Thursday 29 February 2024

This is what passes for "deeper life" at a Canadian Evangelical university

The following requires little comment; it's yet more evidence that anyone who thinks that "Evangelical" universities and colleges are Christian isn't paying attention. The 2023 edition of "Deeper Life Day" at Antichrist Ambrose University (yes, again) took place on October 1 (bold, links in original).
What Is The Purpose Of Deeper Life Day?

The aim of Deeper Life Day is to integrate Christian faith and learning in a way that will help our students flourish in every way. The events of this day embody our spiritual goals for all Ambrose students—formation, discernment, and transformation. We encourage faculty members to participate in DLD, incentivize students to join them on the day, and consider how the themes could be integrated into the courses they are teaching this Fall Term.

PLENARY SPEAKER
photo courtesy of ARIN SANG-URAI

Josh Larsen

Josh Larsen is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting, author of Movies Are Prayers and Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror, as well as editor/producer for Think Christian, a website and podcast exploring faith and pop culture. He’s been writing and speaking about movies professionally since 1994.

Morning Plenary: 9:30 AM

Part 1: Christian (Pop) Cultural Engagement

For most North American Christians, engaging with popular culture is no longer an option. This is the air we breathe. How can we do so with grace, discernment, and appreciation?



Morning Plenary:

Part 2: Movies Are Prayers

Movies can be many things: escapist experiences, historical artifacts, business ventures, and artistic expressions. Considered alongside the Christian ideas of God's sovereignty and common grace, they can also function as prayerful expressions of lament, praise, joy, confession, and more.

Lunch: Noon - 1:00 PM

There are only 100 spots for this light-hearted lunch with our speaker. In addition to movie trivia and fun games we will be hosting a COSPLAY competition. Come dressed as your favorite Movie, TV or gaming character. A panel of judges will determine a winner for a chance to win a Cineplex movie night for two (with popcorn and pop). Other prizes will be available as well.

Room: Airhart (1085) I Limit: 100 people

Afternoon Breakout Sessions: 1:00 PM

Engaging The Mind Of Christ (Through Metallica, Van Gogh, And High Mountain Hydrology)

John Van Sloten

John is a Calgary-based pastor, writer, and columnist for the Calgary Herald. His books include, The Day Metallica Came to Church (2010), Every Job a Parable (2017), and God Speaks Science (2023).

This workshop will give you theological tools to help you practice Christ’s presence everywhere. If all things were made through Jesus, then all things (to some degree) reveal his wisdom. Knowing Christ through the bible we can know Christ through creation—through physical nature, human nature, and the cultural creations of human nature.

I Think I've Seen This Film Before: The Death And Resurrection Of Taylor Swift

Glendon Frank

Glendon is a recent alumnus of Ambrose University, having graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature. Since graduation he continues to study and write about pop culture on various platforms. Endlessly fascinated by the intersection of faith and art, he is particularly drawn to films and stories that explore the complexity and nuance of the human condition.

This session is a discussion of the meteoric stardom of Taylor Swift and her career, as well as digging into the themes of love, life, and lament in her lyricism, all through the lens of asking what it means to engage with popular art while considering the Imago Dei. In an age of AI and algorithms where the ethics of art and consumption are at the forefront of our imagination, what does Taylor Swift's unique success mean and how ought we consider it?

Pressing The Right Buttons: Aligning Your Values In-Game And IRL

Alyssa Michaud

Alyssa is a musicologist who works at the intersections of technology, culture, and music. Her research focuses on the dynamics between audiences and artists in today’s technologically mediated society, and she is currently at work on a SSHRC Insight Development Grant in which she is exploring fan responses to digital and holographic concerts. Outside of her work in music research, Michaud once placed third in a national Dance Dance Revolution tournament, has 100% achievements on Steam in FTL: Faster Than Light, and cleared the original Binding Coil of Bahamut before it was nerfed in Final Fantasy XIV.

In 2022, the gaming industry was estimated to be worth $170 billion in global revenues—valued higher than both the global film and music industries put together. In this interactive breakout session, we will critically examine our relationships to this powerful medium by examining the ways in which gaming can foster positive values and also assessing its pitfalls. Through discussions, activities, and lots of examples from the world of gaming, this session will equip you to make more informed decisions about your approach to video games, and unpack the ways in which our controllers can connect us to deeper insights about ourselves and the world around us.

Princess Mononoke And Peacemaking: Studio Ghibli's Prophetic Masterpiece

Julian Erb

Julian is the Director of Community Life at Ambrose and he loves learning people’s stories. He enjoys getting out to the mountains with his family, the Beatles, and yummy food. He also serves part time at Grace Anglican.

How does an anime fantasy epic set in feudal Japan connect to our polarized context and the way of Jesus? We will look into this timeless story and seek to "see with eyes unclouded by hate" and the subversive invitation of peace making.

Afternoon Breakout Sessions: 3:00 PM

On Earth As It Is In Barbieland: Gender Expression, Christianity, And Barbie

Nikayla Reize

Nikayla Reize is the lead pastor of a parish church in Calgary called Awaken. She also serves as a sessional instructor at Ambrose University teaching Old Testament and Biblical Theology. She teaches workshops and seminars at churches around Southern Alberta and especially enjoys teaching on gender, inclusion, and the Bible.

This is a session exploring themes of gender expression in the past (tradition) and in the future (the coming Kingdom of Heaven) with the help of Greta Gerwig's Barbie. Barbie invites us to question the way things have always been done and dream about how they could be in our shared future. We will look at concepts such as patriarchy, matriarchy, and kyriarchy within Western Christianities as we discuss what it means to have the power to communicate ideas and make decisions for others versus being the product of someone else's ideas for how things should be. Barbieland is an imaginary place where young girls can pretend the world could be shaped according to their own hopes and dreams for a life that doesn't fit in a box. Is the Barbie movie envisioning a world that is anti-men or presenting a prophetic lament for a world that is anti-women? No one wants to be an accessory for the fulfillment and success of another and no one wants to be kept in a box. Body sovereignty and embodiment are deeply Christian ideas. Come prepared to discuss the Barbie movie and how the intersections of gender and power depicted there relate to our faith as Christians.

When Songs Become Friends: The Music That Helped Us Through Difficulties, Helped Us Know Ourselves, And Led Us To Solidarity And Healing.

Justin Bills

Justin Bills is a pastor, student and podcast host. Justin grew up in a missionary household in Los Angeles California. Key to surviving a lonely homeschooled upbringing was finding solidarity in music. Bands such as Pedro The Lion, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead and Mewithoutyou became friends to help through adolescence and adulthood. Justin lives in Calgary with his wife and 3 daughters and is a Student at Ambrose.

Faith And Social Media: Navigating The Digital World With Jesus

Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

Bryce is the Dean of Theology at Ambrose. When he is not working at Ambrose, you will find Bryce preaching in Churches, doing Seminars, writing books, or building retro video arcade consoles. Bryce has written several books on social media and digital ministry including, “Age of Kings: Pursuing God’s Heart in a Social Media World.”

What does the Bible teach about navigating a digital world? Let's explore this topic together and delve into the story of King David in the Bible. We'll discover some valuable and enduring lessons on how to live a faithful life in our modern, high-tech world.

Evening Public Lecture: 7:00 PM

In partnership with the Chair of Christian Thought

Location: Central Library Topic: Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies

Why would anyone want to watch horror movies? Why would Christians, in particular, bother with the genre? Combining critical observation and theological reflection, critic Josh Larsen makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience.

Sunday 4 February 2024

How many members of this Canadian Evangelical university's 2023-24 Student Council name the Bible as their favourite book?

