot of Christians.
To prove his point, he outlined the Ten Commandments and analyzed how he faired against each law. Giving himself a 10 out of 10 – passing all counts of murder, idolatry, and blasphemy – Gervais considered his perfect score “not bad for an atheist.”
The thrust of his message, however, was not focused on his own tallied “goodness,” but rather the lack of goodness in Christians today. Read more
Posting a holiday message for Easter entitled “Why I’m A Good Christian” in The Wall Street Journal, Gervais, a professing atheist, revealed that he is a “good Christian” compared to a lot of Christians.
To prove his point, he outlined the Ten Commandments and analyzed how he faired against each law. Giving himself a 10 out of 10 – passing all counts of murder, idolatry, and blasphemy – Gervais considered his perfect score “not bad for an atheist.”
The thrust of his message, however, was not focused on his own tallied “goodness,” but rather the lack of goodness in Christians today. Read more
Friday, 22 April 2011
Hope and change? A national gloom descends over Obama’s America
[...] Coming on the heels of two other major polls which show declining support for the president and mounting unhappiness with his handling of the economy, this latest New York Times poll will make the White House exceptionally nervous. There are renewed fears across America that economic growth is once again stalling, dragging down job creation and consumer confidence, and resulting in a 13 percent jump this month in the number of Americans who feel the economy is worsening. A national gloom has descended over Obama’s America, with potentially far reaching consequences for the 2012 elections, a contest that will largely be decided by debates over the economy. Hope and change is in the air, but not quite of the kind the Obama presidency envisioned. Read more
There's no such thing as 'big society' – just many small ones, under steeples
[...] As neighbourhood facilities such as the post office, the shop, the pub, the surgery, the police house, the branch library and the village school disappear, it is ironic that the one ubiquitous beacon of local community in a secular society is one that has stood since the middle ages, the church steeple. Its architecture may seem archaic, even alien. It might stand guard over a bleak cavern of a nave, filled much of the time with bats and ghosts. Its churchyard might be a gaunt, unusable waste, defying property developer and diocesan treasurer alike. But there it stands, a majestic, incontrovertible, everlasting fact – 10,000 Anglican churches alone are listed and untouchable.
The difficulty for the church, and especially the Church of England, is to find some synthesis between often furiously opposing views on the future of these buildings. Antagonism is not confined to atheists, to whom churches can anyway be places of beauty, but within the faith community itself. To many Christians, old buildings are irrelevant to belief – a distraction, an expense and a historical encumbrance, summed up in the evangelical catchphrase, "The church is not a church". I have lost count of the number of vicars, churchwardens, guidebooks and notices all vigorously asserting "this church is not a museum".
Anglican churches are museums, and should be proud of the fact. They are not just buildings devoted, in some sense of the phrase, to the muses of learning and the arts. They are also places for the display and enjoyment of the relics of a community's past and present. The church is where the rituals of life and death take place, where the dead in war and peace are remembered, where family is respected and recorded. Read more
The difficulty for the church, and especially the Church of England, is to find some synthesis between often furiously opposing views on the future of these buildings. Antagonism is not confined to atheists, to whom churches can anyway be places of beauty, but within the faith community itself. To many Christians, old buildings are irrelevant to belief – a distraction, an expense and a historical encumbrance, summed up in the evangelical catchphrase, "The church is not a church". I have lost count of the number of vicars, churchwardens, guidebooks and notices all vigorously asserting "this church is not a museum".
Anglican churches are museums, and should be proud of the fact. They are not just buildings devoted, in some sense of the phrase, to the muses of learning and the arts. They are also places for the display and enjoyment of the relics of a community's past and present. The church is where the rituals of life and death take place, where the dead in war and peace are remembered, where family is respected and recorded. Read more
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Banished for his Christian beliefs: Now electrician who had a cross in his van is thrown out of depot
The electrician making a stand over his Christian beliefs was yesterday thrown out of his workplace of 15 years for displaying a cross to mark Easter.
