Counter-evangelism

From the Home Page of the site:

Email address: paulhurt100@gmail.com

Comments (including critical comments) always welcome.

The page About this site gives background information, including this, 'Emails sent to me are treated as confidential. Emails sent to me won't be released into the public domain, including publication on this site, unless with the sender's permission.'

So, any individual or Church criticized on this page or mentioned on this page, any individual reading this page, is welcome to email me with comments, including critical comments. The email, like other emails sent to me, will remain confidential but I'm willing to publish emails sent to me on this page or another page of the site if requested. But in my experience, Christians aren't in the least willing to defend their faith against challenges with argument and evidence of their own.

When demands have been made that I should remove material from this site - these demands have been made - then I haven't complied. I won't remove material from the site in the future in the same circumstances. When evidence is provided that my comments are unfair then I'm completely willing to modify the comment or remove it altogether if I find that the criticism is valid. So far, the evidence has never been provided but I'm always happy to consider evidence in the future and to modify or remove material if necessary.

I take care to revise material on this page and other pages to improve it and to make the material as fair as I can possibly make it, taking into accounts the constraints of time.

Of course, critics with their own Website or able to publish on other Websites are free to criticize this page and other pages of the site if they want. There's an abundance of Church Websites available for the purpose.

It's likely that the profiles, of people and churches, will be found very challenging. Instead of demanding that the material be removed - but I've made it clear that I'm willing to consider voluntary removal of material, if a case is made, with arguments and evidence - then people at these churches, the ones with profiles and ones who may find a profile of themselves in future, should consider presenting arguments and evidence.

There's an abundance of paid and unpaid Church staff and church members but this site is the work of just one person, myself. (To give just a few examples, the many, many theologians at Durham University and Cambridge University, the many, many staff at Sheffield Cathedral, and the many, many staff at Sheffield Churches.) If these people can't come up with convincing arguments and reliable evidence to counter the arguments and evidence I provide, there's something badly wrong. If they claim to have the convincing arguments and the reliable evidence but they're unwilling to provide it, there's something badly wrong.

The Church includes theologians with knowledge of the many branches of theology - Christologists, hamartiologists, soteriologists, eschatologists, ecclesiologists, pneumatologists, patrologists, mariologists ...

I can claim that I've a much greater knowledge of theology than the majority of non-Christians and anti-Christians - my knowledge includes knowledge of New Testament Greek, so I'm not dependent on translations of the New Testament. I've enough knowledge of Biblical Hebrew to recognize some of the pitfalls and errors of Old Testament translation. But again, the theological resources available to the churches are vastly greater than my own. But knowledge of what the Old Testament and New Testament states and the doctrines based on these texts or based upon decisions of the Church is a different matter from the trustworthiness of the knowledge and the doctrines. To give one example, a theologian may have an exhaustive knowledge of the doctrine that unbaptized babies can't go to heaven, the history of the doctrine, the so-called 'proofs' of the doctrine allegedly based on scripture and the decisions of the Church - but the doctrine surely amounts to complete stupidity.

The faith of Christians supposedly gives them massive advantages. They are supposedly walking in the light, whilst I'm supposedly walking in darkness. They have the supposed advantage of prayer - they can pray that they defeat me, or defeat my views. The power of prayer, in the fantasy world of these people. Prayer gives strength - according to Christian theory. Prayer enables the believer to defeat the arguments and evidence of the non-believer, allegedly. Does it really? Who would have thought it?

They have comforting words of Scripture, such as these:

'Ask the Spirit for words, he is not the Spirit of fear. (Romans 8:15)

'Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”. (Matthew 10:19-20).

People who find a challenging profile on this page, an existing profile or one added later, have very great advantages - but I think that the advantages are illusory. In my experience, Christians exuding confidence and certainty suddenly become evasive and hesitant when presented with argument and evidence - not just hesitant but unable or unwilling to give any sort of answer. They can either give counter-arguments and counter-evidence and / or turn to the consolations of faith, which may (or may not) meet their needs.

Above, the Church Army's Wilson Carlile Centre, Sheffield

Attribution for imag above, Mark Anderson / BBC Radio Sheffield, Shoreham Street

The page on Christian religion has detailed information on most of these issues. It deals with early events. This section gives background information about early events but it's mainly concerned with more recent events. This strange, disturbing, grotesque case (I'm thinking mainly of the grotesque heap of rubbish - images provided below and my page on Christian religion) isn't over yet.

A new development, the relationship between Radio Sheffield - or rather one of its presenters, Kat Cowan - and the Church. This is Kat Cowan's 'advertisement for herself,' or one of them:

From her linkedln profile:

'As well as Saturday breakfast, I now host BBC Radio Sheffield's Sunday breakfast show: topical discussion with a faith & ethics slant plus the legendary Gardening phone-in.'

This is Tim Ling of the Church Army Research Unit quoting Kat Cowan in a page with the amazing title 'Honest Conversations.' Tim Ling's view of what qualifies as an 'honest conversation' isn't mine.

https://churcharmy.org/general/honest-conversations/

Kat Cowan on BBC Radio Sheffield when interviewing Andy Wier, our lead researcher on the project ... reflected: “It also seems, I don’t want to be rude, but quite obvious, Andy, that actually sort of being welcoming and saying, ‘Here we are. Here’s a safe space for you to come and we’re going to look after you’ seems to me something that the church should be doing automatically.”

A safe space in which Tim Ling exercises such benevolent care, and Lu Skerratt-Love, another 'researcher' at the Church Army's Research Unit, is far from safe, to anyone who values honest conversation, freedom of thought and freedom of expression.

Since this page was written and included in the site, I've added only a little additional information. This is 'additional information,' about the more recent exploits of Lu Skerratt-Love, with the willing support of South Yorkshire Police, the issuing of a Community Protection Notice to me. More information about this grotesque development on the pages

https://www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-part-putin-policing.htm

and

https://www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-christianity-south-yorkshire-police.htm

A new page will document the progress of a complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct:

https://www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-independent-policing.htm

Tim Ling writes on his page on 'honest conversations,' about 'mission to young adults., 'With the help of the Church Commissioners we have recently brought together both researchers and practitioners in order to explore this question and the opportunities and challenges of mission with young adults.'

'Mission' has a specific meaning here. A central aim in Christian mission is the attempt to convert unbelievers. A missionary is someone undertaking mission, most often in a different country. Mission involves the creation of safe spaces only in a very restricted sense - spaces in which Christian beliefs aren't challenged, in which there is no such thing as 'honest conversation,' the presentation of opposing views, a fair-minded attempt to foster free expression on matters of Christian faith.

From a report in 'The Guardian,'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/
07/church-in-crisis-as-only-2-of-young-adults-identify-as-c-of-e

'The Church of England is facing a generational catastrophe with only 2% of young adults identifying with it, while seven out of 10 under-24s say they have no religion, research reveals.

'C of E affiliation is at a record low among all age groups, and has halved since 2002, according to the British Social Attitudes survey. Far fewer actually attend church services on a regular basis.

...

The demographic breakdown in the new data is particularly unwelcome news for the church. Younger people are significantly less likely to identify with the C of E than older age groups, and evidence suggests that people rarely join organised religion in later life. The trend indicates that affiliation with the C of E could become negligible with successive generations.'

Kat Cowan's endorsement of Church Army 'safe spaces' is very, very misguided. It encourages the Church Army to believe that reversing the decline of Christian belief amongst young adults, and not just young adults, is possible by presenting Christian dogmas and doctrine as the true way, paying no attention to all the difficulties of these dogmas and doctrines, the grotesque unreality of these dogmas and doctrines.

Recently, I called in at the Church Army's Wilson Carlile Centre and left two paper documents, one for Tim Ling, the other for Lu Skerratt-Love. According to the Church Army Website Dr Ling is 'the Director of the Learning and Development Team. He provides strategic oversight for the work of the Research Unit.' The Church Army site explains that 'Lu Skerratt-Love supports the qualitative strand of the Research Unit in both internal and external projects. Lu Skerratt has a background in academia and is currently completing a Doctorate in Theology and Ministry at the University of Durham.'

This was the note I left for Dr Ling. The one for Lu Skerratt-Love had identical content.

'Dear Dr Ling,

There are matters which I need to bring to your attention, and the attention of Lu Skerratt-Love. I can't use the most convenient method, for me, email, since you've blocked my emails. This is simply a short preliminary note. I don't discuss in any detail these matters.

Instead of using paper and envelope, buying a stamp and using the post, I've chosen instead to call at the Church Army building and deliver this
note in person and I intend to use this method whenever I can justify a further communication to you or to Lu Skerratt-Love. I've decided further to make use of 'open' communication, without enclosure in an envelope. The matters I need to bring to your attention aren't confidential.

Banning, blocking and attempts at blatant censorship should be avoided by people in any organization which values its reputation. Your decision to block email from me was completely unjustifiable. All I had done was to send emails to a few people and organizations to inform them of my concerns about the proposal to set up a garden church at the Morley Street Allotment site. The reasons I gave and the evidence I gave were to do with matters of allotment law, security and safety. I've documented the issues in detail and published them on my Website. The documentation will be extended to take note of future developments. The people and organizations who received my emails - few in number - could be expected to find the issue of a garden church relevant, for example, St Marks Church. Lu Skerratt-Love had publicized the issue on the St Marks Church Website.The tone of my emails was courteous. I used Lu Skerratt-Love's Church army email address because I had no alternative. This was the only email address I could find.I felt at the time that it was unwise of her not to make available an alternative email address.

Lu Skerratt-Love's decision to complain to the police, her attempt to have me remove material from my own Website, was disastrously misguided, like your decision to block my emails. Lu Skerratt-Love's twitter page is full of complaints against the police but she chose to turn to the police (as an alternative to prayer, perhaps, or to supplement prayer). This, to me, was wasting police time. I don't claim that it was wasting police time in the strict legal sense but if people demand action from the police for the flimsiest of reasons, or no good reason at all, or for thoroughly bad reasons, then the police have less time available for all the other issues, far more important issues, which they have to deal with, such as doing something to curb the excesses of Extinction Rebellion, rape, violent crime, and many more.

I don't make demands myself, although I think that an apology is due from Lu Skerratt-Love and yourself. If you find the arguments and evidence I've put forward on my Website unpersuasive, then by all means let me have - better still, publicize - your counter arguments and evidence.

As I say, this is only a preliminary stage. I've already spent a great deal of time and effort on these matters and I'm willing to do far more. Any necessary communication with you or Lu Skerratt-Love will be by personal delivery of a note.'

This is a list of questions I've compiled which may be useful to interviewers who are probing, not influenced by the ceaseless self-promotion of the Church Army and other branches of the church - interviewers very unlike Kat Cowan, in fact - but also unlike any interviewer employed at any radio station. I'm aware of the dismal practicalities and realities. It would be unrealistic to expect Radio Sheffield to start probing the claims of Christianity with as much energy as this (imaginary) interviewer, but Radio Sheffield has no need whatsoever to treat Christianity and Christians with the deference to be found in the broadcast material I've listened to so far on the station. I have to say that Kat Cowan seems to be a very pleasant person, with an easy-going informality quite unlike the deference of a previous era, respectful, starchy types who genuflected (metaphorically) before starchy Churchy types who fully expected to be treated with respect. Kat Cowan isn't deferential to her Christian interviewees at all times - his is far from the case - but I have to say that on the evidence available to me, she seems to have got the balance wrong and is too pliable.

So much of the material gives a very misleading state of the Christian Churches. Obviously, the Churches vary very much in the doctrinal views to be found in them, and in other ways. What doesn't vary nearly as much is the abysmal staleness to be found in them, the consequence of believing in unbelievable things and things not worthy of belief, or leaving out bits of orthodox Christian doctrine and ignoring inconvenient facts about orthodox Christian doctrine - such as the fact that according to the New Testament, Jesus had other ideas, and not the ideas of very very liberal believers and semi-believers.

Kat Cowan doesn't seem to talk to obvious fanatics. To give one example, the woman Kat Cowan talked to about the proposed garden church seemed eminently reasonable but appearances can be deceptive. I don't claim that she was a fanatic hiding behind the appearance of calm reasonableness, only that her objectives and her beliefs aren't all they seem. According to the Facebook page of the garden church, she plans, or did plan, to talk about the Parable of the Sower, described in all the Synoptic gospels. It appears in Mark 4: 1-20. The parable includes the appearance of Satan and Jesus obviously believed in Satan, the Devil. Enormous numbers of his followers have believed in Satan, the Devil as well, and the results have often been devastating in their effect, leading to the torture and execution of people accused of working in the name of the devil, being in league with the devil, possessed by the devil. The young woman who hopes to start the garden church isn't one of those persecutors, of course not, but many contemporary Christians have very different views. The Facebook page of the Garden Church, which seems to belong to her - she writes most of the material - endorses and gives publicity to the appearance of the Bishop of Lancaster at a garden church in Blackburn. This Bishop has hard-line views on matters of doctrine. Obviously, she's not a persecutor either, but she's an outspoken opponent of various liberal views.

The Garden Church Facebook page mentions the use of the land to promote what is referred to as 'mission.' The word has a special meaning for Christians. This is a commonly cited definition:

'A Christian mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts.'

The inaugural event of the garden/forest church was to have taken place at the allotment site in September

SHEFFIELD FOREST CHURCH – SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER AT 2.30PM

and the theme was announced as 'God's creation.' It was a long time before the inaugural meeting stall took place. The event was rescheduled for October 17 but it was cancelled. The organizer mentioned the need to make improvements to safety on the site - safety was one of the issues I stressed in my emails.

Kat Cowan obviously knew nothing about the practical objections to a garden church at these allotments. They are subject to allotment law. The garden church aren't the tenants of this land. They aren't entitled to use it, unless they become tenants. In that case, they have to ensure that at least 75% of the land is used for growing fruit and vegetables. The Community Group which I believe are still the tenants - they took on the land in 2013 - have never come anywhere near that proportion. A minute percentage of the land has been used to grow food crops. Kat Cowan asked the Garden Church representative if the group would be eating produce they have grown there. As the Garden Church aren't the tenants, they're not entitled to grow crops there.

In any case, the Community Group was and still is incompetent. They have never reduced the height of the hedges, which were enormously high at the time they took on the land and are now much higher. The hedges shade the plot. Almost all food and vegetable crops couldn't possibly succeed there. And Kat Cowan obviously knows nothing about the very long, the immense pile of discarded rubbish. Kat Cowan obviously knows nothing about past and present security issues at these allotments and allotments not far away, which include a murder, a boy stabbed to death with a garden fork. She mentions reflecting at various times in her programmes but she could try reflecting on safety issues.

One of the photographs on the Facebook page of the garden church shows members of the 'garden church team' working on the land in these allotments. Enlarging the image makes this clear - the team are working in an unsafe way. There are tools lying on the ground which could trip people up - including children, if they are present. Worst of all is a garden fork with the pointed tines facing upwards. Children and adults are at risk here.

Kat Cowan's programmes are astonishing. I'm astonished to find promotion of Christianity at this on a BBC source, astonished that she's got away with this sustained bias, or promotion of one set of views time after time without, so far as I can see (or so far as I can hear) any real attempt to give dissenting views, or coverage to dissenting views which have even a fraction of the time given to Christianity. She could be working for a radio station which has the outright aim of evangelizing and promoting Christianity. This is wrong, this isn't what the BBC should be doing or allowing, unless they allow secular views, views critical of Christianity, something approaching equal time.

It isn't only Kat Cowan who's at fault here but a section of the Radio Sheffield management. They haven't given nearly enough thought to the balance of the station, the need to avoid wherever possible the promotion of outright ideology, in this case, a religious ideology, a religious way of looking at the world and other people which distorts perspectives. My page on Christian religion gives argument and evidence to support my view that Christian ideology does have a seriously distorting effect. Christians who find fault with the arguments and evidence I use are free to criticize and to give their own counter-arguments and evidence if they want to or are capable of doing that. I certainly won't be banning them or blocking their emails or reporting them to the police or demanding that they remove material concerning me from their Websites, if they have a Website and they ever criticize me on their Website. I'll be happy to publish their objections on my Website, in fact.

To return to the list of questions, the list could be extended indefinitely. My page on Christian religion gives background information, often detailed information, on many of the issues raised here. This is a list of questions which could conceivably be asked - some of them at least - by a very bold and adventurous interviewer at a conventional station preparatory to getting the sack or by an interviewer at a bold and adventurous station with bold and adventurous policies. It's inconceivable that a BBC station would tolerate the asking of these questions, of course, and the station with bold and adventurous policies would find it impossible to find Christians willing to enter the lion's den. It's likely that the operation could take place only once, and the operation would need a degree of subterfuge, with an unsuspecting Christian. But all of this is speculative, to an extent. In the world as we find it, Christian Mass Timidity seems to be the rule and tedious timid questioning is certainly the rule. And it's perfectly possible for a person who is bold and adventurous in some respects to be a timid conformist in other respects. The baffling contradictions of human nature emerge again and again.

There's some repetition of material from the page on Christian religion, necessary to an extent to make this page relatively self-contained.

Dr Wier / Dr Ling / Bishop X, Archbishop Y (or other Christian dignitary) could you answer some questions?

Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, or, amongst other things, a generally reliable guide to ethics?

Would you comment on these verses from the New Testament and the Old Testament?

[Some of the 'teaching of St Paul]

Ephesians 6:5 'Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ.'

Colossians 3:22 'Slaves, obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart because of your reverence for the Lord.'

These were two sugarcane growing estates on the island of Barbados. In 1710, they came into the possession of the Church of England 'Society for the Propagation of the Christian Religion in Foreign Parts.' The plantations were run by managers, nominally supervised by a Board of trustees of the Society headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a committee of Church of England bishops.

The plantations depended upon a regular supply of new slaves from West Africa. For almost a decade after the 'Society for the Propagation of the Christian Religion in Foreign Parts' inherited the plantations, slaves were branded on the chest with the word 'Society.'

During the debate, the fact was mentioned that when the emancipation of slaves took place in 1833, compensation was paid not to the slaves but to their owners. The information was given that the Bishop of Exeter and three colleagues were paid nearly £13,000 compensation for 665 slaves. This compensation was well over £ 1,000,000 in current values. The Bishop of Exeter, William Philpotts, had opposed the Abolition of Slavery Act. After all, St Paul didn't oppose slavery and the 'teaching' of Jesus included nothing on the subject of slavery - the buying and selling of men, women and children.

In the parts of the Roman Empire where Jesus and St Paul lived or knew about, as in the whole of the Roman Empire, slaves could be seen everywhere, the mistreatment of slaves would have been a completely familiar sight, St Paul and Jesus would certainly have known that an 'owner' of a slave family could, and often did, split up the family, selling the father to one new owner, the mother to another new owner, and the children to yet another owner. Jesus and St Paul obviously accepted the practice of slavery, with all its hideous cruelties.

[In the 'safe space' offered by the Church Army and approved by Kat Cowan, such questions as these never arise, people are protected from them, illusions and evasions are fostered, not challenged.]

Exodus 22:18 The translation of the 'Authorized Version,' also known as the King James Version.

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

The 'Good News Translation (!) is 'Put to death any woman who practises magic.'

[King James 1 is best known amongst Christians for his association with the Authorized Version of the Bible but he was a relentless persecutor of women he saw as witches. Under his jurisdiction, women were tortured and executed for 'witchcraft' and it can be regarded as certain that he saw his actions as divinely sanctioned.]

The Gospel according to St John, 3:18, 'He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.' (King James Bible.)

One of the modern translations for the whole verse- like others, it updates the language but not the theology:

'Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.' (English Standard Version.)

The Gospel according to St John, 3:36 in the King James Bible:

'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.

[A probing interviewer, one not impressed by the superficially impressive language so often used by Christians - again, an interviewer very unlike Kat Cowan - could ask some searching questions on everlasting life, on heaven and hell, and the grotesque implications of a belief that faith in Jesus is so important that people's eternal destiny is linked with their faith in Jesus as redeemer or their lack of faith, with all the insuperable contradictions and distortions of orthodox Christian belief - and the fact that non-orthodox Christian beliefs, kinder views of these matters, are in conflict with views spelled out in the New Testament.]

[From my page on Christian religion:

'Church Society, a Conservative Evangelical group in the Church of England:

' ... all people are under the judgement of God and his righteous anger burns against them. Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under His condemnation and His just judgement against them is that they will be separated from Him forever in Hell. (Romans 1 v18, 2 v16, Revelation 20 v15)

'Jesus will come back and the world will end, there will then be a final judgement where those who have not accepted Jesus will be cast into hell with Satan and his angels. Christians will receive new bodies and live in eternal bliss in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. (Hebrews 9 v27, Revelation 20 v11, 1 Corinthians 15 v51)

'The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of England.

...

'Article XII of 'Good Works' states 'Good Works ... cannot put away our sins, and endure the verity of God's Judgement.'

'Whether the good works include bringing safe drinking water to people ravaged by water-borne diseases such as cholera by means of massive engineering works, or rescuing Jews from the Nazis, or opposing the Nazis by heroic action in battle, or everyday goodness and self-sacrifice, if there's no belief in Jesus Christ, the good works are ignored, in this loathsome scheme, and there's no salvation.'

More questions that an adventurous questioner could ask the Christian (eg a member of Church Army) on this central issue of salvation and redemption - central for believers in orthodox or semi-orthodox Christian belief, not central or important for most non-believers. I think it is an important issue, since the Christian Churches do have influence, even if the influence is far less than in the days when a large number of people took the pronouncements of Archbishops and Bishops and other clergy seriously.

Do you believe that NHS staff - including, of course, the NHS staff who care for coronavirus patients - are destined to be eternally separated from God if they have no belief in Jesus and don't acquire a belief in time?

In actual fact, a Christian who answered this question by stating that he or she does believe that eternal separation from God is the fate of these non-believers need to go further and make it more generally known, and similarly for organizations such as the Church Army. If these people and organizations have such faith in the Gospel and they believe that these beliefs are an impartant part of the Gospel, what is stopping them from proclaiming the fact? In practice, if my own experience is anything to go by, they are very, very reluctant to admit to these beliefs. Sheffield people are very, very unlikely to find that a Sheffield Church or a Sheffield church member will admit to believing that loving (but unbelieving) fathers and mothers are destined to be eternally separated from God, unless, of course, they repent in time.

Meanwhile, St Augustine is presumably not eternally separated from God but is in Heaven. Augustine is the Saint who taught that unbaptized babies spend eternity in hell. There are many Churches named after him, of course. But young people are assured that if they choose to join a Church Army 'safe space,' they will be protected from such distressing information, at least when they are in the safe space. In the safe space, it can be expected that they will learn to adopt the safe ways of thinking that will 'protect' them from being harmed in the real world.

