Don't judge? Denounce!

This Christmas I was uninvited to a family gathering because of my support for my church's position on human sexuality and morality. I was told that I was to follow the Biblical admonishment to not judge. 

Of course I was being judged, but I didn't bother to point that out.

Everyone makes judgements. When is it appropriate to say something?

The following quotes from Crisis came to me in a timely post, 

We live in an age that regards the identification of sin as the worst of all sins. As Regis Nicoll points out, “Today instead of 10 commandments, there is just one: thou shalt not judge.” Even within Christian circles, it is common to hear the phrases “Don’t judge” or “I’m not judging.” So afraid are we to commit this transgression called judgment that we hesitate to call out even the most blatant of wrongs...

....The truly tragic thing about this moratorium on judgment is its ironic consequence of creating a vastly more judgmental world. The “nonjudgment” worldview holds that behavior is mostly OK, so long as it doesn’t have negative consequences for other people....

When we allow fear to eclipse our responsibilities to admonish grave wrongs and encourage virtue over vice, we abandon duties central to Christianity. Instructing the ignorant and admonishing the sinner are spiritual works of mercy that we seem to have abandoned due to the misguided notion that it harms rather than helps our neighbor.

...If our culture succeeds in sanitizing our discourse of moral values, of appeals to the good, all that will be left to govern our future is power. We cannot leave our future to the hands of whichever perspective manages to amass the most power—void of any criterion on which to judge the value of that viewpoint. So, let us own our prophetic call as Christians and, with it, our right to denounce certain practices and promote others according to the criteria of love and goodness established by the Word of God. 

For the sake of individual souls as well as the future generations we will never know, we must refuse to be silent. We must raise our voices, however “unsafe” our echoes may resound in delicate ears. When they accuse us of judgment, let them. 

Let them!

 

John 1

The first Sunday of Christmas brings us the first part of the Gospel according to John, John 1:1-18.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart,* who has made him known.

Note that at the very beginning of the Gospel, John introduces one of his major themes, one that will recur several times, and that is the theme of light versus darkness. 

Let your light shine! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Meanwhile in England: University students stage "‘A Gay in A Manger"

From Premier Christian News,

 There has been outrage among Christian students at a university in York following a controversial portrayal of the traditional nativity.

York St John University’s LGBTQ network put on a production called ‘A Gay in A Manger’ in which the baby Jesus and his parents Mary and ‘Jo’ were depicted as homosexual.

The plot saw Mary and Jo being close friends with ‘Queen Herod’ as they called for a party across the land.

The description on the student union website reads: 'Mary and Jo packed their pride flags and set off on the long journey to the best gay club this side of the Red Sea – Heaven.'

A second-year politics and international relations student, Josiah Diamond, wrote to the university to raise concerns that the play was discriminatory.

He had also added that such performances would not be tolerated if they were to target other religions and faiths.

The student union responded, claiming there was no difference in treatment and that it was a ‘reinterpretation of a religious theme’, therefore protected under artistic expression.

Mr Diamond responded in a letter writing: “This portrayal is not only blasphemous in a direct sense, but of a particularly offensive and violating nature to adherents of the faith and openly opposing doctrine.

“By allowing this performance to go ahead, the university is supportive of groups who chose to openly mock the Bible.”

Responding to the claims by Mr Diamond, Donna Smith, the chief executive officer of the student union, said that whilst they are proud of their Christian heritage, they are committed to being inclusive.

She had also added that, according to UK law, she has found 'no evidence' that the play constitutes unlawful harassment, discrimination, or hate speech.

No evidence that the play constitutes unlawful harassment, discrimination, or hate speech?

Imagine if the students had put on a play starring a homosexual Mohammed. 

Oh yeah, that would have constituted those offenses you can rest assured of that.

Plus the University and the students would have been attacked by mobs of outraged Muslims. 

But Christians have been taught to turn the other cheek and to pray for our enemies.

Thank God for that.

Christmas is near

This Sunday's reading from Matthew 1:18-25 is the lead in to Christmas,

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Meanwhile in India: Franklin Graham is persona non grata

Christian suppression continues in India, 

From Anglican Ink,

The Indian government has denied a visa to American evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who was due to take part in an event organised by the Kohima Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship on 30 November. The incident has provoked a strong wave of indignation in Nagaland, an Indian state with a Christian majority. The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has called the decision ‘selective and discriminatory’ and described the refusal as ‘deeply offensive to the feelings of the Naga people’.

