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Raymond Ibrahim is always very insightful on the worldwide maltreatment of Christians, as evidenced by his excellent book Crucified Again. This year, come Christmas, he has provided us with an article about the war against Christians in the de facto Islamic Republic of Palestine. Again, we cannot, for ideological reasons, count on our modern-day progressive to be sympathetic.
Much is said about the persecution of Uighurs, Falun Gong, ad infinitum in the People’s Republic of China, but also spare a thought for the Christians in Communist China. I have found AsiaNews.it to be extremely informative on the subject. Yesterday, for instance, I discovered a “war on Christmas” is underway in the PRC, with children being prohibited from attending Mass. We cannot, for ideological and sundry reasons, expect Kevin Rudd or Paul Keating to be sympathetic.
Third World countries, or should we say countries that are developing, are often hostile environments for Christians. The Open Doors organisation asserts that “1 in 9 Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution”, many of them on account of un-democratic regimes. In Nigeria, 250 Christians have been murdered since February this year, all by either militant Fulani herdsmen or Salafi-jihadist Boko Haram. We should not, for ideological reasons, expect our progressives to be sympathetic. Nigerian Christians do not have a strong record on gay marriage and transgender rights in women’s sport.
There is much debate, in the West, about whether there has been a “War on Christmas” over the past two or so decades. If there never was a War on Christmas, as disingenuous progressives argue, then President Trump cannot have won it, as he now claims. The mendaciousness of the modern-day Left, which is tyrannically bohemian and palpably anti-Christian, dresses up its PC dogma in the guise of open-mindedness and inclusivity.
So spare a thought for persecuted Christians today; not just those in other countries but for our very own Dreyfus. We cannot, for ideological reasons, expect our modern-day leftists to be sympathetic. Merry Christmas, Cardinal Pell.
To conclude on a true Christmas note, I should mention the Christian Solidarity Foundation, which is currently liberating/buying back South Sudanese people who were forced into slavery in the north by Islamist militiamen during the Sudanese Civil War. Merry Christmas, persecuted Christians.
The Church of the Nativity, Jerusalem, where the faithful believe Jesus was born. Photo: Daryl McCann
Daryl McCann has a blog and tweets at @dosakamccann
“Tyranically bohemian” caused me to read Darryl’s June 2018 essay as I had always taken the word “bohemian” to mean the relatively harmless dictionary definition “A person, esp an artist or writer, who lives an unconventional life”. As Darryl quoted from Roger Sandall “bohemianism is more deeply hostile to the values of the bourgeoisie than Marxism ever was”. We truly have one of the most serious culture battles of our lives going on now but few leaders in Western Christianity able or willing to lead the fight. Those who dare will be persecuted even to their graves if the left have their way.
i>”…our very own Dreyfus…Merry Christmas, Cardinal Pell.”
As with Dreyfus, time will tell, we can hope. But it’s important to keep in mind: all that Australians (I’m not one) can ask from the next appellate court is for the jury verdict and subsequent conviction to be set aside, which is not the same as a finding of innocence. Neither juries nor judges can find accused people innocent. A logical impossibility. If I was this appellant, I would be content with a setting aside of the guilty verdict. All else is up to God – for all of us.
Given that one is innocent until proven guilty, then setting aside a guilty verdict restores the state of innocence.
“There is much debate, in the West, about whether there has been a ‘War on Christmas’ over the past two or so decades. If there never was a War on Christmas, as disingenuous progressives argue, then President Trump cannot have won it, as he now claims. The mendaciousness of the modern-day Left, which is tyrannically bohemian and palpably anti-Christian, dresses up its PC dogma in the guise of open-mindedness and inclusivity.”
President “grab ‘em by the pussy” Trump is hardly a role model for Christians.
I would argue that the function of any religion is to provide ideological unity for the society that adopts it. Believing is the means to belonging. Thus there can be no room for Doubting Thomases, or for people who only accept part of the creed. Hence also the importance of the various doctrinal councils, such as the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD and the creeds such as the Nicene Creed, in setting the minimum standards for acceptable belief.
What we believe as a group is not nearly as important as the fact that we all believe it together. I have in my time met one intelligent Catholic who confessed: “I don’t know what we believe about …[the issue under discussion.]” Then he went on to admit that his position was pretty weak. (But whatever it was, he was sticking to it.)
How curious that the Judges who are on holidays while Cardinal Pell languishes in prison, haven’t been told to come back to work like Prime Minister Morrison has.
I thought Christ was born in Bethlehem, not Jerusalem.
His birthplace has now been relocated to Bethleham. My mistake, not Daryl’s.
Correct, Lacebug. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to point out this typo!