Do you believe that allotment holders are destined to be eternally separated from God if they have no belief in Jesus and don't acquire a belief in time? Orthodox Christians are likely to believe that not everybody who supports a garden church is saved - unitarians, people who don't believe in God the Son and the Holy Spirit as well as God the Father, are excluded from salvation. And of course, many, many Evangelical Christians believe that Roman Catholics are excluded from salvation.

Do you believe that the people who service and repair your vehicle, if you have one, the people who deliver your post and collect any rubbish, bottles, cans and recyclable paper, the people who built the sewers which take away human waste, the people who constructed the reservoirs which supply your drinking water (remembering that water-borne disease was the most important single cause of disease), the people who work in the shops which supply the necessities of life as well as so much else, the musicians and artists and entertainers are only saved from an eternity of separation from God if they have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour?

What of the countless numbers of people who have lived and still live in societies where it's impossible or virtually impossible to be presented with the 'gospel' (which I think can't possibly be described as 'good news')?

What of the Russians who died of starvation and disease during the Siege of Leningrad, when Nazi forces encircled the city almost completely?

What of the countless numbers of people whose life has been, or still is, so hard that they are preoccupied with survival or fighting against the odds? The miners doing back-breaking work underground, at risk of underground flooding and explosions and other dangers - people who have never had the time or the opportunity for an examination of the issues?

Is there an age below which people aren't damned for failing to find this faith in Jesus as Saviour, or are young children to be damned, including the millions of children who died of diseases which are now preventable - preventable as a result of such scientific advances as vaccination and economic progress, not the result of Christianity?

Do you believe that the Jews who died in the extermination camps and the concentration camps are excluded from salvation? Do they share exactly the same fate as the Nazis who executed Jews and took part in the organized mass murder of Jews?

From the back cover of John Bierman's book 'Righteous Gentile,' about the heroism and determination to save lives of Raoul Wallenberg:

The 'Author's Note' includes this quotation from Attorney Gideon Hausner, chairman of Yad Vashem and the man who prosecuted Adolf Eichmann:

'Here is a man who had the choice of remaining in secure, neutral Sweden when Nazism was ruling Europe. Instead, he left this haven and went to what was then one of the most perilous places in Europe, Hungary. And for what? To save Jews.'

The back cover of the book pays tribute to his endless resourcefulness and his incredible acts of courage.

Adolf Eichmann was one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. From the Wikipedia entry:

Germany invaded Hungary in March 1944, and Eichmann oversaw the deportation of much of the Jewish population. Most of the victims were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, to where about 75 per cent were murdered upon arrival. By the time the transports were stopped in July 1944, 437,000 of Hungary's 725,000 Jews had been killed. Dieter Wisliceny testified at Nuremberg that Eichmann told him he would "leap laughing into the grave because the feeling that he had five million people on his conscience would be for him a source of extraordinary satisfaction."

Again, a question to the Christian - do you really believe that Raoul Wallenberg (to the best of my knowledge he had no Christian faith at all) and Adolf Eichmann share exactly the same fate, eternal separation from God? If you do believe that, do you have any idea of the monstrous, disgusting implications?

Should a Church Army 'safe space' shield people from reflecting upon such things, from making decisions which take such things as these into account, from making informed decisions, decisions not based on selective presentation of facts, or 'facts?'

Kat Cowan was very unwise to claim that the Church Army could provide a 'safe space' for young people. The provision of 'safe spaces' has become a growth industry. Again and again, people demand that other people should think in the same way. Many people have very different ideas of what counts as a safe space. This is just one of them. The passage in bold print, supplied by me, is one of many applications:

Lu Skerratt-Love explains herself and her interests (or themselves and their interests - one of her interests is personal pronouns and she's insistent that 'she' should be described as 'they' if she, or they, find it necessary, important, necessarily important.) From the Website OneBodyOneFaith.

https://www.onebodyonefaith.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/lu-skerratt/

Lu Skerratt-Love is a queer Anglican living in Sheffield. They grew up in North Essex where their introduction to Christianity was varied but allowed them to explore and encounter all sorts of worship styels and expressions of church.

'Lu first read Theology at the University of Leeds before doing a MA in Biblical Studies at King's College London. After a period working in the refugee and mental health sector, Lu is now a qualitative researcher with Church Army's Research Unit where they research all sorts of exciting and dynamic projects [she describes them as 'exciting and dynamic' so they MUST be 'exciting and dynamic,' as she sees it, or they see it] relating to evangelism, mission and ministry in the UK and Ireland. They are also studying for a DthM at Durham University (St John's College) where their research topic is 'Decolonising Space and Place: Identities of belonging in the Church of England.' Lu worships at St Mark's Broomhill and Broomhall in Sheffield and has particular interests in the intersections of faith and ecofeminism, ant-racism, queer identities of living as 'betwixt and between' and contemporary expressions of liberation theology. Lu is in a civil partnership and in their spare time enjoys spending time with their Pink Palace chosen family, reading, playing squash, bouldering, and board games!'

On the issue of pronouns, the Website

https://lgbt.ucsf.edu/pronounsmatter

has this:

'Pronouns are used in every day speech and writing to take the place of people's names. We frequently use them without thinking about it. Often, when speaking of someone in the third person, these pronouns have a gender implied. These associations are not always accurate or helpful.

'Mistaking or assuming peoples' pronouns without asking first, mistakes their gender and sends a harmful message. Using someone's correct gender pronouns is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their identity. Join the LGBT Resource Center as we aim to advance the knowledge of using everyone's correct gender pronouns and strive for a more inclusive environment at UCSF.'

And this:

'Why is it important for UCSF faculty, staff, and students to respect gender pronouns?onouns?

'The University of California's nondiscrimination policy includes protections for sex and gender identities. A key element of creating a safe space for people of all sexes and gender identities is the respectful use of gender pronouns.
'The UCSF PRIDE set a clear direction for all members of the UCSF community to appreciate and celebrate differences in others, creating an environment of equity and inclusion with opportunities for everyone to reach their potential.
'Asking UCSF community members what their gender pronouns are and consistently using them correctly is one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their gender identity. This can determine within the first few minutes if they will feel respected at UCSF or not.
'Discussing and correctly using gender pronouns sets a tone of allyship. It can truly make all of the difference, especially for new community members that may feel particularly vulnerable in a new environment.
'You can't always know what someone's gender pronoun is by looking at them. When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, alienated, or hurt.
'Many people may be learning about gender pronouns for the first time, so this will be a learning opportunity for the UCSF community. You will be setting an example for your colleagues.'

Similarly for other people and organizations criticized on this page and this site. I'll mention the (non-Christian) musicologist and fierce critic Mark Berry, criticized on this page and in much more detail in my page on universities, who persuaded the chief legal officer of Royal Holloway to contact me requesting that I should remove material on Dr Berry from the site. I refused the request.

I received a 'letter' from a solicitor who occupies the post of General Counsel' at Royal Holloway, Mrs Elaina Moss. The Home Page of this site gives my policy on quoting emails. I don't quote any emails unless with the permission of the sender. I replied, with a request to quote the email but didn't receive a reply. I can give the demand made. The demand was to remove all references to Dr Berry and Royal Holloway from my Website.

I made it clear to [the General Counsel] that this is out of the question. To ask me to remove the material from my Website is outrageous ... Royal Holloway is welcome to take any action which comes to mind in response to the existing material and new material. It should be unnecessary to issue a reminder that we live in a liberal democracy, with certain guarantees of freedom of expression and a precious tradition of upholding freedom of expression, despite the threats to legitimate freedom of expression - but a reminder is needed, it seems, for certain people at Royal Holloway.

It's difficult to credit that some people at Royal Holloway believe they are entitled to issue demands as ridiculous, disturbing and unrealistic as these. Was Dr Berry aware that Royal Holloway was demanding that I remove all references to Dr Berry? If he knew about it - and it's likely that he did know - did he agree with the demand? It would have been to his advantage if I'd complied meekly with the demand.

Mark Berry would obviously have known about the demand, as well as the Principal of Royal Holloway, Paul Layzell.

The page on Cambridge University and other universities has material on Royal Holloway. Mark Berry dominates the section on Royal Holloway, although I'm sure he doesn't dominate the academic life of Royal Holloway. The first section is Profile of Mark Berry, Cambridge historian and Royal Holloway Marxist musicologist.

It quotes many of his tweets. Some examples, with comments:

' ... No one will take to the streets to rid us of Johnson and his fellow fascist criminals ...'

(He studied history at Cambridge University but seems not to be aware of a much earlier recommendation to 'rid' the world of an unwanted person: Henry II's 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?' Four knights took the king's words literally and assassinated Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Does Mark Berry advocate assassination of Boris Jomnson? I hope not, but he isn't advocating the methods of democratic politics.)

this, on the former Labour MP Kate Hoey

'the Nazi Hoey ... '

this, on eliminating New Labour

'The racist obscenity that is New Labour must go'

(and again, not by the methods of democratic politics)

this opinion of the Spectator magazine

'a cesspit of unabashed Nazism'

(he didn't provide any quotes from the Spectator to support his deranged claim)

this description of Sarah Ludford

'mass murderer'

He wrote this tweet on Keir Starmer:

'Shocking just how dreadful Keir Starmer is. None of is thought he would be great, but that he has proved quite so mendacious, vengeful, and inept has come as a surprise.'

He went on to quote Malcolm Fincken, who wrote:

'Eh? In what ways has he been any of those things?

and

'Note that I didn't get any reply!'

Mark Berry's response to that:

'Sorry, Malcolm. Life's too short. Blocked.'

So he casually blocked the man.

In this section: some Bible texts are discussed. All translations from the 'Good News (!) Bible' New Testament passages and Old Testament passages which will have been familiar to Jesus, St Paul and the other contributors to the New Testament but obviously accepted by them.

Psalm 137, extract

Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us -
who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.

Above, Yochanan ben Zakai (Sephardic) Synagogue Painting illustrating Psalm 137 - an attractive depiction to illustrate some hideous (in part) subject matter

Before I turn to other texts from the Holy/Hideous Bible, an image of 'Limbo' (the supposed state, still believed in by large numbers of Christians, for people who don't qualify for heaven and don't qualify for hell) with a few words on a notorious doctrine of 'Saint' Augustine relating to the fate of unbaptized babies which isn't widely known.

Above, 'Christ in Limbo (c. 1575) by an anonymous follower of Hieronymus Bosch. Doctrines of limbo are the grotesque conceptual equivalent of this grotesque image.

Below, there's supplementary material on the doctrine of limbo and the views of Augustine on the damnation of unbaptized babies and infants.

St Augustine 'taught' that unbaptized babies go to hell. The Roman Catholic Church now 'teaches' that babies may be able to go to heaven. The Roman Catholic Church used to teach that there was another 'place' for unbaptized babies, 'Limbo,' a state intermediate between Heaven and Hell. Christian doctrines, the many, many varieties of Christian doctrine, the contradictory, incompatible forms of Christian doctrine, from mildly ridiculous to completely ridiculous to hidous and barbaric.

Below, in this section, I provide a supplementary quotation on limbo, hell and unbaptized babies.

From the section 'Mission' of St Augustine's Website. The wording is routine, of course.

Welcoming all, Following Jesus, Growing together.

We are a friendly and inclusive church, practising a traditional style and progressive teaching.

We seek to grow in Jesus’ truth through service and bible study.

We seek to grow as a community, coming together in Jesus’ name.

I'd commend to the 'progressive' Christians at this Church a study of some of the Bible texts quoted on this page. If they find some way of reconciling the texts with their progressive views, I'd be glad to hear about it. They shouldn't neglect the silences of the Bible. Why is there no record of Jesus opposing slavery? All the disciples alllegedly chosen by Jesus were male. Why did Jesus choose no women? Why did 'Saint' Paul have harsh words for homosexuals? Progressive Christians will use a different word, not 'homosexuals,' of course, but their progressive views don't go far enough, not in the least. They should reject the whole rickety theological edifice. It should have collapsed a very long time ago.

A very different matter -

This is the memorial to the crew of the aircraft 'Mi Amigo' in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield. St Augustine's Church

is very near to Endcliffe Park. The B17 crashed in Endcliffe Park on February 22, 1944. All ten crew members were killed. The memorial is at the site of the crash. In addition to the memorial stone, ten oak trees were planted nearby, one for each crew member. Every year, a memorial service takes place here on the Sunday closest to February 22. The services are dignified occasions, but the people who attend or would like to attend include non-Christians as well as Christians. They are expected to take part in a religious service, to join in prayer, to take part in responses. The people who attend or would like to attend shouldn't be expected to be insincere, to give the appearance of believers.

I give the arguments against the Church of England's official involvement in Remembrance Sunday events in my page on Christian religion. The same arguments apply to the memorial service for the crew of Mi Amigo.

I warmly recommend David Harvey's book, 'Mi Amigo: The story of Sheffield's Flying Fortress.'

Back to the Bible (back to my very critical comments of passages from the Bible - not, of course, a recommendation to return to the Bible as a guide to belief, ethics, conduct, doctrine or anything else):

Numbers 31, extract

The LORD said to Moses, 'Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel ... So Moses said to the people, 'Get ready for war so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the LORD ... The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth, and burned all their cities and camps ... Moses became angry with the officers, the commanders of battalions and companies, who had returned from the war. He asked them, 'Why have you kept all the women alive? Remember that it was the women who followed Balaam's instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to the LORD. That was what brought the epidemic on the LORD's people. So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse, but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins.

Exodus 22:18

Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft

According to the page 'The Church of England: a Christian presence in every community'

https://www.churchofengland.org/about/fresh-expressions-church-england

Fresh expressions are a movement of Christians who establish and grow new Christian communities where they don't yet exist.

At the heart of this movement is an instruction from Jesus found in Matthew 28:16-20, called 'The Great Commission.' Jesus had risen from the tomb alive, showed himself to his friends and on one of those occasions said to them [19,20]

'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'

Sharing all that we love and know about Jesus with people who don't yet know much about him is what we mean by 'mission.'

...

New Christian communities don’t necessarily have to look the same. A fresh expression of church might look somewhat, (or very) different to a traditional church ...

The translation of Exodus 22:18 in the 'Good News Bible' is 'Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft.' (The translation of the Authorized Version is, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.') Do you believe that this is or was an order made by God?

The New Testament in the Good News translation and other translations puts forward a view of salvation (but not the only view of salvation - there's also to be found a conflicting, contradictory view, so-called 'justification by works' rather than by faith). The view of salvation by faith could be summarized as 'God loves the person and calls upon the person to accept Jesus, God the Son, as personal Lord and Saviour - but if the person doesn't accept the invitation, then that person will spend eternity in separation from God. Do you believe in this version of salvation? Do you believe in salvation by works?

There are many more questions in the column to the left on salvation and redemption.

Questions can be asked which concern Christian creationism - not just the Christians who believe in the literal truth of the account in Genesis, the creation of the the world in a matter of days, but the Christian creationism of people who accept that the world, the universe as a whole, may have developed over millions of years, who may accept Darwin, in theory, but who imagine that God shows an active interest in his 'creation,' is responsive to prayers to do with his 'creation,' and who ignore all the difficulties and problems, difficulties and problems which emerge in questions such as these. I think it likely that many people who could be described as 'Christian creationists,' who would be willing to describe themselves as 'Christian creationists,' have a vague sense that scientific cosmology has to be taken into account, that scientific evolutionism has to be taken into account

(but this admission would probably be less likely) whilst retaining a conviction that God created the cosmos and the living organisms in the cosmos by an act of divine fiat, concisely (and dogmatically) expressed in one of the best known of all Old Testament verses, Genesis 1:1, here in the original Biblical Hebrew:

But the allegedly omnipotent, omniscient all-good God allegedly created a cosmos that was flawed and is flawed, hideously flawed in so many ways. Christians prefer to focus attention on wars and other human acts and not on such 'imperfections' which can't be blamed on human acts, human thoughts and human emotions, such as earthquakes, organisms which cause disease in animals, including humans, and plants, including crops. But there are many, many more.

At Christian services of 'Harvest Festival,' the congregation thanks God for his 'gifts,' the food that sustains us. Potatoes, tomatoes, French beans, runner beans, courgettes aren't native to this country. They were brought to this country from the Americas, by a dangerous sea journey. God gave as his gifts to the people of this country (not that I accept this Christian view) very, very few food plants.

Why did God include in his creation (allegedly) not just potatoes but the causative organism of potato blight (and tomato blight), the fungus Phytophthora infestans? The potato, after being brought to Ireland, sustained generations of Irish people, including the desperately poor, who found the potato a sustaining, nutritious food which involved very hard work but one which was much easier to grow than grain crops. What answer do you give to these particular difficulties - and the difficulties posed by all the other causative organisms of plant disease, animal disease, human disease - all the organisms allegedly created by God or part of God's creation?

He made very little provision for fuel to cook the food and to keep people warm in winter. The peat which is a naturally occurring fuel would be rejected by ecologically-minded Christians as a fossil fuel. Coal, an abundant fuel, could only be obtained in general by dangerous methods which have claimed countless lives. Is the God you believe in an incompetent God, a God who has taken hardly care to provide for fundamental human needs?

Why did God provide poisonous fungi as well as edible fungi, poisonous berries as well as edible berries?

The liberal Christians who don't believe in these doctrines are evasive too, unable or unwilling to accept the embedding of orthodox Christian claims in the text of the New Testament whilst settling for a compromise which ignores the realities.

FEFE promotes fresh forms of counter-evangelism but not counter-productive forms of counter-evangelism. Dramatists, actors, actresses, composers, singers, instrumentalists, visual artists, authors have to be prepared for criticism. Here, I'm concerned only with well-informed criticism and constructive criticism, although well-informed criticism can put an end to a career. Interrupting a performance isn't constructive criticism. Interrupting a sermon, heckling during a sermon would be counter-productive criticism.

But there are many, many opportunities for counter-evangelism, for giving evidence and arguments to counter Christian evangelism, for publicizing the issues. The 'fresh expressions' of Christian evangelism, away from Church buildings, give new opportunities - although I don't neglect the opportunities near to Church buildings.

FEFE began as a response to one instance of Christian 'Fresh expression,' a garden church. This garden church has absolutely no legal right to use the land for Christian worship and evangelism. The land is four allotments, subject to allotment law. I pointed out some difficulties, mentioned in the column to the left and in more detail in the column on the far right of my page on Christian religion. The difficulties include ones to do with security and safety and issues to do with evangelism. The Facebook page of the Garden Church endorses a garden church in Blackburn, where the Bishop of Lancaster, Jull Duff, baptized babies. There's a profile of the Bishop in my page on Christian religion and in the column to the left.

The 'Fresh Expressions' of the Churches promote the same stale doctrines, the same hideous doctrines. In the column to the left, and in the column of my page on Christian religion underneath the image of a slave who has been flogged, I focus my attention on challenges to Christian faith to do with salvation, redemption. Bishop Duff believes that people who don't take Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour are destined to spend eternity in separation from God.

Free expression - I posted material on the garden church on this site. I mentioned Lu Skerratt-Love, who has been prominent in the 'fresh expression,' the 'Forest Church' in Sheffield. I mentioned the fact that she supports or endorses 'Extinction Rebellion,' I mentioned other matters. I was aware that the material k wouldn't be to her liking but it was expressed in a courteous way. Similarly with the material I posted on Tim Ling. Like Lu Skerratt-Love, he's employed by the Church Army, as a member of the Church Army Research Unit.

The response of Lu Skerratt-Love? She demanded that I should remove the material from my Website, not by contacting me directly but by contacting the police, who contacted me. I pointed out to the police that removing the material was out of the question. Lu Skerratt-Love's attempt to interfere with free expression has come to nothing.

Tim Ling did contact me directly, but only to inform me that all future emails to Lu Skerratt-Love, to himself, to all the members of the Research Unit, would be blocked.

These members of the Church Army have behaved like members of a cult. It seems that they want to evangelize, but only to reach people who are pliable, or willing to be force fed, people who don't raise questions about matters to do with Christian doctrine. They want to take the safe way. They seem to be people who like living in a sheltered Christian environment which protects them from the free expression of people who find the arguments and evidence against Christian belief compelling, decisive.

Supplementary. Comments on the passage quoted in the Church of England material on 'Fresh Expressions' (Church version), Matthew 28:19,20

' ... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.' This stark call for unquestioning obedience has multiple defects. The teaching of Jesus was defective. To mention just one aspect, his complete failure to address the issue of slavery. I point this out in various places on this page and my main page on Christian religion.

The original Greek of Matthew 28:20

20: διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδού, ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος Ἀμήν

' ... to the very end of the age' 'τοῦ αἰῶνος' has strong eschatological implications, more than that, it's part of a presentation which involves claim about 'the end of the age.' The eschatology of the Bible includes the supposed 'Second Coming of Jesus.'

This abstract summarizes well the eschatological emphasis to be found in Matthew:

Chapter 4 The Eschatology of the Gospel of Matthew: “To Recover What Has Been Lost”: Essays on Eschatology, Intertextuality, and Reception History in Honor of Dale C. Allison Jr.

Author: Paul Foster¹

'Of all the canonical gospels, the Gospel of Matthew is the most eschatologically minded. Its fullest treatment of eschatological themes (Matt 24) is based on material drawn from Mark’s Gospel. However, Matthew expands and supplements the Markan account to provide a more extensive vision of end-time events. Matthew’s eschatological material has a dual purpose. First, it is fundamentally part of his Christology. It presents Jesus as heavenly king and judge. Second, it is motivational for the life of discipleship. Here Matthew emphasises in greater detail the negative picture of future judgement over the more positive vision of eschatological judgment. Matthew, like all followers of Jesus, did not have first-hand experience of the end of the age. For that reason, he resorts to images and parables to depict it. He conceives of the eschaton as resulting in dualistic fates, and he is certain that one of those outcomes is to be avoided at all costs. The other can only be enjoyed by remaining faithful to the pattern of discipleship as set out by the Matthean Jesus.'

Not mentioned: the notorious contradiction between 'justification by faith' and 'justification by works.'

The term 'dualistic fates' is horrendous in its implications. I comment on the horrendous implications again and again in my pages on Christian religion, and the horrific implications of 'one of these outcomes is to be avoided at all costs.'

An extract from an essay by Alan S. Bandy''The Return of Christ' which gives an orthodox view of 'the end of the age' and the so-called 'Second Coming of Jesus.'

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-return-of-christ/

DEFINITION

The Return, Second Coming, or Second Advent of Christ refers to the future return of Christ to earth at the end of the age. This return will be visible and physical as he comes from heaven on the clouds to bring final judgment and salvation.

