India's Conduct Against Christians Is Often A Disgrace.

 India is cracking down on Christian charities just when they are needed most.

By Joseph D'Souza, Archbishop of the Good Shepherd Church of India12 January 2022.

• Thanks to international pressure, the Indian government has finally 
• renewed the licence of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries 
• of Charity. But there are thousands more Christian organisations still in limbo.
•  In the aftermath of Covid-19, we need them more than ever, says Archbishop Joseph D’Souza

Source: Reuters

If you could apply for sainthood at the Catholic Church, you would be hard-pressed

 to find a more impressive resume than Mother Teresa’s. Teresa, who died in 1997, 

spent decades caring for the poor, sick and destitute in India’s slums. She founded 

Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic institution that now cares for the homeless and 

poor in dozens of countries. She received countless humanitarian awards, among 

them the Nobel Peace Prize. Many considered her a real-life saint and, in 2016, Pope Francis 

officially recognised her as one. Yet none of this seemed to matter to Indian 

authorities when Missionaries of Charity tried to renew their permit to operate 

as a nonprofit (which it has held since 1950) last December.

FUNDING BLOWS

To those who have been keeping an eye on the state of the nonprofit sector in 

India, and the treatment of Christians there, it came as no surprise. In 2020, the 

government amended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), a law 

that regulates money that nonprofits receive from overseas. Nonprofits have 

long complied with the FCRA, but the new changes have seriously compromised 

their ability to continue operating.

For example, nonprofits can no longer receive funds from each other, even if 

they are both licensed under the FCRA. This is a blow to smaller organisations 

who do not have the capacity to fundraise internationally. It is not uncommon for 

larger nonprofits to partner with other smaller ones; in many cases, doing so is more effective since local organisations understand the issues affecting their communities and are

 more successful at solving them.

IF YOU COULD APPLY FOR SAINTHOOD, YOU WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO FIND A MORE IMPRESSIVE RESUME THAN MOTHER TERESA’S

Another challenge nonprofits face is the requirement to keep administrative 

expenses at or below 20 per cent of their income. Many charities, especially those 

who provide immediate relief to people in need, aim to lower their operating 

expenses to make the most of the money they receive. But there are other 

organisations, such as those dedicated to research and education, that 

(understandably) have larger staff budgets. This new rule risks hampering 

important research.

Finally, the process for renewing nonprofit licences is plagued with problems. 

The forms are onerous and confusing. All organisations must open accounts at a 

state-owned bank in New Delhi. Even nonprofits with experienced, skilled staff 

were unable to finish the process because of technical and bureaucratic problems.

A STRANGE IRONY

There is a strange irony at play in this whole situation. Prime Minister Indira 

Gandhi originally instituted the FCRA in the wake of a violent insurgency by a

 separatist faction receiving support from the Sikh diaspora. It was designed to 

prevent overseas financial contributions to groups posing a threat to India’s national security. Yet, over the years, changes to the FCRA have resulted in the exact opposite. 

In 2014, New Delhi’s high court found several politicians guilty of violating the 

FCRA. To shield themselves from retribution, they surreptitiously made changes 

to the FCRA, through amendments in the annual budget, so that it would not 

apply to them retroactively. They also redefined ”foreign political entities”, 

enabling Indian companies linked to overseas corporations to donate to political 

parties through “electoral bonds.”

A STRONGER FUTURE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to become self-sufficient, an ideal many

 Indians such as myself support. It will require sustained investment in areas such 

as education, health care, economic development and agriculture, but India has a 

rich pool of talent and resources waiting to be tapped into. Nonprofits can help 

achieve this goal, too, particularly as we reckon with the lingering damage of 

Covid-19.

Thankfully, the government has relented and renewed the Missionaries of Charity’s

 licence (no doubt in part thanks to international pressure). But over 5,700

 nonprofits remain in limbo. India needs them if we are to emerge from this crisis 

stronger. PC.

