Beware of those who claim to care about "social justice" while supporting abortion

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. John 12:3-6

Malcolm Muggeridge commented on the passage above with words to the effect of "The disciple who betrayed Jesus was the one most strongly committed to social justice." An example of this is Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG), which says, on its About Us page:

Our Mandate

APIRG is a student-run, student-funded, non-profit organization dedicated to research, education, advocacy, and action in the public interest. APIRG exists to provide students with resources to be active citizens.

Basis of Unity

We believe the way to create positive social change is to provide individuals with the information and tools they need to become active citizens and to participate effectively in their communities.

Statement of Values

AP!RG considers an equitable environment to be a part of positive social change. We acknowledge that social change is achievable and see social awareness as a valuable facet of the public interest. We see anti-oppression as a process that acknowledges the existence of systemic oppression (including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism). Through practices and policies, we seek to actively identify, challenge and address oppression wherever it exists, in all its various forms, and to actively encourage opportunities for social awareness and change. Further, we recognize and respect that systems of oppression interact in different ways and affect each person differently.

About APIRG

APIRG is a PIRG. PIRG stands for Public Interest Research Group. PIRGs are student organizations based on the premise that students are citizens, and as such, part of their education should include recognizing and engaging in societal problems. PIRGs exist to provide training, support, and opportunities for students to be active citizens in their communities. Through involvement with PIRGs, thousands of Canadian students have learned skills in consensus decision-making, group facilitation, events organizing, media relations, and community-based research. These skills help individuals to act effectively in the public interest.

On November 10, 2011, an event called the "It Used to Be Cool" Pro-Choice Dance Party was held on the campus of the University of Alberta, hosted by Voices for Choices, the U of A's pro-abortion group. Click on the above link to the event promo, and you'll read, "Thanks to the Alberta Public Interest Research Group for their continued support and funding assistance." If that link is no longer valid, you can see the ad for the event, as it appeared on posters displayed on campus, in The Gateway for November 9, 2011 (scroll down to page 3); you'll notice the APIRG logo prominently displayed at the bottom.

The reader will notice that nowhere in APIRG's Statement of Values are unborn human beings mentioned among those being oppressed, but I can't think of a more severe form of oppression than being torn to shreds in the womb of one's mother. Rather, I view those practicing abortion as the worst kind of oppressors. I also flatly reject the idea that abortion is "positive social change" or is in the "public interest."

For those who haven't yet noticed that the people who support the pro-abortion agenda also support the pro-homosexuality agenda, I offer the following from the Voices for Choice Constitution (the reader will note that the "values" of "choice" and "queer positivity" are associated with those of feminism):

Voices for Choices is a non-hierarchical, collective group of individuals who are working to establish and promote a pro-choice, sex and queer-positive, as well as woman-friendly presence on and around the University of Alberta campus and the City of Edmonton.

Our goals are to:

- Disseminate fact-based information on the options available to pregnant women, safer sex, sexuality, and sexual health.
- Form and expand a pro-choice community on campus and around the city of Edmonton while deepening its knowledge and feelings of solidarity.
- Reflect the values of harm reduction, sex and queer positivity, as well as feminism while also being open to peaceful, respectful, and constructive dialogue

A university fraternity that exhibits characteristics of a cult

Among the characteristics typically found in cults are sleep deprivation, isolation, paddling, and perverse initiation rituals for prospective members. Another item from the backlog--as reported by Alexandria Eldridge in The Gateway, October 21, 2010:

The Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Alberta tells pledges to eat their own vomit, deprives them of sleep, and closes them in a plywood box as part of a four-day initiation process, according to video footage from January 2010 obtained by The Gateway.

According to the DKE International Risk Management Policy posted on their website, hazing by any chapter, student, or alumnus is prohibited. Having the permission of a person being hazed is not a defence.

DKE International defines hazing as:

"Any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. Such activities may include but are not limited to the following: use of alcohol; paddling in any form; creation of excessive fatigue; physical and psychological shocks [… and] morally degrading or humiliating games and activities."

A DKE (Deke) alumnus, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his identity, and who will be referred to as Joe, described his experience during initiation as traumatic.

"[Pledges are] not told what happens. There's very little care actually done for them. They're stolen from, they're taken advantage of, they're yelled at [...], they're not told when it will end," Joe said. "They're definitely hurt mentally and physically at the end of it."

According to Joe, the initiation weekend took place last year near the end of January. Pledges arrive at the Deke house on Thursday and do not leave until Sunday, except to go to class on Friday.

During check-in, when pledges arrive at the house, the initiated Deke brothers, who are active members or alumni, put the food and alcohol each pledge brings into the communal fridge.

One of the videos shows a pledge being yelled at by at least five of the active members or alumni during check-in because he brought two small cans of beans instead of one large can.

"Do you have a problem following instructions? Because if you do, your life is going to become extremely difficult […] Do you have a learning disability? Are you retarded?"

The video also shows the pledges being told to do wall sits, being pressured into taking a bite out of a raw onion, and being pressured into eating raw eggs, to which one brother says, "go salmonella."

Video footage also shows pledges attending an off-campus dinner, where they eat food that is intentionally disgusting and then smoke a cigar as quickly as possible after eating. Joe explained that for these reasons, some pledges vomit and then eat their vomit.

"As far as I know, no chemical is added to the food, and there's always a percentage of the people that just eat it," Joe said. "But here are the instructions — get him to eat as much as possible, get him to puke; when he pukes, try to get him to clean up his plate. His plate should be empty, including his vomit."

Over the weekend, the brothers also hold extended exercise drills for the pledges called "circles." One alumnus, called the circle master, stands in the middle of a group of pledges, who are surrounded by active members and alumni. The pledges must do and say whatever the circle master tells them to, including sit-ups and push-ups, while being yelled at by their surrounding brothers.

Multiple times over the weekend, pledges also go into "the Hilton," a plywood box that Joe described as being a confined space. He said that the brothers alter the size by putting desks and chairs inside of it.

"I'm guessing you could possibly stuff 30 people in there, but if you've got a class of 15, you just close off half. You couldn't stand in it."

Joe said that often, someone will squirt ketchup or throw food into the Hilton, or urinate inside before the pledges enter. The pledges usually won't stay in the Hilton for any more than 15 minutes, and Joe said that anyone who is claustrophobic is not forced in.

According to a sample list obtained by The Gateway, pledges are also instructed to bring wooden paddles to the initiation weekend. According to Joe, brothers are never, under any circumstances, allowed to actually hit pledges with the paddles. However, Joe said pledges are never told that they will not be paddled and thinks the paddles add to the atmosphere of intimidation.

Many hours over the weekend are also spent in "meditations." Pledges are instructed to sit upright facing the wall, but are not allowed to sleep. The alumni play extremely loud, repetitive music. After a few hours, Joe said many people start to hallucinate.

According to Joe, during the final stage of initiation, all of the pledges individually appear before a tribunal of active members and alumni and are told they did not make it into the fraternity. Then they all come together in a ritual where a brother will ask anyone who did not make it into the fraternity to step forward. Everybody steps forward.

The video indicates that over the course of the weekend, the personal property of the pledges is often stolen. At one point on the video, one brother says to another, "we steal their shit." Joe added that other things are simply ruined because pledges' belongings are kept in the basement, where circles occur, so things are often trampled.

Joe added that the pledges get no substantial time to sleep. According to schedules obtained by The Gateway, the pledges are only allotted time to sleep for a half hour on Friday night and for five 15-minute intervals and one half-hour interval on Saturday night.

In addition to sleep deprivation, Joe said the pledges are also encouraged to drink large amounts of alcohol throughout the weekend, but this is not mandatory.

"I've always wondered if it's better to get drunk or not. Because the alcohol dehydrates you, but the alcohol definitely helps deal with the trauma. If you're hammered through the whole thing, you're going to have a lot less nightmares than if you're sober the whole time," Joe said.

After Friday night, pledges are not allowed to leave the initiations. On the video, a group of alumni discuss the basic rule that once someone starts on Friday, they can't leave until Sunday unless it's a special circumstance.

Joe explained that some of the pledges actually enjoy the challenge of initiations, and many of the brothers enjoy it as well, but he feels it's unfair that pledges do not know what to expect from initiations before they begin.

"I'd call it hazing, I call it abuse. I think the better word is abuse. You get abused, absolutely."

A second Deke alumnus, who also wished to remain anonymous, confirmed the information listed above.

Mike Siebert, President of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the governing body of fraternities on the U of A campus, did not respond to specific allegations, but said that the IFC has a zero-tolerance policy towards hazing...

...DKE International did not respond to request for comment as of press time. A spokesperson for the DKE alumni association denied the allegations.

"We never would do anything to offend the honour of any of our own guys or any potential member either," the spokesperson said.