SUMMARY

The New Testament establishes the doctrine of the Second Coming. Jesus refers to his future return in glory. While the term “Second Coming” or “Second Advent” does not occur in the New Testament, there are several nouns and verbs used to refer to the return of Christ. The nature of the Second Coming is visible, imminent, and final. The hope believers have of his return gives confidence of his victory and the salvation of their mortal bodies from sin once and for all to have a glorified resurrected body that is pure, immortal, and incorruptible (1Cor. 15:35-49). The Second Coming, then, has implications for how believers live day to day in an attitude of watchfulness and readiness.

Introduction

The doctrine of the Second Coming or Advent of Christ refers to the future return of Christ to earth at the end of the age. This return will be visible and physical as he comes down from heaven on the clouds to bring final judgment and salvation. It is often associated with the great day of the Lord in the Old Testament and corresponds to the messianic prophecies anticipating the messiah coming as King of kings in victory and glory to triumph over all the enemies of God and his people. The New Testament focuses primarily on the messiah’s first advent with the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus who came as a sinless sacrificial lamb to make atonement for sin and provide salvation through faith in him by inaugurating the New Covenant ... '

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, published June 22, 2010, at the time of the survey, about 40% of Americans believe that Jesus is likely to return by 2050. This varies from 58% of white evangelical Christians, through 32% of Catholics to 27% of white mainline Protestants.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2015 concluded that 58% of Americans believe in hell, little changed from the 2007 survey, which concluded that 59% of Americans believe in hell.

The Pew Research Center also includes this:

'Meanwhile, 82% of evangelical Protestants and members of historically black Protestant churches say they believe in hell.'

Doctrine: hell, limbo and baptism

Supplementary material on Limbo. From the Wikipedia entry on the subject:

The Limbo of Infants (Latin limbus infantium or limbus puerorum) is the hypothetical permanent status of the unbaptised who die in infancy, too young to have committed actual sins, but not having been freed from original sin. Recent Catholic theological speculation tends to stress the hope, although not the certainty, that these infants may attain heaven instead of the state of Limbo. Most Roman Catholic priests and hierarchy will now say that no child could ever be condemned for the sins committed by our ancestors and that they no longer believe that limbo for children exists.

While the Catholic Church has a defined doctrine on original sin, it has none on the eternal fate of unbaptised infants, leaving theologians free to propose different theories, which magisterium is free to accept or reject. Limbo is one such theory, although the word "limbo" itself is never mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Latin Fathers

In countering Pelagius, who denied original sin, Saint Augustine of Hippo was led to state that because of original sin, "such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all. That person, therefore, greatly deceives both himself and others, who teaches that they will not be involved in condemnation; whereas the apostle says: 'Judgment from one offence to condemnation' (Romans 5:16), and again a little after: 'By the offence of one upon all persons to condemnation'.,"

The Council of Carthage (418), a council of North African bishops which included Augustine of Hippo, did not explicitly endorse all aspects of Augustine's stern view about the destiny of infants who die without baptism, but said, among other things, "that there is no intermediate or other happy dwelling place for children who have left this life without Baptism, without which they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, eternal life". So great was Augustine's influence in the West, however, that the Latin Fathers of the 5th and 6th centuries (e.g., Jerome, Avitus of Vienne, and Gregory the Great) did adopt his position.

Medieval theologians[edit]

In the later medieval period, some theologians continued to hold Augustine's view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard (1079–1142) said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, just the pain of loss at being denied the beatific vision. Others held that unbaptised infants suffered no pain at all: unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. This theory was associated with but independent of the term "Limbo of Infants", which was forged about the year 1300.

If Heaven is a state of supernatural happiness and union with God, and Hell is understood as a state of torture and separation from God then, in this view, the Limbo of Infants, although technically part of hell (the outermost part, "limbo" meaning "outer edge" or "hem") is seen as a sort of intermediate state.

The question of Limbo is not treated in the parts of the Summa Theologica written by Saint Thomas Aquinas himself, but is dealt with in an appendix to the Supplement added after his death by Fra Rainaldo da Piperino.The Limbo of Infants is there described as an eternal state of natural joy, untempered by any sense of loss at how much greater their joy might have been had they been baptised:

Every man who has the use of free-will is adapted to obtain eternal life, because he can prepare himself for grace whereby to merit eternal life; so that if he fail in this, his grief will be very great, since he has lost what he was able to possess. But children were never adapted to possess eternal life, since neither was this due to them by virtue of their natural principles, for it surpasses the entire faculty of nature, nor could they perform acts of their own whereby to obtain so great a good. Hence they will nowise grieve for being deprived of the divine vision; nay, rather will they rejoice for that they will have a large share of God's goodness and their own natural perfections. Nor can it be said that they were adapted to obtain eternal life, not indeed by their own action, but by the actions of others around them, since they could be baptized by others, like other children of the same condition who have been baptized and obtained eternal life: for this is of superabundant grace that one should be rewarded without any act of one's own. Wherefore the lack of such a grace will not cause sorrow in children who die without Baptism, any more than the lack of many graces accorded to others of the same condition makes a wise man to grieve.

The natural happiness possessed in this place would consist in the perception of God mediated through creatures. As stated in the International Theological Commission's document on the question:

Because children below the age of reason did not commit actual sin, theologians came to the common view that these unbaptized children feel no pain at all or even that they enjoy a full, though only natural, happiness through their mediated union with God in all natural goods (Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus).

Modern era

The Ecumenical Council of Florence (1442) spoke of baptism as necessary even for children and required that they be baptised soon after birth. This had earlier been affirmed at the local Council of Carthage. The Council of Florence also stated that those who die in original sin alone go to hell, but with pains unequal to those suffered by those who had committed actual mortal sins. John Wycliffe's attack on the necessity of infant baptism was condemned by another general council, the Council of Constance. The Council of Trent in 1547 explicitly stated that baptism (or desire for baptism) was the means by which one is transferred "from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace, and of the adoption of the sons of God, through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Through the 18th and 19th centuries, individual theologians (Bianchi in 1768, H. Klee in 1835, Caron in 1855, H. Schell in 1893) continued to formulate theories of how children who died unbaptised might still be saved. By 1952 a theologian such as Ludwig Ott could, in a widely used and well-regarded manual, openly teach the possibility that children who die unbaptised might be saved for heaven. He also told about Thomas Cajetan, a major 16th-century theologian, that suggested infants dying in the womb before birth, and so before ordinary sacramental baptism could be administered, might be saved through their mother's wish for their baptism. In its 1980 instruction on children's baptism the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that "with regard to children who die without having received baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as indeed she does in the funeral rite established for them",^: leaving all theories as to their fate, including Limbo, as viable possibilities. And in 1984, when Joseph Ratzinger, then Cardinal Prefect of that Congregation, stated that he rejected the claim that children who die unbaptised cannot attain salvation, he was speaking for many academic theologians of his training and background.

The Church's teaching expressed in the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church is that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament." It adds that "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments". It recalls that, apart from the sacrament, "baptism of blood" (as in the case of the martyrs) and in the case of catechumens who die before receiving the sacrament, explicit desire for baptism, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, ensures salvation. It states that, since Christ died for all and all are called to the same divine destiny, "every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved", seeing that, if they had known of the necessity of baptism, they would have desired it explicitly.

It then states:

As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them", allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.

Merely stating that one can "hope" in a way of salvation other than baptism, the Church thus urgently reiterates its appeal to baptize infants, the only certain means to "not prevent" their "coming to Christ" for salvation.

On 20 April 2007, the advisory body known as the International Theological Commission released a document, originally commissioned by Pope John Paul II, entitled "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die without Being Baptized." After tracing the history of the various opinions that have been and are held on the eternal fate of unbaptized infants, including that connected with the theory of the Limbo of Infants, and after examining the theological arguments, the document stated its conclusion as follows:

Our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered above give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision. We emphasize that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge. There is much that simply has not been revealed to us. We live by faith and hope in the God of mercy and love who has been revealed to us in Christ, and the Spirit moves us to pray in constant thankfulness and joy.

What has been revealed to us is that the ordinary way of salvation is by the sacrament of baptism. None of the above considerations should be taken as qualifying the necessity of baptism or justifying delay in administering the sacrament. Rather, as we want to reaffirm in conclusion, they provide strong grounds for hope that God will save infants when we have not been able to do for them what we would have wished to do, namely, to baptize them into the faith and life of the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI authorized publication of this document, indicating that he considers it consistent with the Church's teaching, though it is not an official expression of that teaching. Media reports that by the document "the Pope closed Limbo"are thus without foundation. In fact, the document explicitly states that "the theory of limbo, understood as a state which includes the souls of infants who die subject to original sin and without baptism, and who, therefore, neither merit the beatific vision, nor yet are subjected to any punishment, because they are not guilty of any personal sin. This theory, elaborated by theologians beginning in the Middle Ages, never entered into the dogmatic definitions of the Magisterium. Still, that same Magisterium did at times mention the theory in its ordinary teaching up until the Second Vatican Council. It remains therefore a possible theological hypothesis" (second preliminary paragraph); and in paragraph 41 it repeats that the theory of Limbo "remains a possible theological opinion". The document thus allows the hypothesis of a limbo of infants to be held as one of the existing theories about the fate of children who die without being baptised, a question on which there is "no explicit answer" from Scripture or tradition. The traditional theological alternative to Limbo was not Heaven, but rather some degree of suffering in Hell. At any rate, these theories are not the official teaching of the Catholic Church, but are only opinions that the Church does not condemn, permitting them to be held by its members, just as is the theory of possible salvation for infants dying without baptism.

More from the madhouse of Christian theology, department of Augustinian studies. From the site

https://calvinistinternational.com/2017/07/07/salvation-infants-4-augustinian-interlude/

denied an intermediary state for the unbaptized dead. Because of a disproportionate weight placed upon the administration of the sacrament, he is forced to the perverse conclusion that unbaptized children–even of believers–cannot be saved.

Augustine makes this clear in De peccatorum meritis et remissione et de baptismo parvulorum (On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins and on the Baptism of Infants), a work written in three books (originally two) against the Pelagians in 411-12.

Augustine takes Romans 5 and the Adam-Christ typology as a point of departure for his discussion of the guilt of the entire human race, as we have also seen Charles Hodge to do, but turns it ultimately to a very different use, as will become evident. Augustine writes:

Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. Romans 5:20 This addition to original sin men now made of their own wilfulness, not through Adam; but even this is done away and remedied by Christ, because where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin has reigned unto death Romans 5:21 — even that sin which men have not derived from Adam, but have added of their own will— even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life. Romans 5:21 There is, however, other righteousness apart from Christ, as there are other sins apart from Adam. Therefore, after saying, As sin has reigned unto death, he did not add in the same clause by one, or by Adam, because he had already spoken of that sin which was abounding when the law entered, and which, of course, was not original sin, but the sin of man’s own wilful commission. But after he has said: Even so might grace also reign through righteousness unto eternal life, he at once adds, through Jesus Christ our Lord; Romans 5:21 because, while by the generation of the flesh only that sin is contracted which is original; yet by the regeneration of the Spirit there is effected the remission not of original sin only, but also of the sins of man’s own voluntary and actual commission. (1.20)

For Augustine, then, infants, if they are to enter heaven, must be saved, because they are part of Adam’s race–which is to say, they are not innocent. But he is careful to describe the type of guilt that they have: that which comes by original, rather than actual, sin. There is a distinction between the two that must be kept clear; and the type of guilt to which infants are liable is the former rather than the latter.

For instance, Augustine says: “Now, inasmuch as infants are not held bound by any sins of their own actual life, it is the guilt of original sin which is healed in them by the grace of Him who saves them by the laver of regeneration” (1.24). Again: “If, however, the infant departs from the present life after he has received baptism, the guilt in which he was involved by original sin being done away, he shall be made perfect in that light of truth, which, remaining unchangeable for evermore, illumines the justified in the presence of their Creator” (1.25).

These two brief quotations already map for us the direction in which we are headed. Infants are liable to condemnation, and baptism is the only way out of it. Augustine tries to soften the blow a bit by asserting that their condemnation will be “mildest,” but does not allow any other possibility for them:

It may therefore be correctly affirmed, that such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all. That person, therefore, greatly deceives both himself and others, who teaches that they will not be involved in condemnation; whereas the apostle says: Judgment from one offense to condemnation, Romans 5:16 and again a little after: By the offense of one upon all persons to condemnation. Romans 5:18 When, indeed, Adam sinned by not obeying God, then his body— although it was a natural and mortal body— lost the grace whereby it used in every part of it to be obedient to the soul. Then there arose in men affections common to the brutes which are productive of shame, and which made man ashamed of his own nakedness. Genesis 3:10 Then also, by a certain disease which was conceived in men from a suddenly injected and pestilential corruption, it was brought about that they lost that stability of life in which they were created, and, by reason of the mutations which they experienced in the stages of life, issued at last in death….As a consequence, then, of this disobedience of the flesh and this law of sin and death, whoever is born of the flesh has need of spiritual regeneration— not only that he may reach the kingdom of God, but also that he may be freed from the damnation of sin. Hence men are on the one hand born in the flesh liable to sin and death from the first Adam, and on the other hand are born again in baptism associated with the righteousness and eternal life of the second Adam; even as it is written in the book of Ecclesiasticus: Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die. Sirach 25:24 (1.21)

Again, note the differences in emphasis from Hodge: Hodge agrees with Augustine about the universality of guilt treated in Romans 5, but disagrees sharply about what the mercy of God treated in the same passage means for those who die without baptism. Another way to put this is to say that Hodge disagrees about the divine freedom in saving sinners. For him it is expansive, while for Augustine God’s saving will is tied exclusively to the ordinary means, issuing in a rigorously and almost formulaic effect of sacramental performance that leaves little room for the independent work of the Spirit. Thus:

Now if they who are baptized are, by virtue of the excellence and administration of so great a sacrament, nevertheless reckoned in the number of the faithful, although by their own heart and mouth they do not literally perform what appertains to the action of faith and confession; surely they who have lacked the sacrament must be classed among those who do not believe in the Son, and therefore, if they shall depart this life without this grace, they will have to encounter what is written concerning such— they shall not have life, but the wrath of God abides on them. Whence could this result to those who clearly have no sins of their own, if they are not held to be obnoxious to original sin? (1.28)

Again:

I have come, says Christ, a light into the world, that whosoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. John 12:46 Now what does this passage show us, but that every person is in darkness who does not believe in Him, and that it is by believing on Him that he escapes from this permanent state of darkness? What do we understand by the darkness but sin? And whatever else it may embrace in its meaning, at any rate he who believes not in Christ will abide in darkness,— which, of course, is a penal state, not, as the darkness of the night, necessary for the refreshment of living beings. [XXV.] So that infants, unless they pass into the number of believers through the sacrament which was divinely instituted for this purpose, will undoubtedly remain in this darkness. (1.35)

Augustine’s position here, as I noted above, leaves no room for an intermediate place in the afterlife–no room for limbo. He is consistent on this score:

Now none who shall partake of this life shall be made alive except in Christ, even as all die in Adam. 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as none whatever, of all those who belong to the generation according to the will of the flesh, die except in Adam, in whom all sinned; so, out of these, none at all who are regenerated by the will of the Spirit are endowed with life except in Christ, in whom all are justified. Because as through one all to condemnation, so through One all to justification. Romans 5:18 Nor is there any middle place for any man, and so a man can only be with the devil who is not with Christ. Accordingly, also the Lord Himself (wishing to remove from the hearts of wrong-believers that vague and indefinite middle condition, which some would provide for unbaptized infants—as if, by reason of their innocence, they were embraced in eternal life, but were not, because of their unbaptized state, with Christ in His kingdom) uttered that definitive sentence of His, which shuts their mouths: He that is not with me is against me. Matthew 12:30 Take then the case of any infant you please: If he is already in Christ, why is he baptized? If, however, as the Truth has it, he is baptized just that he may be with Christ, it certainly follows that he who is not baptized is not with Christ; and because he is not with Christ, he is against Christ; for He has pronounced His own sentence, which is so explicit that we ought not, and indeed cannot, impair it or change it. (1.55)

To all those Churches in Sheffield and beyond where this hideous doctrine is taught, to all those people in the Churches who believe in this hideous doctrine - the doctrine that those people who fail to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour are damned, whilst those people who accept him go on to 'a heavenly home,' in the words of Christ Church, Sheffield - can you give an answer or are you afraid to give an answer or are you too ashamed to give an answer? Do you believe that all the people I mention in this section have a common fate, eternal separation from God, damnation? Are they all sinners whose sins deserve the same penalty, eternal separation from God? This is followed by reflections on the alleged 'power of prayer' and the alleged importance of baptism. All these issues have relevance to 'safeguarding,' the protection of people from harm. The harm documented and discussed in this section is amongst the worst ever experienced.

The harm documented and discussed in page

https://www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-churchabuse.htm

including the harmful failures of the Church - I focus attention on the Church of England - is of a very different kind, but raises similar issues - the gross failings of Christian doctrine and belief, the doctrines of redemption, which include doctrines concerned with sin, doctrines of baptism and the extreme difficulties raised by belief in prayer as a way of supposedly influencing events and righting wrongs, real or imaginary.

This is Anne Frank, of course, who wrote 'The Diary of a Young Girl' whilst in hiding with her family in Amsterdam. Anne Frank was Jewish, and not a Jewish convert to Christianity. The family was betrayed. Anne and her sister Margot were transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they died.

Above, Elli, Valli and Ottla, sisters of the Czech writer Franz Kafka. From my page on Franz Kafka:

Kafka's sisters shown in the photograph above: Elli, Valli and Ottla. Kafka had a particularly close relationship with Ottla, who helped him in his difficulties. All these sisters were murdered during the Holocaust. Elli and Valli were sent with their families to the Łódź Ghetto, where they were murdered. Ottla was sent to the concentration camp at Theresienstadt. On 5 October 1943, Ottla accompanied a group of children as a voluntary assistant. When the transport reached Auschwitz concentration camp two days later, all were murdered in the gas chambers.

This is Fritz Klein, a doctor who worked at Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, sometimes taking part is selections for the gas chamber, before moving to Bergen-Belsen. Here, he's shown moving bodies after the camp had been liberated by British forces.

Ernst Biberstein, who studied theology from 1919 to 1921. He became a Protestant pastor in 1924. During the war, he was the commanding officer of Einsatzkommando 6, which executed between 2000 and 3000 people. The Einsatzkommandos were a sub-group of the Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads who exterminated Jews and others in the territories captured by the German forces as they advanced Eastwards. After the war, he was tried and sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted. He was released in 1958 and returned to the clergy. There seems every reason to believe that he was a committed Christian and qualified for salvation according to the orthodox Christian view. There's every reason to believe that virtually all the people massacred by his execution squads and the other Einsatzgruppen were not qualified for salvation according to the orthodox Christian view, every reason to believe that virtually all the people killed in the Nazi gas chambers were unqualified for salvation. There may well have been some Christian converts amongst them, but the victims were overwhelmingly Jews, without a belief in Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Some of the killings carried out by the Einsatzgruppen:

Above, Jews forced to dig their own graves before being executed, Zboriv, Ukraine, 5 July, 1941.

Above, a boy standing by the bodies of his family before being executed himself, Zboriv, Ukraine, 5 July, 1941.

Above, Adolf Eichmann, one of the main organisers of the Holocaust. He claimed,

'I will leap into my grave laughing because the feeling that I have five million human beings on my conscience is for me a source of extraordinary satisfaction.'

From 1944, he supervised and actively promoted the deportation of Hungarian Jews to the extermination camps.

Above, Hungarian Jews on arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

From the Wikipedia article:

Germany invaded Hungary on 19 March 1944. Eichmann arrived the same day, and was soon joined by top members of his staff and five or six hundred members of the SD, SS, and SiPo.^[ Hitler's appointment of a Hungarian government more amenable to the Nazis meant that the Hungarian Jews, who had remained essentially unharmed until that point, would now be deported to Auschwitz concentration camp to serve as forced labour or be gassed ... Round-ups began on 16 April, and from 14 May, four trains of 3,000 Jews per day left Hungary and travelled to the camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, arriving along a newly built spur line that terminated a few hundred metres aw the gas chambers.^] Between 10–25 per cent of the people on each train were chosen as forced labourers; the rest were killed within hours of arrival.^[Under international pressure, the Hungarian government halted deportations on 6 July 1944, by which time over 437,000 of Hungary's 725,000 Jews had died.

Above, Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews, exposing himself to acute danger. At the end of the war, after the arrival of Russian forces in Budapest, he was arrested and disappeared into the Gulag, the Russian system of camps. His fate is unknown.

His heroism and energy in saving life is the subject of a book by John Bierman ,'Righteous Gentile: The story of Raoul Wallenberg, missing hero of the Holocaust.' The theme of the book is summarized in these terms:

As the Russians advanced and Eichmann accelerated his slaughter of the Jews, Raoul Wallenberg, a young Swede, began a desperate race against time, conducting a personal crusade to rescue Hungarian Jews,' describing him as 'endlessly resourceful.'

As the citizen of a neutral country, Sweden, he could have spent the war in safety but chose instead to work in a place of acute dangers, of grim, hideous acts.

He had to contend not only with the German Nazis but with the Hungarian fascists of the 'Arrow Cross.'

'In the final two months of the siege of Budapest they were to murder between ten thousand and fifteen thousand Jews ... Some were hanged from trees and lamp-posts; most were taken to the cellars of the various party houses, where they were horribly tortured before being dragged down to the Danube and shot so that they were carried away by the river.

'The standard Arrow Cross method for such executions was to handcuff the Jews together in threes, strip them naked, line them up facing the river, then shoot the middle of the three in the back of the head. He would drag the other two with him when he fell forward into the river ...

'A particularly active 'Death Brigade' was commanded by a Minorite monk [Minorite: a branch of the Roman Catholic Franciscan order] named Father Andras Kun ... he was personally credited with at least five hundred murders. In one night alone, he and his men slaughtered two hundred Jews, invoking the name of the Saviour as they did so. At Father Kun's trial before a People's Court after the liberation, a witness described how, in conductiong a mass execution of staff and patients at a Jewish hospital in Buda, Kun had lined up his victims in front of a mass grave and given the firing-squad the order "In the holy name of Jesus Christ, fire!" '

Above, Father Andras Kun. He was executed in 1945 after the war had ended.