Joseph D'SouzaRt Rev Joseph D'Souza is bishop and moderator of the Good Shepherd Church of India. Dr D'Souza is also the founder and international president of Dignity Freedom Network, an inter-caste and inter-racial alliance that works on behalf of the Dalits and other marginalised groups. He also leads the ecumenical All India Christian Council.

Free Speech on Campus?

 

My Salvation From Hell.

 

The Most Illiberal Pope Ever?

 TIM STANLEY

7 February 2022 • DT.

The Pope, you have probably read, is ever-smiling, merciful and tolerant. Towards some, that might be true; for others, it’s a cruel joke. His treatment of traditional Catholics, to give just one example, is a case study in liberal hypocrisy....

England Cricket: What A Mess!

 The England T20 World Champions team lacked seamers who could bowl the right line and length. Result - defeat to the West Indies.

The Ashes. England outplayed and outclassed throughout the entire five match test series - in this the bowlers were second best but reasonable - the batsmen were dire.

Women's Ashes. Apart from washouts, England Women were given a cricketing lesson by the Aussie Women.

As a cricket fan - I'm starting to get a bit despondent.

Profiteeering.

BP boasts BIGGEST profits in eight years: British oil giant records £9.5BILLION gains while public suffers sky-high fuel bills and cost-of-living crisis - as calls grow for windfall tax on energy firms.

• Oil giant BP has revealed it swung to a mammoth £9.5 billion underlying replacement cost profit for 2021 
• It notched up £3.01 billion of profits in the final three months alone, up from just £85.1 million a year earlier
• The results will intensify pressure as households and businesses are struggling due to soaring inflation. Mail.

By HENRY MARTIN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED:  08:07, 8 February 2022  | UPDATED:  09:21, 8 February 2022

Oil giant BP has posted its highest annual profit in eight years and announced more returns for shareholders - as ordinary Britons prepare to endure soaring energy bills amid rampant inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.

BP revealed it swung to a mammoth £9.5 billion underlying replacement cost profit – its preferred measure – for 2021 from losses of £4.2 billion the previous year. It notched up £3.01 billion of profits in the final three months alone, which was better than expected and up from just £85.1 million a year earlier.

BP also announced more cash returns for shareholders, with another £1.1 billion of share buybacks before its first-quarter 2022 results and a dividend payout of 3.37p a share for the fourth quarter.

The group recovered from a torrid 2020, when the pandemic sent it slumping £13.4 billion into the red on a statutory basis – its biggest ever annual loss.

Oil and gas prices have since rebounded as economies worldwide reopened following the early stages of the pandemic, but the results will intensify pressure on oil firms as they reap mammoth profit hauls while households and businesses face struggling to pay energy bills due to soaring inflation.

A sharp rise in wholesale gas prices has led to energy regulator Ofgem raising the cap that limits what suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales by £693 to £1,971 a year from April - with a further hike expected in October.

Britons also face other demands on their income, including rising food, broadband and mobile phone costs as inflation rising to a 30-year high, while the Bank of England forecasts it will hit 7.25 per cent in April.

Calls are now growing for a windfall tax on energy giants, with Labour MPs arguing that while households are paying through their teeth for gas – energy bills are set to spike more than 50% in April – the companies which extract that gas are reporting massive profits. 

Supporters of the tax believe some of this money should be reclaimed to help struggling households cope with the rise.

Oil giant BP has posted its highest annual profit in eight years amid mounting pressure on the sector as the cost-of-living crisis deepens (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The Bank of England pushed interest rates to 0.5 per cent to control rampant inflation, which it now believes will reach 7.25 per cent in April and act like a lead weight on the economy, as well as pushing up unemployment 

Harry 'Stays Silent' - But What About The Missis?

 William backs 'Queen Camilla': Duke of Cambridge puts aside 'huge family rows' of the past to 'support' monarch's 'firm desire' that Duchess of Cornwall is given title when Charles becomes King... while Prince Harry stays silent.

Undermining The Law.

 As a JP (Ret.), I have been pondering over some recent decisions in UK courts.

Perverse verdicts have been given in finding a number of defendants 'not guilty' in cases where this verdict was neither possible, reasonable nor credible.