According to a sidebar The Gateway, the DKE initiation schedule was as follows (based on documents obtained by The Gateway):

Thursday
Check-in: Pledges bring food and alcohol to be put into the communal fridge
Dinner: Pledges are taken to an off-campus location for a dinner where they often vomit.
International Exam: Pledges take an exam about the history of DKE.

Friday
"Rude Awakening" and Run: Pledges are woken up after half an hour of sleep and taken on a run under the High Level Bridge
Classes or Cleaning: Pledges who have class can attend, accompanied by their big brothers, while those left behind clean the house.
Dinner: Pledges are taken to a restaurant for dinner, where they are encouraged, but not mandated, to drink heavily.
Beta's Charge: Pledges are told they are on probation with DKE and that initiations have begun. At this point, pledges cannot leave initiations.

Saturday
The Hilton: Pledges are introduced to "the Hilton," where they wait while the basement is set up for circles.
Circles: Pledges participate in an extended exercise drill where they are required to do physical activity.
Meditations: Pledges listen to repetitive music for hours and are not allowed to sleep.

Sunday
The Final Stage: Pledges are driven off-campus for the final stage of initiations.
Kickouts: Pledges individually appear before a tribunal and are told they did not make it into the fraternity.
Initiations end: One brother tells all the pledges that whoever didn't make it into the fraternity should step forward. Everybody steps forward, signalling the end of initiations.

There was considerable fallout from the story. On December 10, 2010, DKE International provisionally suspended the University of Alberta chapter for three years, and on January 27, 2011, U of A Dean of Students Frank Robinson announced that the U of A chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon was being suspended from affiliation with the university for five years.

That hasn't been the end of the story. On September 20, 2011, University of Alberta Protective Services confirmed that they had opened an investigation into a complaint that members of DKE had been seen recruiting on campus during student orientation, which would be a violation of the terms of the fraternity's suspension. According to a News in Brief item from The Gateway, November 9, 2011:

Four members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity have been charged for attempting to recruit students on campus, violating the five-year suspension imposed on the fraternity last January following allegations of hazing.

UAPS Director Bill Mowbray said the four students were charged under the code of student behaviour, which was handled by the Office of Judicial Affairs. A decision was then rendered by the office’s discipline officer.

The office was unable to comment on the nature of the discipline imposed, citing confidentiality for all cases.

The investigation took about two weeks to conduct, according to Mowbray. The case was forwarded to Mowbray for investigation by the Office of the Dean of Students, who received a video of DKE members engaging in recruitment activities during orientation.

The incident was recorded by several students aware of the DKE’s suspension, who subsequently complained to the Office of the Dean of Students.

Dean of Students Frank Robinson said he was unable to comment now that the investigation has closed. However, he said the office is looking to add an official definition of hazing in the U of A’s code of student behaviour, which it’s currently lacking.

Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Kevin Thomas said it’s important to note that the DKE members were violating more than just their suspension.

“It wasn’t just that they weren’t supposed to be doing what they were doing. It’s that they were doing something that no student group is allowed to do, which is soliciting on campus,” Thomas said.

Another casualty of "holistic healing" in Canada

If the following item seems somewhat familiar, it may be because it resembles this item from a few months ago.

As reported by The Canadian Press, November 11, 2011:

RICHMOND, B.C. - Five B.C. residents, including a woman nearly killed by arsenic poisoning and left a quadriplegic, are sharing more than $340,000 as a result of a settlement involving a self-proclaimed holistic healer.

Money from the settlement came from property seized from the defendant and sold under the B.C. government's civil forfeiture legislation.

The government says the defendant, Selena Tsui, was not charged in the case after the Crown concluded there was no substantial likelihood of conviction on any criminal charges.

The government says between 2000 and 2004, Tsui told at least a dozen people she was qualified to diagnose and treat diseases, including mental conditions, when in fact she had no formal training.

One of her clients, identified only as E.L., began taking a concoction she believed contained mushrooms and herbs, but had extreme arsenic levels, and she suffered respiratory and renal failure, cardiac arrest and paralysis.

She was taken to hospital, put on life support and given a five per cent chance of survival, but her life was eventually saved.

Could pilotless drones help to fulfil end-time prophecy?

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?...
...And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world...
...And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13: 4, 7-8, 11-15

Nat Hentoff wrote on the subject of pilotless drones in his WorldNet Daily column of November 8, 2011. I find it interesting that Mr. Hentoff, who professes to be an atheist, speculates on the possibility of Americans following a robot president:

But there are experts who believe that there are indeed people who can create ethical, responsible robots. Enter Ronald C. Arkin, author of "Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots." Among his credentials: This study was financed by the U.S. Army Research Office. Don't you trust the judgment of that official government level of validation?

Arkin, assures the Washington Post and us that "lethal autonomy is inevitable," robots having graduated from science fiction into real-time existence; competing with human chess champions, for one widely publicized example. But on the warfare level we're discussing, Arkin, reports Finn, "believes it is possible to build ethical military drones and robots, capable of using deadly force while programmed to adhere to international humanitarian law and the rules of engagement. "He said software can be created that would lead machines to return fire with proportionality, minimize collateral damage, recognize surrender, and, in the case of uncertainty, maneuver to reassess or wait for a human assessment."

If you are still skeptical, Lora G. Weiss, chief scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute, adds: "How a war-fighting unit may think – we are trying to make our systems behave like that."

Is it possible, then, that eventually we'll have such corrosive distrust of our incompetent government, as we have come to know it, that we will put our faith in a robotic president so precisely and totally connected to the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution that we will have no reason to doubt it?

You think I'm kidding? I sure hope so. I am glad to introduce Johann Borenstein, in charge of the Mobile Robotics Lab at the University of Michigan.

He tells the Washington Post that human skills will remain critical in battle far into the future, emphasizing: "The foremost of all skills is common sense. Robots don't have common sense and won't have common sense in the next 50 years, or however long one might want to guess."

But how long will future generations want to guess? In any case, why now, President Barack Obama, is it wise to conduct our warfare against terrorists who may ultimately have pilotless technology to kill us? And beyond the next election, what will future presidents think of saving the lives of our human soldiers by depending on soulless robotic drones?

More evidence that yesterday's liberalism has become today's evangelicalism

In 1983, at the 11th World Congress of the International Council of Christian Churches at Cape May, New Jersey, Dr. Samuel H. Tow of Singapore delivered an important and prescient address titled "Today's Evangelicals, Tomorrow's Liberals." The title is equally true if reversed: Individuals and ideas regarded as liberal in 1983 are now considered "evangelical" (e.g., Jim Wallis).

From a column by Charles Lewis titled Tarring all evangelicals in the National Post, November 7, 2011:

Trinity Western University, an evangelical school, has been consistently ranked as one of the top academic schools in the country...

...In Ottawa, TWU runs the Laurentian Leadership Centre. It is meant for their brightest students who are contemplating careers in public life. I visited the centre about four years ago and spoke to many of the students. None seemed to be too fussed about gay marriage or even abortion. To them, the burning issues of the day were debt relief and global poverty. Politically, they were all over the map, including some Green party activists.

In the United States there are a number of top flight schools — Baylor, Samford, Eastern — that are all evangelical. Wheaton College in Illinois is as tough to get into as Harvard. I’ve spoken to many of their people and again they are far and a way some of the smartest people I have met. It too is an evangelical school.

When it comes to the American schools mentioned above, some might question just how "evangelical" they are, and might argue that they're examples of how evangelicalism has morphed into liberalism. Mr. Lewis's comment about the students at Trinity Western University offers further support to this argument; today's "evangelical" students at their "evangelical" schools have priorities and opinions that are indistinguishable from those of the non-Christian world around them. A "textbook" example is The King's University College in Edmonton, Alberta. Click on the link for Micah Centre, then on the link titled "God's Politics," and it takes you straight to the blog of Sojourners, run by Jim Wallis, who I've always regarded as a Communist masquerading as a Christian. Mr. Wallis's views haven't changed in 50 years, but evangelicalism has moved so far to the left that it's caught up to him. Such are the results of Christians "engaging" the culture ("engagement" is the early 21st century equivalent of "appeasement," which carried a positive connotation as late as the Munich peace summit in 1938, and became a dirty word only after Adolf Hitler continued his aggression).

The trouble with "New Evangelicalism" is that it started on the wrong foot. The old-style fundamentalists, such as those in the ICCC, insisted on separation from liberal denominations. The "New Evangelicals," however, condemned the fundamentalists as lacking in love, and said that one could be affiliated with, for instance, the National Association of Evangelicals, without separating from a liberal denomination. The results have been exactly as the fundamentalists predicted.