Any Christian with orthodox beliefs who happens to read this: Do you believe that Raoul Wallenberg (who, so far as I know, had no Christian faith) was consigned to eternal separation from the God you believe in, sharing the same fate as Adolf Eichmann and the Einsatzgruppen members who carried out mass executions and the Nazis who worked in the extermination camp and concentration camps? Do you believe that Ernst Biberstein had a very different destiny, eternal union with the God you believe in, awarded to him because, on the available evidence, he seems to have had a faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour? What do you make of the case of Father Andras Kun? Do you believe that the atrocities he carried out have no relevance to his destiny - after all, God can supposedly forgive any sin. Do you believe that the Jewish and other victims of the Nazis and the Arrow Cross share the same destiny as the Nazis and Arrow Cross members who tortured and executed them? If you do, the implications are serious - horrific. This is too impartant an issue for you to ignore it, to stay silent.

So, Christian believers in an eternal destiny decided by belief or non-belief in Jesus, do you believe that Anne Frank and the Jews who died in the camps, including those shown in the image of Bergen-Belsen after liberation (apart from the tiny minority of Jewish converts to Christianity) shared exactly the same fate as Fritz Klein? Do you believe that members of the British forces who liberated Bergen-Belsen shared the same fate, or, if still alive, will share the same fate, unless they belong to the minority of believers?

Are you willing to make public your views? If not, why not? Can you not pray for the strength to do it, if you believe in the power of prayer? Will the Holy Spirit come to your aid? Unlike me, you believe in the Holy Spirit, don't you?

Safer neighbourhoods and a safer world: when neighbourhoods and the world were threatened with incomparably greater dangers.

Above, devastation in Sheffield city centre after the blitz, which lasted from 12 - 15 December, 1940. On 12 December, the West end of Sheffield cathedral was destroyed by bombing and almost all of St Mark's Church, Sheffield was destroyed. Only the spire and a porch survived. Over 660 people were killed.

So many Church people have next to no interest in matters to do with the security of the country and defence of the country. So many Church people rely on prayer. Do they imagine that 'God' knows nothing of impending threats, such as the threat of German bombing and needs to be informed? Do they imagine that God is unwilling to do anything about the threat and needs a request to intervene? Do they realize that during the Second World War, as in the First World War, there were German Christians praying to the Christian God for victory over the allied forces, or praying that God would protect them? The defeat of Nazism wasn't brought about by praying in a pew or at home but by massive efforts, costly in lives, not by prayer or pacifism.

Profiles, with images: Sheffield churches members of 'Arise 2021,' and people at the Churches, with material on St Mark's Church, Sheffield and St Columba's Church, Sheffield

What's new: St Columba's Church, Crosspool, Sheffield and an event at the Church which has some disturbing implications, I argue. The other profiles, with an introduction, are after this new section.

Above, posters displayed at the entrance to St Columba's Church, Crosspool. The poster at the top publicizes a 'Women's Empowerment Day' due to take place at the Church on 11 June, 2022. In this section, I provide evidence for my view that the event has some disturbing implications. The speakers at the event, Nancy Goudie and Joanne Gilchrist have views which would probably come as a surprise - or a shock - to many of the owners of businesses which have displayed a poster. Below, there are some quotations from Nancy Goudie's writing - claims for miraculous cures for medical conditions at some of her meetings, 'thousands saved and healed through the love and power of God,' and this financial advice: 'how to live by faith and depend on God for all their finances both individually and corporately.' This medical advice is surely reckless - potentially harmful - to any woman (or man). This financial advice is surely reckless - potentially harmful - to any woman (or man.)

I don't blame owners of businesses in the least for displaying a poster. Running a business is intensely demanding and it would be completely unrealistic to expect them to find out about the background to an event before deciding to display a poster. The posters have been displayed by St Columba's 'sister Church,' Stephen Hill Methodist Church and by businesses in the locality and further afield, on the Facebook page of St Columba's and on these Website pages of Sheffield Diocese.

https://www.sheffield.anglican.org/events

which claims 'The day features two amazing speakers along side worship, prayer, songs and music.'

and this

https://www.stpeterscollege.org.uk/events

'Join us for our Women's Empowerment Day. We have a powerful day packed full of worship, prayer and two fantastic key note speakers.'

Above, St Columba's Church, Crosspool

Above, Stephen Hill Methodist Church. The Church is a very short distance to St Columba's and the two Churches are closely connected in other ways.

Like St Mark's Church, Sheffield, St Columba's Church could claim to be a liberal church, a church which doesn't attract worshippers with an overwhelming need to save unbelievers from damnation. In the material on St Mark's, I've made clear that I think there are many, many things wrong with St Mark's Church, and I give the evidence. For me, St Columba's Church gives a far more favourable impression, but delving deeper uncovers many flaws. I don't provide evidence here - for the time being. I'll simply state that to me, this is yet another church which is evasive in so many ways, a church which ignores realities in so many ways.

Does St Columba's Church also endorse views which are disturbing, hideous or ridiculous? According to the page

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-empowerment-day-tickets-296679134277

St Columba's Church is the Organizer of Women's Empowerment Day.

St Columba's Church has publicized the event on its Facebook page. The Women's Empowerment Day is due to take place on 11 June 2022, starting at 9.30am, with guest speakers Nancy Goudie and Joanne Gilchrist. The cost is £20. According to the publicity, 'Bursary available if cost is prohibitive.' The person to contact for financial aid is one of the team members at St Columba's, not named here.

https://www.facebook.com/StColumbasCrosspool/
The 'empowerment' isn't all it seems. It comes with complications and very great difficulties.

Nancy Goudie

From Nancy Goudie's Blog page, Spiritual Health Weekend 2022:

'There were so many who gave their lives to the Lord we had to stop counting – including one who was led to the Lord on the pavement on the way home! Woohoo! So good. All these people are followed up by the leaders who brought them.

'We also experienced so much physical healing. One lady who could not raise her hands above her head, or uncurl her fingers not only did both of those things but also stood from a wheelchair and walked across the room and stood for 15 minutes. God enabled her to do all these things and when I announced it from the platform, she raised her hands to show the rest of the audience what God had done. Another lady who had Rheumatoid Arthritis and couldn’t move her stiff and bent fingers was healed. After prayer it was as though she could play the piano – she was moving them all in the air to show everyone what God had done.'

The claims of physical healing by God's power raise obvious questions, very disturbing questions.

More extracts.

http://nancygoudie.com/spiritual-health-weekends/

'Bring a party of 10 or more and the party leader will be invited to a special champagne reception with Nancy!

http://nancygoudie.com/spiritual-health-weekends/ngshw-spain/

5th – 8th May 2023

I want to invite you to a very special, unique, exclusive five star resort on the coast of Southern Spain. This amazing five star resort has its own beach, four swimming pools (one indoor and three outdoor pools), a restaurant (with both indoor seating and outdoor seating), a snack bar, a beauty spa, a sauna, a steam room and plunge pools and a well-equipped fitness centre. The beautiful five star accommodation is in spacious, luxury apartments with private balconies and many have garden views and partial sea views. In each apartment you have either three or two bedrooms, with two bathrooms (bath and shower), a lounge, dining room and a fully fitted kitchen with fridge/freezer, oven, hob, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. The accommodation is to the highest standard. Each apartment has a luxurious master bedroom with a huge bath and a separate double shower. In some of the three bedroom apartments the second bedroom has a private balcony. I know you are going to love this place.

This will be a Spiritual Health Weekend like no other. It will be a place to rest, relax and enjoy the sun and the wonderful surroundings ... We will have sessions with intimate worship and inspiring teaching. You will have individual prayer and prophecy slots with Nancy and her team. You will receive individual words from God and feel completely restored, blessed and encouraged inside and out. You will enjoy a free pamper treatment from one of my team(Covid-19 rules permitting).

She promotes her spiritual health weekends on YouTube. This is one of them:

Nancy Goudie's Spiritual Health Weekend 2022 Aug 23, 2021

Complete with claims and advice:

Nancy's creative and life-changing teaching!

Special individual words from God

5 star entertainment

Book your ticket now

Although she claims that God showers her with blessings, so far, he hasn't showered her YouTube videos with blessings, at least blessings measure by views, comments and likes. At the moment, the count for this video stands at

212 views 0 comments 1 like

According to

https://www.ngm.org.uk/resources/speakers/nancy-goudie/

Nancy Goudie is Head of the 'creative and innovative charity ngm.'

throughout the years, ngm have trained thousands of young people in the arts and discipleship and given them a vision of reaching their full potential in God. They taught everyone who joined ngm how to live by faith and depend on God for all their finances both individually and corporately.

... under the umbrella of ngm ... Throughout the 80’s they saw thousands saved and healed through the love and power of God.

I think that anyone in debt, anyone in business facing bankruptcy would be disastrously misguided to rely upon God for their financial security. Anyone with a medical condition would be disastrously misguided to reply upon the 'power of God' for healing instead of modern medicine.

I think that this is an author not in the least likely to have interesting insights on power and the issue of women and power.

There are Christians who have achieved a degree of notoriety by claiming that 'The Lord' has blessed them in abundance - not just 'spiritual' blessings but with expensive cars, vast, luxurious mansions or 'material' blessings. I don't claim that Nancy Goudie is in this category but it was unwise of her to make this blatant boast.

Deep encounters with God in a 4 or 5 star luxury hotel! I've experience of a 4 star hotel, but never as a guest. I never experienced fun, relaxation or any 'deep encounters with God there.'

Supplementary: My employment history is varied. My first job was as a builder's labourer. My second job was as a nursing assistant, mainly on the geriatric ward of a grim psychiatric hospital. My third job was as a night porter, working 11 hours a night, 55 days a week, ministering to a very different kind of clientele, business men and women, wealthy people. For most of my working career, I was a science teacher and for most of that time, only a part-time teacher. I worked for a long time at Tapton school in Crosspool. I got out of teaching after some experiences at the school, documented and discussed on the page

www.linkagenet.com/education/capability.htm

My criticisms aren't criticisms of Tapton school - a far better school than the one I attended - but criticisms of one man, who happened to be a Christian - whether or not he's still a Christian I've no idea - and some people who co-operated to a greater or lesser extent in his scheming - it was, I think, an object lesson in the misuse of power, although obviously there have been, still are and will continue to be, incomparably worse examples.

Since then, I've been very active, in gardening, manual work, woodworking, metalworking, design, construction and all the other fields recorded on this site.

From Nancy Goudie's blog

http://nancygoudie.com/blog/

'Helpful instructions/suggestions:'

'Every time you wash your hands, which should be often – then pray a ‘Heal Our Nation’ prayer – sing or speak the lyrics of ‘Heal our Nation’ and ask God to pour out his Spirit on this land. ‘Heal our Nation, Heal our Nation, Heal our Nation, pour out your Spirit on this land.’ Sing or speak that twice. And finish with the first line from the verse ‘Lord we long for you to move in power’ – and ask God to move in the UK but also move in our world.'

This advice is surely futile, for reasons which have often been made clear. According to orthodox Christian belief, God is omnipotent and can achieve anything he wants to achieve and is omniscient, and needs no reminders in the prayers of Christians. To ask God 'to move in the UK but also in our world' is asking this God to intervene but according to orthodox Christian belief, God already knows everything about every possible situation.

The other guest speaker is Joanne Gilchrist. Like Nancy Goudie, she has conservative evangelical Christian beliefs. She's a team member at the Oakes Holiday Centre, Sheffield.

https://www.oakes.org.uk/team/faith/

a page of the Oakes Holiday Centre has a 'Statement of Belief' including beliefs concerning heaven and hell. An extract:

Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in Him and not by their own efforts.
The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit lives in all those He has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christ-like in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.
The one holy universal Church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.
The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.

These beliefs have these consequences, amongst many, many others: all women, whether 'empowered' or not, are doomed to spend eternity in hell, unless they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal lord and saviour. So, women in politics (and men in politics), social reformers, campaigners against cruelty and oppression, Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust, women who saved Jews from Nazi oppression, all the women (and men) who are associated with Crosspool Forum, all the women (and men) who live or work in Crosspool, are doomed to spend eternity in hell - unless they have a belief in Jesus Christ as personal lord and saviour.

I'd claim that these beliefs are cruel, grotesque, hideous. People in Crosspool and beyond, people thinking of spending £20 to attend the event, or thinking of applying for financial support from St Columba's to attend the event, would benefit by having a clear-sighted insight into the hidden agenda of this seemingly innocuous event due to take place at St Columba's Church.

It's likely that this event will have very different emphases than the usual secular women's empowerment events, unless the organizers show a great deal of restraint and don't mention such matters as the Gospel. If they do emphasize such matters as the Gospel, it may be that people who attend are very surprised by the content. They may feel they have wasted their money, or that St Columba's has wasted the bursary money.

This section will be revised and extended. As with all the material on this site, anyone who considers that any material is unfair or has any factual errors or who would like to comment on any aspect is welcome to contact me by email. My policy on emails is given on the Home Page of the site - I never quote emails sent to me unless with the permission of the sender.

Other profiles

Not all the churches taking part in 'Arise 2021) are included in the list of churches below. 'People at the Churches' include in some cases Safeguarding Officers as well as clergy. The role and competence and beliefs of Parish clergy and

Safeguarding Officers are amongst the issues discussed in my FEFE page

Abuse, safeguarding, scripture and faith:The Church of England and its failures

Profiles, mainly of people but also of churches, have been inserted into the list. I give my reasons for including profiles and my policy on profiles in the section 'The profiles of the site' on the page About this site.

List of profiles of Churches / people in appearance-order. Most of the churches participate in the organization 'Arise!' St Columba's, Crosspool, Sheffield is placed first as the most recent material on the page.

St Columba's Church, Sheffield (not participating in 'Arise 2021)

(All Saints, Aston (Captain Neil Thomson CA)
All Saints, Ecclesall (Canon Mark Brown)
Bushfire Ministries
Christ Church, Endcliffe
Christ Church, Fulwood (Jane Patterson)
City Church (Dan Maton)
Diocese (Lindsey-Jane Buxton)
Diocese (Alex Shilkoff)
Diocese (Pete Wilcox (Bishop of Sheffield)
Diocese: Visitation
Hope City Church
Rock Christian Centre (Jon Watts)
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
St John's Church, Chapeltown
St Timothy's Church (Sam Wakeling)
STC (Alan Ward)
STC (Helen Ward)
STC (Ruth Aidley)
STC (Liam Brennan)
STC (Tom Finnemore)

St Marks Church, Sheffield (not participating in 'Arise 2021')

After the list of churches, I comment on Lighting up the city and on quotations from some supporters of Arise. The supporters discussed are Pete Wilcox, Anglican Bishop of Sheffield, Viki Seithel of Fusion Movement and Ralph Heskett, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hallam. Amongst other things I discuss 'prayer-walking' and mass leafletting in Sheffield.

All Saints Church, Aston

Authorized Lay Minister: Captain Neil Thomson CA

The Website of the Church

https://www.allsaintsaston.com/

gives this information:

'Neil has been a Church Army Evangelist since 1985 and currently works as Marketing Manager and Head of Communications for the Church Army based at their national office in Sheffield.'

'Paramilitary organization:' a semi-militarized force whose organizational structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military but not part of a country's armed forces.

The Church Army could be called a 'pseudo-paramilitary-organization.' The fact that the Church army actually gives military-sounding ranks - such as 'Captain' - to many of its employees, such as this Marketing Manager and Head of Communications, is ludicrous. The fact that these people can add 'CA' to their name - eg Captain Neil Thomson CA - is ludicrous.

In the first column of this page, I document the ludicrous and timid antics of Tim Ling CA and his banning and blocking of emails. A fairly recent development in this story, which doesn't enhance the reputation of the Church Army in the least: South Yorkshire Police contacted me after a complaint from Lu Skerratt-Love, an employee in the Research Unit whose Head is Tim Ling. Lu Skerratt-Love

Neil Thomson's twitter page

https://mobile.twitter.com/neilthomson

gives a sample of his contributions to the medium over the years - or perhaps the sum total of his contributions over the years. Whatever the case, this is a perfunctory page. A sample of his Twitter writing:

7 June 2019 I've had great wines through these guys.

He then quotes this:

Naked Wines UK 1 April 2019
Before you reach for that wine glass, you might want to read this.

I wouldn't know what the 'this' is.

A page of the All Saints Church Aston Website

https://www.allsaintsaston.com/Groups/309411/
Staff_and_Leadership.aspx

includes this, on the Church Safeguarding Officer, who 'takes responsibility for our Safeguarding matters, she arranges DBS checks on recruitment and is the person to deal with any safeguarding matter.' I discuss this advice in my page on abuse and safeguarding in the Church of England, without giving her name and I don't give her name here. I discuss the advice in completely general terms, without reference to All Saints Church. As general advice, in any Church of England Church, it seems to me to be very flawed, inadvisable at the least and in some situations I give reasons for thinking it would be disastrously flawed. I don't claim that it would necessarily be very flawed in the setting of All Saints Church, still less disastrously flawed.

All Saints, Ecclesall

The 'Revd Canon' Mark Brown is the Oversight Minister and Priest in Charge at All Saints Church, Ecclesall, Sheffield. According to the Website of the Church

https://www.allsaintsecclesall.org.uk/notices

'He was made a founder member of the College of Evangelists in 1999 and continues this prime calling to be sharing the gospel locally and more widely in the newly constituted Archbishop's College of Evangelists.

He makes this claim on the Website, 'I know of no better way for Churches and Christians to be healthy and happy than by depending on and learning from God's word ...'

Does he include these texts (quoted in the column to the right) in God's word, or does he believe that not everything in the Bible is the Word of God? How does he explain - or explain away - the hideous humanity of this, from Psalm 137

Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us -
who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.

and this (Exodus 22:18)
Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft.
Does he believe that God actually gave this command?

At various places in my pages on Christian belief, I argue that 'Declaration of Belief' would have advantages - honest and transparent declarations of belief which would enable members of the community, non-Christians and Christians, to know where what a Christan believes, in crucial areas such as doctrines of atonement and redemption. This is from my general page on Christian religion, a Declaration of Belief - my term - from Church Society, a Conservative Evangelical group in the Church of England. Would a Declaration of Belief on these doctrinal matters which came from the College of Evangelists make the same claims, or would there be significant differences. Would Canon Mark Brown's Declaration of Belief include the same claims as the claims made by Church Society? I'd be very surprised if he made public his view of things. This is Church Society's view of things, followed by some comments:

'The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of England:

Article 6: Of the sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation.

Article 1: Faith in the Holy Trinity

Article 9: Of Original or Birth-sin

Article 2: The Word, or Son of God, who became truly man

Article 4: The resurrection of Christ

Article 11: Of the Justification of Man

'Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under his condemnation ...' Good works are no defence. Article XII 'Of Good Works' states

Good Works ... cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgement.'

Whether the good works include bringing safe drinking water to people ravaged by water-borne diseases such as cholera by means of massive engineering works, or rescuing Jews from the Nazis, or opposing the Nazis by heroic action in battle, or everyday goodness and self-sacrifice, if there's no belief in Jesus Christ, the good works are ignored, in this loathsome scheme, and there's no salvation.

A further example of good works, the difficult work of nurses, appreciated so much during the Covid epidemic, as always. Does Church Society really believe that nurses are damned if they fail to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour (the vast majority of nurses)?

What does the Safeguarding Officer of All Saints Church Ecclesall believe? The same question could be asked of other Safeguarding Officers in the Church of England - of all Safeguarding Officers. It make a great difference if a Safeguarding Officer believes that an abuser, such as Bishop Peter Ball and the other Christian believers whose abuse is documented in my page

Abuse, safeguarding, scripture and faith: The Church of England and its failures

are granted salvation but no so their victims, if the victims never have a belief in Christ as Lord and Saviour. I acknowledge, of course, that a Safeguarding Officer may act efficiently and compassionately in the interests of a victim of abuse or in the interests of an alleged abuser in a case where the allegations turn out to be unfounded, even though the personal views of a particular Safeguarding Officer are in accordance with the bleak view of Church Society.

All Saints Church is a member Church of Arise!

www.arisesheffield.org

The Arise! Website includes this:

Prayer

Over 1,000 people rose up to cover Sheffield in prayer.

Followers of Jesus across Sheffield used the Arise prayer-walking app to pray for streets near their home, school, or workplace during their daily walk.

From 1-31 March 2021, the Arise community prayer-walked nearly 2000km of Sheffield’s streets, lighting up the city with God’s love.

Does Mark Brown, do other members of staff and members of the congregation at All Saints Church Ecclesall really believe that prayer walking will have any impact on specific problems facing the city and its people, or any problems facing the city and its people? Industrial decline, fly-tipping, the problems posed by the Covid epidemic, the problem of violent crime - or, for that matter, the problems facing the Church of England, such as declining attendance, instances of abuse in the Church of England - sporadic and isolated but very serious? If these and other problems can be solved by prayer, what is the evidence? Can poor weather be prevented by prayer, can earthquakes be prevented by prayer.

Antioch Community Church
Bamford Methodist
Bents Green Church
Bents Green Methodist
Bethel Sheffield
Bride of Christ

Bushfire Ministries

They believe in the 'Last Days' at Bushfire Ministries - and almost certainly at a large number of the Churches in this list. They believe in Hell at Bushfire Ministries, and at all or most of the Churches which have signed up to 'Arise!' (very mistakenly.) The doctrine can be found in the New Testament. In Matthew 25:46 Jesus refers to 'eternal punishment,' in New Testament Greek

From the Bushfire Ministries Website

https://bushfireministries.co.uk

https://bushfireministries.co.uk/about-us

'Founded by leaders Andy & Heidi Tiplady in 2005, Bushfire has the DNA of revival running through its veins. With a church base in the north of Sheffield, there is a contingency of believers in Sheffield and across the world, who believe that there will be a mighty end time harvest of souls. We also believe the words of Jesus said in Matthew 24 that there will be an increase of difficulties both in society, in nations, and in the physical earth.'

Who we are

Andy and Heidi dedicate themselves to prayer and to the equipping of a body of people to love on, teach and nurture the coming souls, and to be the answer to many, as times become difficult. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 60 spoke of a coming time when God will arise in and shine both on and through a people, and that many will come to the true Light. We believe Jesus when He said that HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Equally, He said to His disciples and to us as believers, that 'YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD'. This light will truly shine in the darkest of times. Get ready, join us on this journey!

PROTECTION AND OBEDIENCE

HEIDI TIPLADY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2020

We know from Scripture that this present shaking is just a pre-tremor, a prelude to what is coming. Contrary to things becoming easier, we know that darkness will increase and deep darkness over the people... but we also know that the fully matured sons of God will come forth, and how blessed that day will be! The battle dear friend, is for our attention, the enemy is desperate for it as time is short.

...

God is not flustered, He is not confused or worried. When we abide in Him then we will actually experience the still waters. If we would only keep our eyes on Jesus Christ, and choose to be still, then we would experience His Presence and peace! His Word is our daily Truth, everything else are just lethal distractions.

