BISHOPS ARE RIGHT TO DEFEND THE POOR
WHERE do you stop with an argument that declares, "the church should be thinking of those whose taxes supply benefits - not the desperate recipients"?
Does the government apply the same argument to foreign aid, defence and a host of other apparent requirements?
No of course not because this can't be backed up with words such as "scroungers" and typified like nowhere else in The Sun.
Only this morning the intro in their one-eyed and entirely unbalanced and unfair piece of reporting declares: "The war on scroungers will not let up even if the Lords vote against it tonight!”
Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith is defending his latest plan to place a £26,000-a-year cap on families but the nation's bishops have ganged up (bit of a Sun reporting bias there) to defeat what they see as an attack on the poor.
In a Britain where the less well off are constantly being hit by benefits restrictions - the bigger picture is pretty clear.
The poorer you are the harder it's going to get and we believe that in any civilised society it is the role of the better off to help those who can't find work in a world where jobs are shrinking.
If you believe the emotional and hysterical "scrounger" language then no doubt that will become the automatic excuse for siding with the coalition.
We accept there are a small minority of cases where people have chosen not to work and see benefits as an alternative, though the Bible is clear we should work as Paul himself said on several occasions in his letters.
But the bishops are right to have serious fears that the reforms will actually create real suffering among those who are poor. It is encouraging to see them being seriously pro-active in helping the poor, as scripture tells us to be.
Tonight's vote is likely to put the brake on the coalition's ongoing plans to restrict benefits.
And the argument they present of "where's the consideration for the poor ordinary working person paying taxes" does seem pretty desperate.
Let's apply the same rule to every area of expenditure where our money is often thrown into black holes.
Those waiting desperately for the next giro to fall through the letterbox will be watching events in the Lords a lot more anxiously than the individual who has returned home from his tax paying job!
And to dub them all scroungers – which if true would only put them in the same bracket as bankers who face no restrictions on their income – is unfair and downright WRONG!
CAMERON CAN'T JUST FOLLOW BITS OF THE BIBLE
DAVID CAMERON'S assertion that this is a Christian country is – on the face of it – to be welcomed.
But hold on a minute! No political speech can be viewed in isolation and there's a bigger picture – or should it be background here – which needs to be taken into account.
The Prime Minister described himself as a “committed” but “vaguely practising” Christian who is “full of doubts” and “constantly grappling with the difficult questions when it comes to some of the big theological issues”.
Nonetheless, he praised the King James Bible as one of Britain’s “greatest achievements” and said he would “stand up for the values and principles” of the Christian faith. “We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so,” he said.
So far so good, but is this the same David Cameron who has adopted as a personal campaign the drive to see gay marriage on the statute book by 2015 – a move roundly condemned by virtually every church leader including the head of the one to which the PM claims to be affiliated – the Church of England.
Then there's the small problem with his social policies which again have regularly drawn the wrath of the churches on this website as the poor have become poorer and poorer under the Coalition.
If he wants a return to Christian values – something, incidentally, which in the interests of political balance New Labour most certainly didn't – then Mr Cameron needs to read Genesis, Leviticus, Romans 1, and Corinthians where homosexual practice is condemned.
And he needs to read Isaiah 58 where God's approach to the "hungry and naked" is described. We're told to feed them and clothe them, not as modern parlance would have it to cut their benefits.
In a country where Christians often feel persecuted by the PC brigade a few pretty pro-Christian words from someone such as the Prime Minister can cause an over reaction and this is the case here.
Mr Cameron may be holding on to some romantic idea of what Christian Britain is all about. The truth is, Christian Britain must be dictated by the Bible he is currently extolling.
And we mean the whole Bible – not just the bits he fancies!
GET OVER YOURSELF RICKY
BORING is the only word left to use in response to Ricky Gervais' views on God. OK, he's an atheist – end of.
Yet most like atheists, he constantly feels the need to take cheap shots against Christ and his followers.
Given that most of those who believe feel no necessity to do the same towards him and his non-belief this tells us one thing.
He and those who claim not to believe may need to keep saying so in order to reassure themselves they are right - clearly they have doubts.
Somebody once said: "Atheism is nothing more than a crutch to avoid accepting the reality of an Almighty God." Spot on!
Gervais was once an angry young man who has become a grumpy old bore... a so-called comedian who needs to use mockery, abuse and unpleasant language to get a laugh.
May we kindly suggest he gets over himself!
JESUS IS MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BLOKE, JO
WE'RE glad comedian Jo Brand is going to a church service this Christmas!
Hopefully whilst she's there she may discover that Jesus - whom she describes as "a good bloke" - is actually the Saviour of Mankind.
We hope too that whoever is preaching in her chosen church on the 25th gives the gospel message hot and strong and that she and many others who aren't already, get saved.
Chat of nativity scenes, decorations, candles and all the rest is all well and good but the truth is that Jesus was born in a stinking stable next to a pub.
Why? Because he wanted all to know that he's the God of everybody and that to place his baby head on a pretty card seriously misses the point.
Jo's right in declaring that Christmas is "a time of year when we should be thinking particularly about people for whom Christmas is a grim or sad time and how it's not all about presents and consumerism.”
Quite right but she also needs to know that it's a time of the year when we celebrate the birth of the Messiah – the Saviour of the World.
We need to know we can be born again in His Spirit and that he is coming again. Don't get Left Behind when that happens Jo!
WE MUST PRAY FOR SPEED'S FAMILY
WALES football manager Gary Speed's passing has stunned football.