13 Crystal Skulls make their pilgrimage across the U.S.A.

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. II Timothy 4:4

A recent New Age item:

According to astrologer Cal Garrison, in the New Age magazine The Spirit of Ma'at, October 2011:

I first heard about the Crystal Skull journey back on the twenty-third of July. At the time I wasn't quite sure how it would all come together because so many variables, both logistical and ethereal, had to be taken into consideration. Since that day many things have been arranged and rearranged. After several meetings, Hunbatz Men, Mayan Daykeeper and Elder Priest of the Mayan Itza Council, and Pedro Pablo Chuc Pech, President of the Mayan Council of Elders, have announced their plans to lead a group of Mayan Elders on a ceremonial pilgrimage that will carry the Thirteen Crystal Skulls from one coast of the United States to the other. The journey will begin in Manhattan on the 27th of October, 2011; it will culminate in Los Angeles on November 11th, 2011.

On 11:11:11, another group of thirteen Elders will arrive in LA from the Mayaland to come together in a Gateway Event that will be highlighted by the performance of the Mayan Crystal Skull Ceremony. The Elders, whose traditions have always been kept within their inner circle, have been instructed to perform all of their ceremonies in public from this point on; for this reason, the Ceremony of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls, a ceremony that was last performed 26,000 years ago, will be open to the general public.

Enroute from New York to Los Angeles the Elders will stop at specific power points to fulfill a prophecy which states that the time has come to reawaken the Spirit of the North American Continent so that it can reclaim itself as the sacred ground in whose soil would be sown the seeds for the enlightenment of all mankind. At each stop along the way ceremonial gatherings will be held to open the ground and raise the ancient energies that will fuel the Gateway Event in Los Angeles on 11:11:11. All of these gatherings will be open to anyone who feels called to participate.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the significance of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls, these ancient relics are said to contain information about the history of our planet and the future of mankind. Carved out of pure quartz crystal, and other crystals such as jade, the Skulls generate an energy field that activates human consciousness in a way that expands our perceptions of reality. Ultimately they are the manifestation of Spirit in a form that is now helping to shift the magnetic frequency of Mother Earth. When the Spirits of the Skulls are ceremonially awakened, ancient wisdom, wisdom that has been preserved in a crystalline matrix for eons, enters the unified field and fills the collective consciousness with all the knowledge of everything that has happened on the planet in the last 26,000 years, and perhaps beyond...

For those who remember the Harmonic (aka "Moronic") Convergence in 1987, it seems there's a 2011/2012 edition. Please note the presence of Cirque du (not "de") Soleil (and you thought it was just a circus):

...As it turns out, Unify Earth, the organization that is sponsored by the people who gave us 'Live Aid', ''We are the World', and other mega-events with a humanitarian purpose, has gotten behind Hunbatz Men, Pedro Pablo Chuc Pech, and the Mayan Council and they want to provide a vehicle for the Elders' message to be spread to every corner of the Earth. In collaboration with Cirque de Soleil, 'Google', NBC, Santana, Elevate Films, and others, all of the above have come together to sponsor a series of spectacular performances that will carry the seeds that are sown in the soon to be actualized Crystal Skull Ceremonies to hearts and minds all over the planet.

Throughout 2012, on the March 21st Spring Equinox, the June 21st Summer Solstice, and the September 21st, Autumn Equinox, Cirque de Soleil will present special performances with themes that embody the wisdom of the ancients, the secrets of the Great Shift of the Ages, and the connection between the mysteries of the heart and the awakening of human consciousness. At the heart of each performance will be the wish to open the mind and the heart of humanity to the Ascension process, and to the prospect of a beautiful future in a whole new world.

This series of blockbuster performances will culminate in a fourth mega-event that will broadcast live, from the Great Pyramid at Chichen Itza on the 2012 Winter Solstice. On that night Cirque de Soleil will take over the entire Chichen Itza Temple complex. The Chichen Itza Pyramid will be transformed into a stage, upon which the artists and performers of the Cirque de Soleil will work their incredible magic. Carlos Santana, the man who has been a clear channel for the Music of the Spheres for over fifty-years, will be the Master of Ceremonies for the main event. If that isn't enough, the Winter Solstice show will include an unprecedented, full regalia ceremony with the Mayan Elders. Yes, that's right folks; the Elders will be there too; they are coming down from the mountains to be part of this.

At 11:11 PM, on the night of the 2012 Winter Solstice spectacular, at the exact moment when our Sun and the Earth go into alignment with the center of the galaxy, the Elders, and the Cirque de Soleil performers will present a guided meditation that will unite over two-billion viewers in their hearts and open the space for all of humanity to embrace the unconditionally-loving light of the Divine Feminine. The time has come; the 'Quarantine' is about to be lifted. This event, and all of the ceremonies and performances leading up to it, are the manifestation of a dream, and of a rise in consciousness that will help us to remember who we really are and guide us out of the darkness into the Light.

HT: Dracul Van Helsing

May 14, 2012 update: The latest on Cirque du Soleil, as reported by Pat Donnelly in the Montreal Gazette, April 13, 2012:

MONTREAL - Step right up folks! Be among the first to discover Amaluna, the matriarchal circus partially inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest wherein 75 per cent of the 52 performers are women and a spectacular Utopian vision of world harmony rules.

While describing her first Cirque du Soleil show at a recent media event in Montreal, New York theatre director and Harvard professor Diane Paulus said the most beautiful thing about working on it has been collaborating with performers from around the world (15 countries). “I’ve done a lot of theatre,” she said. “but I’ve never done a show with this many people from this many countries.”

She reflected that if members of her international cast can find a common harmony as they relate across language barriers in building the world of Amaluna, it will be “a little tribute to the power of theatre and art to promote that kind of communication...”

...
The third singer is Marie-Michèle Faber, as the Goddess Moon, who will be delivering her songs from high in the air on a hoop.

Amaluna, after all, is a hybrid word whose combined meaning adds up to Mother Moon.

Amaluna begins previews Thursday, April 19, 2012 under the Big Top at the Old Port. Official opening is April 25. It will move to Quebec City on July 25. Visit www.cirquedusoleil.com for more information.

25 years ago: Representatives of 12 religions join Pope John Paul II at World Day of Prayer for Peace

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Proverbs 28:9

And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. Daniel 8:25

On October 27, 1986, representatives of 12 religions participated in the World Day of Prayer for Peace at Assisi, Italy, under the leadership of Pope John Paul II. As reported by Roberto Suro in The New York Times, October 28, 1986:

Assisi, Italy, Oct. 27--Spiritual leaders from 12 different religions gathered here today to offer individual prayers alongside Pope John Paul II, who had asked them to join him in a "World Day of Prayer for Peace."

Their efforts were described as at least partly successful...

...The governments of 60 countries, including Israel and Iraq, had sent messages supporting the idea, according to the chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who termed the truce initiative "a substantial success."...

...The "religious families" represented at the shrine here were Amerindian religions; the Bahai faith, an offshoot of Babism that stresses universal brotherhood; Buddhists; Christians; Jainists, a Hindu religion resembling Buddhism; Jews; Hindus; Moslems; Shintoists, a religion of Japan that emphasizes the worship of nature and ancestors; Sikhs; traditional African religions, and Zoroastrians, a religion founded in Persia that includes a belief in the continuous struggle of good against evil.

Among those attending were the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader; the Most Rev. Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion; Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev, who represented the Russian Orthodox Church; and Muneyoshi Tokugawa, president of the Shinto Shrine Association of Tokyo.

The religious leaders, who represented every major form of worship, were told by the Pope, "For the first time in history we have come together from everywhere."

Although united in their desire for peace, the 155 religious leaders who joined John Paul here on a blustery autumn day were clearly still divided by religion.

Scattered among Romanesque churches, Baroque chapels and Medieval palaces, the participants formed 12 groups this morning so that each faith could pray separately.

After fasting and meditating through midday, the participants marched through the steep stone streets until they arrived outside the basilica of St. Francis.

There, in a piazza that usually serves as a parking lot for tour buses, representatives of each religion offered a separate prayer while the others watched.

The Pope, conspicuous in his all-white cassock, sat with all of the non-Christians in a brightly colored array of dress to his left while on his right were the Christians in variations of black and purple as well as some simple business suits. Elio Toaff, Rome's Chief Rabbi, was the head of the Jewish delegation and sat at the end of the Christian section.

Just as a chilly rain began to fall, the religious leaders went to the refectory of the Franciscan monastery alongside the Basilica. They ate together there this evening from a menu that offered several choices carefully calculated to respect the great variety of dietary practices.

'Being Together to Pray'

Senior Vatican officials said that never before had such an array of religious figures participated in a single event.

At no time did all of the participating pray together. Instead, the Pope coined the phrase "being together to pray," to describe how they were united here while worshipping separately.

Welcoming the religious leaders this morning, John Paul said, "The fact that we have come here does not imply any intention of seeking a religious consensus among ourselves or of negotiating our faith convictions."