Amidst the many voices competing for your attention today, make sure you have ears for the Master's Voice. Alone.

With love and blessings, Heidi Tiplady

September 2020

'His Word is our daily Truth,' she claims. Below, passages from the Book of Deuteronomy are cited. I'll cite another passage from Deuteronomy, 21: 18-21, in the English Standard Version:

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, ¹⁹then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, ²⁰and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ ²¹Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Can the people at Bushfire Ministries comment on that, defend it? Will they evade its implications?

From the section on their Website

What we believe

...

We believe that it is the responsibility for every Christian to spread the Gospel to all persons by the preaching of the Word, praying for the lost and living our lives according to the Bible and sacrificial giving of all believers for the use of extending His kingdom and showing the love of the Father at all times. Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 3: 9 – 10, 1 Corinthians 9: 7-23, Ephesians 4:11-13.

We believe in the divine healing of the body, mind and spirit as part of the great gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ made available through the Holy Spirit whether by the laying on of hands, the anointing of oil, faith alone, prayer and by an act of grace by the living God of Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17-18, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 1 Corinthians 2:24, James 5:13-16.

We believe in the laying on of hands to allow the work of the Holy Spirit to be administered for:
     • The healing of the sick
     • The baptism of the Holy Spirit
     • The receiving of spiritual gifts
     • The ordination of ministries
     • The sending out of ministries
     • The dedication of children Acts 6:5-6, Acts 9:17, Acts 8:17, Act 13:3, 1 Timothy 4:13, 2 Timothy 1:6, Numbers 8:10

We believe in the visible, tangible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to this earth to firstly claim His Bride, the Church, and then to judge the world.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelations 1:7, Acts 1:11, Titus 2:12-14, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

We believe that every Christian is called to live a life free from sinful practices and to promote living their lives in right standing before God and according to His laws, commandments and decrees. Deuteronomy 5:6-21, Deuteronomy 11:1, Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15-17, 2 Corinthians 6:13-18, Romans 13:1-10, James 4:4, Timothy 2:14-26.

Calvary Deliverance Ministries
Cemetery Road Baptist Church
Christ Abiding Ministries
Christ Church Central
Christ Church Darnall
Christ Church Dore

Christ Church, Endcliffe

Above, St Augustine's Church, the building used by Christ Church

Some simple factual information, followed by a few factual complexities - which should disturb the naive and simple-minded faith of naive and simple-minded folk at Christ Church. If their naive and simple-minded faith isn't disturbed in the least, then I look forward to receiving from them some 'Biblical proofs' - it would be too much to expect a display of comprehensive argument and evidence but of course this won't be happening. If it does, I'll be astounded - but absolutely willing to address the answers.

Locality: a solidly middle class area of Sheffield. This isn't in the least an inner city Church in a working class part of the city. Christ Church uses the same building as St Augustine's Church (not a member of Arise!)

Some people at the Church

Ed Pennington: Minister
Rob Bridgewater: Associate Minister
James Bird: Safeguarding Officer
Sophie Bryant: Safeguarding Officer

From the Church's Website page 'Investigating Christianity'

https://endcliffechurch.co.uk/what-we-do/investigating-christianity

To put it simply ... Christianity is all about Jesus. He was a real person and we believe that by his life, death and resurrection he has shown that he is our Saviour and Lord. To those who follow him, he offers knowledge of God, restored friendship with him, the Holy Spirit within us, a church family around us, and a heavenly home he is leading us to.

We’re always open to questions.

and this: 'We think the message of Jesus is great news for everyone and want to help people get to know him better.'

Here goes - some questions. Before answering them - if you do try to answer them - it would be as well to consult the material on this page and my other pages which put the case against Christian belief:

www.linkagenet.com/themes/christian-religion.htm

and, on safeguarding issues

www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-churchabuse.htm

(This page also has material on safeguarding in the wider sense, protection from harm other than the harm caused when vulnerable people are abused.)

And, also for discussion of the illusions of some academic theologians and chaplains

www.linkagenet.com/themes/cambridge-university.htm

So, some questions. The questions are numbered for your convenience. If you decide to answer them, or some of them, all you have to do is give the number of the question and answer it. I'm confident that you'll choose to answer none of them- let's make that NONE of them. I'd like to ask many, many more questions than the ones in this list, but I have to be realistic. As I mention realism, I have to say that I consider your faith and beliefs so far removed from reality that they amount to naive delusion - but I don't leave it at that. I'm willing to give argument and evidence in detail, although not in this section but in the pages cited above.

1. 'Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft (Exodus 22:18). Do you believe that God did give this command ? The Bible claims that he did.

2. You make use of St Augustine's Church building. St Augustine - and many of the early fathers of the Church - taught that unbaptized babies go to hell. Do you have any comment?

3. Do you have any views on an 'age of responsibility?' An age above which a child is supposedly responsible for his or her sins and will spend eternity in separation from God? Are babies, are children aged 4 or 8 or 12 responsible for their 'sins?'

4. What are your beliefs concerning one specific group of people, the dedicated doctors, nurses, scientists and others who have cared for Covid victims? Is it only the tiny minority with a personal belief in Christ who go to heaven, whilst all the others go to hell?

5. There can't be any doubt that some people guilty of atrocious acts of abuse were genuinely followers of Jesus. In my pages, I give information about some of them, with comment. Have you reason for believing that these abusers were led or will be led to a 'heavenly home?' What of their victims. Is it only the victims who accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour who will be led to a 'heavenly home?'

6. I can find no mention on your site of the alternative to a 'heavenly home.' The alternative is, of course, hell, perpetual separation from God. Do you believe that the victims of these abusers have been led to a place of eternal separation from God or will be led there (the ones not accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour)?

7. People 'not accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour' are of many different kinds. Examples, people who haven't accepted Christ because they have personal experience of Christian abusers or hypocrites, or have heard about Christian abuser, or Christian hypocrites - Christian abusers and hypocrites whose abuse or hypocrisy has been forgiven by God after they turned to Christ. The vast numbers of people who live or lived in societies where knowledge of Christianity is virtually impossible. The people living in Christian societies whose lives have been, or are, so difficult that expecting them to think about Christianity and its implications would be asking the impossible, such as children doing back-breaking work deep underground, in constant danger from rock falls, poisonous gas and flooding. Any comments? Any answers?

8. The profile of STC (the successor to St Thomas Church, Sheffield) includes graphic information about some Nazi killers.I write,

Ernst Biberstein studied theology from 1919 to 1921. He became a Protestant pastor in 1924. During the war, he was the commanding officer of Einsatzkommando 6, which executed between 2000 and 3000 people. After the war, he was tried and sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted. He was released in 1958 and returned to the clergy.

The Einsatzkommandos were a sub-group of the Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads who exterminated Jews and others in the territories captured by the German forces as they advanced Eastwards ...

There seems good reason to assume that Erst Biberstein was a genuine follower of Jesus. Was he granted a 'heavenly home?'

9. In the profile of STC I write ... Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews, exposing himself to acute danger ...

His heroism and energy in saving life is the subject of a book by John Bierman ,'Righteous Gentile: The story of Raoul Wallenberg, missing hero of the Holocaust.' The theme of the book is summarized in these terms:

As the citizen of a neutral country, Sweden, he could have spent the war in safety but chose instead to work in a place of acute dangers, of grim, hideous acts.

I know of no evidence that Raoul Wallenberg had a belief in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Do you believe that Raoul Wallenberg has been 'sentenced' to an eternity of separation from God?

10. Christ Church Endcliffe is a member of 'Arise!' which includes Roman Catholic as well as Protestant Churches. The Roman Catholic view of salvation, 'justification by works,' is very different from the Protestant view 'justification by works' - this is one of the issues which led to the 'divorce' within Christendom at the time of the Reformation. Another issue - bread and wine as symbolic of Christ's body and blood or bread and wine as actually becoming Christ's body and blood, in the act of transubstantiation. Have you any comments on these and other confusions within Christianity, just one of the realities which, for me, make your simplicities impossible to accept, in fact, ludicrous?

Christ Church Fulwood

Jane Patterson

Jane Patterson is a very influential person in the Church of England: she could even be described as a 'Very Important Person.' I give the evidence after giving a very brief account of some of her beliefs.

Above, Fra Angelico's depiction of Hell

Contemporary believers generally - not always - dispense with the lurid details and concentrate on 'the essentials,' eternal torment or eternal separation from God.

From the page

https://www.sheffield.anglican.org/UserFiles/
File/Synod/General/Elections_2021/-Complete-Set-Lay.pdf

2021 ELECTION FOR 4 LAY PEOPLE TO REPRESENT THE DIOCESE IN THE GENERAL SYNOD HOUSE OF LAITY

the section

'What do I believe?'

Jane Patterson writes,

'I believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired and written Word of God, that its pages tell us about who God is, His perfect plan for the world He created, His offer of forgiveness and a restored eternal relationship for everyone who believes in the death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus and who confesses Him as Saviour and Lord. I believe that the Bible shows us how we should live and that ‘the great commission’, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, remains the church’s mission statement 2000 years later.'

Not many human activities, not a vast number of human activities, but all human activities are reduced in this ultra-systematic system of belief to a simple division.

These are 'breaker boys,' child labourers in a Pennsylvania mine, who carried out backbreaking word underground, at risk of crushing from rock falls, drowning in the underground waters, being burned alive in underground fires, to supply people with some of the necessities and comforts of life. I doubt if many - or any - of them had the necessary belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour to spend eternity in fellowship with God. After lives of unrelenting hardship or massive achievement, everyone, the poor, the destitute, the victims of war, the carers, the scientists and engineers, climbers and mountaineers, miners, builders, plumbers, accountants, farmers, factory workers and philanthropists - people in every single human activity - are destined to spend eternity in hell or whatever polite term is the current synonym for hell?

Above, this is Alex Honnold, an extraordinary climber, someone who climbs massive rock faces without the protection of a rope. If he falls, he dies. Here, he's shown climbing in Yosemite, California, on a face called 'Heaven.' He's a committed atheist, so not eligible for heaven if he does fall. Christians can take self-satisfied pleasure from this possibility if they want. Of course, they may have achievements of their own, perhaps very substantial achievements, or perhaps not.

I've drawn Jane Patterson's attention to the material here and invited her to respond if she thinks the comment here is unfair or misrepresents her beliefs.

Jane Patterson believes that this, from Psalm 137, is divinely inspired and the 'Word of God,'

Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us -
who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.

Jane Patterson believes that this too is divinely inspired and the 'Word of God.' Dr Patterson believes that this was an order from God:

Exodus 22:18

Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft

Jane Patterson believes in an 'offer of forgiveness and a restored eternal relationship for everyone who believes in the death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus and who confesses Him as Saviour and Lord.'

Jane Patterson was elected to the House of Laity. She has a public role now and can be expected to deal with scrutiny. I hope she will put in the public domain her email address, so that anyone who wants to contact her about matters to do with theology or other aspects of Christian life an practice are able to make use of this convenient method of communication.

Jane Patterson as C of E VIP

From the Document

APPEAL BY MRS APRIL ALEXANDER IN RESPECT OF THE ELECTION OF MISS JANE PATTERSON AS A MEMBER OF THE CROWN NOMINATIONS COMMISSION BY THE HOUSE OF LAITY OF THE GENERAL SYNOD

Constitution of the Appeal Panel: Mrs Julie Dziegiel [Oxford] Mr Martin Kingston QC [Gloucester] Canon Geoffrey Tattersall QC [Manchester] [Chair]

DECISION delivered on 6 April 2018 [Bold print: emphasis is mine]

'Mrs Alexander examples this conflict by citing the fact that in December 2017 Miss Patterson gave one of the readings at the ordination service at which Pete Jackson, one of the leaders of CCW, who had been ordained to the diaconate by two Kenyan bishops in 2013, was ordained a priest in East London by a `missionary bishop` affiliated with the Anglican Communion in North America and the Anglican Network in Canada [both affiliated with the Anglican Mission in England] when in the preceding month she had participated in the selection of nominations for the Bishop of London, one of the five most senior bishops of the Church of England who has, as a matter of right, a seat in the House of Lords. 37. In support of her submission Mrs Alexander relies on the following matters: 37.1. The ordination of Pete Jackson as deacon and priest and his exercise of his orders in the Diocese of Sheffield was in contravention of the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967 and Miss Patterson “authorised” them in that as a trustee of CCC and CCW she had “overseen what appear to be direct violations of this Measure and of the canon law that underlies it” and that such activities “are in direct conflict with the principles of governance of the Church of England”; 37.2. Having regard to the factual matrix Miss Patterson is an agent who acts on behalf of the Prime Minister who recommends the person who will be appointed by the Queen to the office of bishop; 37.3. Equity imposes special duties of loyalty, known as fiduciary duties, to guard against any temptation to betray the trust reposed in the agent; 37.4. Miss Patterson, as a member of the CNC, is in a position where her knowledge of confidential discussions as to the needs of the diocese, the performance of the former diocesan bishop and other diocesan staff and the consideration of possible candidates for appointment “can be used to benefit CCC and CCW which operate in direct conflict with the principles of governance of the Church of England” and that she “could attempt to influence the outcome [of the appointment of bishops] in ways that benefitted CCC and CCW which were and continue to be in direct conflict with the principles of governance of the Church of England”

The Board found in favour of Miss Patterson, not Mrs Alexander.

Christ Church Gleadless
Christ church Heeley
Christ Church Hillsborough & Wadsley Bridge
Christ Church Pitsmoor
Church of Christ Darnall
Church on the Corner (Elim Pentecostal Church)

City Church
Dan Maton

Above Dan Maton preaching to the converted, in this case trying his hardest to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the legend of Sodom and Gomorrah. According to the account in Genesis, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for its 'wickedness.' Dan Maton warns 'the ungodly' of the anger at God, including the ungodly people of Sheffield.

See him in action at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrdsQrPU5fc

The video includes this introduction:

' ... we should take this passage as a warning and example of what God will do when he ultimately destroys the wicked. There are different ways of responding - like Lot's sons-in-law, who saw judgement as a joke, or like Lot, who hesitated when urged to escape, or like Lot's wife, who looks back [and was turned into a pillar of salt as a punishment for looking back]. We have a chance to repent and escape judgment, but that this opportunity will end.'

My comment: We should take Dan Maton's sermon as a warning. This is someone who believes in a God who carries out mass killing, indiscriminate killing - 'the LORD rained burning sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 25and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land.' Ecocide - the destruction of crops and plants as well as the killing of men, women, children and babies. This is someone who believes in angels, in vindictive, pointless 'miracles' - the turning of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt simply for wanting to look back at the picture of devastation. The whole account has satisfied vindictive, credulous, superstitious people over the centuries. The fact that it still satisfies people is cause for far more than disappointment.

Above, a rock formation traditionally identified with Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt by God for looking back at the devastation, according to Genesis.

Above, two views of the City Church, where Dan Maton is an elder and preacher, an imposing place and now a place for preaching negligible, harmful, hideous rubbish.

Dan Maton on the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah and God's punishment of the ungodly. His source material is Genesis 19, which he takes to be the Word of God, the infallible Word of God. This is a brief summary from Wikipedia, followed by the translation of the passage in the 'Good News (!) Bible. It contains astonishing things. The summary contains astonishing things.

The summary:

In Genesis 19 Lot shows hospitality to two angels who arrive in Sodom, and invites them to stay the night at his house. However, the men of the city gather around the house and demand that Lot hand over his guests so they can "know them". ['have sex with them.'] Lot admonishes them for their wickedness, and offers the mob his two virgin daughters instead. When the mob refuses Lot's offer, the angels strike them with blindness, and then warn Lot to leave the city before it is destroyed.

...

During the escape from Sodom, Lot's wife turns into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters take shelter in Zoar, but afterwards go up into the mountains to live in a cave. One evening, Lot's eldest daughter gets Lot drunk and has sex with him without his knowledge. The following night, the younger daughter does the same. They both become pregnant; the older daughter gives birth to Moab, while the younger daughter gives birth to Ammon.

The Good News Translation:

GENESIS 19

The Sinfulness of Sodom

1When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them 2and said, “Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and stay the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way.”

But they answered, “No, we will spend the night here in the city square.”

3He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it.

4Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there. 5They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!” The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them.

6Lot went outside and closed the door behind him. 7He said to them, “Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked thing! 8Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must protect them.”

9But they said, “Get out of our way, you foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will treat you worse than them.” They pushed Lot back and moved up to break down the door. 10But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and shut the door. 11Then they struck all the men outside with blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom

12The two men said to Lot, “If you have anyone else here — sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city — get them out of here, 13because we are going to destroy this place. The LORD has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom.”

14Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, “Hurry up and get out of here; the LORD is going to destroy this place.” But they thought he was joking.

15At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. “Quick!” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed.” 16Lot hesitated. The LORD, however, had pity on him; so the men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city. 17Then one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed.”

18But Lot answered, “No, please don't make us do that, sir. 19You have done me a great favour and saved my life. But the hills are too far away; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die before I get there. 20Do you see that little town? It is near enough. Let me go over there — you can see it is just a small place — and I will be safe.”

21He answered, “All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town. 22Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you get there.”

Because Lot called it small, the town was named Zoar.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

23The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar. 24Suddenly the LORD rained burning sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 25and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land. 26But Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.

27Early the next morning Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood in the presence of the LORD. 28He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace. 29But when God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety.

The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites

30Because Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters moved up into the hills and lived in a cave. 31The elder daughter said to her sister, “Our father is getting old, and there are no men in the whole world to marry us so that we can have children. 32Come on, let's make our father drunk, so that we can sleep with him and have children by him.” 33That night they gave him wine to drink, and the elder daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he didn't know it.

34The next day the elder daughter said to her sister, “I slept with him last night; now let's make him drunk again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child by our father.” 35So that night they made him drunk, and the younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn't know it. 36In this way both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37The elder daughter had a son, whom she named Moab. He was the ancestor of the present-day Moabites. 38The younger daughter also had a son, whom she named Benammi. He was the ancestor of the present-day Ammonites.

City of Refuge Foursquare Church
Cornerstone Benefice (Stocksbridge, Deepcar & Bolsterstone)
Crown of Life Community Church

Diocese of Sheffield

Alex Shilkoff, Strategic Programme Director, Diocese of Sheffield

From the twitter page of the Strategic Programme Director, Diocese of Sheffield

https://twitter.com/ashilkoff

'Some great jobs working with some fab people. Take a look'

These are some screen-shots of Alex Shilkoff in action, or rather speaking, speaking about action amongst other things - the promise of action, action which so far seems not to have taken place. It's from the Garden Church Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/
gardenchurchsheffield /videos/527788948291957/

which promises to begin garden church services before long.

She says, 'there might be ... a bit of rubbish at the moment.'

My page on Christian religion has much more on the garden church, including some remarkable developments - the remarkable developments don't include achievements of the garden church. The material is in the column on the far right of the page and includes some images of the rubbish on the site 'at the moment.'

What Alex Flintoff calls 'a bit of rubbish' which 'might' be there, or might not, amounts to a huge pile more than 10 metres (33 feet) long, including jagged metal and masses and masses of plastic - largeplastic containers (including containers which contained organic seaweed extract), plastic sheets, plastic garbage of many different kinds, a hazard to wildlife (have wild creatures ventured into the indescribable interior and been trapped there) and a fire hazard, which would release toxic gases into the air if an arsonist set light to it. I've given information to the garden church and the Lower Walkley Community Group who rent these allotments from Sheffield City Council and who gave the garden church permission to use these allotments, as well as the allotment office, starting on 6 September this year, but the site is still there. Alex Flintoff and other members of this Christian family certainly haven't taken any action. The inspiring words of Alex Flintoff - inspiring to Christians, not inspiring to me - belong to what I call the 'word-sphere,' the world of grandiose pronouncements, superficially impressive pronouncements which are no more than cosmetic, unconnected with effective action, or any action at all.

The September inaugural meeting didn't take place at the 'beautiful' place on the allotment site. Instead, it was held on the field of a Church. The October event didn't take place, at the allotment site or anywhere else.

Instead, there was this, on 13 October. 'IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Unfortunately we have had to postpone our launch event. We are taking a couple of weeks to ensure that it will be really great and everyone who attends is safe. We do not have a new date yet but will let you know when possible.' Now, more than two weeks later, there's still no news of a possible opening - despite the fact that the group considers that God called them to start a garden church here and has been guiding them throughout. Christians do have excuses for delays due to lack of care in planning, incompetence, failure to observe safety precautions, not available to non-Christians.

The garden church paid not the least attention to safety in planning the event, like STC (Saint Thomas Church) in planning its 'Streets of Light' initiative' - the possible dangers of that initiative, the failures to do with safety are very serious. I pointed out the safety issues to them. Even now, there's a photograph on their Facebook page of the 'garden team' in action. When enlarged, it shows tools left on the ground which could trip them up - and any children allowed into the sitie whilst work is going on, and there's a fork with upturned tines (the points) which could cause severe injury. I pointed out the security issues as well. The site is down a path in a heavily shaded place where, I'm told, youths have gathered to sniff glue. There was a murder on an allotment not far from the site, although it was many years ago - a boy was stabbed by two other boys with a garden fork.

Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield

Above, this isn't a photograph of the Bishop of Sheffield, but someone higher in the order of importance in the Church of England, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who is outranked in order of importance by the Archbishop of Canterbury. (I've no information about a different thing, the order of self-importance.)

A not completely random piece of information about the Archbishop of York, from

https://yorkmix.com/anger-at-90k-salary-on-offer-for-job-as-the-archbishop-of-yorks-chief-companion/

The Archbishop of York has been criticised for “sending out the wrong message” by advertising for a new £90,000-a-year chief of staff.

The advertisement on the Charity Job site says the position will be based at Bishopthorpe Palace, just outside York, and offers a “competitive salary in the region of £90,000 per year”.

It will involve helping Stephen Cottrell, who became the Church of England’s second most senior clergyman when he was enthroned in October, “conduct his ministry within the life of the nation”.

Conducting ministry, mission, spreading the gospel of salvation, the implications, the hideous implications of the gospel of salvation for 'the life of the nation' - these are central themes of this page!

The Church of England's place in 'the life of the nation' is precarious. I don't believe for one moment that the appointment of this Chief of Staff will have any effect whatsoever on the declining power of the Church of England.

From the page

https://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/media/
39293/1_bsa36_religion.pdf

'In summary, the proportion of the British population who identify as Christian has fallen dramatically over the last three decades, with most of the decline being in those who identify as Anglican. Some people move away from the faith of their family/childhood, but also an increasing proportion of younger people are not brought up in a religion. This collapse of Anglican affiliation is even more strikingly demonstrated when viewed by age group (Figure 1). A third (33%) of respondents who are aged 75 and above regard themselves as Anglican; in the youngest age group who are 18-24, almost none (1%) do.