No death i n the history of the game seems to have affected so many for Gary was football's 'quiet guy' universally respected and recognised as one of the nicest guys in professional sport.
It appears that the former Leeds midfielder/striker committed suicide after his body was found hanged at his home on the outskirts of Chester. Police said there were "no suspicious circumstances".
Those who knew him - Robbie Savage, Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen among them - paid immediate and deeply held respects to the man.
And the young man he made skipper - Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey - said: "I was given the tragic news this morning (Sunday). To say I am devastated is an understatement.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to Gary's family and friends."Today the world has lost a great football manager but even more sadly a great man. He will be missed by all."
News of the Word joins Aaron in praying for 'Speedo's' family and friends, that in their darkest moment God will supply the peace that passes all understanding.
BISHOP SHOULD PREACH TO PROTESTORS
THE Bishop of Exeter has explained that he's told the Occupy Exeter anti-capitalism protesters in his grounds they have got it wrong.
He accuses them of copycatting St Paul's and points out there are no financial institutions around the cathedral.
Well of course he's right and everything he says is entirely self evident but is the Bishop missing a trick here.
There aren't ANY major financial institutions anywhere near Exeter as far as we know and these youngsters – as youngsters will – are simply jumping aboard a bandwagon with which many sympathise.
The Bishop claims they haven't been invited or welcomed but "we will be warm and friendly" which seems to be a little anomalous.
Perhaps rather than join the debate on the world's economic situation the Bishop and his staff should dictate the terms of this "occupation."
As these youngsters seem so seen to get so close to the cathedral perhaps the local clergy should ensure the gospel is preached to them hot and
strong each day with a choir in place to ensure the worship goes with a swing and that God in his heaven is glorified.
Two things may happen:
• Souls will be saved
• The grounds will empty and the cathedral can carry on business as usual
IT'S ABOUT TIME!
LET'S not waste a lot of words...no fancy declarations of joy and celebration because that all goes without saying. Just three words sum up British Mail's decision to produce stamps featuring scenes from the nativity depicting the birth of Jesus, with each showing a Bible reference from either Matthew or Luke’s gospel. ABOUT TIME TOO!
LIBRARIAN SHOULDN'T BE SACKED
ANYBODY who gets people talking and discussing the Bible should be applauded - not run out of town!
Librarian Jesse Foot managed to achieve the near impossible down in Cornwall by making national headlines for the Word of God.
He put the Bible on a book-burning list along with many other works of literature posing the question: “Which ones would you burn.”
As a practicing Christian worshiping in an evangelical assembly he knew he would get a major response by suggesting the Bible should be included. What he could not have expected was the sack.
The promotion ensured the Bible was mentioned everywhere but now he is being investigated by his employers Cornwall Council for bringing the local authority into disrepute and faces a charge of gross misconduct. It looks likely he will be sacked!
The question is: "Why?" What crime has he committed and where is the harm in anything he has done.
The only beneficiary of all of this is the Lord he serves and the book which he gave us in order to ensure we ran our lives the right way.
Excuse our cynicism but maybe THAT's the problem because we can't think of any other
ST PAUL’S SHOULD KEEP FUNCTIONING AS A HOUSE OF GOD
The St Paul’s protestors received acres of publicity on the morning TV programmes in which they kept repeating one central issue: “The church should engage with the broader issues.”
In fact they meant ISSUE – which is capitalism and their personal dislike of what they consider an exploitive system.
We can all take a view on that but one thing is for sure, the broadest issue as far as St Paul’s Cathedral is concerned is to keep itself functioning as a house of God.
At the moment they are unable to and the fall-out in terms of resignations is becoming catastrophic.
 The protestors will continue to argue the church has a role to play in helping them overturn a system they don’t like.
Surely the facts here are much simpler! St Paul’s is a handy place to pitch a tent, and because the church at large is called to peaceful co-existence, the protestors believe NOTHING MUCH WILL HAPPEN.
The church is then told that it ought to be supporting the cause in which the protestors are engaged thus being dragged into a row of which it really has no part – however much those parked in their tents may argue to the contrary.
Like every church and cathedral, St Paul’s’ is called to be a house of Prayer.
Jesus didn’t given instructions for his church to become a home to political activists (of any colour) and anyone who argues to the contrary simply doesn’t understand Biblical principles.
What’s happening here – under the direction of the enemy of our souls – is that the church is being smeared by those who reckon they have a cause.
And the argument has shifted from the drawbacks of a political creed to the attitude of a major church which understandably doesn’t want hundreds and hundreds of campers on its land.
Persuasive arguments are raised about where the church should stand on the matter but surely the simple truth is this: St Paul’s stands on the word of God and is not here to be hijacked by anybody with a flag.
As the row goes on we urge you to continue praying that a peaceful solution is brought about by our God in his perfect timing.
DO THE RIGHT THING - GET RID OF UNETHICAL INVESTMENTS
JESUS explains to the disciples, using a parable, that God wants us to invest. But in the parable of the talents he’s talking as much about our gifts (that is the special abilities we have been given) as he is about money.
Of course, we need money to live – but we can’t turn it into an idol.
And if we are to use it to further God’s kingdom, we shouldn’t be investing in businesses that promote the immorality that the Bible tells us we should have nothing to do with.
Why then, after so many years of the Internet and its fascination with porn, is the Church of England only now threatening to wield its financial muscle?
The cynics would say it’s because of the Jo Yeates case that has made the leaders of the Anglican Church squirm. They may say that without such a high profile case, the Church of England would continue to turn a blind eye.