Colin Atkinson was told he had ‘violated’ his contract by revealing he had been disciplined for having the symbol on the dashboard of his company van.
Senior managers told the 64-year-old grandfather he could no longer work at the depot because he had ‘upset his workmates’. He has been moved to another depot but fears he will be sacked in days.
Despite Wakefield District Housing’s ‘anti-Christian’ rules, Mr Atkinson’s boss, Denis Doody, is allowed to display a poster of communist revolutionary Che Guevara in his office.
Read more
Colin Atkinson was told he had ‘violated’ his contract by revealing he had been disciplined for having the symbol on the dashboard of his company van.
Senior managers told the 64-year-old grandfather he could no longer work at the depot because he had ‘upset his workmates’. He has been moved to another depot but fears he will be sacked in days.
Despite Wakefield District Housing’s ‘anti-Christian’ rules, Mr Atkinson’s boss, Denis Doody, is allowed to display a poster of communist revolutionary Che Guevara in his office.
Read more
Andres Serrano's Piss Christ destroyed by Christian protestors
When New York artist Andres Serrano plunged a plastic crucifix into a glass of his own urine and photographed it in 1987 under the title Piss Christ, he said he was making a statement on the misuse of religion.
Controversy has followed the work ever since, but reached an unprecedented peak on Palm Sunday when it was attacked with hammers and destroyed after an "anti-blasphemy" campaign by French Catholic fundamentalists in the southern city of Avignon.
The violent slashing of the picture, and another Serrano photograph of a meditating nun, has plunged secular France into soul-searching about Christian fundamentalism and Nicolas Sarkozy's use of religious populism in his bid for re-election next year. Read more
Controversy has followed the work ever since, but reached an unprecedented peak on Palm Sunday when it was attacked with hammers and destroyed after an "anti-blasphemy" campaign by French Catholic fundamentalists in the southern city of Avignon.
The violent slashing of the picture, and another Serrano photograph of a meditating nun, has plunged secular France into soul-searching about Christian fundamentalism and Nicolas Sarkozy's use of religious populism in his bid for re-election next year. Read more
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Muslim Council: women cannot debate wearing veil
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said that not covering the face is a "shortcoming" and suggested that any Muslims who advocate being uncovered could be guilty of rejecting Islam.
In a statement published on its website the MCB, warns: "We advise all Muslims to exercise extreme caution on this issue, since denying any part of Islam may lead to disbelief.
"Not practising something enjoined by Allah and his Messenger… is a shortcoming. Denying it is much more serious." Read more
In a statement published on its website the MCB, warns: "We advise all Muslims to exercise extreme caution on this issue, since denying any part of Islam may lead to disbelief.
"Not practising something enjoined by Allah and his Messenger… is a shortcoming. Denying it is much more serious." Read more
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Rob Bell and Love Wins, Article by Simon Vibert
[...] Unhelpful advanced publicity
The short video promotional focused on a response he records in chapter one of the book: “Gandhi’s in hell. Really? … Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish?” Surely this served no other purpose than to stir up an unholy ferment ahead of publication.
Unhelpful reactions
Following the initial publicity some initial comments, including from high profile speakers, were quite sharp. I do not think that it helps to respond in this hasty way before the book was published and available for careful review.
Better was the debate between John Stott and David Edwards in Essentials which is a great model of how to disagree agreeably! See also chapter 6 of their book for extended discussion on Judgement and Hell.
Ultimately an unhelpful book
Bell begins with a key question:
Of course we do not know the answer to every question. But some things are very clear: God will judge the wicked and the only way to be saved is through faith in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. James 3 instruction to teachers sounds a sharp warning, Bell!
Read more
The short video promotional focused on a response he records in chapter one of the book: “Gandhi’s in hell. Really? … Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish?” Surely this served no other purpose than to stir up an unholy ferment ahead of publication.
Unhelpful reactions
Following the initial publicity some initial comments, including from high profile speakers, were quite sharp. I do not think that it helps to respond in this hasty way before the book was published and available for careful review.