In the past, odd verdicts have occurred in extreme situations, where someone, acting with the best of intentions, has been cleared - but only because the Law was insufficiently written and this was to avoid an actual wrong being done to the defendant.

Stopping trains, blocking motorways and wild acts of vandalism simply cannot come under the criteria above.

Every perverse verdict must be overturned before this nonsense starts being adopted into case law. That way lies anarchy.

If there is a moral issue which is far greater than the Law of The Land, when Christians act to attack godless, immoral or manifestly bad law - then they must be prepared to face the consequences of their actions.

Causing distress to commuters on some vague 'climate change' philosophy will simply not do. The perpetrators of such acts are morally bound to plead guilty.

Birdie. Wow!

 

Still Believe The Planet Is Warming at A Phenomenal Rate?

 

 

 

The effects of man-made climate change over the last 100 years definitively show that the blue line is from 2020 data.

 

Errr . . . . . . . . , but Sir . . . . . . . that rather looks like a pattern to me.

Rejoice!

 

Kazakhstan.

Evangelicals call for peace in Kazakhstan.

Staff writer  08 January 2022.

(Photo: Getty/iStock)

Evangelicals have voiced "grave concern" over the current political and social unrest in Kazakhstan.

Dozens of protesters have been killed in recent days in the worst violence to hit the Central Asian country in the 30 years since it gained independence.

Public buildings have been ransacked and around 2,000 people arrested by the interior ministry.

Karim Masimov, former national security chief, was detained on Thursday accused of high treason.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has invited Russian forces in to restore order in a move questioned by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Central Asia Evangelical Alliance (CEAE) have issued a joint appeal for peace in which they urge government officials to take steps to de-escalate the unrest.

The statement from WEA Secretary General, Bishop Dr Thomas Schirrmacher, and CAEA General Secretary, Rev Peter Kremeruk, calls for the immediate cessation of violence and for a process of dialogue to commence.

"There are many challenges around the world with the continuing economic impacts of Covid-19 that have led to tensions within many nations," they said.

"However, we urge government officials in Kazakhstan to de-escalate social unrest and we urge the citizens of Kazakhstan to express their grievances peacefully.

"We specifically call for all those involved in the conflict to engage in a process of dialogue, working towards lasting peace and reconciliation and a resolution to the underlying issues.

"We assure the Kazakh people of our sincere prayers at this time." CT. 

Pope Has A 'Right Target' - For Once!

Pope Francis Decries ‘Scourge’ of Female Genital Mutilation.

AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.

 6 Feb 20222022

ROME, Italy — Pope Francis called attention to the twin evils of human trafficking and female genital mutilation Sunday, urging the international community to “act decisively” to eradicate them.

“Today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation,” the pope told the crowds gathered in Saint Peter’s Square for his weekly Angelus address. “Approximately three million girls undergo this operation every year, often in conditions that are very dangerous to their health.” Breitbart.

Church of The Nutrition Discovered? - On Top of Christ's Childhood Home.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1540162/archaeology-news-jesus-christ-childhood-home-nazareth-israel-spt

What on Earth Is Going on With Our Police?

David Baker   31 January 2022

(Photo: Unsplash)

I'm not, as you might initially think, talking about the recent police intervention into the situation regarding Downing Street parties and the Sue Gray report. (Though there are some good questions to be asked around all that – such as what were the No 10 officers doing or thinking when said parties were taking place to start with: just turning a blind eye?)

No, I'm talking about some very concerning cases just this month which seem to involve the police attempting to curb people's freedom of thought and expression in relation to sex and gender issues.

Case number one: in Wales, Jennifer Swayne (53), a women's rights campaigner, was arrested for "an alleged hate crime" (as The Times put it) after she put up posters about trans women in prisons, posted stickers to do with related issues, and said that "humans never change sex." Gwent police raided her home and removed – without explanation – a book of academic essays on the "theory and practice of trans-gendering children."