Yet, when the day was ending, the Pope asked, "If there are many and important differences among us, is it not true to say that at the deeper level of humanity, there is a common ground whence to operate together in a solution of this dramatic challenge of our age: true peace or catastrophic war?"

Prayer and the search for peace, he said, formed that common ground because all religions respect "the inner imperative of the moral conscience" and because "peace goes much beyond human efforts, particularly in the present plight of the world."

The day produced some extraordinary cultural encounters. For example, the Buddhists, led by the Dalai Lama, quickly converted the altar of the Church of San Pietro by placing a small statue of the Buddha atop the tabernacle and setting prayer scrolls and incense burners around it...

Accompanying the article in The New York Times was a sidebar from Associated Press titled Some Prayers for Peace:

Assisi, Italy, Oct. 27 (AP)--Representatives of 12 major faiths took part here today in the "World Day of Prayer for Peace." Here are excerpts from some of their prayers, as supported by the Vatican.

Buddhist
May all beings everywhere, plagued with sufferings of body and mind, obtain an ocean of happiness and joy.

Hindu
May God protect us; may He nourish us. May we work together with energy. May our studies be fruitful. May we love each other and live in peace.

Jainist
Peace and universal brotherhood is the essence of the gospel preached by all the enlightened ones of the past and of the future.

Moslem
And the servants of the Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace."

Shinto
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.

African Animist
Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot, the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees, the All-Seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rock mass here on earth: You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace.

American Indian
In smoking the pipe, I invite my family to smoke with me and you, my friends, to pray with me in thanksgiving for this day and for world peace. I will pray that we all may commit ourselves to pray and to work for peace within our families, our tribes, and our nations. I pray for all our brothers and sisters walking our mother earth.

Jewish
Our God in heaven, the Lord of Peace will have compassion and mercy upon us and upon all the peoples of the earth who implore his mercy and his compassion, asking for peace, seeking peace.

Christian
I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for hose who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

On October 28, 1986, Carl McIntire, president of the International Council of Christian Churches, released a Statement on the Pope's Assisi Gathering for Peace, which was published in the Christian Beacon, October 23 and 30, 1986. The statement, which exhibited great discernment, read, in part:

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was added, and these groups represented, as claimed by the Vatican, 3.5 billion followers world wide, or 70 percent of the world population. The Vatican also released excerpts from some of the prayers..."An African animist snake worshiper whom the Pope met last year on a visit to Togo," prayed "Almighty God, the Great Thumb." In his prayer the witch doctor cursed "all the wicked persons who frustrate this laudable effort made to achieve peace...let all the evil ancestors and spirits receive their drink and flee to their doom."...The Christian prayer, as reported, did not include the name of God. There was no reference to Jesus Christ, and it made reference to the golden rule: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."

...The Pope was correct in announcing that never before in church history had such an event occurred. His efforts to justify this on what he calls the "inner imperative of the moral conscience," seen as he believes in all religion, totally contradicts the Biblical revelation of the depravity of man and his total separation from God through his fall.

The Pope uses the instrument of peace to override the reality of the iniquity of man and the curse under which man abides with certain death appointed to all. peace is here used to destroy the revelation of God and the singular place that God has given to Jesus Christ as the only Saviour, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

The Pope ceased to be a church leader or a Christian leader. He operated only on a broad humanistic platform with appeals that could never, never approach Heaven or the ears of the Almighty.

Here was as great an abomination as has been seen in 2000 years of Church history.

A 20th century Elijah was needed to stand outside or walk the streets of Assisi denouncing the idolatry of the prophets in Assisi. God never heard the prophets of Baal, and He has made it clear that only in the name of Jesus Christ may men approach Him. It was Christ who said, "All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them." Buddha was before Christ, Zoroaster was before Christ. Mohammed came after Him, but demoted Jesus to the level of one of the prophets.

To represent the world, as the Pope did, with all these prayers, that this somehow, could affect the deity of deities in behalf of world peace, perpetrated a delusion and falsehood upon mankind.

The First Table of the Decalogue, which God gave to Moses, was trampled in Assisi. There God said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This Assisi prayer meeting for the gods falls under the condemnation of the living and true God, who said He was jealous. For God told Moses, "The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

The countenancing of graven images is forbidden in the Second Commandment: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." The judgments of God will fall upon Assisi.

Instead of benefiting peace, this will aggravate the judgment of Almighty God. The Bible-believing Christians of the world are now confronted with the ultimate in the great apostasy which has stricken Christendom. The New Testament Christians were forbidden to be a part of idolatrous worship, and this movement which gave birth to the church was built upon the reality that as believers they were separating from everything that was represented in Assisi today and that they, when they met, would be conscious of Jesus Christ in heir midst because they owned only Christ as Saviour and Lord.

The magnitude of this co-operation and support of the Christian churches represented in the World Council of Churches, the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic, and the ease with which the pagans felt free to join them should shock and startle every person on the face of this earth who believes in the true and everlasting Gospel and the fact, as Peter emphasized, that "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." The Pope gave no Christian witness to all these religious servants of darkness and the demons from the pit. The message from Assisi is that missionaries are not needed; the prayers of the Christians can all be offered together in their own way and God will grant answers. Israel was repeatedly told that God's ears were stopped to their cry because they made common cause with Baal and Ashtaroth and the gods of the Philistines. God's dealings with Israel, their 70 years of captivity in Babylon and the Fulfillment of Christ's prophecy for the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., all came because of the same kind of iniquity that was manifested in Assisi on October 27, 1986.

The faithful of the Lord, washed in His precious blood, now face the Pope and his legions who rallied behind his leadership as he projected himself as the man of peace for the nations.

The desire for peace which is so universal will be given and made secure when the Prince of Peace comes, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great High Priest, seated at the right hand of the Father and who has promised to protect His own who come to God in His name and for His glory. Assisi 1986 is not a turning point. it is a culmination of the ecumenical current encompassing the pagan religions. it must be rejected at whatever price is necessary, and the true believers who can get through to God must pray that God will restrain, that His mercy may abound and that evil will be exposed and resisted as it is defined by the commands of the Holy Scripture.

The cry of all Christians now as they look at Geneva, the headquarters of the World Council of Churches, will be, "Remember Assisi: remember Rome." One World, the monthly magazine of the WCC, October '86, featured on its cover, "WCC-Roman Catholic Relations, 'Real though imperfect' communion on the road to unity."

Included in the lists of all who came were those from Moscow, Metropolitan Filaret, who is an agent of the KGB, the Soviet Secret Police.

October 27, 2011 update: The Vatican obviously hasn't forgotten to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this abomination. As reported by Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere of Agence France-Presse on October 27, 2011:

Religious leaders joined with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday to denounce violence perpetrated in the name of their faiths, amid growing religious fanaticism across the world.

"No more violence, no more war, no more terrorism! Never again! In the name of God, that every religion bring justice and peace, forgiveness and life and love to the world!" the pope said at a ceremony in the Saint Francis basilica in Assisi, Italy.

The colourful crowd of religious representatives had taken a special train from Vatican City to Assisi, where Buddhist monks mixed with turbaned Sikhs, black-frocked patriarchs and Catholic cardinals in their red skull-caps.

The small group which waited under a leaden sky in the northern Italian city to meet them off the train was a far shout from the welcome crowd which greeted John Paul II at inter-religious councils in 1986 and 2002...

...Over 50 Islamic representatives were in attendance, alongside Jewish rabbis, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, a Zoroastrian, a Bahai and delegates of Taoism, Confucianism and traditional religions from Africa and America.

In the vast basilica, which includes the tiny chapel where the animal-loving Francis died in 1226, dignitaries watched a film which looked back over the past 25 years to celebrate the anniversary of the first Assisi meeting.

The pallid 84-year-old pope seemed much smaller and more fragile than his guests, sitting between Bartholomew I, the Archbishop of Constantinople, and Rabbi David Rosen, representing the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Addressing the delegates, the pontiff strongly denounced religious terrorism, describing it as "the antithesis of religion" which "contributes to its destruction."

He also expressed his shame for Christian acts of violence committed in the name of God in the past.

Kyai Haji Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS), said that violence committed in the name of God included elements which "seem" religious but are "political, economical and cultural."

Professor Wande Abimbola, representing Africa's traditional faiths, called for them to be given the same respect as other religions and encouraged his fellow dignitaries not to underestimate the importance of nature.

"Until Mother Nature receives our attention, human beings will not be able to find the true peace and tranquillity we all search for," he said, before launching into a Yoruba hymn.

The gathering also received words of praise about interfaith dialogue from US President Barack Obama.

"Through interfaith dialogue, we can unite in common cause to lift the afflicted, make peace where there is strife, and find the way forward to create a better world for ourselves and our children," Obama said in a message.