In its statement, the NSF highlighted the contradiction of the central government, which on the one hand decided to relax the requirements for obtaining a Protected Area Permit (PAP) for foreign visitors attending the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland’s largest cultural event. On the other hand, however, it denied a visa to Graham, son of Billy Graham, a well-known Baptist preacher who became popular in the last century. ‘This inconsistency is indicative of a discriminatory mindset,’ the federation reiterated.

Nagaland, governed by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in alliance with the BJP, is one of the few Christian-majority regions in India. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio personally wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah on 28 November to urge the issuance of permits for foreign visitors during the festival.

However, Franklin Graham did not receive the green light. The preacher is considered a controversial figure due to some of his past statements. In 2010, for example, in an interview with USA Today, Graham described Hindu gods as incapable of offering salvation: “No elephant with 100 arms can do anything for me. None of their 9,000 gods will lead me to salvation. We are deluding ourselves if we think that all we need to do is organize a big kumbaya ceremony, hold hands and everything will be better in this world. It will not get better.”

Advent 3: More than a prophet

 This Sunday's reading is from Matthew 11:2-11,

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet?* Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

   who will prepare your way before you.”

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

To be the least in the kingdom of heaven must be a great thing indeed. 

 

 

Roman Catholic Priest Gets a Spanking

When an Episcopal priest pulls a stunt like the following, he/she/them/they is/are praised, but when a Roman Catholic priest does it, he gets spanked.

From Fox News, 

A Nativity scene at St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, a suburb of Boston, shows an empty manger with a sign reading "ICE was here," along with contact information for a group that monitors immigration enforcement in Massachusetts.

Rev. Stephen Josoma, the pastor at St. Susanna, said the church's peace and justice group organizes a display annually. Josoma told Fox News that they, "try to see what would it be like if Christ was born into the context of the world today, what would he be facing?"

Josoma calls the Nativity scene "religious art," and shared with Fox News Digital that it's intended to "evoke emotions in people."

"It's supposed to affect people deeply, it's supposed to move people, it's supposed to change people," Josoma said. "So, if this evokes a strong reaction, it's maybe good to take a look at that..."

...The archdiocese’s secretary for communications and public affairs, Terrence Donilon, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the sign was "divisive political messaging," and called for its removal.

"The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging," he wrote.

The statement further said the church's norms "prohibit" using sacred objects for any other purpose than, "the devotion of God's people." 

"St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church," wrote Donilon. "The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose."

Josoma has used controversial Nativity scenes in the past. He has used them to send messages about gun control, climate change, and also reportedly had baby Jesus placed in a cage separated from his parents during Donald Trump's first presidency in 2018. 

The archdiocese should have done something about this priest in 2018. I don't recall if they did or not, but I suspect not because further research on the subject shows that this priest has been in and out of trouble for a while.

From Leo Lyon Zagami in 2018,

Way back during Cardinal Bernard Law’s tenure, Irish parishioners at St. Brendan’s in Dorchester were scandalized to see their pastor, Fr. Ron Coyne and his ‘co-pastor,’ Fr. Steven Josoma, openly conducting themselves as a sexually intimate couple inside and outside the sanctuary.  They sought intervention from the Vicar Forane, Auxiliary Bishop, Cardinal Law, and ultimately the Holy See, and when it got to the point where the priests were reportedly simulating the Sacrament of Marriage in the sanctuary to homosexual couples, the parishioners called the Cardinal’s office and demanded the removal of the priests.  After both were sidelined for several years, under Cardinal Sean O’Malley they were reinstated as pastors.

 In 2005, Josoma played a part in a skit at a parish event with another gay-advocating buddy (now-former priest, Fr. Bob Bowers). As reported by the Globe, their skit included a joke with sexual innuendo about comparing a part of the male anatomy saying “mine’s bigger”. Fast forward to 2013 when the pastor and parish were in the news again over plans to host a presentation by Austrian dissident priest, Fr.  Helmut Schuller.  The talk was part of a U.S. tour co-sponsored by 10 dissident organizations that publicly disagree with the Catholic Church’s teachings that prohibit homosexual activity, gay marriage, women priests, and married priests. Co-sponsors included gay-agenda-advocates like DignityUSA and New Ways Ministry, as well as Call to Action, FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful, and Women’s Ordination Conference.  Thankfully, Cardinal O’Malley banned the priest from speaking at St. Susanna’s, saying he would not allow anyone to speak on church property who advocates beliefs in conflict with church doctrine.  (We wish that policy were upheld more consistently, but more on that in a moment).  But why was Fr. Josoma on-board with having such a dissident present at his church in the first place?