Case number two: police in Scotland visited the home of the founder of a charity which supports women who have suffered domestic abuse. Nicola Murray, of Brodie's Trust, was interviewed by police after "being reported for hate crime, after stressing its female-only services" even though "no offence had been committed" (The Times again).

Of course, sometimes there is more to these cases than meets the eye, and that is always an important caveat to keep in mind. But in general terms, in the case of Jennifer Swayne, it is scientifically indisputable that "humans never change sex". As the distinguished biologist and science professor Lord Winston said on BBC TV last year, "I will say this categorically - that you cannot change your sex, your sex actually is there in every single cell in the body."

Or, to put it another way, and to remind you of the biology you learnt at school, "individuals having two X chromosomes (XX) are female; individuals having one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY) are male" as Encyclopaedia Britannica puts it. There are occasional variations – known as intersex conditions, but these are fairly unusual.

Interestingly, Swayne has herself received support from Mallory Moore, who describes herself as a "trans woman... and researcher." Moore describes Swayne as "a transphobe" and believes that some of Swayne's stickers – such as "Are you happy for your 13 year old daughter to shower next to an adult man?" – were "unambiguously intended to arouse violent sentiment towards trans women." Well, many of us might disagree with that particular take on it.

But, nonetheless, despite believing that Swayne is a "transphobe," Moore is still critical of how the police have handled her, and said she wanted to "affirm [her] solidarity with Jennifer Swayne against police abuse." She said she herself had been "treated roughly by the police" and added: "When the police are kidnapping women for placing stickers... none of us is safe to speak up." Many of us might echo that.

The second case is just as concerning, if not more so. The context is that Nicola Murray's organisation, Brodie's Trust, had announced that it would no longer refer women to Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) as it had lost confidence in that organisation. This decision was made after statements by Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman who became its chief executive in 2021, who said that "bigoted" victims of sexual violence should expect to be "challenged on their prejudices". The Brodie's Trust statement said about the ERCC: "We cannot in all conscience send vulnerable women to the service in its current state."

Murray was told by police – get this – that she had not committed a crime but that they needed "to ascertain what your thinking was behind making your statement". You might want to just slowly re-read that sentence. Yes, you have not misread it. The police wanted to "ascertain her thinking" – even though she had not committed a crime.

Scottish National Party MP Joanna Cherry – a QC – quite rightly described this as "the stuff of totalitarianism." And Roddy Dunlop QC, Scotland's most senior advocate, whose legal experience is arguably second to none in that country, said the incident was disturbing, adding: "We don't have the thought police in this country. Or at least we shouldn't."

These cases are not isolated ones, of course – others could be cited, such as that of barrister Sarah Phillimore, who in 2020 was reported to the police for comments on social media referring to transgender men as "men". As Phillimore said, she was victimised "for doing nothing other than exercising my rights to protected political speech..."

All this comes against the wider backdrop of a recent speech by the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel who – whatever one makes of her policies and actions more generally – quite rightly urged police to stop recording so-called hate incidents that are not crimes, because of concerns about free speech.

And meanwhile, police are solving the "lowest proportion of crimes on record" with just six per cent of all crimes resulting in a charge in the year to September 2021, according to Home Office figures released a few days ago.

As Christians we should be hugely concerned about this continuing erosion of the right to free speech – and indeed to think freely! The facts speak for themselves – it scarcely needs me to spell out the chilling implications.

But at the same time, of course, we need to keep in mind the Christian imperative to love – and especially, in this general context, to love transgender people. As Mark Yarhouse, professor of psychology at Regent University – a private Christian establishment in Virginia – and director of the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity, has written: "We will be tempted to join in the culture wars about sex and gender that fall closely on the heels of the wars about sexual behaviour and marriage. But in most cases, the church is called to rise above those wars and present a witness to redemption."

He adds, most crucially: "Certainly we can extend to a transgender person the grace and mercy we so readily count on in our own lives."

In sum: we must keep on speaking up for freedom. And we should keep on offering love, grace and gospel transformation to all those caught up in a society which is so disturbingly adrift from the moral anchors it desperately needs.