For more evidence to cast doubt on the idea that one of Canada's leading Evangelical universities, Antichrist Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta, is a Christian school, look at the biographies of the members of the 2023-24 Student Council, in which they mention their favourite books. One might think that the student leaders of an ostensibly Christian university would automatically choose the Bible as their favourite book, but only one did (and the fact that one did proves that they had the option of choosing the Bible). Ladies and gentlemen, the favourite books of your future "Evangelical" leaders (typos corrected by blogger):

Ambrose Student Body President: Nathan Snow
...
Nathan's favourite book is the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Ambrose Student Body VP Of External Affairs: Alexsana Butt
...
Alexsana's favourite book is Perelandra by C.S. Lewis.

Ambrose Student Body VP Of Internal Relations: Liam Hawkins
...
Liam's favourite book is the Bible (because it's the only book he reads).

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Community Life: Tessa Stockowski
...
Tessa's favourite book is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion: Jasmine Joosse
...
Jasmine's favourite books are too many to list.

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Marketing: Diana Hruba
...
Diana's favourite book is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies probably

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Operations: Brett Meeberg
...
Brett's favourite book is Translating God by Shawn Bolz.

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Spiritual Life: Hayley Meijndert
...
Hayley's favourite books are Victorious Mindsets and The God Chasers.

Ambrose Student Body Director Of Wellness: Micaeliah Urquhart
...
Micaeliah's favourite books are The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and Les Misèrables by Victor Hugo.

Ambrose Student Body Executive Assistant: Randelle Spence
...
Randelle's favourite book is the Secret of the Garden.
I'm not familiar with all of these books or authors, but I have to wonder about anyone who would pick some of them as favourites. It Ends With Us is a romance novel that appears to have domestic abuse as a major theme, if the reader reviews are any indication. Who wants that?

The author of Translating God is associated with the New Apostolic Reforemation, and the book's foreword is by leading NAR heretic Bill Johnson. The fact that it's the favourite book of someone who "would like to enter into pastoral ministry" is cause for concern. Victorious Mindsets is by Steve Backlund, whose numerous books appeal to the same people who buy the books of NAR figures such as Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton.

I can't find any listing for Secret of the Garden; I suspect the proper title is the children's novel The Secret Garden (1911) by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Sunday 21 January 2024

100 years ago--the death of Lenin

Taking photos of Lenin's body isn't permitted. This rare shot shows the revolutionary leader in October 1991. (Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

On January 21, 1924, Vladimir Lenin, aka Nikolai Lenin, né Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic since 1917 and Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union since 1923, died in Gorki, Moscow Governate, at the age of 53, after a series of strokes. Mr. Lenin put the Communist philosophy of Karl Marx into action as the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution that seized power in November 1917, and plunged Russia and much of the world into decades of misery.

Mr. Lenin produced death and darkness, and his body remains in his tomb in Moscow. The Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, brings life and light (John 1:4-9, 8:12), and resurrected and left His tomb (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20), exactly as He predicted, and right on schedule (John 2:19-22). While many people have put their faith in the dead Mr. Lenin, I put my faith in the living Lord Jesus Christ, from whom we have eternal life (John 10:28).

Sunday 31 December 2023

Drag queen serves as "pastor" with the United Church of Christ in Connecticut

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 22:5

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 1:24-32

The United Church of Christ has got to be the most hopelessly apostate pseudo-Christian denomination in the United States. The following, including the reporter's nauseating use of preferred personal pronouns, speaks for itself. As reported by Pamela McLoughlin of the Hartford Courant, October 10, 2023 (bold, links, photos in original):
Drag queen minister Marge Erin Johnson, left, with Sandra Montes, dean of of chapel at Union Theological Seminary.

Being a drag queen isn’t a hobby for James Admans. It’s a religious calling.

Marge Erin Johnson, a drag queen who spends most of their life as James Admans, has started a “drag church” organization, Theology Queen, LLC.

Admans calls themselves a “queer minister,” preaches unapologetically and peppers business promotions with phrases such as, “Drag me to church,” and “the most extravagant way to worship God!”

Johnson’s feather rainbow jacket (a nod to Joseph’s coat of many colors ) screams Pride, their eye shadow and fake lashes say it’s OK to be who you are – and the rhinestones on their dress shine like their humor.

Johnson, 33, is a 2021 graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City who is very adept at citing scriptures and their history.

In the drag role Admans is hired at churches to take the pulpit on Sundays, in hopes to connect with the LGBTQI+ community, as well as the rest of the congregation. “It provides a nonjudgmental sacred space for people to express themselves proudly,” Admans website notes of his work.

“When you go to a service led by a drag queen it could be spiritually healing,” Admans said. “It’s a celebration of how wonderfully created we all are. You can show up as your authentic self. What God created you to be.”

While the Johnson persona identifies as a she, Admans, 33, a New Haven resident, identifies by the pronouns they, them, their.

Admans is a minister for United Church of Christ who fills in as their male self for ministers who are out for various reasons. Admans also is looking for a full-time job at a church as themselves.

Marge Erin Johnson is a side endeavor for which Admans charges a sliding scale fee of $200 to $500 an appearance, depending on many factors, including the church size and ability to pay, as the main mission is to educate and heal.

Johnson’s fans say they love all Marge brings to the table as a preacher, activist and drag queen.

The church supports the drag ministry.

The Rev. Noah Brewer-Wallin, assistant director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion for the Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ, said he’s “very excited” about Admans’ call to drag ministry.

“Because drag is so vilified in our culture right now, even people who want to support drag performers don’t always have a good understanding of what drag is. It can be difficult to parse how drag is both related to and distinct from sexual orientation and gender identity,” Brewer-Wallin said.

“I’m grateful that James offers themself as an educational resource as part of this ministry, giving church attendees the chance to ask questions and honestly explore,” Brewer-Wallin said.

Brewer-Wallin said drag belongs in church because it is “a form of creative expression in which people reflect back the creative nature of God.”

“Drag is often playful and irreverent. Playfulness and irreverence are an invitation to enjoy our God-given bodies that giggle and belly-laugh, and to see the sacred all around us even in the places where we have been taught God and the sacred don’t belong,” Brewer-Wallin said.

He said drag is also a justice issue because “they threaten the ability of all people to express themselves the way they want to…” including issues such as women wearing pants.

Marge Erin Johnson spoke recently at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Bridgeport, in Stratford.

UUCGB is a small lay-led church and also has guest ministers, so after member Emily Prokop met Marge at Pride in the Park in Norwalk this summer, Prokop arranged an appearance.

“I would have loved to have gone to a church where someone like Marge would feel welcome when I was growing up,” Prokop said. “Marge’s service felt like part religious studies discussion, part LGBTQI+ empowerment, part call for spiritually-ship and 100% fabulous and glamorous.”

During an open discussion portion of the service, people shared their experiences, insights and freely asked questions, Prokop said.

Marge answered “thoughtfully and gracefully,” Prokop said.

Prokop said the service brought a new awareness to the congregation about a story from the Bible, Joseph and the coat of many colors. Prokop said the choir got to sing Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.”

Admans said: “I love the story of Joseph in Genesis. There is a queer theological interpretation that the coat of many colors is something akin to a princess dress. Scholars aren’t sure how to translate this accurately. It’s its been called a beautiful robe, an ornamental robe.”

Joseph is among several Biblical figures who can be identified as non-conforming, Admans said.

Admans also speaks about how homosexuality appeared specifically in the Bible in later translations, and how they see this perpetuating discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community.

“Prior to this, the passages that we now associate with homosexuality used different terminology and were interpreted in various ways, often focusing on behaviors like temple sex-work or non-consensual sexual acts,” Admans said.

“The introduction of the word homosexual into the Bible was a result of evolving language and societal context. This change had significant implications, as it fundamentally altered the interpretation of these passages and has been used to justify discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community,” Admans said, of their interpretation of the passages.

At the welcoming and affirming Unitarian Universalist church in Stratford, attendees were welcomed, as they always are when Marge is there, with a table of rainbow hats, beads, boas so they could join in the fun.

“So people can participate to make it fun, in a way that’s loving,” they said. “If were going to do it, let’s connect.”

