The march of ‘aggressive secularism’: Scotland’s top Roman Catholic priest attacks the marginalisation of Christians
By Kate Loveys:
‘Aggressive secularism’ is destroying Britain’s Christian heritage and culture, a leader of the Catholic Church has warned.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has urged members of the faith to unite against an assault on their values.
In a vehement attack on secularism during his Easter sermon he said Christians are being ‘marginalised’ in society and banned from acting on their beliefs.
[...]
The Winds of the Apocalypse
Timothy Birdnow:
There is talk of an ultimatum being issued by Shiite Iran to the House of Saud, demanding they stop assisting the Bahrainian royals in their efforts to suppress a Shia revolution.
What does this mean?
Generally speaking, an ultimatum means war, at least in situations involving medieval states such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. If Iran issues such an ultimatum the Saudis would be bound to ignore it because should they obey they would be opening the door to revolution inside the Arabia itself. It must be understood that the Saudis have but a tenuous hold on power in Arabia, and their intervention in Bahrain – a puny kingdom on the coast of Arabia – was absolutely necessary to avoid revolution across the peninsula.
[...]
Thomas Friedman, Anti-Semitism and Louis Farrakhan
Moshe Phillips:
For decades New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman has indoctrinated his readers in his personal idea of what are moral and just policies towards the Middle East and Israel. But Friedman’s morality should be in question: he is accepting an honor from a college that just provided hater Louis Farrakhan a large forum to engage in vicious anti-Semitism.
In March notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan addressed an audience of 1,500 at Howard University. Howard is one of the most prominent schools among the 47 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S. The speech was overflowing with vicious invective against Jews and the Zionist movement.
Let’s be clear here, Friedman has skin in the game, on April 11 Howard announced that he’ll receive an honorary doctorate from Howard at their commencement on May 14.
While a student at Brandeis University Friedman was a member the Steering Committee of the Mideast Peace Group and he signed an open letter entitled “Another Bad Omen,” published in The Brandeis Justice on November 12, 1974. The letter attacked anti-Arafat protest plans and endorsed a statement from Breira, a forerunner of J Street. (See the January 1990 letters to the editor in Commentary for more on Friedman’s time at Brandeis and my article on Breira and J Street.)
Friedman has not chastised Howard for providing Farrakhan a forum. As always, Friedman saves his criticism for Israel.
Farrakhan’s speech was that offensive. And so was Howard’s portrayal of the event.
[...]
Jesus vs Che Guevara: A man who laid down his life for us … or a murderous ‘rock-star’ rebel?
PETER-HITCHENS:
We now have to be pleased that a man has not been sacked from his job for putting a small cross on the dashboard of his company van.
Please forgive me if my joy is muted this Eastertide. The real meaning of the Wakefield Palm Cross Affair is not specially happy.
Colin Atkinson would have been fired if it hadn’t been for the might of the Mail on Sunday – and the dogged courage of a union official, Terry Cunliffe
Colin Atkinson would have been fired if it hadn’t been for the might of the Mail on Sunday – and the dogged courage of a union official, Terry Cunliffe
And as it’s Easter, I’d like to focus on the fact that the manager involved, Denis Doody, had a picture (perhaps I should say ‘icon’) of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara on his office wall.
Interesting.
Why? Well, what we recall at Easter is the show trial and judicial murder of Jesus of Nazareth. A mob is manipulated into calling for his death. The judge, who knows he is innocent, feebly gives in. Such things are common in the real world, to this day.
The resurrection, which some of us still celebrate today, symbolises the ultimate defeat of cruel and cynical human power by a far greater force. Among other things, Easter enshrines the idea that what we do here matters somewhere else, that there is an absolute standard by which our actions are judged.
Down 20 centuries, this idea has restrained the powerful. They do not like it. Never have. Never will.
The worship of Christ, victim of a lynch mob and a crooked judge, is dangerously radical. What about the cult of Comrade Guevara, embraced by Mr Doody?
[...]
The road to Emmaus
Ian Hunter:
Easter Week is the most holy week of the Christian calendar. The traditional exposition of the passion of Christ has two foci: one, on the hill called Golgotha where Jesus was crucified under a hand-lettered sign whose superscription (“This is the king of the Jews”) was intended by Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor who wrote it, to be ironic; second, on the tomb discovered empty by the disciples on Easter morning, the stone rolled away, the inhabitant gone, the empty tomb a symbol of Christ’s victory over death and the climax of God’s redemptive drama.
But I like to think that the biblical penchant for threes (think of the Trinity, the three Magi, etc) is also in the Easter narrative if you look closely. In Luke’s Gospel, we find the third focus of Easter, and an unlikely one it is: a parched and dusty stretch of road running from the city of Jerusalem to the insignificant village of Emmaus.
[...]
Beijing Police Detain Members of Illegal Church as They Gather for Easter
Red China is an evil communist monstrosity that is doomed to be judged by God.
There Was No Goldstone Investigation
By Avi Bell:
It’s too early to tell how Richard Goldstone’s decision to reverse the key claim of the controversial 2009 Goldstone Report on the 2009 Gaza War will play out. But so far, observers have missed a vital point. Goldstone’s reversal and subsequent comments demonstrate there was no real Goldstone investigation.
[...]
Canada’s kangaroo courts strike a rocky mountain low
By Ezra Levant:
Last Wednesday, in the People’s Republic of British Columbia, a comedian named Guy Earle was convicted of telling unfunny jokes at a comedy club four years ago. He was fined $15,000 and the club itself was fined another $7,500.
[...]
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