Now we’re all guilty of saying one thing and doing another, but we should expect the leaders of the Anglican Church to show a good example and take its cash out of such operations.
The Internet does wonderful things and without it News of the Word wouldn’t reach as many people so easily. But the Church of England has, until now, sat back and allowed the devil to use the Internet for wholly inappropriate means.
We would urge the Church of England to pile on pressure so the Internet Service Providers do more to stop porn being so easily accessible – more so than ever before.
But if they get nowhere, the funds should be pulled out and put into ethical businesses. You will find further down this page an earlier comment about shares that the Church of England has.
It’s time now for a real commitment from the CofE to invest in ethical ways – and use its money to help others, rather than keep it for the future. You can’t serve God and mammon!
ALICE, WE APPLAUD YOU
IT'S a pleasure – after taking Sir Cliff Richard to task for his comments on euthanasia and gay marriage – to today congratulate a rock star for his work in the Kingdom.
And it shows again what a great sense of humour God possesses for Alice Cooper's stage image is as far removed from Sir Cliff as one could imagine.
The British pop star is as squeaky clean as it gets while “Alice” – or Vincent Furnier to give him his birth name – Is the Goth horror shock singer who first appeared on our stag es back in the 70s.
His show involved electric chairs, snakes and no shortage of blood and gore. For years he lived the “Alice” lifestyle – as he admits in the story published on our news pages.
Then at the height of his drink addiction he gave his life to the Lord and was thoroughly born again.
He is a proud Christian who has kept the faith for many many years, and admits to being in church every Sunday because he wants to be and constantly praises Jesus – his deliverer!
Now he is helping kids down in Arizona study the Bible and leading classes.
It demonstrates again that it's all about heart rather than appearance.
Most might have thought that God wants a super-clean image, such as that presented by old Sir Cliff whose stage act is as sanitized as it gets.
Instead he is using a man whom many churchgoers would frown upon big time given what they would probably see as a menacing stage act.
But such as Vincent Furnier – and indeed the late but much lamented Johnny Cash – are, and were, men of the word who took the Bible very seriously indeed, whilst not necessarily keeping the “great and good” onside!
Well done “Alice” – we applaud you!
 YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR US SIR CLIFF
SIR CLIFF RICHARD has perhaps been the acceptable face of Christianity in this country for too long.
Much has changed since he gave his life to the Lord very publicly and bravely 50 years ago.
But nothing in God's word has changed on the subjects the one time rock singer chooses to address...euthanasia and homosexuality.
In the latest outpourings, the 71-year-old says that if he ever gets dementia he and his sister have agreed “not to let it go on for too long”.
He says: "I have discussed it with my sister. I said, look if this happens to me... I'll do the same for you if you'll do it for me, don't let it go on too long."
We understand where this view comes from given that he watched a beloved mother, who suffered dementia, die.
Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease that robs people of their mind, but in the view of News of the Word he is WRONG!
We have the following questions for Sir Cliff to answer:
• Question 1: If you accept that you have been created by God, who knitted you together in your mother's womb, what gives you the right to believe you can take your own God-given life?
On homosexuality and gay marriage the Bachelor Boy boldly declares: "I have got friends, same-sex couples, men and women, who have been together for decades. So for them it's marriage, even though they can't call it marriage. It probably isn't marriage as such because marriage we recognise as being man and woman and having babies... That's neither here nor there for me."
• Question 2:“Please give us one example of God sanctioning such a situation in the Bible! Before the Cross in Leviticus God speaks against homosexuality and in Romans (post Cross) he does the same through St Paul.
Having babies may be neither here or there to Sir Cliff but were the world to adopt gay marriage as the norm and all were to become homosexuals the world would close down – the devil would finally have achieved his aim of ending God's creation!
We feel it our duty today to tell Sir Cliff that instead of discussing the possibility of dementia with his sister, he would be better employed talking to Christ; firstly that he doesn't become a victim of it, and secondly that if he does he knows very clearly what GOD thinks – not his sister.
We also feel it our duty to tell Sir Cliff that by adopting the “gay marriage” development he is surely mocking God's model for marriage: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
There is a little too much of "me, my, we and I" in Sir Cliff's latest views and not enough God-breathed scripture.
We are sorry to have to say it, but his rantings seems as out of touch to God's Word as his music clearly is to this generation.
We know it is almost a sin for Christians to stand against this man, but given his current views it's difficult to see how he can continue to act as a standard bearer for the faith we serve.
GOVERNMENT TURNS TO CHRISTIANS AS IT TURNS BACK ON BIBLE
AMAZING isn't it? The coalition Government is turning to Christians to help them out in what is rapidly becoming a Dickensian Britain.
Such is the economic mess across the United Kingdom, it seems the emergency loans for those in the most serious need – often as little as £50 – are no longer available.
Job centres will instead be sending them off those in desperate need to a food bank to collect the basic items needed for survival!
This is not a political site, but we have no hesitation in declaring this is a national scandal.
It's the first time in history a British Government has handed the seriously hard up, totally skint or utterly down and out a "food parcel" – which isn't even supplied by them.
It's the Christian world that has been asked to answer the call to do so when every value we stand for is knocked, abused and debased by an increasingly secular society.
A government which wants to introduce fully fledged gay marriage by 2015 – a policy which goes totally against Bible-believing Christianity – turns to the same Christians to help them out of an economic hole many believe their policies are making considerably worse.
It's a total hypocrisy, a thought process that suggests that we in the Christian world are a soft touch – people who will help out when even the Government can't cope.