Admans grew up in West Haven where they were a “churchy kid” and Admans thanks their mom and grandmother for taking them to church every Sunday.

Admans graduated from Amity High School in 2008 and later earned an anthropology degree from Southern Connecticut State University before getting the calling and enrolling in seminary. They hold a master’s of divinity degree.

The pandemic and Marge Erin Johnson

Admans got into drag during the pandemic when the days were long. Admans had thought for a while about trying it, but was “intimidated.”

“A lot of people found out about themselves in lockdown. I found drag,” Admans said.

Marge Erin Johnson emerged during Admans second year of divinity school and someone suggested the preaching.

“Someone else saw the potential. She saw how the spirit was at work during that ministry.”

It takes Admans about three hours to transform into Marge Erin Johnson.

Admans chose the name Marge Erin Johnson because it was something “funny yet, friendly.”

“I didn’t want anything too shocking,” Admans said, noting they liked the way Marge Erin sounds like “margarine.” They said they’ve always loved the name Marge.

“I love her. I think she’s fabulous,” Admans said of the Marge persona. “It’s something I feel called to share with other people.”

Sandra Montes, dean of of chapel at Union Theological Seminary was “super grateful,” that Admans was able to do several drag chapels while at the school.

“I am a drag lover and have always wanted to do some kind of drag eucharist or church service,” Montes said. “We all want to be seen. We all want to belong. We turn to religion and faith for comfort, for acceptance. Many of us have been told we’re not good enough, particularly by colonized Christianity that is, unfortunately, tied to white supremacy and white evangelical corruption.”

Montes said if she went to a church and saw Marge preaching or teaching she would say “wow,” in a positive way.

“There are so many churches that call themselves affirming and open to all and welcoming but they usually have a caveat,” Montes said. “So, seeing a minister in full-on gorgeous drag would absolute say to me: this is a place worth looking into.”

“Marge’s message is that there is space for everyone to belong, particularly in faith communities,” Admans said.

“Marge teaches that queerness and faith do not have to be at odds, but can coexist and even be beautifully interwoven to create a profound spiritual life. Marge’s message is one of inclusion and acceptance, promoting the understanding that all are welcome at the table of Jesus.”

Marge is next booked for Sunday, Oct. 29, at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in New York City.
Marge Erin Johnson is a drag queen minister who helps the LGBTQI plus community connect with religion, church. Contributed.
Drag queen minister Marge Erin Johnson outside the Unitarian Universalist Church in Stratford where she recently gave a talk. Contributed.

I had to chuckle when I looked at the website of Fort Washington Collegiate Church. According to a statement issued by the church on February 7, 2023:

We are open, affirming, and accepting to all–no matter where you are on life’s journey. We have been a valuable community resource for generations. We are committed to social justice and making a positive impact in the lives of the residents of Northern Manhattan. We are led by our mantra “Love on the Move.”

It’s true. FWCC is in financial distress and faces risk of closure...


The sooner these churches close, the better. If they don't close their doors, the Lord Himself will do it for them.

Saturday 30 December 2023

100 years ago--Couéism peaks in North America

It's actually approaching 101 years ago and I should have posted this much earlier, but I didn't want to let the year go by without noting that 2023 marked 100 years since Émile Coué, a French pharmacist and psychologist whose ideas had achieved popularity in Europe, became even more of a celebrity in America, with an advance publicity campaign preceding his arrival in New York City in January 1923 for a series of personal appearances. Dr. Coué and his wife founded La Société Lorraine de Psychologie appliquée (The Lorraine Society of Applied Psychology) in Nancy in 1913. His book La Maîtrise de soi-même par l'autosuggestion consciente (Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion) was published in England in 1920, and was a best-seller when it was published in the United States in 1922.

Dr. Coué could lay claim to be the father of modern positive self-talk, which he called autosuggestion, recommending that people constantly repeat the following saying to themselves: "Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux" ("Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better"). In addition to psychological improvement, advocates of Couéism claimed that repetition of the mantra could effect physical healing. Dr. Coué claimed that he didn't heal people, but that people healed themselves. His campaigns didn't always produce the desired results, as reported in the Edmonton Bulletin, April 11, 1922 (bold, capitals in original):

Patients Were Made Hysterical Throguh Treatment Being Given by Nerve Specialist at Hospital

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TORONTO, April 10--What was intended as a triumphant finale to Dr. Coue's sensational auto-suggestion campaign in England resulted in a near tragedy in a neurological hospital for soldiers at Tooting just outside London, England, according to a special cable to the Mail and Empire today. The cable continues:

"Lady Beatty, who is responsible in a great measure for Coue's presence in England, introduced the famous expert to patients but was forced to flee from the lecture room when shell-shocked soldiers were plunged into hysteria. Writhing and shrieking, the soldiers flung themselves on the floor, the doctors and nurses being unable to pacify them.

"The tragic outcome followed Coue's treatment of one patient who declared himself cured of severe headaches. John Withers, a soldier suffering from bodily tremors, was the next patient. Suddenly while Coue was passing his hands over the soldier's body, Withers suddenly gave piercing shrieks, writhed and twisted himself like a contortionist and threw himself on the floor. The effect on the rest of the patients was instantaneous. Man after man groaned and shrieked, gripped with uncontrollable hysteria. A witness said: "The scene was indescribably hellish."

"Lady Beatty, standing near Withers, attempted to calm him, but her efforts were to no avail. Pandemonium became so great that she was forced to make a hasty retreat.

"Coue has left for France. The hospital authorities said Sunday night that all the patients had recovered from the temporary hysteria."
(I can't help but notice that the behaviour of the soldiers resulting from Dr. Coué's "treatment" was virtually identical to the behaviour of those who receive the allegedly healing touch of charismaniac frauds such as Rodney Howard-Browne, Benny Hinn, and the "holy laughter" crowd, which those "healers" blasphemously ascribe to the Holy Spirit).

Dr. Coué's visit to New York proved to be very popular. Those who lived too far away to see Dr. Coué were unable to avoid him, since his name and theories seemed to be everywhere in North America. The Edmonton Journal, for instance, published an exclusive series of articles by Dr. Coué. On February 18, 1923, the short film The Message of Emile Coué opened in theatres in the United States. According to The Film Daily, February 25, 1923:

A demonstration by Emile Coue, by means of titles and illustrations of his points, of the theory of auto-suggestion. Coue is shown lecturing before a group of people, and you get the impression that you yourself are listening. The well-known phrase "Day by Day" is stressed a great many times in the closing sequence and finally the audience is made to say it with M. Coue.
The film opened in Edmonton on March 12. According to the Edmonton Bulletin, March 10, 1923 (bold, capitals in original):

M. COUE ON MONDAY AT THE EMPRESS

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His Famous Theories to Be Explained by Pantomimic Gestures

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Every day and every way--of course you know the rest. It's the slogan which has covered the continent of America at least. Now it has reached even to the screen, and Emile Coue himself will shortly be seen at the Empress theatre in a sereis of two reel films, on which he will explain his theories by pantomimic gesture...There are no doubt millions of persons who would never otherwise have the benefit of seeing and hearing the famous man who has received more publicity than many a famous screen star.

After Dr. Coue has explained his theories, the actual practice of the theories will be shown by actors in little scenes following each separate explanation by M. Coue himself.

The picture starts with the caption, "I am not a miracle man." Then Mr. Coue is photographed saying the words. This is the method employed through the picture. Extracts from his book on auto-suggestion are also given in written form on the screen, and then M. Coue is shown speaking and gesturing accordingly. He seems, it is said, to have a real gift of pantomime.

Manager Bert Blackmore, of the Empress theatre, knowing the intense interest taken in the Coue method and knowing that, after all, few persons know very little about it, is progressive enough to obtain these films for his theatre, so all will have an opportunity of getting M. Coue and his theories practically at first hand.
For those unaware of cinematic history, movies were silent in 1923, thus explaining the need for "pantomimic gestures." I don't know if the film still exists, but Internet Movie Database hasn't received the minimum number of five viewer responses required to provide a numerical rating.