David Baker is Contributing Editor to Christian Today and Senior Editor of Evangelicals Now www.e-n.org.uk in print and online. He writes here in a purely personal capacity.

Birdie.

 

Great Verse.

Street Preacher Charter Is Much Needed.

 Barrister calls for 'Street Preacher's Charter' to prevent more arrests.

Staff writer   02 February 2022 

(Photo: Getty/iStock)

A Christian barrister has written to the College of Policing urging it to adopt a 'Street Preacher's Charter' in an attempt to stop more evangelists being arrested. 

A string of arrests involving street preachers in recent years has given rise to concerns over free speech. 

Often the street preachers have been arrested and then released without charge or later exonerated in the courts.

In some cases, they have received thousands of pounds in compensation for wrongful arrest.

Barrister Paul Diamond blamed the arrests on hate crime laws and overstretched police departments resulting in fewer officers on the beat. 

In a letter to Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing, he said police were being put in the "impossible position" of trying to balance free speech with their duty to maintain public order. 

But he also suggested that the reputation of the police was being damaged by high profile cases involving street preachers, and that police would benefit from being better informed about religious language.

He said that free speech must include "the right to offend".

"Police officers are hard-working, committed individuals seeking to improve the lives of law-abiding members of the community," he said.

"Often, they are placed in an impossible position; they have a responsibility to protect free speech, a duty to maintain public order and under pressure to silence unpopular speech." 

Mr Diamond has offered to work with the police in formulating a charter clarifying guidance on the law in relation to religious rights and free speech, particularly where these concern the issues of sexuality and other faiths. 

The charter would also be signed by street preachers to show that they understand the law as well as the police's responsibilities. 

He said a charter would ensure consistency in the way that police across the country handle issues relating to religious freedom and free speech, while also improving the relationship between street preachers and their local constabularies. 

He added, "Officers work under pressure; and are not versed often in the religious language used by street preachers.

"The arrest of street preachers has become another controversial field; often resulting in negative press coverage of the acts of the police." CT.

I LOVE The Last Line!

New Zealand has long been considered as a place for Brits to emigrate and retire to because of the better climate, English language, Westminster style democracy, The Queen as the head of state and we even drive on the correct side of the road. Alas this may be about to change.

On the day that the queen celebrates her 70th year as Monarch, Debbie Ngarewa-Parker the deputy leader of the Maori party has announced that the Maori party intend take back the sovereignty signed over to the British Crown by her ancestors in the Treaty of Waitangi and return New Zealand to Maori tribal rule, Maori language and Maori system of justice. Jacinda Ardern has already started the process by implementing parts of He Puapua as a first step to implementation of the UN declaration on The Rights of indigenous peoples. Many are calling He Puapua a roadmap to Zimbabwe

• If that is what the majority of the people of NZ want then we should support them, and remain friends. The UK should not be spiteful and nasty like the EU.

My Family's Historical Socialist Roots Are Starting To Show.

Three things MUST be done to end the onslaught of new fuel poverty:

1) Stop chasing rainbows - particularly those with cripplingly high-costing, green edging.

2) Start using the fuel on which these islands are constructed and, yes ...

3) Hammer the profiteering power companies like Shell with punitive taxation on their obscene profits!

Platinum Jubilee.

 

Why Do Our Political Classes Fail To Protect Us?

92 terrorists could be released from jail in the next year: Pressure mounts on parole board to keep fiends behind bars as they reach half-way point in sentences. 

Abdalraouf Abdallah (pictured), who was visited in prison by Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi, is likely to be reconsidered for release in the first half of 2022. Mail.

Blogger: this is not merely the work of liberal leftists but of Tory governments every bit as much! This sickening desire to be lenient to the most evil people on the planet is both dastardly and immoral. 

The primary function of government is to protect its citizenry. Putting the rights of violent people ahead of the rights of ordinary people is both unconscionable and indefensible.

The Bible understood this - furthermore, why do so many liberal churchmen and pretend-Christians so readily desire to offer freedom to the truly dangerous & toxic?