Of course, we will and in so doing will hopefully win many to the Lord through caring compassionate Christianity in action.
We will show the kind of mercy and hope this Government won't or can't supply because they simply have no answers to the economic crises sweeping across this land.
But we never believed we would ever see this day...if you will excuse the pun it supplies a serious food bank for thought!
WATCHDOG TO BE APPLAUDED
IN times when Christianity finds itself coming under increasing pressure a small victory over secular forces is something to be celebrated.
Thankfully, we will not now be confronted with a "winking Jesus" declaring miracle deals on phones during Holy week following a ruling against Phones 4 U by the Advertising Standards Association (ASA).We are grateful for small mercies but wait a minute: do we think Jesus would be particularly concerned by such a thing or more anxious for the Godless people who dream up these blaspehmous ideas.
Most anything goes in the wicked world of advertising so for this campaign to be overturned on the back of less than 100 complaints is the real miracle.
But surely our hearts should bleed – as no doubt Jesus' does – for those who believe this was a good idea for an advertising offensive.
The ASA is to be applauded for taking a stand at a time when our faith is seen as an Aunt Sally for every unbeliever who wants to take poke fun, or worse.
But Jesus doesn't need us to defend him! All he asked us to do was to pray - so let's do that for every individual powerbroker in the world of advertising.Indeed we're making it our prayer point for the rest of September.
Join us as we pray: “Lord, we bring all those in the media/advertising world who know nothing of you before you now…” click here for the full prayer
HEALING THROUGH PRAYER IS ALL THAT WORKS
NEWS of the Word has great sympathy and affection for the work of The Christian Institute...they fight valiantly and with great logic for a variety of causes on behalf of our faith.
And it's easy to understand why they have taken up the case of the 'spiritual healing' being trialled at a Sutton Coldfield Hospital.
They argue that with Christian hospital workers being told not to wear emblems of faith it's wrong to encourage Buddhist healing techniques.
Of course, but we would add it's equally wrong to give people with the bowel problems this is designed to help, false hope that some eastern-originiated mumbo jumbo will help them.
One thing is for sure – the only spiritual healing that works; we've seen it many times, is Christian healing through prayer.
And when the 200 people being recruited to take part in this exercise fail to show a single sign of recovery maybe then the authorities responsible for this latest piece of silliness may be moved to stop such madness.
In the meantime our sympathies go to the “guinea pigs” who are heading for a big disappointment, and admiration to the Christian Institute who yet again are at the sharp end of Christian campaigning!
EVANGELIST'S WARNING SHOULDN'T BE IGNORED
There's always a danger in the Christian world that people become unbalanced when discussing "last day signs".
News of the Word really won't make the same mistake but we can't let the American earthquake of yesterday pass without mention.
Even Great Britain's tennis hope Andy Murray felt the aftershock declaring to his twitter account:"Earthquake at flushing meadows! Weird weird feeling thought I was dizzy."
Before his untimely death in a road crash David Wilkerson – whose daily devotionals continue to appear on this site – was convinced that America's ungodliness was seeing her head for a major catastrophe.
David's prophetic pedigree was outstanding and thus we need to look at Jesus' words to his disciples when discussing what would occur prior to his Second Coming.
In Matthew 24: 6 and 7 our Lord declares: "And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars...for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilence and earthquakes in various places."
The website http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/qed/ shows that within the last 10 days there have been no less than 61 'quakes in various parts of the world.
However the latest, in Virgina, was located in an area which is not in the least recognised as being a quake area and on another specialist website the event was greeted with near disbelief.
We have never considered ourselves and sensationalist site - that is not our purpose - we are here merely to bring you news from the Christian world and comment upon it when we feel it necessary.
But we also believe that every word Jesus taught was true and thus we would be foolish not to observe the signs which appear to be there for all to see.
Look into these things – don't OVERLOOK them!
MURDOCH EMPIRE COLLAPSE SHOWS GOD IS MOVING
WE, as Christians, have to take a totally balanced view of Rupert Murdoch…the global influence of his multi-national corporation and the ‘hacking’ at the now defunct News of the World!
And before going anywhere in this article let’s make it clear that all of us at News of the Word – as experienced long terms journalists – loathe, despise and hate everything that has gone on inside Fortress Wapping.
We understand too that there are many unanswered questions that will – WE PRAY – be cleared up over the next few months as police investigations continue.
However, what we saw happen in the House of Commons when a select committee had Father and Son Murdcoh in front of them for three hours raised one serious question.
Do we as a nation approve of a select committee of MPs adopting what at times seemed like a “posse mentality” to get their man.
As Christians we want to see “fair play” whatever we may instinctively feel about any particular situation.
The police investigations are continuing and at many times yesterday the central figures involved cited the fact that this was ongoing and therefore they couldn’t answer MPs questions.
So why on earth was the Select Committee set up at all at such a time given that few real questions could be answered?
Our view is that God is moving on this nation – filth and corruption is being uncovered in the media; the law allowing Christians to exercise their consciences over whether to allow homosexuals to sleep together in their own homes is being looked into; and Coronation Street continues to lose viewers.
Now today we report that Bath and North East Somerset Council has agreed to fund a new Christian sixth form that will involve it borrowing £2m.
It's not all bad news for Christians in this country. Let's remember our Prayer Points page and continue to believe this could be the start of revival in our nation.
SELL THOSE SORDID SHARES!
THE Church of England has threatened to pull out its investment out of News Corporation.
