Windsor, Ramadan, and More AFR Hype

Listening to American Family Radio (AFR) in March, I caught a story about Ramadan fast-breaking being held at Windsor Castle. As expected the story was misrepresented. They were invited by Charles - though not without controversy. He is well known as an advocate of inter-religious and ecumenical projects. For some this is controversial as he is officially the 'Defender of the Faith' as head of the Church of England.

When Torture is Right and Moral

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/25/russian-officials-lauding-torture-was-unthinkable-now-it-is-proud-to-do-so

This article appeared in The Guardian in response to the Russian treatment of ISIS-K terrorists who attacked a Moscow concert hall in March of 2024, an act of murder that led to over 100 deaths.

Jubilee and Growing Nationalism in British Evangelical Circles

This only about eight weeks late but it doesn't really matter. As much as I might enjoy doing so I'm not running a news site or current events blog. If it were up to me I would publish a couple of articles a day along with other essays and what I'd really like to do – more doctrinal and Scriptural studies. But work and other obligations means that's not possible. And as this year is proving to be one of the most difficult I've had in almost a decade, there's less time than usual as I'm putting in extra hours in an attempt to make ends meet. And in terms of writing, I'm playing catch up.

The Unionist Nightmare in Ulster

https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnson-to-travel-to-belfast-amid-brexit-protocol-crisis/

It's the nightmare scenario the Ulster Unionists long feared. With the recent Sinn Fein victory in the Northern Ireland elections, the unionists face the real prospect of a vote for Irish Reunification. Long feared but a distant prospect, the campaign has picked up momentum in light of the 2016 Brexit vote and now seems within the realm of possibility.

Failing to Discern the Real Nature of the BBC and Mainstream Media in the Anglo-American World

https://www.evangelical-times.org/59589/the-noble-liar-how-and-why-the-bbc-distorts-the-news-to-promote-a-liberal-agenda/

There is a lack of discernment on display in the Sharon James article. She laments the fall of the BBC and the abandonment of its Biblical values missing the fact that when the institution was created in 1927 the British Empire was still in full swing. The idea that something like the BBC –a mouthpiece for the British Establishment would in any way represent Christian values or that the ethics of honesty and objectivity wouldn't come into conflict with the Empire – which like all empires is built on lies was just absurd. It was bound to fail. It was from the beginning a lie and therefore prima facie unbiblical.

Myanmar Woes

http://asianews.it/news-en/Pro-China-rebels-shut-down-Baptist-churches,-arrest-Baptist-pastors-and-expel-Catholic-nuns-45072.html

It is unclear as to whether the anti-Christian policies of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are emulations of Chinese policy or are in fact being encouraged by Beijing.

Myanmar or Burma has been embroiled in a series of overlapping civil wars since its independence in 1948 and many outsiders have played a part. The US has officially been uninvolved since they airlifted Kuomintang (KMT) remnants out of the country in 1953 but only the willingly blind would believe such a story. The truth is Washington has been deeply involved in the Karen struggle as well as some of the other 'internal conflicts' which continue to plague the Southeast Asian nation.

Humanitarian Politics and Myanmar

Beware the so-called humanitarians arguing for war.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/10/why-nato-must-defend-womens-rights

Humanitarian politics has become a basis for war in the post Cold War era. This was a growing theme during the 1990's as the US intervened in places like Somalia and NATO began to rapidly expand in Europe. Even the disastrous genocide in Rwanda was spun as a call to arms for future interventions.

Inbox: What about Carroll Quigley's Tragedy and Hope?

I'm somewhat familiar with Quigley. I don't actually own the book but a local library has a copy and I've checked it out before. It's massive and I'll confess I didn't read it all. I pretty much focused on the conspiratorial Round Table sections everyone talks about. And mind you, it's been a good fifteen years or more since I looked at it.

Placing the American Empire in its Present Context

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/24/decline-american-empire-donald-trump/

I found this article too generous in its assessment of the American Empire and the 'good' it does around the world.

I will grant that the Empire does bring a degree of stability and stability can be a good thing. And yet at what cost? And is stability an end? Are a host of grave sins permissible for the sake of stability? Is this not yet another case of the ends justifying the means?