I doubt this priest will ever be defrocked. 

A recipe for Advent

 This Sunday's reading is from Matthew 3:1-12,

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

   make his paths straight.” ’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

That part about burning the chaff with unquenchable fire probably really chafes most revisionist preachers. They may not even notice since they usually focus their attention on how antiestablishment and countercultural John the Baptist was for his time. 

It is also possible that the revisionists will ignore John the Baptist because he was too far out there. I mean, who eats locusts anyway? 

Maybe locusts aren't all that bad. 

According to the internet,

"Locusts have a mild, meaty flavor that is often compared to shrimp or nuts. They can be cooked in various ways, such as frying or coating in chocolate, to enhance their taste."

Yummmm! 

Serve some up at coffee hour after church!

 

If Jeffrey Epstein had only had this...

 Dr. Death is at it again according to The Daily Mail,

Dr Philip Nitschke, the first doctor in the world to administer a legal, lethal voluntary injection, and the inventor of the controversial Sarco pod, is presenting his latest gadget...

...It's the Kairos Kollar that Dr Nitschke is live demonstrating to his observant guests, but on a plastic mannequin with silver hair, of course.

It works by putting pressure against the carotid arteries and baroreceptors in the neck, cutting off blood flow to the brain and causing the wearer to lose consciousness before dying. 

In a post on X, Dr Nitschke could hardly conceal his excitement for the developing technology: 'The Exit Kairos Kollar, an important development in the assisted dying quest…fast, reliable, drug free..and, importantly, unrestrictable!' 

...For the doctor, one of the most important considerations when developing new technology is how it'll dodge what he perceives as each country's restrictive assisted suicide laws. 

That's what makes Kairos Kollar such a 'game-changer', according to his website.   

'You can build your own collar and suicide is not a crime,' Dr Nitschke told his guests, according to the Herald Sun which attended the workshop in Amersfoort.

'It will work like an airbag in the car, when you press a button, bang, faint and die.' 

In this particular session, the Kairos Kollar is designed with a particularly cheerful colour pallet, considering its purpose - fit a rainbow-coloured rim and bright orange tubes. 

The contraption provides a 'peaceful, fast and reliable passing', it's 'cheap and simple to make' and is 'entirely lawful', according to Exit International. 

Who needs a rope anymore? 

In Portland Oregon the Christmas tree is reduced to dead wood

 First they took Christ out of Christmas when they started calling it "Xmas," and the next move is to remove the Mass like they have done in Portland Oregon. 

From Fox News, 

Portland, Oregon, is under fire for again hosting its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony and nixing any mention of the Christian holiday, while leaders of the event instead waved a Palestinian flag and led the crowd in chants. 

"Free, free, free Palestine," a woman holding a Palestinian flag on stage of the lighting event said while leading the crowd in a chant Friday evening, before also singing the "Strong Woman Song" while joined by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, which is a confederation of three native tribes in Oregon. 

The event was decked out in Christmas lights, a traditionally decorated tree and a visit from Santa Claus, but did not promote any mention of Christmas, with organizers instead advertising the festive occasion as "Portland's 41st Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony," according to social media accounts for Pioneer Courthouse Square, where the tree is displayed. 

Fox News Digital reviewed the Portland government's Facebook, X and Instagram accounts and found advertisements and footage showing the tree lighting, but did not include the word "Christmas." A calendar for the annual event shows organizers have bypassed calling it a "Christmas" tree lighting event going back to at least 2019. 

"Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony." Bah, humbug! 

Yet another reason to not live in Portland. 

They let doctors kill people there don't they? 

They are trying to kill Christmas too.

Jesus will prove them wrong just as he did on that first Easter morning so long ago.

Maybe that is the perfect reason to move to Portland and spread the Good News! 

Christ is alive! 

Celebrate his Mass!

It's a Christmas tree for heaven's sake!

Turn on the lights!