Better was the debate between John Stott and David Edwards in Essentials which is a great model of how to disagree agreeably! See also chapter 6 of their book for extended discussion on Judgement and Hell.
Ultimately an unhelpful book
Bell begins with a key question:
Have billions of people been created only to spend eternity in conscious punishment and torment, suffering infinitely for the finite sins they committed in the few years they spent on earth?I think the Bible seems to say: quite probably; Bell thinks no. Surely the point is God never made me the Judge!
Of course we do not know the answer to every question. But some things are very clear: God will judge the wicked and the only way to be saved is through faith in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. James 3 instruction to teachers sounds a sharp warning, Bell!
Read more
Diocese of Los Angeles declines to endorse Anglican Covenant
[The Episcopal News, Los Angeles] -- Thanking the Anglican Communion for “taking this time of discernment” to develop the proposed Anglican Covenant, elected representatives of the Diocese of Los Angeles have issued a response declining to endorse the document.
"We cannot endorse a covenant that, for the first time in the history of The Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion, will pave the way toward emphasizing perceived negative differences instead of our continuing positive and abundant commonality," states the response, signed jointly by the diocese’s bishops and General Convention deputation. Read more
"We cannot endorse a covenant that, for the first time in the history of The Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion, will pave the way toward emphasizing perceived negative differences instead of our continuing positive and abundant commonality," states the response, signed jointly by the diocese’s bishops and General Convention deputation. Read more
Thursday, 24 March 2011
A family slaughtered in Israel – doesn't the BBC care?
[...] I have asked the corporation to let me know why, if the story was "prominent on the website", it was not deemed of sufficient merit to broadcast on television, and barely on radio. I have asked them to explain the inaccuracies and omissions in the reporting. And I have asked them what non-Japan, non-Libya stories made it to air, in preference. Twenty-four hours later, I have yet to receive a reply.
Like many of us, I consider the BBC to be a national treasure. I am not a BBC basher; I have never before complained. I do not support nor do I condone the Israeli settlement building. But none of that matters. This is a story about three children and their parents, slain with incredible cruelty, and its effect on the peace process. As a mother, I am shocked at the silence. As a politician, I am dismayed at the apparent bias and indifference. Yes, I will be filing a complaint – about a story I never heard. I hope Daily Telegraph readers will join me. Read more
Like many of us, I consider the BBC to be a national treasure. I am not a BBC basher; I have never before complained. I do not support nor do I condone the Israeli settlement building. But none of that matters. This is a story about three children and their parents, slain with incredible cruelty, and its effect on the peace process. As a mother, I am shocked at the silence. As a politician, I am dismayed at the apparent bias and indifference. Yes, I will be filing a complaint – about a story I never heard. I hope Daily Telegraph readers will join me. Read more
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Doubling of UK HIV rate prompts routine testing call
A doubling of new HIV infections in the UK in the past decade is leading experts to tell GPs to offer testing to all adult male patients in some areas.
Health Protection Agency data shows new UK-acquired cases rose from just under 2,000 in 2001 to nearly 3,800 in 2010.
Many of these new cases are among men who have sex with men and it is this group that campaigners hope to target.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched new guidelines for doctors in England. Read more
Health Protection Agency data shows new UK-acquired cases rose from just under 2,000 in 2001 to nearly 3,800 in 2010.
Many of these new cases are among men who have sex with men and it is this group that campaigners hope to target.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched new guidelines for doctors in England. Read more
Monday, 21 March 2011
It's time to decriminalise drug use, say peers
The war on drugs has failed and should be abandoned in favour of policies that treat addiction as a health problem, according to high-profile public figures including former heads of MI5 and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Leading peers – including prominent Tories – say that despite governments worldwide drawing up tough laws against dealers and users over the past 50 years, illegal drugs have become far more easily accessible. Vast amounts of money have been wasted on unsuccessful crackdowns, while criminals have made fortunes importing drugs into this country, they argue.
The increasing use of the most harmful drugs, such as heroin, has also led to "enormous health problems", according to the group.