The event however had been criticised by Catholic fundamentalists who are strongly against the idea of dialogue with other religions and accused the pontiff of "welcoming false religions."

In organising the "journey of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice", the Vatican had been careful to avoid any moments of common prayer.

The delegates were treated to a frugal lunch of rice, salad and fruit before withdrawing to spend a solitary hour and a half in individual monk cells, praying and reflecting on the day's themes.

Bartholomew I, who sat with the pope at lunch, expressed concerns over "the increased marginalisation of Christian communities in the Middle East."

"The only way to end the warmongering use of religion is to set ourselves up as mediators of the peace," he said.

That peace, according to Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, should be brokered as soon as possible in Jerusalem, a city that has fuelled other conflicts around the world, he said.

And as reported by Philip Pullella of Reuters on October 27, 1986:

Unlike in 1986, the gathering did not include common prayer among the delegates.

The difference reflected Benedict's more conservative view of Catholic relations with other religions. In fact, Benedict, who did not attend the 1986 meeting when he was a cardinal, later implicitly criticized it because it implied that all religions were somehow equal.

The 1986 meeting, which took place at a time of the Cold War and conflicts in Lebanon, Northern Ireland and Central America, was billed as a "meeting of prayer for peace."

Thursday's was called a "pilgrimage" for truth and peace and instead of praying in each other's presence, as they did in 1986, the delegates withdrew to various rooms around the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels in the lower part of Assisi for what the program called "silence, reflection and personal prayer."

Thursday's gathering included four people billed as "non-believers" -- agnostics the pope said had been invited to represent people in the world who have no faith but are "on the lookout for truth, searching for God."

He said such non-believers should not be confused with militant atheists, who, he said, live in the "false certainty" that there is no God.

The day was not without its moments of inter-religious challenges. A representative of African traditional religions appeared to chide the big churches for acting in a patronizing way.

"The time has come for the leaders of all the world's religions to have a new frame of mind in which indigenous religions are given the same respect and consideration as other religions," said Wande Abimbola of Nigeria.

30 years ago: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated

On October 6, 1981, Anwar Sadat, 62, President of Egypt since 1970, was shot to death, along with 11 others, by a squad led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli during the annual parade celebrating the anniversary of the 1973 crossing of the Suez Canal by Egyptian forces (the 1973 crossing began the Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel, and Egypt's celebration of the anniversary of a war that it lost probably says something about that culture). Hosni Mubarak, one of 28 people wounded in the attack, replaced Mr. Sadat as President. The Egyptian economy was said to be in bad shape, and there was also lingering resentment within Egypt of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel resulting from the 1978 Camp David Accords, signed by Mr. Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

One person caught by surprise by the assassination of Mr. Sadat was Mary Stewart Relfe, who had identified Mr. Sadat as a good candidate for the Antichrist in her book When Your Money Fails, published earlier in 1981. As Maxwell Smart used to say, "Missed it by that much!"

When I heard about the assassination of Mr. Sadat, I was electrified by the news, wondering what it meant as far as Bible prophecy was concerned. With the passage of time, it seems as though the only prophetic significance--and this is just my unwarranted speculation--is that perhaps the prophetic timetable would have been upset if Mr. Sadat had remained in office longer. The lesson I took from this event is that an event that may seem prophetically significant at the time may not necessarily be so--or at least may be prophetically significant in ways known only to God. One thing is sure: we're now 30 years closer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ than we were on October 6, 1981.

50 years ago: The United Arab Republic breaks up

(Sources for this post include various editions of the World Almanac and Book of Facts, especially the 1962 edition.)

On September 28, 1961, the United Arab Republic, the union of Egypt and Syria which had come into effect on February 1, 1958, began to break up with a revolt of Syrian army officers against Egyptian domination of the Syrian region of the U.A.R. in Damascus. The rebels seized radio and other key installations, and a Damascus radio announcement said, "The armed forces have assumed power...to restore rights to the nation."

After first deprecating the revolt as the work of a small group of reactionaries protesting recently-imposed state controls on the economy, U.A.R. President Gamal Abdel Nasser admitted the rebellion was a severe threat to the U.A.R. and called on "every soldier, every officer to do his duty." After a night meeting with his cabinet, President Nasser ordered Egyptian army, air, and naval forces to Syria to crush the revolt. However, Mr. Nasser countermanded the order shortly after 120 of his paratroopers had already landed near the Syrian seaport of Lataika. The paratroopers surrendered and the remainder of Mr. Nasser's forces returned to Egypt. Mr. Nasser told a crowd in Cairo's public square that he had called off his forces "so that no Arab blood would be shed."

Syria declared its independence on September 29 and installed Dr. Mahmoun al-Kuzbari, 49, a conservative law professor, as Premier. Mr. Kuzbari charged that Egypt had dominated the U.A.R. and "liquidated loyal [i.e., Syrian] elements, especially in the army," and pledged "a true and democratic life for Syria," promising to "lead the country within four months to a constitutional stage."

On September 30 the new Kuzbari government ordered the deportation of most of the 27,000 Egyptians in Syria and arrested some alleged spies and saboteurs. On October 2 the Kuzbari government announced that it would follow a policy of non-alignment in foreign affairs, and that it intended to retain social gains achieved during its union with Egypt.

Jordan and Turkey immediately recognized the new Syrian government, with other nations extending recognition over the next few days. On October 2 the United States received a formal plea from the U.A.R. (Egypt, that is) that it refuse to recognize the independence of Syria. The U.S.S.R. recognized Syria's independence on October 7, and the U.S.A. followed on October 10 after a delay that was widely interpreted as an effort to preserve cordial relations with Mr. Nasser. On October 13, Syria resumed the seat in the United Nations that it had held before the merger with Egypt, and there were no objections from Egypt or any other nation. The United Arab Republic was history.

Egypt continued to use the name United Arab Republic throughout the 1960s, perhaps as an exercise of wishful thinking. On September 1, 1971, Egypt announced that it would now be known as the Arab Republic of Egypt. The same day, the creation of the Federation of Arab Republics was announced. It was a loose union of Egypt, Syria, and Libya, with each nation to retain its national sovereignty. The brainchild of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Federation of Arab Republics officially came into existence on January 1, 1972, but the federation never amounted to much, and quietly faded away in November 1977.

50 years ago: The first alien abduction (?)

On September 21, 1961, Betty Hill telephoned Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire to report that on the night of September 19, she and her husband Barney were driving back to their home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire from a vacation when they sighted an unidentified flying object just south of Lancaster, N.H. The UFO then hovered close to their car, and Barney, observing through binoculars, claimed to see 8 to 11 humanoid figures in the craft. The Hills claimed to have entered an altered state of consciousness while driving at high speed in an attempt to flee the UFO, and that when they returned to normal consciousness and arrived home at around dawn on September 20, they experienced sensations they couldn't explain, and couldn't clearly remember details of the distance they'd travelled or what they'd seen after first encountering the craft.

The incident, also known as the Zeta Reticuli Incident, was the first widely-publicized account of humans supposedly being abducted by space aliens. For more, see the Wikipedia entry.

Spiritual Counterfeits Project published a double issue of SCP Journal (Vol.17:1-2) in 1992 with the theme Alien Encounters: UFOs and the Realm of Shadows, in which it was pointed out that modern reports of encounters with UFOs and space aliens bear a strong resemblance to reports of demonic manifestations down through the centuries. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the experiences reported by alien abductees are factual, I suspect that whatever supernatural experiences people such as Betty and Barney Hill (not to be confused with Betty and Barney Rubble) have had are encounters with the demonic realm rather than with actual beings from other worlds.

On a related topic, some of us remember the "Satanic panic" that was topical from about 1988-1992, when there were increasing reports of people claiming to have been abused--often sexually--in Satanic rituals. Some experts observed that those making such claims--which were usually bereft of physical evidence--had similar characteristics (such as abnormal suggestibility) to those claiming to have been abducted by space aliens. When it became apparent that it was possible for therapists to create false memories in clients, the panic abated, although resulting court cases continued. For more on the subject, see such books as Confabulations: Creating False Memories, Destroying Families by Eleanor Goldstein with Kevin Farmer (1992) and The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories of Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham (1994). Dr. Loftus testified as an expert witness on behalf of Gary Ramona, who sued family counsellor Marche Isabella, psychiatrist Richard Rose, and the Western Medical Center in Anaheim, California, after Mr. Ramona's daughter Holly, while under the care of the therapists, had reported flashbacks of childhood sexual abuse by her father. The case was heard in Napa, California, and on May 13, 1994, a jury awarded Mr. Ramona $500,000.

10 years ago: A famous American historian offers his prediction for the 21st Century

...that's how it is with experts. They're seldom in doubt but often in error. Dave Skrien, Countdown to Grey Cup, 1965, p. 123.