Dave Hunt offered the following comments on Émile Coué:

Of all the false messiahs of recent times, none seems less likely than Emile Coué. Yet few people have played a more important part in the preparation of the world for the Antichrist than the almost comic "originator of the psychotherapeutic system called Couéism"...Couéism was the modern forerunner to self-help and other New Age groups and beliefs that are proliferating at an almost unbelievable rate across the United States in the 1980's and even infiltrating the church.

While working as an obscure pharmacist in Troyes, France, around the turn of the century, Emile Coué "observed his patients receiving from certain drugs beneficial effects that could not be ascribed to the medicines. That led him to believe that it was the power of 'imagination' that effected the cure." This discovery launched Coué into a study of hypnosis around 1901, with special interest in the apparent therapeutic effects of self-hypnosis. The modern applications of hypnosis have their roots in "Mesmerism." However, it was Coué who carried Mesmer's theory to its logical conclusion and thereby laid the foundation for the New Age...

...One of the earliest pioneers of the free clinic concept, Coué seemed to be genuine in his concern to help others. In 1910 he set up a free clinic iin Nancy, France to practice his now-perfected system...In 1920 he set up a clinic in New York...

...Preaching remarkable powers of "suggestion," the Messiah of the New Age had arrived befoe his time. In spite of the cure of so many serious ailments by the power of "suggestion" that Couéism effected throughout the Western world, Coué's "system" eventually fell into disrepute. Couéism failed because it was taken to be exaclty what its originator claimed: a "system." As Coué's followers forgot to believe what they were saying and chanted the magic words more and more mechanically, the cures became less and less, until no one believed anymore.

Had Coué only lived into the New Age, he would have seen himself fully vindicated in the adoption of hypnosis by the American Medical Association and its growing use by psychologists and psychiatrists. The old master would be pleased, too, to see in the 1980s a host of self-improvement techniques based upon the very same "power of suggestion" that he was convinced could cure anything: "positive thinking," "possibility thinking," self-hypnosis tapes by the thousands, numerous salesmanship and management success seminars used by both Christians and non-Christians, positive mental attitude (PMA) seminars, est (Erhard Seminars Training), Lifespring, Silva Mind Control, Alpha Level Training, biofeedback, guided imagery, creative visualization, Confluent Education, psychotherapies by the score, and an almost endless list of other New Age self-improvement techniques...

...Whereas Mesmer publicly declared that "he could help only people suffering from nervous disorders and no others," Coué demonstrated that the power of suggestion has no such limits. The New Age is a revival of Coué's adaptation and extension of Mesmer's limited theory: that human potential is unlimited, because the mind through suggestion can accomplish and create anything that it believes it can...
(Dave Hunt, Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust, 1983, pp. 117-120)

By the end of 1923, there were signs that the popularity of Couéism had passed its peak, and his name seldom appeared in North American newspapers after that year until his death in Nancy on July 2, 1926 at the age of 69. Although Dr. Coué's fame was relatively short-lived, and his name is largely unknown today, his influence remains, with his spiritual descendants including Napoleon Hill, Maxwell Maltz, W. Clement Stone, Norman Vincent Peale, and Robert Schuller, some of whom masqueraded as Christians, and all of whom have been influential in the New Age Movement.

Friday 22 December 2023

An Anglican "church" in Winnipeg hosts an alphabet pervert "reimagination" of Handel's Messiah

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Leviticus 18:22

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 1:24-32

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:1-5

According to the Anglican Church of Canada's own report from 2019, the church will be dead by 2040. The death will be self-inflicted and well-deserved, evidence of which includes the following, as reported by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, December 20, 2023 (updated December 21, 2023) (photos in original):

Messiah Queered — that’s the title of a reimagining of Handel’s classic oratorio performed through an LGBTTQ+ lens.

The oratorio, a staple at Christmas time for many people, will be performed by the Rainbow Harmony Project choir, together with soloists and a 16-piece orchestra made up of professional and amateur players at Holy Trinity Anglican Church Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The idea for the performance came up during a conversation between Nathan Poole, a local violin and piano teacher, and Sandra Bender, music director at Holy Trinity Church.

Bender, who is bisexual and the soprano soloist in the performance, thought it would be a great oratorio for LGBTTQ+ people.

“It’s the story of a transient who hung out with marginalized people, who offered love and self-sacrifice and who experienced rejection and betrayal — something LGBTTQ+ people understand in all too real a way,” she said.

Kathleen Murphy, a student and choir director for Rainbow Harmony Project and the mezzo-soprano in the performance, said doing the Messiah through an LGBTTQ+ lens is “a way to push back expectations.”

That includes who does the solos. In a traditional performance of Messiah, a bass sings the aria, “Why do the nations so furiously rage,” but Murphy is singing the part this time.

“It’s fun to sing such a powerful aria,” Murphy, who is non-binary and a soloist at Young United Church, said.

Bender, meanwhile, will sing The Trumpet Shall Sound, which is also usually a bass part, while tenor Kyle Briscoe will sing Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion, traditionally sung by a soprano.

“Nothing musically is altered, but we’re swapping gender roles, subverting them,” said Poole, who is gay and conducting the concert.

For Bender, The Messiah can be seen as “a trans anthem, with its lyrics about people “being changed at the sound of the last trumpet when we will be revealed in our best and truest form. I’m happy to be the one who conveys that message in the concert.”

While singing it, “We can be our full authentic selves, be unapologetic about our queerness,” she said.

The three noted the church at 256 Smith St., which is donating use of the sanctuary for the performance, is a welcoming, safe space for members of the LGBTTQ+ community. That’s important for those who might be cautious about going into a church because of the way they have been treated in the past.

Along with listening to the concert, audience members are invited to bring a score and sing along, said Poole.

“It’s not every day people get to sing with an orchestra,” he said, noting audience members are encouraged to dress in drag if they want.

Tickets for the concert, which is sponsored by the Manitoba Arts Council, can be purchased at the Rainbow Harmony Project site at wfp.to/j44 or with cash at the door. The cost is $25 per person, with all proceeds being donated to Sunshine House, a community drop-in and resource centre focusing on harm reduction and social inclusion.
Bass-baritone Stephen Haiko-Pena takes part in a dress rehearsal Wednesday of Messiah Queered at Holy Trinity Anglican Church. (Brook Jones/Winnipeg Free Press)
Kathleen Murphy, who is a student and choir manager for Rainbow Harmony Project, sings during a dress rehearsal for the upcoming production of Messiah Queered at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Winnipeg, Wednesday. (Brook Jones/Winnipeg Free Press)
Nathan Poole conducts the dress rehearsal of Messiah Queered. The production is a re-imagining of Handel's classic oratorio performed through a LGBTTQ+ lens. (Brook Jones/Winnipeg Free Press)

The reader will note that these agents of Satan can't write their own oratorio, but have to resort to mangling a traditional masterpiece. Some of the perverts of the past were at least capable of producing good music and art, but with present-day perverts, their whole lives seem to revolve around celebrating and promoting their abominations.

Here's an example of a proper performance of Handel's Messiah that you can wash your ears out with:



December 28, 2023 update: If you're wondering why Holy Trinity Anglican Church was hosting this abomination, the following may explain, as reported by Mr. Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, December 27, 2023 (photo in original):
Andrew Rampton, rector at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, is leaving the congregation for another opportunity in Ontario early next year. (John Longhurst/Winnipeg Free Press)

It was a bittersweet Christmas Day for Andrew Rampton, rector at Holy Trinity Anglican Church.

On the one hand, he was looking forward to preaching on that special day in the downtown church’s calendar. But since it was his last sermon as rector at the historic 139-year-old church, it was a sad occasion.

Rampton, 41, and his husband, Adam Dobson, an architectural technologist, will head to Hamilton, where Dobson has new work opportunities, on Jan. 2. Rampton will be taking up a new job as rector at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church.