But threats are not enough. The fact the Anglican Church has investments in a company that makes money from the Page 3 girls of The Sun is an outrage.
It's far too late for ethical investment groups to make threats – because it's clear the people on that group have questionable judgment when it comes to ethics.
How can the Church of England have thought investment in a group that peddles gossip (a sin) and takes such a judgmental attitude – as their newspapers The Sun and the News of the World has done for years – was such a good and faithful investment?
The second the Church of England heard about the hacking incident in 2005 they should have sold their shares.
But the lack of doing so just highlights how out of touch some of the leaders at the Church of England are, and how it must stop making comment on others and their use of money (including that of government investment) until it cleans up its act.
We demand the Church of England sell its shares in News Corp and all companies that are clearly unethical! To do otherwise would be hypocritical.
THE NEWS OF THE WORD
THE News of the World is no more – but just because we carry a similar name doesn’t mean we’ll be making any changes.
The News of the Word will not and never has dealt with tittle-tattle, gossip or sleazy topics! We are a Christian news organisation that is passionate about getting the Word of God out there to people who don’t know about Him and His love.
And it was during a vision to one of our staff, Dave, that News of the Word came was born.
While thinking about how to reach non-believers and the use of outreach newspapers, a very clear vision was given to him – that a free paper should be handed out in the style of the Metro.
That paper would carry stories about Christians and the faith that show we’re not a "religion" but a movement of believers in relationship with Jesus Christ!
When it came to a name, nothing came to mind – but then the Spirit spoke whispering: "News of the Word.” And that is exactly what this news site is all about and the planned paper will become, it was clearly a great choice ... God knows best!
It was during a chat with a soon-to-be staff member, Hugh, that Dave discovered the same title had been used in the Christian news column his new colleague had written for a local newspaper before it was dropped when a new secular editor had arrived.
The name had been used for over 60 years and God was not going to be mocked – he brought Dave and Hugh together to ensure the title was resurrected. So God had spoken and News of the Word as an organisation was born. Our mission statement wasn’t written by some fancy agency – it’s directly out of the Bible: 1 Corinthians 9, 18 “That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.”
That’s where News of the Word came from, and the evil that has worked its way into a newspaper to turn it from a once-proud publication to a byword for gutter press won’t change that. Because we can’t argue with God’s reasoning.
We thank you for allowing us to give you an insight behind News of the Word and want to become the news source you really can trust.
LET THE SPIRIT FLOW
THE Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, the Bishop of Lichfield, has called for shorter church services, claiming the current hour and a half is too much for newcomers to take.
There is only one response to that: if the Holy Spirit is present nobody is clock watching and becoming bored during meetings but instead being swept away into the glory of HIS presence during meetings.
People will always find time to do the things they want to do and cutting a service by 20 minutes won't suddenly have them pouring out of bed declaring: "Oh I've only got to be there for 50 minutes instead of an hour-and-a-half.”
So may we kindly suggest and outpouring of the Holy Spirit would have a far greater effect on attendances than a 20 minute or so cut on the service duration.
There's no clocks in eternity – let the Spirit flow.
BONO SHOULD COME TO TERMS WITH CHURCH’S FAILURE
U2's B ono is a professing Christian! His songbook is loaded with Christian messages and many of his arguments can be used to win people to the faith.
He is often a fine example of Christianity in action with his many humanitarian efforts aimed at relieving suffering.
A planned demonstration against him and his band's alleged escape from UK taxation was foiled as they headlined at Glastonbury at the weekend as the festival season swung into action.
And given what he and the others do for charity that was no bad thing.
Sadly, however, a member of our staff received a message on Facebook claiming that he had come out with this statement at some point during the Glasto gig: "...’religion is a club’ I truly can't be part of a club-give me something real that affects my life-not safe sweet s**t with small minded attitudes that squash life!"
As Christians we can identify with some of that because there is always a serious danger we can sink into a meeting after meeting sub culture if we aren't very careful.
However, Bono's comment is extremely unhelpful to the many who evangelise and through their faith attempt to bringing the message of Christ to a hurting world.
He had an TV audience of millions before him at Glastonbury and instead of knocking "religion" could just as easily have put in a word for Christ.
Instead, he put out a message that could have had many unbelievers thinking he had given up on his own faith as he took a wild swing at what he calls "religion".
Bono has seemingly had a long held obsession on the problems of church exemplified in a line from one of his most famous songs..."I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
He's basically saying that although he knows Christ died for him he hasn't found what he's looking for in what we call church.
Many could say, “join the club mate” but instead faithfully get on with their calling whilst trying to come to terms with the failures of "church".
Bono's constant harping was once his problem and his alone. Now he should understand that as a powerful Christian in an increasingly secular society such statements as his at Glasto only help the opposition forces.
It's a shame too that in the many years that have passed since he first recorded "I Still haven't found what I'm Looking For" he hasn't appeared to have moved on in his perception of church.
Thank God for the thousands and thousands who realise that church has been imperfect since the Lord returned to heaven but are doing their best to make it better and more relevant to the Gospels.
FOCUS ON BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
THE Anglican Church needs to rapidly return to biblical principles if it is to continue as a Christian movement.
While we would always urge churches to welcome every man, woman and child into its fold and offer unconditional love, biblical principles cannot be ignored.
Jesus always offered unconditional love, but he was also very forthright about the Scriptures and the way in which they rule how believers in one God should live under His commands.
We know that most of us fail to do that, but that God loves us because our sins were paid for by Jesus’ death.