From the October 2001 edition of Imprimis, the newsletter of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan:

On September 9-13, 2001, Hillsdale College held a seminar entitled "One of Freedom's Finest Hours: Statesmanship and Soldiership in WWII."

One of America's most famous World War II historians, Stephen Ambrose, addressed the conference on the evening of September 9. According to Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn:

A theme began to emerge on Sunday night when the great and famous historian Stephen Ambrose argued that the twenty-first century will be the greatest and most peaceful in history because of the victory won by the "greatest generation." Several of the veterans of the war picked up this theme. Though they were not so sanguine as Professor Ambrose, they expressed the hope that no one would have to undergo what they themselves endured in the sky above Guadalcanal, crouched behind a sand dune at Omaha Beach, crawling among the sharp rocks at Iwo Jima.

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred just a day and a half after Mr. Ambrose's presentation. As Maxwell Smart used to say, "Missed it by that much."

70 years ago: Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King invokes God and speaks in favour of a new world order

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:1-4

On September 4, 1941, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King spoke at Mansion House in London as the guest of Lord Mayor Sir George Wilkinson and the Corporation of London. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was also in attendance. Mr. King said, in part:

We are fighting to defend democratic and Christian ideals. We believe that everything which free men value and cherish on this side of the grave is in peril in this war. The right of men, rich and poor, to be treated as men; the right of men to make the laws by which they shall be governed; the right of men to work where they will, at what they will; the right of womankind to the serenity and sanctity of the home; the right of children to play in safety under peaceful heavens; the right of old men and women to the tranquillity of their sunset; the right to speak the truth in our hearts; the right to worship, in our own way, the God in whom we believe. (Cheers.)...

...We, in Canada, were greatly heartened when, three years ago, the President, after referring to the Dominion of Canada as a part of the sisterhood of the British Empire, declared that the people of the United States would not stand idly by if domination of Canadian soil were threatened by any other Empire. I reciprocated at once by recognizing Canada's responsibility to do what lay within her power to prevent attacks through our territory upon the United States. These declarations were the starting point of our agreement for joint defence.

To-day, fortunately, we are witnessing the birth of still wider arrangements for joint defence between the British Empire and the United States. Your declaration, Prime Minister, that in the Far East, Britain would stand at the side of the United States, is a sure sign of the deepening interdependence of the free world...

...Much is being said about a new world order to take the place of the old world order when the war is at an end. If that new order is not already on its way before the war is over, we may look for it in vain. A new world order cannot be worked out at some given moment and reduced to writing at a conference table. It is not a matter of parchments and of seals. That was one of the mistaken beliefs at the end of the last War. A new world order to be worthy of the name is something that is born, not made. It is something that lives and breathes; something that needs to be developed in the minds and the hearts of men; something that touches the human soul. It expresses itself in good will and in mutual aid. It is the application, in all human relationships, of the principle of helpfulness and of service. It is based not on fear, on greed, and on hate, but on mutual trust and the noblest qualities of the human heart and mind. It seeks neither to divide nor to destroy. Its aim is brotherhood, its method cooperation.

While the old order is destroying itself, this new relationship of men and nations has already begun its slow but sure evolution. It found expression when Britain determined to put an end to aggression in Europe; when other nations of the British Commonwealth took their place at the side of Britain, and when the United States resolved to lend its powerful aid to the nations which are fighting for freedom. It has found its latest expression in the Atlantic Charter. All these factors are combining to create one great brotherhood of freedom-loving peoples. It must now be wholly clear that if a new world order based upon freedom is to assume some definite shape, this can only be effected through the leadership of the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America working in wholehearted cooperation toward this great end. (Cheers.) On such a foundation of unity of purpose and effort, all free peoples may well hope to build an enduring new world order.

A new heaven and a new earth--are not these, in very truth, what we seek to-day? A heaven to which men and women and little children no longer will look in fear, but where they may gaze again in silent worship and in thankfulness for the benediction of the sun and the rain; an earth no longer scarred by warfare and torn by greed, but where the lowly and the humble of all races may work in ways of pleasantness and walk in paths of peace.

And the sea no longer will be the scene of conflict, nor harbour any menace; it, too, will gladden the hearts of men as it unites, in friendly intercourse, the nations of the world.

Then...shall all men's good
Be each man's rule, and universal Peace
Lie like a shaft of light across the land.
And like a lane of beams athwart the sea,
Thro' all the circle of the golden year."

This new heaven, this new earth, is the vision which, at this time of war, unites, inspires, and guides Britain, Canada, and other nations of the British Commonwealth, the United States, and our Allies in all parts of the world. No lesser vision will suffice to gain the victory. No lesser service to humanity will hold the faith and win the gratitude of mankind. (Loud cheers.) The Times, September 5, 1941, pp. 5-6.

The poem from which Mr. King quoted is The Golden Year by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

It may seem shocking to readers in 2011 that a Prime Minister of Canada (especially one from the Liberal Party) would publicly state that Canada was fighting a war for "democratic and Christian ideals," but such a comment was considered to be stating an obvious truth; and the "Christian ideals" that Mr. King had in mind had nothing to do with current Liberal/Trudeaupian "ideals" such as abortion on demand, sodomite "rights," or official multiculturalism. If any Canadian politician now were to positively invoke Christianity, his political and media opponents would be calling for his removal from office. Mr. King's invocation of "Christian ideals" stands in stark contrast to the behaviour of another Liberal Prime Minister, Jean Chretien (whose name, ironically, means "Christian"), 60 years later, when his office ordered that the name of Jesus Christ was not to be mentioned at the 9/11 memorial service--although no such restrictions were imposed on clergy from other faiths. And in contrast to the United States, which held a day of prayer, Trudeaupia (formerly Canada) just observed a day of mourning, with a completely atheistic public ceremony.

The reader will note that when Mr. King quoted the passage on the new heaven and the new Earth, it was in the context of a kingdom brought about by human effort. Mr. King's invocation of such a kingdom is similar to that of the Emerging Church and other "deeds, not creeds" religious liberals today. Revelation 21:2 clearly states that the new heaven and new Earth come down from God out of heaven, nor from man on Earth.

25 years ago: David Brinkley comments on the U.S. deficit

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

I have no interest in the political battle over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, but I came across this commentary by David Brinkley, one of the "homilies" he used to deliver at the end of every broadcast of This Week with David Brinkley on ABC television. This was published in his book Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion (1996) (p. 85). From August 3, 1986:

Next week Congress will be voting to set a new and higher federal government debt limit, to give the Treasury power to borrow still more money. Even though in the last three or four years--if we can believe the claims coming from the White House and Congress--the deficit has been wiped out and there's no need to borrow any more.

In 1981 the White House claimed it had cut $130 billion out of future spending.

In 1982 Congress passed something called the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act and claimed it would reduce the deficit by an additional $100 billion.

In 1984 there was the Deficit Reduction Act, claiming to save still another $60 billion.

And a lot of others.

But somehow, the more they've claimed to cut spending, the higher the deficit has risen. It's well over $200 billion a year, every year.

50 years ago: The death of Frank Buchman, founder of Moral Re-Armament, and forerunner of Rick Warren

On August 7, 1961, Frank Buchman, founder of the organization that became known as Moral Re-Armament, died in Freudenstadt, West Germany at the age of 83. He had been in Freudenstadt--where he claimed to have first come up with the idea for Moral Re-Armament--for two weeks, and died of a heart attack in his hotel room.

Mr. Buchman was born in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania in 1878 and was educated at Muehlenberg College in Allentown and Mount Airy Seminary, becoming ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1902. Mr. Buchman went to England in 1908 to attend the Keswick Convention, where he became convicted of his own self-centredness. He tended to go increasingly in the direction of pietism--the idea that there is a technology or technique that the Christian can employ that will enable him to rise above the level of "ordinary" spiritual experience--as the years went along. Mr. Buchman spent several years working with the YMCA and then took a post at Hartford Theological Seminary. He spent much of his time travelling, leading missionary conferences in China and forming groups of university students at Oxford and Cambridge in England. By the late 1920s-early 1930s, Mr. Buchman's movement was known as the "Oxford Group;" like the Freemasons, the Oxford Group concentrated its efforts on attracting the support of wealthy and influential people.

In its first stage Buchmanism aimed at the regeneration or "change" of individuals by a process of psychological catharsis which involved meditation, prayer, Bible reading, surrender, and confession of sins to other individuals...the "Groupers," as there were called, launched a nation-wide series of "house parties," at which students, and in some cases prominent and wealthy men and women, gathered to seek the "change." At one point in this stage of the movement the insistence upon "confession" caused trouble in some of the "house parties," particularly on college campuses, because the confessions were largely sexual in nature; the movement was banished from Princeton University after Buchman declared that 85 per cent of the students there were sexually perverted. Elmer T. Clark, The Small Sects in America, Revised Edition, 1949, pp. 83-84.