Many of course would say in the realm of international politics that's about as good as you can hope to get.

While that adage may be true in terms of worldly wisdom, we as Christians should be able to come up with something better.

Suu Kyi: An Inspirational Let-Down

Aung San Suu Kyi inspired a generation of human rights activists through her long struggle with the ruling junta of Myanmar/Burma. Suffering years of house arrest, all but abandoning her family for the sake of the cause, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 and seemed in recent years to be finally vindicated. Freed from arrest she now sits in a position of political power.

Spurgeon on the Unrighteousness of War

A great quote from Charles Spurgeon. Isn't it interesting how when Bible-based Christians are not wielding political power, as indeed Non-conformists in 19^th century Great Britain certainly were not, there is no zeal for empire, for conquest, for the 'glory' of the nation. Establishment Christianity whether formal or simply the result of a contrived theological narrative is a poison to the Christian soul. How quickly does it invert the ethics of the Christian Church!

A Few Thoughts on the Death of Shimon Peres, the Israeli Nuclear Programme and Apartheid South Africa

Shimon Peres will be praised as a man of peace, the Israeli dove who sought reconciliation. He was anything but.

There are numerous works which detail the Israeli nuclear weapons programme. Suffice it to say, Peres was a key player in that story. It's on my list of things to write about but first I need to finish the twenty or so already written pieces, let alone the fifty or so that exist in note form. I've just got too much on my plate at the moment. Despite that I cannot help but 'jump in' as events dictate. The story is a fascinating one and ranges from Africa to France and the United States.

Weapons Caches and Dark Plots

It has long been suggested the US and its allies have established weapons caches in various locales, especially in Europe that were accessible by those in the know and in an hour of need. Supposedly set up for 'Stay-behind' units, covert cells established to generate resistance in light of a Soviet invasion, these weapons caches were used by various underground groups during the 1970s and 1980s to conduct terror operations across Europe.

PBS/Frontline: Obama, Syria and ISIS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obama-at-war/

PBS's Frontline is a good programme when it comes to covering topics like the prison system, banking and domestic politics. But it is all but worthless when it comes to covering the foreign policy of the United States or any international event that touches on American interests. It's hard to find one that doesn't concern the empire thus severely limiting the scope of a show like Frontline.

This was abundantly clear in the recent documentary 'Obama at War' which dealt with American policy regarding Syria and the rise of ISIS.

Waterloo

The battle took place on 18 June 1815

It was historic because it ended the Napoleonic Wars and ushered in the Pax Britannica. The 19^th century belonged to Britain. Until the rise of the United States, it was the grandest empire the world had ever seen.

CNN and the 'Liberal' Media

Watching CNN International the other morning I was struck by the coverage concerning Rafael Correa of Ecuador and the anniversary of Winston Churchill's death.

The coverage of Ecuador and Correa could have been written by the State Department of either the Bush or Obama administrations. It was completely shallow and biased toward the American point of view.

Christians in Kenya Should Denounce Militarism in All Forms

Christians in Kenya should denounce their government for playing the American stooge and getting involved in the Somali War. I am not suggesting they lobby, try to take over, or politically agitate. But it should be known that Christians don't support the action and Christians should refuse to play any part in executing the Kenyan government's policy.

I'm speaking of Biblically faithful Christians, not the Sacralized rulers who are the children of Colonialist Christendom and various forms of Protestant and Roman Catholic Dominionist theology.

Social Darwinism, Eugenics and Mythologizing the Past

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FmEjDaWqA4

This video came up in some previous discussions. I revisited it recently with my kids. We've been working through the late 19^th century and I believed this video to be both pertinent and helpful.

The End of Paisley

I was enjoying a pleasantly cool and overcast late summer afternoon. As I was scraping the side of an old house back in the woods, the news came over the radio...

Ian Paisley is dead at 88.

These moments always hit me. It will stay with me forever.

Mohler's Dubious take on Downton Abbey

http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/01/10/downton-abbey-and-the-modern-age-what-are-we-really-watching/

Southern Baptist Seminary president Albert Mohler is considered one of the spokesmen and intellectual leaders of the Evangelical movement. He's also highly respected in Calvinistic circles as a leader who helped to recapture a large mainstream institution within the Southern Baptist Convention.