Rampton, who was born and raised in Morden, arrived at Holy Trinity in 2020 via a circuitous route.

Although he grew up in a family that notionally claimed to belong to the United Church of Canada, “We went to church very seldom,” he said, adding “I grew up largely neutral or negative when it came to religion.”

While religion wasn’t his thing, he realized in his early teens that he was gay.

Being a gay person in a small town was a challenge, but so was moving to Winnipeg to study at the University of Manitoba in the early 2000s.

“There wasn’t the same kind of LGBTTQ+ community back then like there is now,” he said. “There were gay clubs, but they were private. There was a sense of danger, an underground feeling about it. And most churches weren’t accepting of gay people.”

Going to church wasn’t on his mind until a music teacher told him about an opening in the choir at Holy Trinity Church. Rampton, who had been taking piano and singing lessons, took it — not because he was religious, but because it was a chance to sing and earn a small honorarium.

“It paid half my rent,” he said.

At first, nobody at the church made an issue of his sexuality, but when a new rector arrived things changed.

Rampton admits he was full of opinions about how the church was being run and not afraid to share them — something that didn’t endear him to the new rector. When the rector fired him, “there was no gentle correction or discussion,” he remembered.

“The speculation is it was less about my critique and more about me being gay” he said. “It was a proxy for the real issue.”

His involvement with church didn’t end, though. Almost immediately, St. Luke’s Anglican Church asked him to join them as a singer and organist. Later, he went to St. Paul’s Anglican and then to St. Michael’s and All Angels. where he served as organist and choir master. That is also where he joined the church and fell in love with liturgy.

“The way they did liturgy there really worked for me,” Rampton said. “It was a good place to be. It was a fertile soil for my spiritual soul to grow in.”

Feeling a call to ministry, he left for seminary in Ontario in 2014 where he developed a deep appreciation for the rituals, ceremonies and traditions of the church.

“I’m happy to wear miles of lace, swing incense and sing Gregorian chants” he said.

After graduation, he landed at Holy Trinity, not expecting it would be such a short stay.

One thing he’s loved about being at the church is its ministries, such as the Lunchroom, which serves 250 meals once a week to downtown residents.

“It’s one of the very few food programs downtown where unhoused or precariously housed people can get a meal right away,” he said.

He said he hopes the church, which has between 50 and 60 people in the pews on a Sunday morning, can stay viable and be an active presence downtown.

“The church needs to be here,” he said. “It needs a safe place where people can just be. There aren’t many other places where people can go for free, where nobody wants anything from you.”

As for being a gay priest, his sexuality has “never been an impediment,” to his ministry, Rampton said, but acknowledges not all are comfortable with him being in that role; he’s been called a false teacher and “living in sin.”

He has appreciated the support of Geoff Woodcroft, the Bishop of Rupert’s Land, who has permitted individual Anglican churches to decide for themselves how welcoming and affirming of LGBTTQ+ people they will be.

“Some have never met a gay priest,” he said, of the message his role sends to LGBTTQ+ people who have been hurt by Christianity. Some tell him “If the church accepts you, then I must be OK in God’s eyes, too.”

Rampton’s departure makes Woodcroft sad. But he is grateful for his service.

“His contributions have been outstanding,” Woodcroft said. “He has a rich theology of how to be a priest in the world today.”

He praised Rampton’s work on behalf of downtown residents.

“He knows many of them on a first-name basis,” he said, adding his work as a liturgist has resulted in “solid and alive worship.”

“He is intelligent and gifted, and we are going to miss him,” he said.
I don't know if there are any normal male clergymen left in the Anglican Church of Canada, but there won't be any clergy of any kind in that "church" anymore, the way it's going.

Thursday 30 November 2023

"Perfect solar system" discovered 100 light years away

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? Psalms 8:3-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Psalms 19:1

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11

As reported by Pallab Ghosh of BBC News, November 29, 2023 (link in original):

Researchers have located "the perfect solar system", forged without the violent collisions that made our own a hotchpotch of different-sized planets.

The system, 100 light years away, has six planets, all about the same size. They've barely changed since its formation up to 12 billion years ago.

These undisturbed conditions make it ideal for learning how these worlds formed and whether they host life.

The research has been published in the scientific journal, Nature.

The creation of our own solar system was a violent process. As planets were forming some crashed into each other, disturbing orbits and leaving us with giants like Jupiter and Saturn alongside relatively small worlds like our own.

In the system HD110067, as astronomers have rather drily named it, things couldn't be more different.

Not only are the planets similarly sized; in a far cry from the unrelated timing of the orbits of the planets in our own solar system, these rotate in synch.

In the time it takes for the innermost planet to go around the star three times, the next planet along gets around twice, and so on out to the fourth planet in the system. From there things change to a 4:3 pattern of relative orbit speeds for the last two planets.

This intricate planetary choreography is so precise that that the researchers have created a cyclical musical piece, akin to a Philip Glass-style composition, with notes and rhythms corresponding to each planet and their orbital periods...

Dr Rafael Luque, of the University of Chicago, who led the research described HD110067 as "the perfect solar system".

"It is ideal for studying how planets are created, because this solar system didn't have the chaotic beginnings ours did and has been undisturbed since its formation."

Dr Marina Lafarga-Magro, of Warwick University, said that the system was "beautiful and unique".

"It is really exciting, just seeing something that no-one has seen before," she told BBC News.

ver the past thirty years, astronomers have discovered thousands of star systems. But none of them are so well suited to study how planets formed. The planets' near identical size and the system's undisturbed nature are gold dust for astronomers because they make it much easier to compare and contrast them. That will help build up a picture of how they first formed and how they evolved.

The system also has a bright star which will make it easier to look for life signs in the planets' atmospheres.

All six of the new planets are what astronomers call "sub-Neptunes", which are larger than the Earth and smaller than the planet Neptune (which is four times wider than the Earth). The six newly discovered planets are between two and three times the size of Earth.

Interest in the new findings has been supercharged since the discovery in September that a sub-Neptune planet, called K2-18b, in another star system, has an atmosphere with hints of a gas that on Earth is produced by living organisms. Astronomers call this a biosignature.

Although our own solar system does not contain any sub-Neptunes, they are thought to be the most common type of planet in the galaxy. Yet astronomers know surprisingly little about these worlds.

They do not know whether they are mostly made of rock, gas or water, or critically, whether they provide conditions for life.

Finding out these details is "one of the hottest topics in the field" according to Dr Luque, adding that the discovery of HD110067 gives his team the perfect opportunity to answer that question relatively quickly.

"It could be a matter of less than ten years," he told BBC News.

"We know the planets, we know where they are, we just need slightly more time, but it will happen."

If the team's next round of observations indicates that sub-Neptunes can also support life, it greatly increases the number of possible habitable planets and therefore increases the chances of detecting signs of life on another world sooner rather than later.

The race is now on to detect biosignatures on one of the six new sub-Neptunes, or dozens of others detected by rival groups. With a battery of new telescopes with enhanced capabilities and others about to come online, many astronomers believe that we may not have too long to wait for that moment.

The planets were detected using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and ESA's CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops).

Tuesday 31 October 2023

100 years ago--a prediction and alleged evidence for human evolution

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, that your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:4-5

The belief that humanity has improved over time and will continue to do so was popular in the 1920s, and persists into the 2020s, despite evidence to the contrary. However, there was some skepticism toward one such theory of human advancement, as reported by Canadian Press and published in The Calgary Daily Herald, September 15, 1923 (bold, capitals in original):

EVOLUTION OF NEW SUPERMAN IS IN STORE FOR HUMANITY

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More Brains, Quicker in Intuition than the Mortals of Today

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PREDICTION MADE BY EDINBURGH SCIENTIST

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European Savants Inclined to Disbelieve Original Theory

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(By Canadian Press)

LONDON, Sept. 15 - Humanity is threatened with the evolution of a new type of superman, according to the discovery of Captain A.G. Pape, and Edinburgh anthropologist, who read a paper yesterday in Liverpool at the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

He declared that after five years' study of various types of children of American and Australian descent, he was satisfied that a new race was arising. He included among characteristic marks on which he based his theory a distinct increase in cranial development and a definite dome over the frontal region of the skull; hair fine in texture; skin smoothly grained; eyes especially luminous and intelligent and eyebrows rather prominent.