The peers, along with MPs, have formed an all-party parliamentary group on drug policy reform that is calling for policies to be drawn up on the basis of scientific evidence.
It could lead to calls for the Government to decriminalise drugs, or, at least, for the police and Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute people for possession of small amounts of banned substances. Read more
Leading peers – including prominent Tories – say that despite governments worldwide drawing up tough laws against dealers and users over the past 50 years, illegal drugs have become far more easily accessible. Vast amounts of money have been wasted on unsuccessful crackdowns, while criminals have made fortunes importing drugs into this country, they argue.
The increasing use of the most harmful drugs, such as heroin, has also led to "enormous health problems", according to the group.
The peers, along with MPs, have formed an all-party parliamentary group on drug policy reform that is calling for policies to be drawn up on the basis of scientific evidence.
It could lead to calls for the Government to decriminalise drugs, or, at least, for the police and Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute people for possession of small amounts of banned substances. Read more
Sex before I get married? No problem, says Joanna the most glamorous vicar in Britain
[Ed: Ironic, in view of the previous story, about the same person]
She was born with a facial deformity and found fame through her forthright views on abortion. Now chaplain to the fashion industry, she is planning her wedding... and is as outspoken as ever
Given her formidable drive and forthright personality, it might seem surprising that we have heard so little of Joanna Jepson in recent years.
The glamorous cleric first came to public attention when she spoke out against a late abortion that had been carried out in 2001 - the termination of a 28-week-old foetus with a cleft palate.
[...] Is she opposed to sex before marriage? 'No,' she says firmly. 'I think it is part of getting to know someone and discovering if you have a future together.
'You have to get to know a person emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually, all of which are components of a relationship.
'But I am not living with Nick. I think setting up home is something you do after the wedding.'
Read more
She was born with a facial deformity and found fame through her forthright views on abortion. Now chaplain to the fashion industry, she is planning her wedding... and is as outspoken as ever
Given her formidable drive and forthright personality, it might seem surprising that we have heard so little of Joanna Jepson in recent years.
The glamorous cleric first came to public attention when she spoke out against a late abortion that had been carried out in 2001 - the termination of a 28-week-old foetus with a cleft palate.
[...] Is she opposed to sex before marriage? 'No,' she says firmly. 'I think it is part of getting to know someone and discovering if you have a future together.
'You have to get to know a person emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually, all of which are components of a relationship.
'But I am not living with Nick. I think setting up home is something you do after the wedding.'
Read more
Channel Four vicar says her show makes Christianity look sex-obsessed
The vicar starring in a new Channel Four reality show has accused the programme's makers of deliberately making Christians appear obsessed with sex.
The Rev Joanna Jepson, who is chaplain to the London College of Fashion, described the show, Make Me a Christian, as "sensational", "irresponsible" and "contrived" and claimed that she was duped into taking part.
Miss Jepson was so unhappy that she took legal action to try to force the producers to remove scenes involving her from the final cut, but was unsuccessful. She has now spoken out to distance herself from the social experiment, which features a lapdancer, a Muslim and a lesbian being asked to change to a Christian lifestyle.
Miss Jepson is one of a panel of four clergy charged with persuading the volunteers to live by the teachings of the Bible; the others are a Pentecostal minister, an evangelical preacher, and a Roman Catholic priest. Read more
The Rev Joanna Jepson, who is chaplain to the London College of Fashion, described the show, Make Me a Christian, as "sensational", "irresponsible" and "contrived" and claimed that she was duped into taking part.
Miss Jepson was so unhappy that she took legal action to try to force the producers to remove scenes involving her from the final cut, but was unsuccessful. She has now spoken out to distance herself from the social experiment, which features a lapdancer, a Muslim and a lesbian being asked to change to a Christian lifestyle.