'Weekly attendance is highest among those of non-Christian faiths (40%), followed by Roman Catholic (23%) and other Christian denominations (23%). Those identifying as Anglicans are much less likely to attend weekly (9%) or indeed to attend at all – 57% say they attend “never or practically never”.'

This is one issue 'within the life of the nation,' Remembrance Sunday and the Church of England's role in Remembrance Sunday commemorations. The issue raises problems for the Bishop of Sheffield, the Archbishop of York, and whoever accepted the post of helping the Archishop as chief-of-staff.

This is a copy of a letter I wrote which was published in the Sheffield newspaper 'The Star' on January 28, 2019. It can also be found at

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/your-say/can-public-c-of-e-services-be-defended-1-9560350

The letter gives a brief summary of my reasons for opposing the Church of England's role at Remembrance Sunday commemorations. The letter contains this direct question: ' ... does he believe that C of E Remembrance services for the general public can be defended?' It may be that the Bishop doesn't read the newspaper, or didn't see this particular issue of the newspaper, or that some of the clergy at Sheffield Cathedral did see the letter but thought it might be tactless to bring it to the attention of the Bishop, or that the Bishop did read the letter and thought that the matter wasn't important enough for him to reply, or that he couldn't think of a defence. I won't speculate any further. The letter published in 'The Star:'

'According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, affiliation with the Church of England (C of E) has never been lower in all age groups: it amounts to only 2% of young adults.

'What can justify the C of E's dominant role in Remembrance Sunday commemorations, then? I attend the event in the city centre or at Weston Park. Like ones throughout the country, it takes the form of a C of E service.

'There are many, many prayers and after each one, this is the expected response (as given in the Order of Service booklet):

'All Hear our prayer

'What is a non-believer or a believer in another religion to do? Mumble insincerely? Stay silent? Should non-believers pretend to believe in the power of prayer, or in the Trinity - the doctrine that there's God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (also in the booklet)? We attend to remember the fallen, to show gratitude for their sacrifice, to show gratitude and appreciation for present members of the armed forces, not to witness a C of E service.

'Sometimes, a decline in support for an organization is unfair, but not in this case. There are and have been many, many exceptional C of E members but the catalogue of C of E failings is long.

'Edward Wightman was the last person in this country to be burned alive for heresy. He had denied the Trinity and questioned the status of the Church of England. The C of E still remembers and celebrates John Calvin, who denounced Michael Servetus (also burned alive after denying the Trinity). The Bishop of Sheffield's doctoral thesis was on the subject of John Calvin! The C of E remembers and celebrates to this day St Augustine, who actually taught that unbaptized babies are in hell.

'A large number of Anglicans believe in hell, of course, although not for unbaptized babies. This is the view of the C of E conservative evangelical group 'Church Society.' (There are obvious implications for the fallen and for those who attend Remembrance events.)

' ' ... all people are under the judgement of God and his righteous anger burns against them. Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under His condemnation and His just judgement against them is that they will be separated from Him forever in Hell.' The Society claims this is 'clearly stated in the 39 Articles of the Church of England.'

'I understand that the Bishop of Sheffield has evangelical beliefs, with a conservative tendency. Perhaps he may be able to comment on this doctrine, perhaps on John Calvin as well. And does he believe that C of E Remembrance services for the general public can be defended?'

'Pete Wilcox describes himself as 'an evangelical, and quite a conservative person.' He says that 'The bible matters to me a great deal.' These comments were made in an article published un 'The Star,'

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/star-interview-the-new-bishop-of-sheffield-on-women-priests-the-church-s-big-challenges-and-why-his-wife-s-books-aren-t-raunchy-1-8714378

Church Society, a Conservative Evangelical group in the Church of England:

' Jesus will come back and the world will end, there will then be a final judgement where those who have not accepted Jesus will be cast into hell with Satan and his angels. Christians will receive new bodies and live in eternal bliss in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. (Hebrews 9 v27, Revelation 20 v11, 1 Corinthians 15 v51)

' The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of England:

Article 6: Of the sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation.

Article 1: Faith in the Holy Trinity

Article 9: Of Original or Birth-sin

Article 2: The Word, or Son of God, who became truly man

Article 4: The resurrection of Christ

Article 11: Of the Justification of Man

' Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under his condemnation ...' Good works are no defence. Article XII 'Of Good Works' states

'Good Works ... cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgement.' Whether the good works include bringing safe drinking water to people ravaged by water-borne diseases such as cholera by means of massive engineering works, or rescuing Jews from the Nazis, or opposing the Nazis by heroic action in battle, or everyday goodness and self-sacrifice, if there's no belief in Jesus Christ, the good works are ignored, in this loathsome scheme, and there's no salvation.

Are the Bishop's Conservative Evangelical views the same, or are they different in some ways? The Church Society statement has obvious implications for Remembrance. Does Pete Wilcox believe that those who fell in war are separated from God forever if they never accepted Jesus Christ as their personal lord and saviour ?

This is from The Church of England Website (A Christian presence in every community)

https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer/morning-prayer-contemporary-saturday-26-may-2018

¶ Morning Prayer on Saturday
Saturday, 26 May 2018

Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605 [Lesser Festival]
John Calvin, Reformer, 1564 [Commemoration]
Philip Neri, Founder of the Oratorians, Spiritual Guide, 1595 [Commemoration]

The service begins with this:

O Lord, open our lips
All and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

The doctoral thesis of Pete Wilcox was on the 'thought and practice of John Calvin:

'Restoration, Reformation and the progress of the kingdom of Christ : evangelisation in the thought and practice of John Calvin, 1555–1564.'

As is well known, Calvin denounced Michael Servetus as a heretic. Michael Servetus had denied the doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine that God consists of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Michael Servetus was burned alive.

Above, John Calvin

Above, Michael Servetus being burned alive

My own view is that Calvin has obvious historical importance, for people interested in Reformation theology, and historical importance in the history of humanitarian thought and practice, as a hideous example of cruel intolerance. I haven't been able to consult the Bishop of Sheffield's thesis, but his interest is obviously in Calven's place in Reformation theology. Is this aspect of his background, obviously important to him, of any use whatsoever in approaching the problems of this industrial city and the people who live and work here?

Sheffield's industrial past and present will be of far less importance to the Bishop of Sheffield than the theological controversies of the past and present, but industry has always presented problems for theology, generally unrecognized, and continues to do so. This is just one example. From Friedrich Engels, 'The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844) described conditions at the time. Here, he compares conditions in Sheffield with conditions in Manchester:

'In Sheffield wages are better, and the external state of the workers also. On the other hand, certain branches of work are to be noticed here, because of their extraordinarily injurious influence upon health ... By far the most unwholesome work is the grinding of knife-blades and forks, which, especially when done with a dry stone, entails certain early death. The unwholesomeness of this work lies in part in the bent posture, in which chest and stomach are cramped; but especially in the quantity of sharp-edged metal dust particles freed in the cutting, which fill the atmosphere, and are necessarily inhaled.'

I live near to a valley where a large number of industrial operations flourished during the industrial revolution and in some cases later. The work included the manufacture of cutting tools, absolutely essential tools, without which society would have ground to a halt. The grinding operation was an essential step in their manufacture, and the workers paid the price. They were exposed to these dangers but they weren't exploited. It was impossible to protect them. Modern methods of protection depend upon technical advances which lay in the future. The Articles of Faith of the Church of England are relevant to these workers if you accept these articles of faith. They aren't relevant in any way if you regard them as hideous. They are given on the Church of England Website - so much the worse for the Church of England.

A Visitation

https://anglican.ink/2021/03/21/visitation-team-finds-a-culture-of-bullying-at-sheffield-cathedral/

A Determination by the Bishop of Sheffield in the light of the Report of the Commissaries following a Visitation at Sheffield Cathedral 1st November 2020 to 28th February 2021

Extracts from the Report and extracts from the Bishop of Sheffield's reply

Bishop
' ... in relation to the issues addressed in the Visitation, I must acknowledge my own responsibility. Throughout 2020, and even before, I failed to find a swifter, more effective way to address matters of which I was being made aware, and I profoundly regret this.'

Report

Section 1: The culture and HR ethos of the Cathedral The Visitation Team found evidence of an environment at the Cathedral which has tolerated bullying and blaming and has been characterised by a fear of speaking out. There is a pattern of people who have fallen out of favour at the Cathedral subsequently exiting the organisation, and the perception of this for onlookers among the staff and volunteers has only served to reinforce their fears and concerns ... In addition, a lack of cross-department engagement has meant weak relationships, which have in turn resulted in poor interactions and have created room for distrust and misunderstanding.

Bishop

In the light of this, I direct that Chapter should: 1. Engage an expert third party to undertake an audit of senior management skills, capabilities and management styles, to ensure that all staff, but especially senior managers, are equipped with the requisite experience and abilities to enable a journey to a healthy and happy future for the Cathedral, including, eg, where appropriate the introduction of performance management plans that specifically seek to strengthen and develop staff. Where appropriate, individuals should be encouraged to achieve qualifications from national awarding bodies. 2. Introduce and sustain a fully-fledged pattern of routine line-management and staff meetings across the Cathedral, together with annual appraisals, properly recorded, and with goals agreed for each employee which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 3. Fully review and refresh the Staff Handbook, in particular reducing the warning for failure

Report

Section 3: Chapter’s handling of complaints The Visitation Team found that the Cathedral Complaints Procedure raises a question about its robustness for matters relating to senior managers, on account of their own place in the procedure, but found no evidence that Chapter saw the invidious position in which this placed senior members of staff. The Team also heard from multiple people that they were not confident in the Cathedral complaints and grievance processes. A few participants in the Visitation even noted that some who had raised a complaint or grievance were no longer in employment or service of the Cathedral, and that life could become difficult for some people who raised complaints or grievances. In relation to two specific complaints processes in 2020, the Team found evidence that recommendations had not been followed through. It has to be admitted that in these instances, the poor behaviour of complainants was not helpful. However, this fact does not remove from Chapter its obligations as a governing body to fulfil the role of objective oversight. The Visitation Team has encouraged me to put some parameters in place for Chapter to guide its future handling of any complaints. In the light of this, I direct that Chapter should: 1. Ensure that any complaints against members of the Cathedral staff are handled with an independence and thoroughness not evident in the cases reviewed by the Visitors. 2. Ensure that complaints are handled in strict accordance with the ACAS code, with appropriately expert HR advice 3. On the first such occasion, provide me with an account on completion to reassure me that due process has been followed, and followed through.

Dore
Dore & Totley Christian Fellowship
Dore & Totley URC
Dore and Totley IRC
Dore and Totley United Reformed Church
Ecclesall All Saints
Ecclesall Church of England
Elim Central Church
Emmanuel Church Sheffield
Emmanuel Waterthorpe
Galeed House Darnall
Gatehouse
Gleadless Valley Methodist Church
God’s Righteousness Bible Church
Grace Church, Handsworth
Greenhill Methodist Church
Hampden View Wesleyan Reform
Harvest Field International
Hatfield House Lane Methodist Church
Heeley Parish Church
Hillsborough Baptist Church
Holy Cross Gleadless Valley
Hope Centre

Hope City Church

Any suggestion that faith in Jesus is the answer to the problems of Sheffield or the problems of the wider world, any suggestion that communities, or countries, can be transformed by the 'power of prayer,' any suggestion that Christians walk 'in the light' whilst non-Christians walk 'in the darkness' are contradicted by the revelations which have emerged from this Church: not divine revelations but revelations which include exclusions - exclusions of black people from roles in the Church in order to give a 'better' impression of the Church, so as not to deter, allegedly, white people from joining the Church, and many more, including gay people told that being gay was the work of the devil.

Of course, the churches in Sheffield don't leave this as just a 'suggestion.' To them, it's far too important to be left as just a 'suggestion,' regarded by so many of them as something which concerns the eternal destiny of the soul.

The vast majority of secular organizations in Sheffield manage to conduct their affairs without remotely meeting - or causing - such extreme problems as Hope City Church under the 'toxic' leadership of its founders.

Hope City Church was founded in Sheffield in 1991 by Dave and Jenny Gilpin, who had been a part of an Assemblies of God church in Brisbane, Australia.

In 2020, the Senior Pastors of the church resigned due to allegations of racism. In June 2020,Dave and Jenny Gilpin resigned from their roles as senior leaders after Dave Glipin posted an apology to a black member of the church on Instagram admitting he tried to appeal to white people. He had taken the view that having black people on some Church teams would deter white people from joining the Church and, according to some, 'the senior pastor did not want to see black people in certain roles in order to manage appearance or first impressions. According to the report published after their resignations, the practice of marginalising people of colour 'had originated at the most senior level of leadership.'

The Church undertook a big advertising campaign earlier in its history, including large billboards and the sides of buses to promote the organisation and assert that it was not a 'traditional' church.

An article in The Sunday Times stated that 'Hope City tries hard to attract young people, broadcasting its music-led services on YouTube, promoting slick social media pages and hosting frequent networking events. But, whistleblowers said the image hid a 'toxic' culture and accused the Gilpins of pursuing an 'evil agenda.'

The report assembled following the lead pastors' resignation also delved into the wider problems in the church's leadership culture. It pointed to, amongst other things, a lack of oversight, the lead pastor's overbearing style, a clique culture amongst those in the various churches' core teams, selective raising of younger leaders that would comply with authority without questioning it, the discouragement of raising concerns, which lead in part to the incidents of a racial nature listed above. Attention was also raised to the ongoing pressure placed on members to give to offerings, alongside a 'lack of transparency' in finances, which 'led to an 'erosion of trust' among some members.'

As for finances, Hope City Church has been criticised for promoting the 'prosperity gospel ,'suggesting members should make sizable and recurrent offerings in addition to the tithe n return for financial breakthrough and blessings

In March, 2018, a Channel 4 News report into City Hearts, a charity founded by the Church, 'uncovered allegations that untrained staff were left in charge of victims of trafficking and abuse.' It highlighted interviews with 'around 40 people who were cared for or worked for the City Hearts charity in Sheffield' who spoke of 'their concerns and claims of homophobia.' Individuals described on camera being coerced to disclose their abuse history on stage in front of the church congregation to pass the programme, or being told that being gay was the work of the devil, whilst a staff member described being unqualified and untrained, and told to respond to serious incidents including self-harm with suggestions of prayer and scripture.

Hope Family Arbourthorne
International Christian Worship Centre
Jubilee Centre
Kings Centre, Nether Edge
Lansdowne Chapel
Liberty Church
Living Waters Christian Fellowship Darnall
Meadowhead Christian Fellowship
Meersbrook Park United Reformed Church
Millhouses Methodist
Mosborough Elim Church
Mount Tabor Methodist Church
NCS Sheffield – St Thomas Philadelphia
Nether Green Methodist
New Christian Covenant
New Hope Community Church

Oughtibridge ParishChurch
Chris Tufnell

Chris Tufnell is the vicar of the Church. Anna de Castro is the Children, Youth and Families Worker of the Church. She was elected to the House of Laity of the General Synod in the same year as Dr Jane Patterson, whose profile is immediately above this one.

Compare and contrast these two extracts. Extract 1 is from the Website of Oughtibridge Parish Church, Sheffield

https://www.opc.org.uk/explore/

Extract 2 seems to come from a very different world, much more gloomy, but I've every reason to believe that Chris Tufnell and Anna de Castro believe in the doctrines stated in the second extract!

Extract 1. Oughtibridge Parish Church

We believe the message of Christianity is the best news in the world and that it’s relevant to everyone. It’s simple, it’s beautiful, it’s about God and his love for us, it’s about a great rescue and a man called Jesus. It’s a message that has changed our lives and binds us together as a church community. We would love to share this good news with you!

Extract 2. The good news according to Church Society, a Conservative Evangelical organization. It's clear from this formulation that the 'good news' consists in the fact' ( not a fact in the least, of course) that not everybody will spend eternity in separation from God. Some, a minority will be saved:

'The biblical way of salvation has often been attacked over the centuries, however it is stated clearly in the 39 Articles of the Church of England:

Article 6: Of the sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation.

Article 1: Faith in the Holy Trinity

Article 9: Of Original or Birth-sin

Article 2: The Word, or Son of God, who became truly man

Article 4: The resurrection of Christ

Article 11: Of the Justification of Man

'Unless a person is reconciled to God they are under his condemnation ...' Good works are no defence. Article XII 'Of Good Works' states

Good Works ... cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgement.'

I explore and explain the hideous, inhuman consequences of these doctrines in so many places in my pages on Christianity so there's no need to give further comment here. Of course, the fact that a doctrine is 'inhuman' is no criticism for Christians, or so many Christians. God supposedly has no need to adhere to human or humane norms.

I quote a short extract from Psalm 137 in various places in my pages on Christianity and I'll quote it one more time here. In her Election Address published before the elections to the House of Laity, Anna de Castro included this:

My commitment to you.
If you choose to vote for me, I would commit to ' ... Being faithful in upholding and safeguarding the truth of Scripture in all areas.'

Extract, Psalm 137

Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us -
who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.

Do Chris Tufnell and Anna de Castro believe that these words are divinely inspired, that this passage is an example of 'the truth of Scripture in all areas,' the area here being treatment of babies?

A verse which I quote in various places in my pages on Christianity is this, Exodus 22:18 in the 'Good News' (!) translation:

Put to death any woman who practises witchcraft.

Do they believe that this too is an example of 'the truth of Scripture?'

Can they assure the people who live in Oughtibridge that God has no plans at all to consign them to Hell for eternity if they fail to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour - there may be many, many reasons.

Our Lady of Beauchief & St. Thomas of Canterbury
Our Lady of Lourdes
Pitsmoor Methodist Church
RCCG (Amazing Grace Tab) Hillsborough
Richmond Church

Rock Christian Centre, Burngreave

Senior Pastor: Jon Watts, married to Tricia Watts, the Youth and Families Pastor at the Centre - and, also, the Co-ordinator of Sheffield Street Pastors. There's a profile of Tricia Watts in my page on Street Pastors, at the top of the second column of the page,

https://www.linkagenet.com/themes/fefe-churchguide.htm

The Rock Christian Centre was the place chosen to relaunch the Christian Police Association in Sheffield, as reported in the Sheffield newspaper, The Star, 'Members of the public joined South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings, Chief Constable Stephen Watson, officers and police support staff at the Rock Christian Centre in Carlisle Street.'

tps://www.thestar.co.uk/news/christian-police-association-re-launched-in-sheffield-470835

Like the Christian Police Association, the Rock Christian Centre publishes a Statement of Belief' on its Website,

http://www.rockchristiancentre.org/what-we-believe/

Like the Christian Police Association, the Rock Christian Centre believes in hell for unbelievers. From the Rock document, Belief No. 11, 'The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.' According to this theory, no amount of good work will bring the reward of 'eternal life.' Belief No. 11: 'The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.'

This hideous statements on this hideous page of the 'Rock Christian Centre' are amplified on another hideous page,

http://www.rockchristiancentre.org/why-christianity/

which includes this - but before I give extracts, I'll point out that The Senior Pastor at Rock Christian Centre didn't write it, nobody at Rock Christian Centre didn't write it. This monstrous rubbish was copied from a publication, 'The Evidence Study Bible: NKJV: All You Need to Understand and Defend Your Faith' by Ray Comfort, born in New Zealand, now living in the United States. In various publications, Ray Comfort claims that the reader will have broken one or more of the Ten Commandments and so will go to Hell - but if the reader has acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Saviour, by means of a quick prayer, perhaps - then in that case, the reader will go to heaven. This is Ray Comfort. If the image inspires confidence, think again, read the extract here, read the fuller extract on the Rock Christian Centre Website, and, if you think you can justify the time, read 'The Evidence Study Bible from cover to cover.'

... the God we are speaking about is nothing like the commonly accepted image. He is not a benevolent Father figure, who is happily smiling upon sinful humanity.

In the midst of these frightening thoughts, remember to let fear work for you. The fear of God is the healthiest fear you can have. The Bible calls it “the beginning of wisdom.”

Again, your knowledge of God’s Law should help you to see that you have a life-threatening dilemma: a huge problem of God’s wrath (His justifiable anger) against your personal sins. The just penalty for sin—breaking even one Law—is death, and eternity in Hell. But you haven’t broken just one Law. Like the rest of us, you’ve no doubt broken all these laws, countless times each. What kind of anger do you think a judge is justified in having toward a criminal guilty of breaking the law thousands of times?'

And more:

So let’s look at that Law and see how you will do when you face it on Judgment Day. Have you loved God above all else? Is He first in your life? He should be. He’s given you your life and everything that is dear to you. Do you love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? That’s the requirement of the First Commandment. Or have you broken the Second Commandment by making a god in your mind that you’re comfortable with—where you say, “My god is a loving and merciful god who would never send anyone to Hell”? That god does not exist; he’s a figment of the imagination. To create a god in your mind (your own image of God) is something the Bible calls “idolatry.” Idolaters will not enter Heaven.

Have you ever used God’s name in vain, as a cuss word to express disgust? That’s called “blasphemy,” and it’s very serious in God’s sight. This is breaking the Third Commandment, and the Bible says God will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Have you always honored your parents implicitly, and kept the Sabbath holy? If not, you have broken the Fourth and Fifth Commandments. Have you ever hated someone? The Bible says, “Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer.”

The Seventh is “You shall not commit adultery,” but Jesus said, “Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (the Seventh Commandment includes sex before marriage). Have you ever looked with lust or had sex outside of marriage? If you have, you’ve violated that Commandment.

Have you ever lied? Ever stolen anything, regardless of value? If you have, then you’re a lying thief. The Bible tells us, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord,” because He is a God of truth and holiness. Have you coveted (jealously desired) other people’s things? This is a violation of the Tenth Commandment.

...

Perhaps the thought of going to Hell doesn’t scare you, because you don’t believe in it. That’s like standing in the open door of a plane 10,000 feet off the ground and saying, “I don’t believe there will be any consequences if I jump without a parachute.”

To say that there will be no consequences for breaking God’s Law is to say that God is unjust, that He is evil. This is why.

On February 24, 2005, a nine-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Homosassa, Florida. Three weeks later, police discovered that she had been kidnapped, brutally raped, and then buried alive. Little Jessica Lunsford was found tied up, in a kneeling position, clutching a stuffed toy.

How Do You React?

How do you feel toward the man who murdered that helpless little girl in such an unspeakably cruel way? Are you angered? I hope so. I hope you are outraged. If you were completely indifferent to her fate, it would reveal something horrible about your character.