We’re not saying that those unbiblical things that all Christians do each day are any more acceptable, but it isn’t always done with disobedience on such a grand scale.
The subject of same-sex marriages is quite clearly not on the agenda in the Bible – so the Church of England should be steadfast in its beliefs and refuse such ceremonies in church.
But with so many homosexual clergy with vested interests, this is a new dawn that threatens to further tear the Anglican Church apart.
Dr John Sentamu is right to point out that the CofE should not interfere with other religions, so it’s high time the Christian church was offered the same respect by Parliament and other bodies.
The baffling thing is that same-sex partners are largely resolute in their opposition to the Christian faith. So why do they want a church ceremony anyway? Is it to force their views on others? And will Mosques and Sikh Temples be made to accept the same rulings? We doubt that very much.
General Synod needs to take heed not of personal opinions, but purely and simply the word of God. To do otherwise is a clear sign of ignoring the very God they purport to worship.
NO LOGIC IN ARGUMENT
EQUALITY chief Trevor Phillips claims Muslims are integrating better into society than fundamental Christians.
He also reckons "an old time religion is incompatible with modern society" and clashed with mainstream views, especially on homosexuality.
Interesting that, because the last time we looked, gay people were neither executed or flogged for their behaviour in Christian countries but simply reminded of the Biblical stance, something they can now only do at the risk of prosecution.
Islamic countries take a quite different view on what the Quran calls 'sodomy' and back in 1991 Iran adopted the extreme punishment of execution for such activity within its Constitution.
Articles 108-113 say:
Sodomy is a crime, for which both partners are punished. The punishment is death if the participants are adults, of sound mind and consenting; the method of execution is for the Shari'a judge to decide.
On April 7, 2005 it was reported that Saudi Arabia sentenced more than 100 men to prison or flogging for "gay conduct."
Islam therefore is far harder on the issue than Christianity yet if we believe Trevor Phillips it is us who are the danger to modern society.
Those holding views he describes as "old time religion" would justifiably claim they are "Bible-based views" and that his expression is euphemistic and without real substance.
It's not actually Christians Phillips is attacking but the Bible. So the question is: Do we do what we believe the Word of God says or what the head of the Equality Commission wants us to do?
The arguments that Islam fits better with modern society especially on homosexuality is the logic of the madhouse given the examples above.
And Christians can argue quite effectively therefore that it's they who are again on the receiving end despite Phillips' claim he'll defend our faith along with others.
To do THAT he must defend the Bible which he effectively derides as “old time religion”. With such a confused thinking in high places, is it any wonder Christians believe they really are the ones coming under more and more persecution?
OUT OF TOUCH
IF we are to believe BBC1 controller Danny Cohen, EastEnders veteran character Dot Cotton represents an ordinary Christian living out her faith.
He had been challenged challenged to provide instances of ordinary believers on television who were not "freaks, geeks or antiques".
Dot it seems was the best he could do – an EastEnders chain smoking gossip for whom the description hypochondriac doesn't even get close.
If this is how the BBC1 controller perceives us Christians is it any wonder that we are being sold further and further down his on screen river year on year.
May we suggest that Mr Cohen gets in touch with the heart of the church by attending any one of the hundreds of charismatic meetings that can be found right across the country on any Sunday of the year.
It may enlighten him and give him some new character ideas which would not only help to give his programmes the 'wow' factor he loves to talk about whilst representing the Christian community properly rather than by he walking cliché that Dot has become.
PREACH THE GOSPEL AND GOD WILL HONOUR HIS WORD
CITY Gates Christian Centre - under the dynamic leadership of Liverpool born Steve Derbyshire - is an example of what can be achieved when the gospel is preached with full force.
Steve – a self-confessed former Everton football hooligan, drug addict and arsonist – has built a church where thousands have been saved over the last 30 years.
That he should now be at the head of a project which will see a £7.5m church rise in the east end of London, where fundamentalist Islam and many other faiths are claimed to flourish, is a tribute to him but he quickly gives all the glory to the God who pulled him from the gutter.
Steve – who confesses to having been Merseyside's “most famous arsonist” – was imprisoned for a variety of offences before being saved when his mother and father dragged him into a church whilst he was in a drugs coma more than 30 years ago.
He said: "The only place I had left to inject drugs was in the soles of my feet but I remember this pastor standing over me and saying: 'Do you accept Jesus as your saviour' before he said: 'If you had been the only person in the world he would have done it for you.'
"I murmured 'yes' and although I was completely out of it, God heard me and has never taken his hand off me as he has led me on a wonderful journey.”
Steve was delivered from drugs and brought to the east end of the capital where after seeing so many saved in his multicultural church is now completing the dream God placed on his heart.
In a day and age when churches are closing across the country, the new City Gates is a glorious reminder to depressed Christians that "our God rules" and that it is our duty to preach his gospel with full power.
Do that and God will honour his word just as he has done in Ilford!
THREE CHEERS FOR OPENING DEBATE
ROWAN WILLIAMS’ decision to introduce his opinion into the political debate raging across the country has been greeted with the boos and cheers usually reserved for a Punch and Judy show!
But the fa ct that the Prime Minister has decided to respond by declaring him “wrong on many levels” means those that those telling him to keep his nose out of politics have had there’s put out of joint.
For the PM has clearly decided that unlike some of his supporters he relishes a bit of opposition and has validated the Archbishop's comments by responding!
As the leading churchman in this country the Archbishop has every right to declare his point of view on issues affecting what might be seen as his “flock” - the downtrodden and worst affected by what’s happening politically.