Miss Jepson is one of a panel of four clergy charged with persuading the volunteers to live by the teachings of the Bible; the others are a Pentecostal minister, an evangelical preacher, and a Roman Catholic priest. Read more
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Chelmsford Diocesan Evangelical Association Meeting with Bishop Stephen Cottrell 2nd April 2011
Saturday 2 April 2011
Meeting with Bishop Stephen Cottrell
(followed by AGM)
Meadgate Avenue
Chelmsford
10.00 to 1.00
Coffee from 9.30
Coffee from 9.30
Our new bishop will lead us in a Meditation on Scripture, followed by a 'question and answer' session.
Annual General Meeting begins at 12.30pm
Enquiries 01245 492741
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Ofsted: Primary school history 'lacks narrative'
History teaching in primary schools lacks an overarching narrative because teachers do not know enough, the schools watchdog Ofsted has said.
At secondary level, the subject was generally taught well, but some teachers tended to "spoon-feed" students, a study by the body found.
But it was a "myth" that not enough UK history was taught, Ofsted said.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said children are growing up ignorant of UK history and "our island story".
Professional development
Mr Gove has stressed that he wants narrative British history to be "at the heart" of his curriculum review, and lamented the "trashing of our past".
Although Ofsted found that history teaching was good or better in most primary schools, it said some pupils learned about events, characters and periods but "found it difficult" to place them "within any coherent, long-term narrative".
This was partly because "many primary teachers did not themselves have adequate subject knowledge beyond the specific elements of history that they taught".
The curriculum "was itself episodic and militated against pupils grasping such an overview", the report said. Read more
At secondary level, the subject was generally taught well, but some teachers tended to "spoon-feed" students, a study by the body found.
But it was a "myth" that not enough UK history was taught, Ofsted said.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has said children are growing up ignorant of UK history and "our island story".
Professional development
Mr Gove has stressed that he wants narrative British history to be "at the heart" of his curriculum review, and lamented the "trashing of our past".
Although Ofsted found that history teaching was good or better in most primary schools, it said some pupils learned about events, characters and periods but "found it difficult" to place them "within any coherent, long-term narrative".
This was partly because "many primary teachers did not themselves have adequate subject knowledge beyond the specific elements of history that they taught".
The curriculum "was itself episodic and militated against pupils grasping such an overview", the report said. Read more
English and Welsh ordinariate launches website as excitement builds
The English and Welsh Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has launched a website to inform others about the new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church. Its head noted the “real excitement” at being involved in the new endeavor.
The website, www.ordinariate.org.uk, bears a welcome message from Fr. Keith Newton, the head of the ordinariate. Read more
The website, www.ordinariate.org.uk, bears a welcome message from Fr. Keith Newton, the head of the ordinariate. Read more
Friday, 11 March 2011
Gay couple end hotel payout claim
[...] Lawyers for the gay couple then submitted documents to the Court of Appeal claiming the religious beliefs of Mr and Mrs Bull should have been disregarded, calling for the damages to be increased.
But today the EHRC said the cross appeal was an "error of judgment" by its legal team and was being withdrawn.
Legal director John Wadham said: "This morning we withdrew our cross appeal in this case.
"It was filed initially because of an error of judgment on the part of our legal team.
"They submitted the cross appeal in an attempt to clarify the law around how damages are calculated in cases such as this.
"This resulted in it appearing that Steve Preddy and Martyn Hall were seeking to increase the amount of damages they receive because Mr and Mrs Bull's Christian beliefs had led them to break the law.
"This was not our intention and it was certainly not the intention of Steve and Martyn.
"I would like to confirm that public money will not be spent funding a claim for increased damages in this case." Read more
But today the EHRC said the cross appeal was an "error of judgment" by its legal team and was being withdrawn.
Legal director John Wadham said: "This morning we withdrew our cross appeal in this case.
"It was filed initially because of an error of judgment on the part of our legal team.
"They submitted the cross appeal in an attempt to clarify the law around how damages are calculated in cases such as this.
"This resulted in it appearing that Steve Preddy and Martyn Hall were seeking to increase the amount of damages they receive because Mr and Mrs Bull's Christian beliefs had led them to break the law.
"This was not our intention and it was certainly not the intention of Steve and Martyn.
"I would like to confirm that public money will not be spent funding a claim for increased damages in this case." Read more
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