“The fury of Almighty God against evil is evidence of His goodness. If He wasn’t angered, He wouldn’t be good. We cannot separate God’s goodness from His anger. Again, if God is good by nature, He must be unspeakably angry at wickedness.”

Do you think that God is indifferent to such acts of evil? You can bet your precious soul He is not. He is outraged by them.

The fury of Almighty God against evil is evidence of His goodness. If He wasn’t angered, He wouldn’t be good. We cannot separate God’s goodness from His anger. Again, if God is good by nature, He must be unspeakably angry at wickedness.

But His goodness is so great that His anger isn’t confined to the evils of rape and murder. Nothing is hidden from His pure and holy eyes. He is outraged by torture, terrorism, abortion, theft, lying, adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, and blasphemy. He also sees our thought-life, and He will judge us for the hidden sins of the heart: for lust, hatred, rebellion, greed, unclean imaginations, ingratitude, selfishness, jealousy, pride, envy, deceit, etc. Jesus warned, “But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”6 (emphasis added).

The Bible says that God’s wrath “abides” on each of us, and that every time we sin, we’re “storing up wrath” that will be revealed on Judgment Day. We are even told that we are “by nature the children of wrath” (emphasis added). Sinning against God comes naturally to us—and we naturally earn His anger by our sins.

...

To receive the gift of eternal life, you must repent of your sins (turn from them), and put on the Lord Jesus Christ as you would put on a parachute—trusting in Him alone for your salvation. That means you forsake your own good works as a means of trying to please God (trying to bribe Him), and trust only in what Jesus has done for you. Simply throw yourself on the mercy of the Judge.

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

This modern or reasonably modern building preserves the past as well as working for the present. This Roman Catholic church has a school attached. What is the ethos of the school, what sort of education do the children receive? I've no information to give here, but I will mention one thing. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that baptism is essential for salvation. The extreme difficulties of this doctrine, the hideous implications of this doctrine, are subjected to the familiar tactics, including vagueness and evasion. The vagueness and evasions too are hideous. The Church is vague on the fate of unbaptized infants. The 2014 catechism states, 'the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God.' This baby is fortunate. The tap water blessed by a Bishop to turn it into 'Holy Water' will ensure that he or she is certain not to be risking the fate of an unbaptized infant.

Above, the baptism of St Augustine. The Church is completely confident that St Augustine achieved salvation and not damnation. Sculpture in Troyes cathedral (1549).

More on the fate of unbaptized infants and the Roman Catholic doctrine of 'Limbo.' in the entry on this page for Pete Wilcox, the Bishop of Sheffield.

Share Pioneer Ministry (Parson Cross)
Sheffield Central Elim Pentecostal Church
Sheffield Christian Life Centre
Sheffield Nazarene
Sheffield Vineyard
Shiloh United Church
Shiregreen IRC
South Anston Methodist
South Sheffield Evangelical Church
Southern Light Community Church
Spa View Community Church
St Alban’s House Community
St Andrew’s URC
St Catherine of Siena
St Chad’s Woodseats
St Francis Bramley
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
St Gabriel’s, Greystones
St James Anston
St James Woodhouse / Central Mission Partnership / St John’s Park

St John’s Chapeltown

Extracts from some of the mini-profiles of staff at St John's Church, Chapeltown

https://www.stjohnschap.co.uk/who-we-are/staff/ All these people are members of the 'leadership team: 'St John's is led by the Vicar and a team called the Parochial Church Council (PCC).' I've added a mini-profile of another member of the PCC.

In the case of the mini-profiles supplied by the Church, the obvious intent seems to be to present the staff as ordinary people, with ordinary interests (but these ordinary people supposedly have extraordinary significance and extraordinary advantages, belonging to the group of the 'saved,' not the 'lost,' by their acceptance of Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Ordinary interests can be made to seem interesting, even exciting, by the use of exclamation marks, but exclamation marks are used quite sparingly here. There are single ! and double !! but no triple examples !!! After these mini-profiles, I'll give a very short extract from the Church's statement of belief. There's the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The Church's statement of belief is Standard Stuff, found in countless other Churches throughout the country, and beyond - Unrevised Standard Evangelical. Then, I point out a few implications - very disturbing - hideous - implications. The contrast with the informal, flippant tone of the mini-profiles is very, very marked. Only a few people are named here.

Rick Stordy (Vicar). Worked as a barrister before training as a vicar in Durham. 'He enjoys curries, running, walking, Bradfield Brewery Ales and any thriller by John Grisham (though not necessarily in that order).

David Whitehead (Curate, part-time). 'He loves touring in his motorhome, and bashing noisy things like his Djembe, as well as trying to keep up with Nick's world of Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lego!'

Jim Crossley (Curate). In June 2020 he left the NHS and Sheffield University after 29 years as a doctor, to become a curate.'

A Churchwarden. He's a keen walker with two Border collies and a mad Blade!'

A Reader. 'He works for a large Finance company in Sheffield as their Administrator ... He sings in a community choir in Barnsley and is passionate about modern history, reading and definitely FOOD (especially Shepherd's Pie!!)

Steve Battey. This concise information comes from his Twitter page:

Christian. Married to Georgina. Physiotherapist. Jaffa Cake Lover. SWFC

'SWFC' is 'Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.' There's a lot of comment on SWFC on his Twitter pages. More on the implications of his Christian faith for his passion for football below.

From the page

https://www.stjohnschap.co.uk/who-we-are/beliefs/

We believe in ...

The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.

The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

(This is from the Statement of Faith of the Evangelical Alliance.)

Some of the hideous implications:

The hideous implications for Safeguarding. The Home Page of the Church's Website includes this,

St. John’s is committed to the highest standards in keeping everyone safe - especially children, young people and vulnerable adults.

But did God, the supposedly infallible and completely trustworthy author of the Old and New Testaments, take into account the alarming implications for safeguarding of this, from Psalm 137, quoted in various places in my pages on Christian religion, quoted already on this page and now quoted again here?

Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us -
who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.

'The Blades' are the Sheffield United Football Club, one of the two main football clubs in Sheffield. The other is Sheffield Wednesday. Unless the people at St John's Church, Chapeltown, have inner reservations or don't agree with some of the Evangelical Alliance statement, all past and current players and staff at Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday football clubs who fail to accept Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Saviour are 'the lost,' destined to be eternally separated from God in Hell. The very large crowd of spectators at each Sheffield Wednesday and United match are similarly destined to be eternally separated from God. The picture at the beginning of this section shows scene from a SWFC match in 2015. The SWFC supporting member of the PCC may well have been at this match but I think that the vast majority of the people there are destined for eternal separation from God, according to the cruel Christian beliefs promoted by the Church.

The same destiny awaits or has already been imposed in the case of members of the Barnsley Community Choir, the staff and consumers of Bradfield Brewery ales, the staff and customers of the 'large financial company' mentioned in one of the mini-profiles, and all authors of books on modern history and all readers of books on modern history. And all doctors, nurses, administrators and patients of the NHS, all doctors, nurses, administrators and patients throughout the world.

I don't single out these members of the PCC for particular blame here, of course. As with all the Church members mentioned on this page, I'm simply giving examples of people who belong to Churches where these doctrines are endorsed.

The people at St John's Church (again, apart from ones with reservations - and people who don't actually believe in this hideous doctrines but keep quiet about it) believe that the people who liberated the Nazi extermination and concentration camps, the Jews and others who died in those camps, share exactly the same fate as the Nazis who worked in the camps and other Nazis. On the other hand, the Nazis who accepted Christ as personal Lord and Saviour are in heaven, in eternal communion with God.

St John’s Owlerton
St John’s Park
St Leonard & St Mary’s Armthorpe
St Luke’s Lodge Moor Sheffield
St Margaret’s and St Thomas
St Mark Mosborough
St Mark’s, Grenoside
St Mary Magdalene Whiston

St Mary the Virgin, Beighton

[In preparation]

St Marys Handsworth
St Matthew Carver Street
St Patrick’s, Sheffield Lane Top
St Paul’s Norton Lees
St Paul’s Parson Cross
St Paul’s, Wordsworth Avenue
St Peter’s Church Ellesmere
St Peter’s Greenhill
St Philip’s
St Polycarp’s

St Timothy's Church
Sam Wakeling

According to the page

https://hodigital.blog.gov.uk/author/sam-wakeling/

'Sam Wakeling is an interaction designer working for the Home Office in Sheffield.'

Altruism may be inextricably linked with selfishness, drawing attention to a genuine abuse may resort to means which are futile and ridiculous, an abuse may be real, there may be a need for reform, but the abuse may be linked with benefits which are massive. The people who draw attention to an abuse, real, imaginary or a an abuse-with-benefits may be childish attention-seekers, or people with great strengths who are also narcissistic and with many weaknesses.

Extinction Rebellion carried out stunts, such as gluing Extinction Rebellion protestors' body parts to the road. Collins English Dictionary, entry for 'stunt:'

1. A feat of daring or skill 2. Anything spectacular or unusual done for attention.

The Extinction Rebellion' stunts aren't 'feats of daring or skill. They are grotesque but not spectacular. They were certainly 'done for attention.'

Above, circus performers in a car stunt in a stadium in Montreal, 1946.

The picture also illustrates 'car crash.' From the Macmillan Dictionary, entry for 'car crash:' 'Something that is completely unsuccessful.' The dictionary gives an illustrative example but I'll supply this instead: 'The Extinction Rebellion protest was a ridiculous car crash.'

This page of the St Timothy's Church Website

https://www.sttims.org.uk/sermons/2019-09-15/

amounts to clear-cut advocacy for the deranged stunts of 'Extinction Rebellion'

https://www.sttims.org.uk/sermon-speaker/sam-wakeling/

Biblical texts quoted: Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-7, Matthew 4:1-11. Preacher: Sam Wakeling.

From the article by Graham Wroe in the 'Sheffield Telegraph' with the clumsily worded heading 'What led Sheffield Christian fined for climate protest to sit on the pavement outside airport that day.'

https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/people/what-led-sheffield-christian-fined-for-climate-protest-to-sit-on-the-pavement-outside-airport-that-day-3247146

'Sheffielder Sam Wakeling, a father of two children, was arrested with six friends whilst taking part in a prayer vigil outside London City Airport. It was part of an Extinction Rebellion protest in October 2019. He was convicted and fined £796 for failing to provide his name and address when asked by a police officer. He explained to the court that he was silent because he was in prayer.'

He was fined almost £ 800 for a futile protest. Another futile protest he took part in is recorded on one of his pointless Youtube videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKcBwkOLkLE

St Vincent’s Catholic Church
St William of York Sheffield

STC (St Thomas Church) Sheffield

Alan Ward

Above, Alan Ward gives his commentary on Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (STC, July 14, 2021)

Alan Ward's commentaries on Moses have the disadvantage of ignoring many of the claims that the Bible makes in connection with Moses

For an abhorrent, horrific example of a divine command, which was obeyed, read this, from Numbers, in the 'Good News Translation:'

1. The Lord said to Moses,

2. “Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After you have done that, you will die.”

3. So Moses said to the people, “Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the Lord.

4. From each tribe of Israel send a thousand men to war.”

5. So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe, a total of 12,000 men ready for battle.

6. Moses sent them to war under the command of Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took charge of the sacred objects and the trumpets for giving signals.

7. They attacked Midian, as the Lord had commanded Moses, and killed all the men,

8. including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.

9. The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth,

10. and burnt all their cities and camps.

11. They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals,

12. and brought them to Moses and Eleazar and to the community of the people of Israel, who were at the camp on the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.

13. Moses, Eleazar, and all the other leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet the army.

14. Moses was angry with the officers, the commanders of battalions and companies, who had returned from the war.

15. He asked them, “Why have you kept all the women alive?

16. Remember that it was the women who followed Balaam's instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to the Lord. That was what brought the epidemic on the Lord's people.

17. So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,

18. but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins.'

STC (St Thomas Church, Sheffield), 'Sunday talks,' 17 October 2021

https://stthomascrookes.org/talks/does-god-heal-today/

Alan Ward on Acts 3, 6, 7, 8, the 'miraculous' healing of a lame man, a man unable to walk from birth: 'They see Paul and Barnabas and this incredible miracle, this incredible healing, and they think - these guys must be something special.' (His commentary begins at 6:0.) The spectators are superstitious, credulous pagans - thy think Paul and Barnabas are pagan Gods. Alan Ward has a very different interpretation, a superstitious, credulous Christian interpretation - this is a healing by the Christian God. He never mentions, he's obviously never considered the obvious difficulty: if God healed the lame man, why has God done nothing to heal the countless victims of plague, smallpox, tuberculosis, cholera, coronavirus, the victims of accidental injury? Is he unable to - are his powers limited - or is he not good at all?

The achievements of modern medicine could be called 'miraculous,' but not in any religious sense: achievements which are the result of arduous, protracted work as well as magnificent achievements of the intellect and scientific insight. He's the beneficiary of modern medicine - in his talk, he mentions that he's had knee surgery and cartigale repair. The knee surgery will have required anaesthesia, which is yet another medical 'miracle,' the result of human achievement, not at all the achievement of 'God.'

The image above shows a man unable to walk suddenly cured, no longer having to use a wheelchair. The Roman Catholic Church claims that miracles happen at Lourdes. Alan Ward would probably regard this claim as Popish superstition. The claims he makes amount to Protestant superstition.

Helen Ward

Helen Ward's inspired/uninspired idea which led to the 'Streets of Light' initiative dates from 2016, when she saw a Halloween display at a pub not far from STC. I didn't see the display. From her account, it seems to have been over the top, in bad taste - crude but not cruel, unlike this window display, which shows the judging of souls for a future in heaven or hell. Demons attend the souls destined for hell.

The fear of hellfire has terrified untold numbers of people, children and adults, for hundreds of years, for millennia. The harmful effects of Halloween are nothing in comparison. Her strong feelings would be better directed at the teachings of orthodox Christianity - at her own beliefs, in fact, if she ever managed to examine them properly.

The 'Streets of Light' initiative urges, or requires, people not to make pumpkins into human faces - whilst neglecting completely the possible dangers of the initiative, such as putting candles in pumpkins near to flammable materials.

She's responsible for safeguarding at STC. The sexual abuse and other abuse which has taken place in the Church of England are vastly more important areas for concern than Halloween displays.

Ruth Aidley

Above, the large display at STC followed by window displays in houses which signed up to the 'Streets of Light' initiative, all including the word 'love' - a word which is grotesquely overused and misused. It's easy to use the word, much harder to try to make realities match up to claims which can be blatantly insincere.

I don't know what LOVE Ruth Aidley has for her fellow Christians and for non-Christians. Behaviour can be a better guide than professions of faith. I hope Ruth Aidley would regard me as an opponent rather than an enemy, but I wouldn't want Ruth Aidley to love me. A person often needs fair treatment, not love, and never needs insincere expressions of love. This is disastrously misguided as a general precept:

Countless examples could be given which falsify it, which show its unreality. During and after the uprising in Warsaw to oppose the Nazis, any Poles who claimed to love the Nazis would have been lying. j

Ruth Aidley is the Administrator at STC. An extract from the email I sent to the Administration email address of STC:

' ... after just a few minutes in the building, [... after I had been in the building a few minutes] Ruth Aidley ordered me to leave at once. I didn't leave at once, not quite, and she repeated the order. I left after a very short delay. This is no way to promote the reputation of the Anglican Church, or the STC section of the Church. It blocks means of communication and is a sign that, for all the talk of love and the writing about love, STC's pursuit of positivity at all costs, even when the situation can't be given positive 'spin,' STC is capable of abysmal failure when dealing with people. I'm a non-Christian, and this experience has had an effect. I had made it clear to Ruth Aidley that I had called at STC simply with this in mind: I had great concerns about the implications for safe working of the 'Streets of Light' initiative, the practical work needed to put up a window display, I didn't expect anyone to listen to the evidence I had available at the time - I recognized that there were many demands on people's time - but I was happy to return on any day and at any time to speak about the matters, which I regarded - and still regard, of course - as very important.'

Liam Brennan

The Online Church of STC, 11 April, 2021: Liam Brennan preaches.

https://fo-fo.facebook.com/stcsheffield/videos/stc-online-church-11-april/4019187294792640/

Screen-shots of some of the Biblical text he uses:

I don't devote much space to the text or his comments on the text, which he obviously accepts as the word of God, or the 'miracle' which he obvously accepts as a historical event, or his understanding of science and natural phenomena, or such obvious questions as this: if God intervened in this case, according to Liam Brennan, why didn't he intervene at any time during the First World War or the Second World War or other wars? In many, perhaps most wars, the people who fought, mainly young, had no choice about going to war. They were compelled and if they refused, they would be executed or severely punished. It can't be in the least likely that the Egyptian army was made up of willing volunteers. These were very likely men who had no choice. The divine act which supposedly drowned them, all of them, was abhorrent.

Liam Brennan is one of the Church Leaders at STC, in charge of 'STC Youth.'

From a report in 'The Guardian,'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/07/church-in-crisis-as-only-2-of-young-adults-identify-as-c-of-e

'The Church of England is facing a generational catastrophe with only 2% of young adults identifying with it, while seven out of 10 under-24s say they have no religion, research reveals.

'C of E affiliation is at a record low among all age groups, and has halved since 2002, according to the British Social Attitudes survey. Far fewer actually attend church services on a regular basis.

...

Many, many members of Churches which participate in 'Arise' would look at the figures and conclude that increasing numbers of people in this country are destined for eternal separation from God.'

Are young people likely to return to the Churches in large numbers to listen to people like Liam Brennan explaining a ridiculous miracle? Do they want to hear about the exploits of Moses? Do they have the least relevance to their lives?

Tom Finnemore, Team Leader at STC

Tom Finnemore preaching on a text from Nehemiah.

Tom Finnemore must have spent a very great deal of time on Nehemiah and the other books of the Old Testament, to say nothing of the New Testament, and has neglected studies which could have transformed his thinking, to mention just one, studies of the Holocaust and the Nazi era.. But he would first have had to contend with very disturbing content, incapable of being assimilated into his Christian world view. I find it difficult to believe that he would allow his Christian faith to be challenged. After all, he'll be familiar with a text such as this (I quote it in the profile of 'Bushfire Ministries,' which participates in 'Arise 2021)

Deuteronomy, 21: 18-21, in the English Standard Version:

A Rebellious Son

Can he comment on that, defend it? Will he evade its implications?

And another text for him to consider and defend, if he possibly can - but I don't think it is possible. This is Leviticus 20:13

'¹³If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

The historical Jesus - I'd question whether much is known about him, but he will obviously think very differently - didn't, it seems, find fault with these and similar Old Testament texts. He didn't claim to find some texts horrific in their implications, impossible to take seriously, quite the opposite. Jesus found nothing wrong with those texts, just as he found nothing wrong with the system of slavery as it existed in that part of the Roman empire, as in the rest of the Roman empire. He raised no objections to the selling of people in slave markets, the splitting up of families, members of families sold to different owners.

Christian ethics are based on the 'teachings' of Jesus and, in the Catholic tradition, the 'teachings' developed by the Church. Apologists for 'Christian ethics' need to pay far more attention to the gaps in the 'teaching' of Jesus, the silences of Jesus.

Tapton Hill Congregational Church
The Crowded House
The Michael Church Lowedges United Reformed Church
The New Hope Community Church
The Rock Christian Centre
The Salvation Army
The Vine

The Well, Sheffield

[In preparation]

Totley Rise Methodist
Upperthorpe christian community
Victory Assembly
Wadsley Parish Church
Welcome Baptist Church
Wesley Hall Methodist Church

Whirlow Spirituality Centre

[In preparation]

Wisewood Methodist Church
Yorkshire Baptist Association
Zion United Rerformed Church Oughtibridge

Lighting up the city

STC is one of the participating churches in 'Arise.' It's obvious that when STC promotes 'Streets of Light,' it's not for reasons to do with the cheering effect of light. 'Lighting up the city' has a particular meaning for STC, the same meaning as in this section from the 'Arise' Website. God's love, also mentioned in the section, has a particular meaning too - the so-called love which blesses people and gives them the gift of eternal life in union with God - but only the people who are 'followers' of Jesus, who have accepted Jesus as their personal lord and saviour. What they call 'prayer-walking' will do nothing to solve problems of drug abuse and violence in neighbourhoods, to help neighbourhoods with a multitide of problems. Did Sheffield and the rest of this country turn to prayer as the answer to Coronavirus? If no effective vaccines had been found an distributed in a gargantuan feat of organization and determination, would praying have helped? The effort of so many people during the Coronavirus epidemic has helped in the struggle to defeat the virus. What has prayer-walking achieved? It was surely a gargantuan waste of time and energy. I didn't see people in the neighbourhood walking with a look of concentration and mumbling as they walked. It would have been a sight to see, a depressing sight.

Did praying win the war against Nazism, or was that only possible with massive concerted action, military action and other action, and people willing to put their lives at risk, not just pray? Has praying helped to lessen the problem of flooding, or does that depend upon things like flood defences?

www.arisesheffield.org

Prayer

Over 1,000 people rose up to cover Sheffield in prayer.

Followers of Jesus across Sheffield used the Arise prayer-walking app to pray for streets near their home, school, or workplace during their daily walk.

From 1-31 March 2021, the Arise community prayer-walked nearly 2000km of Sheffield’s streets, lighting up the city with God’s love.

This too would be regarded as 'lighting up the city ... '

Arise Sheffield arranged for Royal Mail to send an Easter card to every home in Sheffield.

Over 240,000 Sheffield-themed Easter cards were printed so that Royal Mail could deliver one to every home in Sheffield, offering prayers, practical support, and the opportunity to connect with someone from a church near them.

Did the people who received these cards realize that there were ulterior motives, that the cards had been delivered not just to direct the people to a welcoming church but to save their souls?

Some quotations from supporters of 'Arise,' with comments

All the quotations, along with others, can be found at the bottom of the Home Page of the Arise Web Site. The quotations are followed by some comments of mine.

“The prophet Jeremiah summoned the exiled people of God to seek the welfare of their city and to pray to the LORD on its behalf. To be in exile is to be living in a situation we would not choose. How better then, to respond to the present pandemic than by taking up that ancient challenge, praying to the LORD for our city of Sheffield and by seeking its welfare in the coming months. Arise Sheffield provides us with that opportunity and I commend it to you — with confidence in the Gospel and joy in the Spirit.”

– Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield

Will 'prayer-walking' solve such problems as gun crime or attacks on fire crews and other members of the emergency services or fly-tipping? Can you quote figures which show an upsurge in the numbers attending Anglican church services after the Miracle of the Distribution of the Leaflets, the delivery of 240,000 Sheffield-themed Easter cards, one to every home in Sheffield, it's claimed. Did many people take up 'the opportunity to connect with someone from a church near them?' Or did most people consign them to the blue waste paper bin along with the rest of the unsolicited mail?