We an all agree or disagree with what the Archbishop has to say on the political scene but News of the Word applauds him for bravely putting his case.
Not because we may or may not necessarily agree with him but because here is a leading churchman actually doing his job before God.
But the fact that the Prime Minister has decided to respond by declaring him “wrtong on many levels” means those that those telling him to keep his nose out of politics have had there’s put out of joint.
As the leading churchman in this country the Archbishop has every right to declare his point of view on issues affecting what might be seen as his “flock” - the downtrodden and worst affected by what’s happening politically.
And he certainly has a point when claiming we are being hit by a range of policies for which nobody voted because what is happening within the coalition is something the like of which no-one has seen in this country in peacetime.
We can all agree or disagree with what the Archbishop has to say on the political scene but News of the Word applauds him for bravely putting his case.
Not because we may or may not necessarily agree with him but because here is a leading churchman actually doing his job before God.
In an increasingly intolerant 21st century Britain, Rowan Williams has taken on not only the Conservative and LibDem politicians, but the National Secularists and the British Humanists and all who believe that religion should be eradicated from the public sphere.
The Archbishop Cranmer website puts it like this: 'Those who refer to the fact that Dr Williams is himself unelected are spectacularly ignorant of our institutions of government.
'What he is doing is evident to all who have ears; to all who understand history, the religio-political function and purpose of the monarchy, the development of our system of government and the checks and balances which have evolved over the centuries to limit the exercise of absolute and arbitrary power.'
We at News of the Word give the Archbishop three very loud cheers!
SOAP MAY HAVE TURNED PEOPLE OFF SUICIDE
EUTHANASIA and assisted suicide is a no!
Let's get that out of the way straight off. God gave us life and it is not ours to take - thus we at News of the Word will always come down firmly against when this is under discussion.
However, having watched the final scenes of the long running Emmerdale storyline it has to be said that anyone considering taking their own life in such a manner would surely have been put off.
The scenes were gut wrenching, horrific and totally ruined the often romantic picture of the individual concerned slipping quiety away whilst choirs sang in the background.
This was suicide in the raw and in no way did the producers, screenplay writers, or actors glamourise it. Indeed at the end of it all it made a pretty convincing argument against euthanasia.
However, let it be said very firmly that such scenes should never, ever, have been shown before the 9 pm watershed.
Any claims this was being shown in the public interest can be kicked straight into touch. It was done for ratings - pure and simple.
But if it has helped even just one person from doing the near unimagianable then some good may have come from this shoddy little bit of 'soap' melodrama.
WATCHING WITH INTEREST
MANY editors in the secular press will no doubt be telling Europe to keep its noses out of our business after it asked the UK Government to make a statement about its treatment of Christians in the UK.
But the debate over the European Union and our sovereignty is a different matter.
What we welcome is the fact that someone in Europe has noticed that Christians get treated differently to people other faiths and those with none.
Ministers dare not get involved in the right of Muslim women to wear burkas – and the fact it isn’t actually a stipulation in the Koran – for fear of being labelled racist.
So they appear to take their frustration at religion out on Christians; even though neither a crucifix, a fish or any other Christian symbol remotely offends people of other religions.
In a so-called free, democratic state, if we allow people of other faiths and those who want to practise their sexuality freely, then surely that applies to everyone.
In a democratic state, it’s up to the owners of a business to decide who they deal with, and not the courts, or else that is no longer a free country.
We watch with interest the reply from the UK Government. The Prime Minister has rightly identified the amount of work Christians have done in the past for society at large, and he himself claims to have a Christian faith.
So surely it can only be considered wrong that Christians have been treated in such a way in recent years.
CHRISTIANS ARE SEEN AS 'FAIR GAME'
DR Richard Scott’s story sounds so familiar these days. We’ve had nurses rapped for praying, airline staff harassed for wearing a symbol of their faith and workers threatened with the sack for having a cross in their vehicle.
Organisations all over the UK seem to crackdown on people saying they’re Christian, while they’ll happily turn a blind eye to those talking about other faiths.
This could be because they view other faiths as belonging to a particular race and therefore are fearful of being branded racist. But it is ridiculous. Christianity – like other faiths – attracts people of all colours and backgrounds.
So it is clear, therefore, that people view Christians as “fair game”.
The most disturbing aspect of Dr Scott’s case is that the patient he spoke to was not offended, so why is the GMC even looking into this case?
Surely someone not present for that conversation should be told to mind their own business.
We pray that Dr Scott, and all those others being persecuted in the UK for their Christian faith, is touched by God to stand firm in their faith in Christ.
And we pray that our political leaders bring in laws that censure the organisations that persecute Britain’s Christians. We need to pray that David Cameron keeps his promise of cracking down on such behaviour that ostracises Christians.
Meanwhile, we welcome news that MPs are pushing to change the law so that people can freely speak about their faith without fear of arrest.
It’s unbelievable that there is a real chance of prosecution for saying something that “unintentionally insults” someone.
Why can’t we, as a nation, accept that we all have different views? As long as those views do not incite violence or are libellous, it shouldn’t be illegal to hold them.
To do so is Orwellian and, quite frankly, an oppressive regime. Our grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents fought against such oppression and fought for our freedom during two wars against oppressors that demanded we looked, thought and behaved in only one way.
So it is right that street preachers and Christians are allowed, just like other faiths and other beliefs, to talk freely about what they believe.
And, we have to ask, if politicians are against political correctness, just who is running this country? Or are these restrictive moves simply society inflicting on itself a massive and self destructive problem for the future?