The type face, Captain Pape added, will be somewhat triangular with a narrow chin.

Not Brains Alone

The new type will not be all brains and no body, but will be quick in intuition. The new race, in Captain Pape's view, would show a disposition for a diet without meat and coarse foods and would not have a large appetite along any line.

The forerunners of the new race showed an inclination to be playful and mischievous. The type needed sympathetic understanding.

The discussion which followed the reading of Captain Pape's paper indicated that the arguments advanced in support of the captain's theory were not convincing. The audience showed incredulity. One member declared that the race outlined by the captain appeared to be tubercular degenerates.
As reported in the Montreal Gazette, September 15, 1923 (bold, capitals in original):

TWO UNKNOWN TYPES OF HUMAN FAMILY FOUND

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'Rhodesian Man' and 'Nebraska Tooth' Recent Discoveries

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DOMAIN OF FOSSIL MAN

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Features Regarded as Purely Human Found in Baby Apes--Not in Adults

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Special Cable to the New York Times and Montreal Gazette

Liverpool, Sept. 14 - Interest in the chemical and physical sections was a notable feature of the meeting of the British Association today. The theatre of the university has proved too small for the large attendance at the lectures, and there is every indication that this year's meeting will be one of the most successful in the history of the association.

Five more presidential addresses were delivered today, and among others of great interest was that by Professor Elliot Smith, delivered before the whole association in Philharmonic Hall. Taking as his subject the study of man, Professor Smith said that the recent discovery of the remains of "the Rhodesian man" and of "the Nebraska tooth" had added two hitherto unknown types of the human family, and had also extended the domain of fossil man to two more continents. It was now possible to construct the family tree of man and his nearest allies and to draw certain inferences as to the nature of the evolutionary changes that had occurred in the humabn family since it first came into existence.

One of the most peculiar results of such studies was the fact that some of the traits regarded as distinctive of the higher races of men were found in the new-born members of the lower races, and were subsequently lost by them. Certain features usually regarded as distinctive of man were found in new-born gorillas and chimpanzees, but not in adults. The truth was that the apes were more specialized than man. In adaptation to their particular mode of life they have lost many primitive characteristics which he had retained, but at the expense of losing plasticity and adaptability, which the most valuable parts of the human make up. It was only by realizing this feature of human psychology, he said, the history of man could be understood.

After giving a summary of the mode of evolution of the human brain, as based fundamentally on the development of the power of vision, the lecturer argued that comparative anatomy should be linked with psychology, and both with the history of culture. Only on such a basis could the true science of man be built up.
Rhodesian Man (Homo rhodesiensis) was a species name devised by the English palaeontologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward (who fell for the Piltdown Man hoax) to classify Kabwe 1, a cranium (that's all, folks, just a cranium) discovered in a mine in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1921. As is so often the case with man's alleged ancestors, much of the science surrounding Rhodesian Man consists of guessing, and Homo rhodesiensis is now widely regarded as synonymous with Heidelberg Man (Homo heidelbergensis).

As for Nebraska Man, whose status as an ancestor of modern man was based on the discovery of a single tooth, his disappearance from the list of man's ancestors was announced in February 1928 when the tooth turned out to be from an extinct peccary. See my post 90 years ago: Nebraska Man suddenly disappears from the list of modern man's alleged ancestors (February 18, 2018).

Saturday 30 September 2023

100 years ago--Canadian Anglicans envision new social order

The social gospel which replaced the true gospel in the mainline churches was already at work in the Church of England in Canada (now the Anglican Church of Canada) a century ago, with man bringing in the kingdom of God. Even with that liberalism, you'll notice that their views on immigration would bring instant condemnation today. There were no women clergy then, of course, and alphabet perverts were in the closet instead of the pulpit. As reported in the Calgary Daily Herald, September 17, 1923, p. 10 (bold, headlines in original):

ANGLICANS GIVEN VISION OF NEW SOCIAL REGIME

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Canon Vernon Presents His Report As Secretary To Big Congress

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NOT REVOLUTION, BUT AN ORDERLY PROCESS

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Immigration Issue to Be Fully Discussed by Church Heads

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The vision of a new social order was outlined at the opening session of the boards of the general Synod of the Church of England in Canada, which for the next ten days will be held in the Paget Hall. Practically the whole of the morning, after routine had been transacted, was taken up with the consideration of the report of the general secretary of the council of social service, the Rev. Canon C.W. Vernon.

He stated that in the new vision the value of personality would be applied at all costs in the realms of business, industry, politics and the social order generally, in which the sacrificial service for others would become the normal characteristic of the professing Christian, and the distinguishing mark of the true Christian.

Not Violence of Revolution

That social order, he said, was not to be developed by the violence of revolution, but by the orderly progress of an evolution ever tending upward and onward. There was no short cut to the realization of that ideal. Love alone, not force, could build the city of God. The new social order, he said, would never be consummated by the establishment of a reign of law enforced by penalties whether legalized or of the Ku Klux Klan variety. The new order would be a kingdom of love, expressing itself in service, a commonwealth of God, in which every laborer, whether with brain or hand, would have the artist's joy of achievement, in which each would seek the good of all, and all would spend themselves in service for otehrs.

The Immigration Issue

The question of immigration was also dealt with at considerable length in the report, and this will be fully discussed at a later period. In connection with that phase the report pointed out that the council had no more important work than in looking after the newcomer. They were witnessing the building of a nation and a church by the process of immigration. They were naturally anxious that the best of their British traditions, and the ideals of the Church of England, should shape and fashion the life of the Canadian nation within the British commonwealth. There was much to encourage them. The census figures of 1921 published in the spring showed that in the last decade the percentage of people of British racial origin in Canada increased from 54.08 in 1911 to 55.40 in 1921. The percentage of Anglicans in Canada, which was 12.6 in 1901, and 14.47 in 1911, had risen to 16.02 in 1921.

Emigration to States

While immigration to Canada was a bright and interesting side of the picture, unfortunately there was another factor to be considered, and that was the large emigration from Canada to the United States of native-born Canadians and of comparatively recent newcomers from the mother land. They must build up their own economic and social life so efficiently that all would be convinced that there was no country with greater prospects, more opportunities for service and more attraction as a place to spend one's life than Canada.

Helping British Harvesters

Incidentally Canon Vernon stated that much good work had been accomplished in connection with the large number of British harvesters that had arrived in the Dominion. Each of these had been presented with a card on landing at Quebec or Halifax, that if any of them found themselves "up against it" they should write to the headquarters of the Social Service Council.

In commencing his report Canon Vernon stated that were two widely prevalent but mistaken ideas met with in connection with social service. One was that it was for the poor alone; the other that the church's social ministry was badly needed in the overcrowded centres of population, but had no place in their rural districts. "It cannot be too emphatically asserted," he said, "that the church's social ministry is for the rich, among whom very often the under-privileged and maladjusted are to be found, as well as for those poor in the world's goods, and that our rural districts have to the full as many social problems as our cities and towns. It is because of this universal need of social service that the value of the church in coping with the need should be recognized more than is often the case."

There was a very full attendance of high Anglican church dignitaries present when the initial session opened on Monday morning. The Very Rev. C.P. Matheson, Primate of all Canada, presided.

Altogether there are more than 120 archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity in attendance. It is the first time that this important gathering has been held in the west. At all Anglican churches in the city on Sunday, special sermons were delivered, the primate preaching at the Pro-Cathedral in the morning, and the Bishop of Huron in the evening.