Eventually, the emphasis of the Oxford Group broadened from individuals (pietism) to society (moralism). In order to do that, it would be necessary to appeal to those of other faiths; as a result, the movement shifted from ostensibly Christian commitment to civil religion and morality. In his book Remaking the World (1948), Mr. Buchman said, "MRA is the good road of an ideology inspired by God upon which all can unite. Catholic, Jew and Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Confucianist - all find they can change, where needed, and travel along this good road together." This shift was reflected in the movement officially becoming known as Moral Re-Armament in 1938. Mr. Buchman visited Edmonton, Alberta in 1933 and 1934, holding a mass rally at McDougall United Church in 1933 and attracting 2,000 people to rallies at the Macdonald Hotel and a downtown theatre in 1934. He visited Banff in both years, and was made an honourary chief of the Blood tribe in 1934, with the title Chief Big Light in Darkness.

Mr. Buchman became increasingly concerned with the influence of Communism, and decided that his movement could counter it. The New York World-Telegram of August 25, 1936 printed an interview with Mr. Buchman where he offered the throwaway comment, "I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism." Efforts by Mr. Buchman to convert Nazi leaders to his views were unsuccessful, and the Nazis suspected Mr. Buchman of being a British spy.

Mr. Buchman tried to use MRA to prevent war, but when the U.S.A. entered World War II, Mr. Buchman enlisted MRA in the war effort using the slogan "You Can Defend America." Harry Truman, then a United States Senator from Missouri who had been assigned the task of reducing waste in the military, praised Moral Re-Armament for encouraging teamwork in industry, and thereby aiding the U.S. war effort. MRA was influential and successful in facilitating post-war reconciliation and co-operation among former World War II enemies and in the peaceful decolonization of Morocco and Tunisia.

One prominent convert to Moral Re-Armament was Ted Workman, owner of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from the late 1950s to the late '60s. In 1960 he was quoted as saying: "Football used to be the end result of life, but that was superficial. Now I think the Alouettes are designed to illustrate the ideology of MRA" (Canadian Football League Illustrated: Montreal Alouettes '70). I don't know how successful the Alouettes were in "illustrating the ideology of MRA," but Mr. Workman's teams during this era never achieved a winning record or finished higher than third in a four-team Eastern Football Conference.

In an interview shortly before his death, Mr. Buchman said of his vision for humanity:

It is that the whole world will learn to live like sons of God, where no man demands too much for himself while any other man goes hungry, where character not color becomes the yardstick to human values, where it is normal to live as one honest, pure, unselfish, loving, united family throughout the earth. Edmonton Journal, August 8, 1961, p. 2.

It became apparent that this vision wouldn't be immediately fulfilled when the Soviets began erecting the Berlin Wall, about 356 miles from Freudenstadt, within a week of Mr. Buchman's death.

Mr. Buchman was succeeded as leader of Moral Re-Armament by J. Blanton Belk. Mr. Belk's most memorable accomplishment may have been the creation of the singing group "Sing-Out 65" in 1965, which carried the "Sing-Out" label until 1968, when it officially broke its ties with MRA and became known as Up with People. Community service was added to the singing and Up with People was incorporated as a charity within the United States. Up with People suspended operations in 2000, but was revived in 2004.

The influence of Moral Re-Armament gradually waned, and in 2001 it changed its name to Initiatives of Change, which calls itself " a diverse network committed to building relationships of trust across the world's divides." If you look at Initiatives of Change's affirmation of its core values, you'll find a mention of God's leading, but no definition of who that God is. To look at this affirmation of an individual's ability to "be a powerful agent for positive change in society," one would never know that this man-centred movement had originated as an ostensibly Christian pietistic movement. The Oxford Group has been credited with greatly influencing the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous; John Lanagan has much useful information on the occultic roots of A.A. at his excellent blog My Word Like Fire.

In looking at the change of emphasis on the part of Mr. Buchman and his movement from the sanctification of individual Christians to "building relationships of trust across the world's divides," one can see an obvious parallel with Rick Warren, an ostensibly Christian pastor who has widened his influence from evangelical Christian churches to international organizations, and has broadened his interests from improving the lives of churches and individual Christians to solving the world's problems. The problems are too big to be solved just by Christian churches, so the help of other "faith communities" must be enlisted. Bridges of unity rather than walls of separation must be built, and since "doctrine divides, but love unites," distinctive Christian doctrines such as trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only payment of the penalty for sins must be de-emphasized if not abandoned. As for a definition of God, that's another potential point of division, so it's best to let each "faith community" define God according to its own understanding--and any differences are best not discussed in the interests of unity. Unity will be achieved at the lowest common denominator; in Mr. Buchman's time, it was a variety of "the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God," popularly abbreviated as "BoMFoG." (In 2011, "BoMFoG" may appear too narrow; "Brotherhood" and "Fatherhood" sound too sexist, and being "under...God" sounds too limiting to people who believe in their own divinity.) With Mr. Warren, as with Mr. Buchman, this broadening has led and is leading to the complete abandonment of anything recognizable as Christian, and will likely end up in the same place.

In Canada, hockey is more than a religion--it's a cult

People and societies that abandon worship of the true God will invariably worship false gods, how pathetic and trivial these idols may be. I used to enjoy following hockey, but in recent years the sport business has become such an obsession in Trudeaupia (formerly Canada)--oddly, as the sport business of professional hockey has become noticeably less Canadian--that I've come to detest it. Dennis Bekkering, a Ph.D. student in religious studies, argues that hockey is the national religion. As reported by Shannon Proudfoot of Postmedia News on June 1, 2011:

..."You can really see a lot of similarities between the attention paid to holy relics of the saints and spiritual heroes and the way Canadians, in particular, have treated their hockey heroes and the products they've created," said Denis Bekkering, a PhD candidate in the Wilfrid Laurier-University of Waterloo, Ont., joint program in religious studies.

He bases his theory on previous research suggesting Americans rally around the "unifying civic religion" of politics, including sacred places (Washington, D.C.), martyrs (Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy) and objects (the Liberty Bell).

Lacking this larger-than-life political mythology, Canada has built its collective religion around the rink, Bekkering says, and specifically around international competitions such as the Olympics, which turn a Team Canada jersey into a national talisman...

...Like any faith, the "national church" of hockey has its holy relics, or items believed to be imbued with the powers of the heroes connected to them, he said. From Paul Henderson's 1972 Summit Series jersey - which fetched $1.2 million at auction last summer - to the "Lucky Loonie" hidden beneath centre ice at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, where the Canadian men's hockey team netted the country's first Olympic hockey gold medal in 50 years, Bekkering said these relics are revered just like those in traditional religions...

..."It's a way to connect the state and politics to something transcendent," Bekkering said of this religion on ice.

But lest anyone think this makes National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman the Pope, he said NHL hockey doesn't work the same way traditional religions do. Team Canada provides a raucous revival tent where all Canadians can worship during events such as the Olympics, but NHL devotees are otherwise divided by the "tribalism" of the different teams they support, he said.

"When you have the national Canadian men's hockey team, it allows hockey fans and Canadians in general, to go above any tribal allegiances they may have to particular teams," he said, noting that a star such as Crosby literally sheds his usual tribal markers and trades a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey for a Team Canada sweater in international competition.

And while Montreal Canadiens' fans will spend the Stanley Cup finals wishing a hex on the Boston Bruins for eliminating their team in the first round, Bekkering said the factionalism of NHL hockey as a religion means there's no guarantee Canadians will cheer for Vancouver simply because they're the only Canadian team in contention.

"Tribal allegiances may actually keep many Canadians from supporting the Canucks," he said.

Bekkering presented his research this week at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, hosted this year by the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University and expected to draw more than 6,000 delegates to Fredericton.

In Edmonton, home of the National Hockey League's Oilers, there is a debate going on as to whether the city needs a new arena and whether it should be built downtown ( in my opinion it shouldn't be built at all, especially downtown). The Oilers' owner, Darryl Katz, is a multibillionaire with no long-term commitment to the city (I have it on good authority that he's moving himself and his family to Victoria, British Columbia, hundreds of miles west of Edmonton), and someone who can well afford to build a new arena himself. Instead, he's trying to get federal, provincial, and local taxpayers--many of whom, including me, who can't afford to go to any events held at Rexall Place, the current facility--to pay for a new arena, to the profit of Mr. Katz. It's a matter of record that Mr. Katz has donated handsomely to the re-election of Mayor Stephen Mandel, and has been rewarded by having the mayor and many of the city councillors as his loyal puppets, while the voices of ordinary Edmontonians--none of whom, that I know, support this--count for nothing.