BIBLE'S CLEAR ON OCCULT SO CONVEY MESSAGE WITH LOVE
THE Bible is clear. Don’t mix with the occult, though it doesn’t call it that as it lists all the types of the occult, including astrology and sorcery and mentions mediums and spiritualists.
Some people may think that’s all harmless fun, but the Bible is clear: “Do not practice divination or sorcery (Leviticus 19:26)”
We applaud the boss of The Entertainer chain of toyshops for standing on his beliefs and not stocking Harry Potter goods, which makes sorcery looks like it’s a blast.
The fact is it’s a fictional story, but the deeper roots of its occult storyline are disturbing to anyone who understands the battle between good and evil.
We would say, however, that the shop worker’s explanation could have been a bit more tactful. Being honest is one thing, but the use of words implied that the shopper or child was evil.
To encourage people to find out more about how God tackled sin with the death of Christ, we need to be a bit more tactful in conveying the message.
Never falter from the message, but people need love and encouragement for Christians to feel happy to find out more about the faith.
But the fact remains: sorcery is something the Bible warns against and we commend The Entertainer for its stance and its resolute insistence to keep Sundays a day of rest for its staff.
STOP MOANING AND HELP OTHERS
WHEN the Government, or any local council or public body, grants a contract to an organisation to carry out work, they award them to the best bid.
No political or religious, or any other issue for that matter, view is taken into account. A lot of the time, the people awarding the contract don’t even know who has submitted it, as they judge the bid on its quality and value alone.
So why the British Humanist Association is complaining about The Salvation Army being given a contract to help victims of trafficking is baffling.
The reason this superb Christian organisation was awarded the contract is because the bid was strong.
But, as we’d expect from those who seem perversely occupied with knocking faith groups, suddenly there’s something worrying about this bidding process.
The fact is that The Salvation Army was set up to help people. First and foremost, it is a group that puts loving at its core. Yes, it is based on the ethos of Christ's love, but in this situation and all situations in which The Salvation Army works, they see a broken person who needs love and they tend to that first.
So the BHA should stop moaning and use its energy to help others if it’s so concerned, instead of sniping at agencies who spend all their time, energy and money on caring for others.
As the Ministry of Justice spokesman said of the contract being awarded to The Salvation Army “it is much better for victims of trafficking”.
You can’t argue with that!
PRAY FOR HIS SOUL
IT doesn't matter what denomination you are from, but we should support the view of the Catholic cardinal Albert Vanhoye that we should pray for the soul of Osama bin Laden.
For many, he was a man of terror and war - and the atrocities he inspired and supported led to the death of thousands.
But the view of Christ is that bin Laden should be forgiven for his terrorism and hatred of people.
Jesus taught us to love one another - that's what makes us Christian. It isn't some namby pamby action to forgive and love those who hate you...it's the toughest thing you can do.
But for us to be considered truly Christian we have to follow the example of Jesus.
Of course, Jesus did get frustrated and wasn't afraid to speak out, but at his very core was love for everyone. To be assured of eternal life, he said we must be more like him and that we must accept him as our saviour and confess our sins to God so he could forgive us.
If forgiveness is the action of the Creator, then shouldn't we do so too, despite how difficult it is to forgive an orchestrator of mass murder?
 A REAL MAN OF GOD
David Wilkerson was an awesome man of God who deflected all credit for the work he did to the Lord.
While others who called themselves pastors or Christian leaders may have targeted the Bible belt of the USA, David felt called to the gangland streets of New York.
Witnessing passionately to drug dealers and gang members, David spread the Word of God to those society often turns its back on. This was the true measure of the man.
His calling to help those with life’s problems and his heart to reach them led to The Cross and the Switchblade, a true story about his first five years in the Big Apple that was made into a successful movie and has been translated into many languages.
Today, we pay tribute to this true man of God and pray that the life he led for God continues to touch many.
It is always shocking when someone is taken so suddenly, but David would see things in the way he always wrote about – that it’s all part of his ministry to be called home to be with the Lord.
We are all saddened by the sudden loss of David. For some of us at News of the Word his words provided inspiration for some time; for others who were just getting to know his teaching through Workday Devotional, it is a sad time to lose such an inspirational man. But we know that God's timing is perfect, and that being called home at this time is part of God's plan.
We pray for his wife Gwen – left fighting for his life – and his family and that Jesus comforts them during this difficult time.
THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD
THROWING the words 'multi-faith' around as glibly as has become the case in Britain helps mask one simple truth - there is and only ever will be one God!
And despite the constant reminders of sliding church attendances, the last time we took a look, the United Kingdom remained a Christian country and worshipped the Christian God.
In calling for a multi-faith chaplaincy to be be created for the House of Commons, we are heading into some seriously murky waters which suggest there may be anything up to goodness knows how many deities.
The plan is being hatched in the Speakers Office with critics dismissing it as as an “exercise in politically-correct box ticking”.
We at News of the Word go with that and a little further. Jesus made it clear the only way to God was through him and that he - being alive - was fully capable of answering our prayers.
He is the only faith founder to claim to be alive and is therefore quite capable of doing so. By the simple fact that all the others are dead...they CAN'T.
So a multi faith chaplaincy seems somewhat absurd given that - not to mention illogical.
In April, the future King and Queen of this country will be joined together in Christian marriage, making the point again that we are a Christian nation.
Hopefully those responsible for this latest bit of PC thinking will take note and realise where this country still stands!
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