The boards meeting here represent the Missionary Society, Religious Education, and Social Service. The last mentioned was the subject which engaged attention at the opening of proceedings on Monday. One of the chief features of this was the question of immigration.

A public meeting will be held in the Paget Hall at 8 o'clock on Monday, under the auspices of the council of Social Service. The speakers will be the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Ottawa, whose subject will be "Christianity and the Public Conscience," and the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Saskatchewan, who will talk on "Immigration."

Friday 29 September 2023

Sufi conference in Morocco highlights global citizenship



I'm not a fan of The Unz Review; I don't share or endorse the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias expressed by many of its columnists. However, it does sometimes publish interesting items, such as the following by Kevin Barrett, a convert to Islam, originally on Substack, on September 28, 2023 (bold, link in original):

Since I came to Islam in 1993, I have attended plenty of Sufi get-togethers, both here in Morocco and back in the USA. They are generally modest affairs (except for the food, which can be pretty lavish). Typically a couple of dozen people at most gather in a circle if it’s a mosque, or a rectangle if it’s a Moroccan sala, to perform dhikr, a kind of chanting, swaying group meditation. After an hour or two of dhikr, sometimes including an exhortation or discussion led by the shaykh, a communal meal is enjoyed. And I do mean communal—people reach in to eat off the same plate and drink out of the same glass.

I spent the day yesterday at a very different kind of Sufi gathering: a big academic-style conference sponsored by corporations, NGOs, and presumably the Moroccan government. Entitled “Sufism: Religious and Civic Values for Global Citizenship,” it was hosted by the Boutchichiyya Zawiya in Madargh, Morocco, and coordinated with the Mawlid an-Nabi (the Prophet’s birthday, celebrated today).

Sufism, often defined as “Islamic mysticism,” has had a long, ambivalent relationship with institutional forces and with power in general. Organized into tariqas or brotherhoods, some Sufis have supported rulers, others have opposed them, while the majority have oscillated between offering friendly and critical feedback. Today, some politically-engaged Muslims view Sufism negatively because, they say, it promotes quietism and navel-gazing rather than engagement with the formidable challenges facing the community. But historically, that’s just not true. Sufis have generally been about as activist (or not-so-activist) as anyone else.

Personally, my “truth jihadi” activism is inspired in part by Moroccan malamati Sufism. The malamatis (“people of blame”) don’t mind being vilified, because they don’t care about anyone’s opinion but God’s. The Moroccan malamatis have traditionally specialized in speaking truth to power, often in shocking ways. Middle Eastern malamatis, by contrast, traditionally did stupid things like filling wine bottles with water and chugging from them in the mosque to give the false impression that they’re obnoxious drunkards. (Since the last of the Middle Eastern malamatis got chased out of town a long time ago, you’re unlikely to see any on your next trip to Baghdad or Damascus.)...

...The serious business of the conference involved the notion of global citizenship (citoyenneté globale). In French and English, that sounds a bit like your status under the forthcoming world government being set up by the likes of George Soros and Klaus Schwab. But the Arabic phrase, موطنة شاملة, has rather different connotations. The word for citizenship, موطنة, stems from the notion of وطن (national homeland) and might be translated as “national homeland-belonging.” And the word شاملة means “inclusive” or “comprehensive.” So موطنة شاملة (an inclusive/comprehensive homeland-belonging) sounds, to my ears at least, markedly different from citoyenneté globale. While on one level the conference slogan could mean moving toward “world citizenship,” on another it can imply moving toward an even stronger attachment to national homelands than exists today.

Various Moroccan speakers at the conference, including Dr. Larbi Taouaf of Mohammad 1 University in Oujda, made it clear that one of the references of “national homeland-belonging” was to Morocco’s unique version of national-unity-in-diversity. Morocco, Dr. Taouaf explained, has spent many centuries forging an inclusive national identity bringing together a great many languages and ethnicities. The unifying factor, he suggested, is Islamic religious and spiritual values (which of course promote coexistence and dialogue with other faiths). By contrast, the postcolonial West’s experience of promoting secular-based “diversity” and “multiculturalism” and “pluralism” has only existed for a few decades and doesn’t seem to be working out very well.

Morocco’s approach, Dr. Taouaf said, differs from today’s Western liberalism in that it is “against identity politics in the public sphere.” In other words, Moroccans and their government don’t much care what you do or say in private, but have no compunction about placing limits on your ability to become a public nuisance. (When an American speaker apostrophizing “tolerance” ill-advisedly brought up the fraught issues of gender and sexuality, the next speaker, a Moroccan, subtly but pointedly rebuked him by citing the famous Qur’anic dictate to “command good and forbid evil.”)

It seems to me that rather than asking their hosts whether Morocco is liberal and democratic enough, Western visitors should ask themselves: Is identity-politics-based liberal democracy really the best way to run a country? Case in point: Today’s Washington Post features three excellent articles on how liberalism (say anything you want on social media, including incitements to violence) plus democracy (whoever riles up the voters the most wins) plus identity politics (Hindu fascism) is producing hell-on-earth in Modi’s godforsaken India...

...Meanwhile, back at the conference: How can Sufism, rather than “liberal democracy,” promote good citizenship around the world? I would answer that question by arguing that the mystical dimension of religion, rather than the exoteric and especially the identity politics dimension, is what inspires devotion to the good, the true, and the beautiful, thereby inspiring good behavior. If Hindus in India, for example, spent more time meditating on the Upanishads, and less time lynching Muslims and Christians (and voting and campaigning for people who promote the lynchings) they would be both better mystics and better citizens.

People are more likely to follow rules of good behavior if they can directly sense, intuit, or even know that there is a divine Reality behind those rules. Mysticism teaches direct encounters with the Reality at the heart of religion.
Just as mysticism promotes globalism, it also promotes universalism; those who so-called contemplative spirituality, for instance, come across people from other religions who report similar experiences, leading to the conclusion that the experiences must be coming from the same source--which is why it's dangerous to rely on the shifting sand of subjective experience rather than on the solid, unchanging truth of the Bible. This mysticism is contributing to the deception characteristic of the end times prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tuesday 5 September 2023

More evidence of apostasy in the Church of England

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:5

As reported by Harriet Sherwood of The Guardian, July 29, 2023:

A Cornish church that banned women from applying to be its new vicar – despite once counting Dawn French, star of the TV comedy The Vicar of Dibley, among its flock – has reversed the decision under new management.

A newly elected governing council at St Fimbarrus church in the picturesque port of Fowey in Cornwall has told parishioners that a “new season” has begun.

In a statement, the parochial church council (PCC) said the previous regime’s decision to advertise for a male priest to fill its four-year-old vacancy was “misguided and unrepresentative” of the parish and the town.

The decision had been taken without consultation and many people in the parish expressed a “strong desire for change”.

The new PCC wanted the church “to be accessible to all … The PCC has voted unanimously to rescind the previous PCC’s resolution requiring male leadership … We are keen to recruit the best candidate to meet the needs of Fowey parish church, regardless of gender.”

Merisa MacInnes, a member of the PCC, said: “We are encouraged that numbers in the congregation have doubled in recent weeks and we are confident that the right person to be vicar will come forward in the coming months.”

In March, the previous PCC defended its decision to ban female applicants for the vacancy, insisting it was “not sexist”.

It said: “As an evangelical church we look to the Bible for all matters of faith. The Bible is very clear on equality – all are equal …. There is, however, debate over the roles women play within the church.”

It understood that its desire for a male priest-in-charge “can be difficult to understand looking from the outside into the church, but [we] would robustly defend that this position is not sexist, is widely established in the worldwide church, and accommodates all views in the membership of our church without exclusion”.

Andy Virr, the previous chair of the PCC and a local Conservative councillor, and two other PCC members stood down in May amid objections to the stance.

Under exemptions from the Equality Act, the Church of England permits local churches to reject female lead priests and the oversight of a female bishop.

Martine Oborne, the chair of Women and the Church (Watch), an organisation that campaigns for equality in the C of E, and a vicar in west London, said the Fowey decision was good news.