The corporate media have dutifully fallen in line in support of corporate interests. As evidence of the cult-like nature of hockey worship, check out the columns and blog posts of David Staples of the Edmonton Journal, especially those that deal with the arena issue. It's no coincidence that Mr. Staples' blog is titled The Cult of Hockey. Indeed, the mentality of Mr. Staples and those of his ilk are indeed those of the devotees of a cult--in this case, a cult that has a stranglehold on this city, if not the whole country. With these brainwashed people, the desires and interests of the cult take priority over everything else, and must be satisfied at all costs, including the extortion of financial contributions from non-members.

June 24, 2025 update: Oilerolatry is worse now than it was when I first posted on this subject. A block and a half away from me is a house whose front exterior is transformed into a shrine every year at playoff time; Oiler jersey numbers and names are painted on the right side of the fence, and large photos are displayed on the right side. A mock oil derrick is placed in the front yard, looking very much like a steeple.

As reported by Amelia Eqbal of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, June 11, 2025 (bold, links in original):

For the second year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers are facing off against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals — and the culture of the Oilers fanbase has reached a new kind of fever pitch.

Today on Commotion, CBC Edmonton reporter Min Dhariwal and professor Judith Ellen Brunton discuss how the intensity of Oilers fandom in Edmonton transcends mere hometown boosterism to resemble something more like a religion.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Min, I'll start by maybe offering my condolences over game three. I hope things get a little bit better. But we're not here to talk about what is happening on the ice…. Give me a sense of the vibe, of what happens when the Oilers are in the finals.

Min: Yeah, well, after a game like game three, the vibe kind of gets knocked down a couple of notches. But I mean, this run has been as good if not better than last year's, and the city is just alive, right? It doesn't matter if you go into a store, you jump into a cab, the driver might be wearing an Oilers jersey, or might have a flag on the car. You go downtown, you see flags and Oilers paraphernalia in the windows, up in the towers. On game days, the downtown just becomes a zoo … and people are wearing their jerseys all day long. So it has certainly made spring and summertime in Edmonton the last couple of years very different from how it used to be for many, many years.

Elamin: Judith, the premise of this conversation is, it's not just that a city gets excited when their team is in the finals. It's that there is something different about this fandom. You're a professor of religious studies. Your particular area is Alberta and the way that religious ideology intertwines with the province's culture of oil, oil production, prosperity and also hockey. You recently wrote about this for The Conversation, about how the history kind of amplifies the intensity of this fandom. Can you unpack that idea of where this fandom maybe meets religion?

Judith: For sure. I mean, you said it: when there's something weird going on, that's a good moment for a scholar of religion to appear, so here I am. I think that whenever we talk about shared values or zeal, or identity or commitment, that's a good moment to think about religion, because one way to describe religion is just kind of a technology of shared values, or a way people organize their values together. And scholars of religion and sport, which include my co-author for that piece, Cody Musselman, have studied a lot about how team sports act really religionally…. They have lots of rituals. They have prayers and superstitions. Folks wear special clothing, they have certain ideas of how to preserve purity. So a lot of that is already going on with sports. And then of course we can add oil to this, because Oilers evoke another aspect of Canadian society that I think for some people has almost religious importance, which is resource extraction.

And in Canadian culture, oil has always been kind of entangled with religion — both religion as we would recognize it institutionally, but also kind of this idea that it's a blessing from God, or it's tied up in ideas of what a good life is and how to live it. So for lots of people in resource extraction communities like Alberta, the possibility of success and the good life that that promises really gets valued over and above other possible risks, including environmental. And the Edmonton Oilers showcase this worldview for sure, in which there's this idea of triumph and luck and rugged work pays off. This is a belief that functions on the ice and in the oil field. So luck is really central to both oil worldviews and hockey worldviews. Historically, this is essential for perseverance within fossil fuel extraction. Striking it rich in the oil fields is really entangled with the idea of divine providence. And sports, similarly, is thrilling, right? You can put all this work in, you can have all the great plans, you have all the right players, but it really takes luck to strike it rich. So oil culture is definitely, in the case of the Oilers, pairing this idea of divine favour with an insistence on rough-and-tumble endurance, which is definitely what's happening on the ice.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Woman in Quebec dies after "earth healing therapy"

As reported by QMI Agency, July 30, 2011:

MONTREAL - A 35-year-old woman died after undergoing a mud therapy treatment on Friday at a spa in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

Chantal Lavigne, from Saint-Albert, about 150 km northeast of Montreal, died after she was covered in mud and wrapped in a thin sheet of plastic for several hours, according to QMI Agency sources.

Provincial police confirmed Lavigne's death Friday night.

Emergency crews were called to the spa, located in Durham-Sud, about 100 km east of Montreal, at 1:15 p.m. Friday afternoon and found three unconscious women covered in black mud.

One woman was treated at the spa and a 49-year-old woman regained consciousness on her way to a hospital. Police have not made information about the 49-year-old's condition public. Lavigne, however, was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Clients at the spa were given an "earth healing therapy," sources said. The procedure involves covering a person in mud and wrapping them in a thin sheet of plastic and a blanket. A piece of cardboard with a hole to allow for breathing covers the head.

The goal of the therapy is to induce sweating.

However, Lavigne spent too much time wrapped in plastic, according to Sophie Saint-Aubin, a director at a Montreal spa.

She said the amount of time one spends in these types of "sweat" treatments is critical.

"There is a big different between a 20-minute treatment and one that lasts several hours," she said. "Normally we don't go over 30 minutes. A treatment lasting several hours is really inadvisable."

The head of the Durham-Sud spa, Daiva Goulet, 60, said Friday's events were an "anomaly."

"What happened was not due to negligence - that's certain," Goulet told QMI...

...Neighbours interviewed by QMI said they regularly heard loud screams coming from the spa.

"There are therapy sessions every week," said a neighbour who wanted to remain anonymous. "We hear chants, drumming and screams. The screams are so loud it sounds like people are being tortured. Our neighbours who live over a kilometre away said they can hear the screams, too."

Thousands of babies aborted in U.K. because of "suspected disability"

In the United Kingdom, as in many other Western--formerly known as "civilized"--nations, the most dangerous place to be is in the womb. The reader will notice the outrage by the pro-abortionists at merely wanting the figures to be released. "Hellman asked just one question: 'Why are Adolf Hitler and the Nazis still regarded as villains by nations that are increasingly implementing his policies?'"

As reported by Hilary White of LifeSiteNews, July 21, 2011:

After a five-year legal battle, a pro-life group in the United Kingdom has succeeded in obtaining detailed statistics about eugenic abortions from the UK’s Department of Health (DoH).

26 unborn babies in the last nine years have been killed for having cleft lip or palate.The statistics reveal that thousands of babies have been killed for eugenic reasons, some of them (26 in the last nine years) for as minor a condition as cleft lip or palate, seven of them in 2010. These abortions were conducted under “Ground E,” the rule that allows any child at any gestational age to be killed whom doctors believe have a “substantial risk” of having a “serious” disability.

The UK’s Department of Health has refused since 2003 to reveal details about the eugenic abortions that are being committed in the country, arguing that the women involved could possibly be identified. However, the campaign group ProLife Alliance went to court in 2005 demanding that the figures be released. The High Court ruled against the department in April this year, but the figures were only released earlier this month.

In total, nearly 18,000 babies were aborted between 2002 and 2010 on the grounds of suspected disability. 1,189 were killed after the upper legal gestational age limit of 24 weeks. The figures show that these include 482 killed for Down’s syndrome in 2010 alone. In the same year, 181 abortions were attributed to musculoskeletal problems such as club foot, while 189 unborn children killed for anencephaly and 128 for spina bifida...

...Under current law, abortion is legal for any reason or none up to 24 weeks gestation. A recent legislative attempt to amend the Abortion Act 1967 to lower the gestational age limit for early term abortions resulted in a backlash in which age-limit restrictions were lifted for eugenic abortion.

Ann Furedi, the head of one of the UK’s most lucrative abortionist groups, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, has called the campaign to release the statistics an example of the “vindictiveness” of pro-life activists.

“Abortion for foetal anomaly is legal. Behind every one of these figures are doctors and nurses who deserve our admiration and support, and a couple who have often lost a much-wanted pregnancy.”

However, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children pointed out that the figures show that between 2001 and 2010, the number of abortions on the ground of disability rose by one-third, 10 times the increase in abortions generally.

SPUC’s Anthony Ozimic said, “It is clear that legal abortion is a system which discriminates, fatally, against the disabled.”

Responding to Furedi, Ozimic said it is misleading to refer to eugenic abortion as “losing” a pregnancy.

“It is grossly misleading of Furedi to imply that aborted babies are merely ‘lost’, as one might describe a miscarriage.” He called Furedi’s comment “extremist” and said that no abortion is ever medically necessary.