My brief profile of Pete Wilcox can be found above. When I drew his attention to my letter in the Star on Remembrance Day Services, I didn't hear from him. Is there any chance of a statement now? Could he possibly make a statement on this issue, if it isn't too much trouble - it does after all have relevance to his opinion on the people of Sheffield. Does he believe that only the people who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour are saved whilst the others are damned?

And another quotation:

“There has never been a better time to share the hope of Jesus. It is a joy to see churches across Sheffield working together to prioritise prayer, sharing the gospel, and transforming the city! Arise not only presents us with an opportunity to step out of our comfort zones as followers of Jesus, but will begin to provide answers for every person asking, “Is there more to life?” It’s time for the church to rise up and our city to wake up!”

– Viki Seithel, Communications Developer, Fusion Movement

“The 19th century British poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote, ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world ever dreamed of.’ Today, we are surrounded by the answers to prayers prayed in the past by us and others. Arise is a testimony in the streets of Sheffield to the power of prayer today. The Catholic community in Sheffield looks forward to being part of it. May the Lord who has begun this good work bring it to fulfillment.”

The Roman Catholic Church has been repeatedly called 'a Powerhouse of Prayer.' The priests, nuns and members of religious orders said prayers on all kinds of subjects, repeatedly, and still do, if they are still Roman Catholics. They actively contributed and still contribute to this the 'Powerhouse of Prayer' but did they achieve anything. The Church officials who covered up the abuse actively prayed and still pray. What of their achievements - achievements brought about by prayer?

Many or most people who aren't Roman Catholics are probably unaware that Roman Catholics are permitted or encouraged to pray to the Saints. The Virgin Mary is a very popular recipient of prayers on all kinds of subjects - would she grant fine weather when the Church fete takes place, for example.

Prayers can be offered to Saint Augustine, who taught that unbaptized babies are destined to spend eternity in hell.

For foot complaints, the Saint to turn to is Saint Servatius, the patron saint of those who suffer with foot or leg ailments.

St Camillus is a versatile saint. He is known as a good Saint to contact for help with gambling.

Wikipedia gives a very comprehensive list of saints to pray to for different problems: it amounts to a powerful case for scientific medicine and scientific knowledge to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patron_saints_of_ailments,_illness,_and_dangers

Victims of rape, victims of general crime can pray to Saint Maria Goretti, who is also invoked against paedophiles. For some reason, the Bishop of Hallam didn't recommend that victims could try praying to this Saint.

Countless prayers have been offered by Roman Catholics to non-existent saints. From the page

https://abcnews.go.com/International/saint-saint-kind-demoted/story?id=23477573

'Pope Paul VI revised the canon of saints and determined that some of the names had only ever been alive as legends or not enough was known about them to determine their status ...

'Some famous demoted saints:

Saint Christopher

Among Catholicism’s most popular saints, Christopher was listed as a martyr.

Legend had it he carried a child who grew increasingly heavy across a river -- the child was supposed to be carrying the weight of God.

But there wasn’t enough historical evidence the man ever existed, so Pope Paul VI dropped him.

Saint Ursula

Saint Ursula suffered a similar fate when the Catholic Church decided she was only a myth. She is thought to have been the leader of a group of virgins who were murdered at Cologne.

“Arise Sheffield is a really exciting initiative bringing together followers of the way from all across Sheffield to cry out for God’s kingdom to come on our streets and in homes throughout the city. What an amazing opportunity to join with our brothers and sisters to step out onto the streets across our city and claim back ground for God. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12). As we go, let’s be attentive to God’s unique call to each of us for how to serve our communities, and let’s be radically obedient in following that call.”

– The Far & Wide Team, a Sheffield-based worship collective

A few questions to Arise Supporters in general. How many people have you managed to convert to a faith in Christ yourself? Some? Many? None? Converting people known to you - friends, family, people at work, for example, has distinct advantages over attempts to convert strangers, by prayer-walking (if you believe in prayer, praying can be done anywhere - do you really think that many people have noticed you walking and mumbling?) Or attempts to convert people by having leaflets shoved through the letter box. The leaflets will be treated as junk mail by most people. So, again, how many people have you converted?

St Mark's Church, Sheffield

There's more material on St Mark's Church on my page The Church of England and other Churches: religion,remembrance, redemption. The page also contains material on slavery, relevant to my discussion of slavery and Christian belief in this section.

I criticize some views of Sue Hammersley, Vicar of St Mark's in this section but the criticism isn't intended to be personal in the least. I've no animosity towards Sue Hammersley at all. I know very little about her. I confine my attention to some of her views as a Christian. They are views shared by vast numbers of Christians. I don't claim that she's defined by these views or that she's without strengths. For all I know, she may well have enormous strengths.Here, Sue Hammersley is simply a more or less representative figure, for the views I do criticize. Her views on some other aspects of Christian belief wouldn't necessarily be shared by vast numbers of Christians.

Above, bodies at Buchenwald concentration camp after liberation by American forces

Above, fugitive slaves fled to the Union Army. They were freed in 1863 by the Emancipation Proclamation. The Union army accepted Freedmen. Seen here are Black and White teenage soldiers.

Above, Sue Hammersley, vicar at St Mark's Church. From the Youtube video 'Via Dolorosa.' Her facile and superficial address/sermon on suffering turns out to put the emphasis on something very different. She says,' This service is a reminder that God's love permeates every part of our life ... even our own sense of being crucified.' This is playing with words, words she finds impressive but with no relation to realities. From my comments below, quoting from the book by Peter Kolchin, 'American slavery:'

'Slaves who transgressed could look forward to a wide range of punishments - most imposed informally by owners and overseers but some officially meted out upon sentence by special slave courts that existed in all the Southern colonies - including branding, nose slitting; amputation of ears, toes, and fingers (and less often of hands and feet): castration; and burning at the stake.'

Sue Hammenlsey, and the people who patiently listened to her address at St Marks, may feel 'We share your pain! We share your experience of being burned alive! They may feel that the victim has the assurance of God's love, which permeates every part of his or her life, until the flames do their work. What of what comes after? Does God's love suddenly end? Does it go beyond that? According to orthodox Christian belief, held by so many millions over the millennia, God then judges the slave burned alive, and if the slave hasn't accepted Christ as personal Lord and Saviour, then the slave spends an eternity of separation from God. It may well be that the slave was treated so atrociously (perhaps by a slave-owner who had this all-important faith in Christ) that he or she couldn't give thought to the destiny of the soul. The slave was preoccupied with punishments, such as branding and amputation, and back-breaking work.

if all this doesn't disturb Sue Hammersley's calm assurance that God's love permeates every part of a slave's life, then she could read the Wikipedia page on Thomas Thistlewood, an 18th century planter and slave-owner who emigrated to Jamaica. I take the view that Sue Hammersley finds the 'word sphere' very congenial, certain realities much less congenial. The 'word sphere' in this sense allows the believer to indulge in complacency by spinning a web of words. Inside this cocoon, the glow of calm assurance can be enjoyed and indulged.

Extracts from the Wikipedia page:

The 14,000-page diary [of Thomas Thistlewood]provides a detailed record of his behaviour and deep insight into plantation life and owner-slave relations. In 1751, he became overseer of a sugar plantation called Egypt; within days he began raping the enslaved women. His diary chronicles 3,852 acts of sexual intercourse with 138 black women. He systematically raped enslaved girls and women; those that ran away were whipped and put in chains, collars, or placed in field gangs. He sometimes raped more than one woman in a night, after which he would give them some coins "for their troubles.

... I By 1781, Thistlewood was becoming regularly ill with syphilis and his sexual abuse declined as a result.

...

For most of the 1780s, Thistlewood's slaves suffered with malnutrition while growing produce for the island's white population. If they were caught eating the produce, they were brutally flogged. While his slaves complained of hunger and starvation, Thistlewood entertained guests with lavish meals ... Thistlewood's treatment of his enslaved workers didn't attract criticism from Jamaica's white settlers, to the contrary, reportedly he fitted in well

...

Thistlewood routinely punished his slaves with fierce floggings and other cruel and gruesome punishments. In 1756, Hazat was recaptured after running away, and Thistlewood "put him in the bilboes both feet; gagged him; locked his hands together; rubbed him with molasses & exposed him naked to the flies all day, and to the mosquitoes all night, without fire." Thistlewood often had a slave beaten, after which salt pickle, lime juice, and bird pepper were rubbed onto the open wounds. He wrote that when two slaves named Punch and Quacoo were caught for running away, they were well flogged, "and then washed and rubbed in salt pickle, lime juice & bird pepper."

In 1756, Thistlewood added a gruesome element to this punishment on several occasions. On January 28 he wrote: "Had Derby well whipped, and made Egypt shit in his mouth." Derby's crime was stealing and eating sugar cane. Thistlewood called this favoured form of punishment "Derby's dose". On May 26, Derby was caught eating canes by Port Royal, another slave. Thistlewood records: "Had him well flogged and pickled, then made Hector shit in his mouth." On July 24, Port Royal tried to run away, but was recaptured. Thistlewood wrote, "Gave him a moderate whipping, pickled him well, made Hector shit in his mouth, immediately put a gag whilst his mouth was full & made him wear it 4 or 5 hours." The following day, a female slave named Phillis was punished the same way, although apparently spared the gag, and received the punishment again on the 31st. On July 30, a slave named Hector was whipped for losing his hoe, and Thistlewood "made New Negro Joe piss in his eyes & mouth." On September 27, Egypt was whipped and given "Derby's dose" for eating cane. In October of that year, three more slaves, Hector, Joe and Mr. Watt's Pomona, were equally punished for the same crime .

Whilst there are no recordings of "Derby's dose" after 1756, Thistlewood's other cruel and vicious punishments continued. In 1770, Coobah exacted some revenge for punishments received for attempting to run away by excreting in a "punch strainer" in the cookroom. Thistlewood had the last word by having the offended items "rubbed all over face and mouth".

His systematic rape of enslaved girls and women was another aspect of his brutality. Enslaved women who ran away were whipped and put in collars, yokes or placed in field gangs, and raped by Thistlewood, who documented his activities in his journal. Some of the whippings were extremely severe, and for the most minor of infractions. Thistlewood had Dick flogged for planting potato slips at the wrong end of the ground.

Coobah ran away 14 times between 1770 and 1774, but was recaptured each time. In 1771, when she was recaptured after running away, Thistlewood had her flogged and "put a chain about her neck". On another occasion, he "flogged her well & brand marked her in the forehead". In 1774, Thistlewood sold her to a ship bound for Georgia after another runaway attempt. In 1772, he had three slaves whipped for damage caused by walking through his corn piece. In 1774, he ordered the flogging of a party of slaves for not working hard enough. Between 1774 and 1775, Solon failed to catch enough fish on several occasions, and Thistlewood had him flogged for his failures. After one beating, Solon ran away, but eventually returned, whereupon Thistlewood had him flogged and "a collar and chain put about his neck", after which he was immediately sent out to fish again. This was a punishment meted out to Solon on several occasions, often after he was recaptured following an attempt to run away. In 1776, when Lincoln failed to catch enough fish, Thistlewood ordered the unfortunate slave-fisherman to be flogged and "put him in the bilboes".

In 1778, when the slave driver, Dick, failed in his duty to force the slaves to work hard enough, Thistlewood ordered another slave, Jimmy, to have Dick flogged. But Thistlewood expressed dissatisfaction with Jimmy's efforts in flogging Dick and ordered that Jimmy be flogged. Thistlewood demoted Dick to the field, and made Strap the new slave driver. But Strap was overfond of the whip, and flogged Peggy so hard that she nearly lost the use of her right eye. Thistlewood had Strap flogged for his carelessness, and reinstated Dick as slave driver.

Back to the Bible. St Paul's view on salvation are clear. It can be assumed, according to the Pauline theology, that Thomas Thistlewood was judged and found wanting and 'sentenced' to spend eternity in separation from God. This is the case if Thomas Thistlewood had accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour. I've no information as to whether he had this faith or not. As for the slaves he abused and punished, the case is exactly the same, on this demented Pauline view, the orthodox Christian view, of course. If the slaves had accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, then eternity in union with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, otherwise, eternity separated from the so-called 'loving God.' What kind of barbaric, primitive rubbish these Christians believe!

Some views on slavery to be found in 'The Word of God. Translations: English Standard Version.

Ephesians 6:5
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ.

1Peter 2:18
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

Colossians 3:22-25
Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters ...

Titus 2:9
Slaves, are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative.

Above, part of a wreath supplied by the pacifist 'Peace Pledge Union.' An image of the wreath appears on the St Marks Facebook page. Below, material on the Peace Pledge Union and its mixed but overwhelmingly poor record in relation to Nazi German. The wreath is 'for all those who have died or are dying in wars ... ' The Peace Pledge Union obviously thinks that the fallen are equally deserving - the Nazi soldiers who had previously carried out executions of civilians and massacres of civilians, the Nazi soldiers who promoted and fended the Nazi's demented and barbaric policies - and the soldiers of the allied forces who liberated the extermination and concentration camps and freed the world of the nightmare of Nazism. Some of the people at St Mark's Church seem not to have noticed this.

There's a great deal of material on St Mark's Church on my page on Christian Religion as well as other material relevant here, such as my comments on Christian belief and slavery, under the graphic image of a slave who has been flogged. This section contains more recent material, including material on St Mark's and war. The section on Tom Finnemore of STC (St Thomas Church) is relevant. . It contains material on the Holocaust. The Nazi Holocaust and all the other Nazi barbarities were eventually brought to an end not by prayer, not by the Churches, not by earnest but naive people - I've reason to think that St Mark's Church contains some instructive examples - but by military action, costly in lives, necessarily involving massive financial resources and resources of other kinds, and in so many other ways. I include more material on the Second World War here but begin with material on the American Civil War. This war brought an end to slavery in the United States, something which no amount of wishful thinking, praying or any other method had achieved. Ineffectual church goers of the St Mark's kind or any other kind had failed to end this nightmare.

The nightmare was a reality for millions of slaves, taking many different forms, including extreme punishments. Some examples, from the wide-ranging book by Peter Kolchin, 'American slavery.'

From the Wikipedia entry. See also the extended account by Peter Kolchin.

The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865) (also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States fought between the Union (forces remaining loyal to the federal union, or "the North"), and the Confederacy (forces from southern states that voted to secede — "the South"). The central cause of the war was the status of slavery, especially the expansion of slavery into territories acquired as a result of the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican–American War. On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, four million of the 32 million Americans (~13%) were enslaved black people, almost all in the South.

The practice of slavery in the United States was one of the key political issues of the 19th century. Decades of political unrest over slavery led up to the war. Disunion came after Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 United States presidential election on an anti-slavery expansion platform. An initial seven Southern slave states declared their secession from the country to form the Confederacy. Confederate forces seized federal forts within territory they claimed. The last minute Crittenden Compromise tried to avert conflict but failed; both sides prepared for war. Fighting broke out in April 1861 when the Confederate army began the Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, just over a month after the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. The Confederacy grew to control at least a majority of territory in eleven states (out of the 34 U.S. states in February 1861), and asserted claims to two more. The states that remained loyal to the federal government were known as the Union. Both sides raised large volunteer and conscription armies. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued.

...

The war effectively ended on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Lee surrendered to Union General Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, after abandoning Petersburg and Richmond. Confederate generals throughout the Southern states followed suit, the last surrender on land occurring on June 23. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed, especially its railroads. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in a partially successful attempt to rebuild the country and grant civil rights to freed slaves.

From the Wikipedia entry on the Peace Pledge Union:

Attitudes towards Nazi Germany[edit]

Like many in the 1930s, the PPU supported aspects of appeasement^] ... It backed Neville Chamberlain's policy at Munich in 1938, regarding Hitler's claims on the Sudetenland as legitimate. At the time of the Munich crisis, several PPU sponsors tried to send "five thousand pacifists to the Sudetenland as a non-violent presence", however this attempt came to nothing.

Peace News editor and PPU sponsor John Middleton Murry and his supporters in the group caused considerable controversy by arguing Germany should be given control of parts of mainland Europe. In a PPU publication, Warmongers, Clive Bell said that Germany should be permitted to "absorb" France, Poland, the Low Countries and the Balkans. However, this was never the official policy of the PPU and the position quickly drew criticism from other PPU activists such as Vera Brittain and Andrew Stewart.^[9] Clive Bell left the PPU shortly afterwards and by 1940 he was supporting the war.

Some PPU supporters were so sympathetic to German grievances that PPU supporter Rose Macaulay claimed she found it difficult to distinguish between the PPU newspaper Peace News and that of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), saying, "occasionally when reading Peace News, I (and others) half think we have got hold of the Blackshirt [BUF journal] by mistake". There was Fascist infiltration of the PPU and MI5 kept an eye on the PPU's "small Fascist connections".After Dick Sheppard's death in October 1937, George Orwell, always hostile to pacifism, accused the PPU of "moral collapse" on the grounds that some members even joined the BUF.However, several historians note that the situation may have been the other way around; that is, BUF members attempted to infiltrate the PPU.

Historians have differed in their interpretation of the PPU's attitude to Nazi Germany. The historian Mark Gilbert said, "it is hard to think of a British newspaper that was so consistent an apologist for Nazi Germany as Peace News," which "assiduously echoed the Nazi press's claims that far worse offences than the Kristallnacht events were a regular feature of British colonial rule". But David C. Lukowitz argues that, "it is nonsense to charge the PPU with pro-Nazi sentiments. From the outset it emphasised that its primary dedication was to world peace, to economic justice and racial equality," but it had "too much sympathy for the German position, often the product of ignorance and superficial thinking". Research by the historian Richard Griffiths, published in 2017, suggests considerable division and controversy at the top of the PPU, with the editors of Peace News being generally more willing to play down the dangers of Nazi Germany than were many members of the PPU Executive.

Controversy over the PPU's attitude towards Nazi Germany has continued ever since the war. In 1950, Rebecca West, in her book The Meaning of Treason, described the PPU as "that ambiguous organisation which in the name of peace was performing many actions certain to benefit Hitler". The publishers removed the phrase from subsequent editions of the book following representations by the PPU, but West refused to apologise ...

Second World War

Initially, the Peace Pledge Union opposed the Second World War and continued to argue for a negotiated peace with Germany. On 9 March 1940, 2,000 people attended a PPU public meeting calling for a negotiated peace. PPU membership reached a peak of 140,000 in 1940.

The critical attitude towards the PPU in this period was summarised by George Orwell, writing in the October 1941 issue of Adelphi magazine: "Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it. Objectively, the pacifist is pro-Nazi".

...

Following the fall of France, support for the PPU dropped considerably and some former members even volunteered for the armed forces.

St Mark's Church and Extinction Rebellion

Extinction Rebellion (XR) have been present on the streets at the heart of our cities and Government. Protesting. Demanding. Disrupting. Singing. Dancing. Praying. Feeding babies. Doing yoga. Talking. Lu Skerratt writes: ‘On 7 October, XR launched its largest worldwide action. In London thousands of rebels joined the rebellion for up to two weeks, spurred on by the need to act now for our climate before it is too late. Myself, and other members of St Mark's, are just some of those rebels. For us, XR speaks truth to power, where a strategy of non-violent disruptive civil disobedience is a way to make effective positive change in order to save this planet from human destruction. ‘My Christian faith felt central to the call from XR to ‘Act Now’, and I spent much of my time in London with Christian Climate Action (the Christian 'wing'), praying, taking part in actions, and doing the daily offices, including Eucharist in front of the police line. Despite the noise, the clamour, the thousands of arrests, the tears, the rain, the fear and the apprehension, it felt like a profoundly holy place. I was shoved, spat at by passers-by, threatened with a night in the cells but kept on, like so many others, joined in union and in partnership that though peaceful action profound change could be made. Christ was present in the mess of it all and with a collective hope (like fresh water) that we were once again renewed in God's call to us, to be stewards of God's creation... And it was good…’ Margaret Ainger

Counter-evangelism

Counter-evangelism

In this section: some Bible texts are discussed. All translations from the 'Good News (!) Bible' New Testament passages and Old Testament passages which will have been familiar to Jesus, St Paul and the other contributors to the New Testament but obviously accepted by them.

Welcoming all, Following Jesus, Growing together.

This is Fritz Klein, a doctor who worked at Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, sometimes taking part is selections for the gas chamber, before moving to Bergen-Belsen. Here, he's shown moving bodies after the camp had been liberated by British forces.

Profiles, with images: Sheffield churches members of 'Arise 2021,' and people at the Churches, with material on St Mark's Church, Sheffield and St Columba's Church, Sheffield

What's new: St Columba's Church, Crosspool, Sheffield and an event at the Church which has some disturbing implications, I argue. The other profiles, with an introduction, are after this new section.

Other profiles

All Saints Church, Aston

All Saints, Ecclesall

Prayer

Bushfire Ministries

City Church Dan Maton

GENESIS 19

Alex Shilkoff, Strategic Programme Director, Diocese of Sheffield

Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield

Hope City Church

Our Lady of Beauchief & St. Thomas of Canterbury Our Lady of Lourdes Pitsmoor Methodist Church RCCG (Amazing Grace Tab) Hillsborough Richmond Church Rock Christian Centre, Burngreave

How Do You React?

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

https://www.stjohnschap.co.uk/who-we-are/beliefs/

St Mary the Virgin, Beighton

Alan Ward

Helen Ward

Ruth Aidley

Liam Brennan

Tom Finnemore, Team Leader at STC

Tapton Hill Congregational Church The Crowded House The Michael Church Lowedges United Reformed Church The New Hope Community Church The Rock Christian Centre The Salvation Army The Vine The Well, Sheffield

[In preparation]

Totley Rise Methodist Upperthorpe christian community Victory Assembly Wadsley Parish Church Welcome Baptist Church Wesley Hall Methodist Church Whirlow Spirituality Centre

Prayer

Some quotations from supporters of 'Arise,' with comments

City Church
Dan Maton

Our Lady of Beauchief & St. Thomas of Canterbury
Our Lady of Lourdes
Pitsmoor Methodist Church
RCCG (Amazing Grace Tab) Hillsborough
Richmond Church

Rock Christian Centre, Burngreave

Tapton Hill Congregational Church
The Crowded House
The Michael Church Lowedges United Reformed Church
The New Hope Community Church
The Rock Christian Centre
The Salvation Army
The Vine

The Well, Sheffield

Totley Rise Methodist
Upperthorpe christian community
Victory Assembly
Wadsley Parish Church
Welcome Baptist Church
Wesley Hall Methodist Church

Whirlow Spirituality Centre