She added: “I think it’s time for church members to assert themselves and not defer to clergy who seek to limit women’s roles in the church.”

Fowey was not unique, she said. Some churches had taken decisions to reject female priests without proper consultation or transparency.

The fight for equality was not over despite 30 years having passed since women were allowed to become priests in the C of E.

“I think personally it’s time for the C of E to find a generous way to bring the arrangements that allow churches to go on limiting or not recognising women’s ministries to an end,” she said.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Romans 1:24-32

As reported by Alexandra Topping in The Guardian, August 30, 2023 (links in original):

Most Church of England priests want the C of E to allow same-sex weddings and to drop its opposition to premarital and gay sex, according to a survey.

In a major shift in attitudes over the past decade, a survey of priests in England conducted by the Times found that more than half supported a change in law to allow clergy to conduct the marriage of gay couples, with 53.4% in favour compared with 36.5% against.

The last time Anglican priests in England were asked, in 2014, shortly after the legalisation of same-sex civil marriage, 51% said same-sex marriage was “wrong”, compared with 39% who approved.

Last year a row erupted at the first Lambeth conference (a meeting of Anglican bishops from around the world) in 14 years, with the archbishop of Canterbury faced sharp criticism for affirming a 1998 declaration that gay sex was a sin.

But the new poll found that 64.5% of priests in England backed an end to the teaching that “homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture”. It also found that 27.3% of priests supported an end to any celibacy requirement for gay people, while 37.2% said they were willing to accept sex between gay people in “committed” relationships such as civil partnerships or marriages, and around a third (29.7%) said the teaching should not change.

Andrew Foreshew-Cain, founder of the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England, said the survey showed there was “no excuse for further delay and equivocation” in welcoming gay people into the church.

“The clergy of the Church of England are kinder, more generous, and more welcoming towards LGBTI people than the current official position allows,” he said. “The C of E, and in particular our bishops, needs to stop wringing its hands over gay people and move forward towards blessings and, in time, to celebrating same-sex marriages in our parishes.”

The survey results were encouraging, said Robbie de Santos, director of communications at Stonewall. “We hope that church leaders reflect on these findings,” he said. “Too often, LGBTQ+ people of faith face discrimination and prejudice simply for being themselves.”

The survey also found that three-quarters of respondents thought Britain could no longer be described as a Christian country. Almost two-thirds (64.2%) said Britain could be called Christian “but only historically, not currently”.

In the 2021 census of England and Wales for the first time fewer than half of the population described themselves as Christian.

The Times poll found that two-thirds of priests in England thought attempts to stop the drop in church attendance would fail, with only 10.1% thinking it would be halted, and 10.5% believing that congregations would grow again. Average attendance for Church of England Sunday services in 2021 was 509,000, down from 1.2m in 1986.

Thursday 31 August 2023

Archbishop of York whines about "oppressively patriarchal" Lord's Prayer

This provides more evidence that you can't be a satirist anymore--assuming that this item wasn't meant as satire. As reported by Harriet Sherwood in The Guardian, July 7, 2023 (links in original):

The archbishop of York has suggested that opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, recited by Christians all over the world for 2,000 years, may be “problematic” because of their patriarchal association.

In his opening address to a meeting of the Church of England’s ruling body, the General Synod, Stephen Cottrell dwelt on the words “Our Father”, the start of the prayer based on Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4 in the New Testament.

“I know the word ‘father’ is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers has been destructive and abusive, and for all of us who have laboured rather too much from an oppressively patriarchal grip on life,” he said.

His comment – a brief aside in a speech that focused on the need for unity – will divide members of the C of E, a body whose differences on issues of sexuality, identity and equality have been highly visible for years.

After Cottrell’s speech, Canon Dr Chris Sugden, chair of the conservative Anglican Mainstream group, pointed out that in the Bible Jesus urged people to pray to “our father”.

He said: “Is the archbishop of York saying Jesus was wrong, or that Jesus was not pastorally aware? It seems to be emblematic of the approach of some church leaders to take their cues from culture rather than scripture.”

Rev Christina Rees, who campaigned for female bishops, said Cottrell had “put his finger on an issue that’s a really live issue for Christians and has been for many years”.

She added: “The big question is, do we really believe that God believes that male human beings bear his image more fully and accurately than women? The answer is absolutely not.”

In February, the C of E said it would consider whether to stop referring to God as “he”, after priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead.

It agreed to launch a commission on gendered language, saying “Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship”.
As reported in the Irish Times, February 8, 2023:

The Church of England is considering alternatives to referring to God as “he” after priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead.

The church said it would start a project in the spring to decide whether to propose changes or not.

Any potential alterations, which would mark a departure from traditional Jewish and Christian teachings dating back millennia, would have to be approved by synod, the church’s decision-making body.

Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice-chair of the liturgical commission responsible for the matter, said the church had been “exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years”.

Sunday 30 July 2023

"Interfaith" service is appropriate for the retirement of United Church of Canada pastrix

I don't see any mention of alphabet perverts in the following article, but every other base seems to have been touched, providing moer evidence, as if was needed, to prove that the United Church of Canada is hopelessly apostate. As reported, with his typically idiotic liberal bias, by John Longhurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, June 30, 2023 (updated July 1, 2023):
I don’t know what heaven is like. But there may have been a clue June 11 at Westworth United Church.

That was the day the church acknowledged the retirement of its minister, Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd, with a service of gratitude and celebration.

What made the service a bit like heaven was how it included not only Christian scriptures and liturgy, but those from other faith traditions such as Islam and Judaism, along with contributions from Indigenous people.

The service opened with a treaty acknowledgment and included a Hebrew chant for peace and readings from the Hebrew scriptures, the Qu’ran and the New Testament — along with traditional hymns and choruses.

Participants in the service included Izzeddin Hawamda, originally from the West Bank in Palestine; Humaira Jaleel, founder and executive director of Healthy Muslim Families; Idris Knapp, executive director of Winnipeg’s Central Mosque; Rabbanit Dorit Kosmin, an interfaith health-care chaplain who has also worked as a cantor and Jewish educator; Cree elder and former United Church of Canada minister Stan McKay; Rabbi Kliel Rose of Congregation Etz Chayim; Anass Sebbahi, a Muslim musician; Rachel Landrecht, a sacred singer and songwriter; and Jedediyah Swampy of Sagkeeng First Nation, a traditional singer and drummer.

It was a joyous service from the opening introit, through the anthem and the Taize chant to the reading of scriptures, the hymns and postlude — albeit tinged with a bit of sadness at seeing a much-loved minister depart the church.

After the service, I asked MacKenzie Shepherd why she chose an interfaith service for her farewell.

It grew out of the church’s history of interfaith involvement, along with her own personal commitment to engaging with people from other faith groups, she said, adding “I have long believed that the only way through generational conflicts between cultures and faiths is a third way that emerges between entrenched, oppositional sides.”

For her, “to find this third way requires us to listen deeply with compassion to views that may be anathema to what we believe. But as we listen, we develop relationships of trust where the other can know that they are safe in our presence. We may respectfully disagree, but we commit to standing with each other against societal hostility, such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and homophobia.”

MacKenzie Shepherd also believes triangulation is key to bringing diverse faith communities together — not focusing on interfaith dialogue but asking people to give attention to some other justice-related topic or issue.

For Westworth, the thing they focused on was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. MacKenzie Shepherd brought together people from the Islamic, Jewish and Buddhist communities, along with Indigenous people, to discuss those calls. In the process, “trusting relationships” were established, she said, leading to greater interfaith engagement.

Those meetings “touched a spiritual need” and fostered a “deep desire to come together,” she said.

So when she was asked what kind of gathering she wanted for her retirement service, bringing people from those groups together for an interfaith worship service was an obvious choice.

“This is the first time that both Westworth and I have ever been part of such a service,” she said, adding it was “a natural culmination of all of our work together.”