Missions

This next two weeks Nancy and I are visiting Northern Ireland and hope to make a visit also to dear friends in the south as well.
The Bangor missions convention is 75 years old this year and they have gone through a renewal and attracted many young people, have great vision for the future and offer excellent networking for all those who participate. Bishop Michael Nazir Ali gave the first address on the persecution of Christian minorities around the world. This led to the observation of the growing marginalisation of Christians in the UK at this present time. History may well repeat itself if we do not stay alert. However his message was sobering, has it not been like this since the time of Christ and that he called us all to take up our cross and follow Him in suffering and persecution. Watch this space!

A New Survey: Read more on: On the web: http://www.cardus.ca/research/education/

Protestant Schools Focus on Faith; Catholic Schools Focus on Intellect.

A new study of K-12 Christian schools shows that Protestant Christian schools do a better job of developing their students' spiritual formation while Catholic Christian schools do a better job developing their students' intellect.

These are among the findings of a two-year study of Christian schools in the United States conducted by Cardus, a Christian think tank.

Catholic school students have better academic outcomes, are more likely to attend prestigious colleges, more likely to achieve an advanced degree and have higher income levels as a result. This is consistent with the goals of Catholic schools. Catholic school administrators place much emphasis on academic achievement and Catholic schools have more rigorous course requirements than Protestant schools.

Could it be that whilst protestants are successful in teaching their children they have not given them the academic tools to deal with a post modernism, biased scientific arguments and rampant agnosticism?
A good place to start is to watch the You Tube lectures by John Lennox.

Who is to blame?

This is the new mantra that is spewing out of the media, politicians and man on the street here in UK. Who is to blame for the madness and terror unleashed on UK streets this week?


For a change they cannot blame God. That's one option not mentioned.  I think that we have to go back to the David Hume in 1779 who espoused  the primacy of secularism, this was regurgitated by A T Robinson the Bishop of Woolwich who wrote a best seller called "God is Dead" in 1963. Out of that foundation a whole raft of initiatives have given way to this  position of primacy. Secularism has had a place in society but with God dead anything is valid and "every man does what is right in his own eyes". These people on the streets were driven by a culture whereby those in positions of leadership and example have let them down.  Churchmen have compromised themselves on gay issues and the breakdown of family life and being irrelevant to many ordinary people. They have become ecclesiastically motivated and not Kingdom based. These young people were led by hooligans but many came from normal backgrounds. If Sportsmen can take drugs, cheat and be paid enormous salaries why can't they have a piece of the pie. If Politicians can put in false expenses why can't they get a piece of the pie. If newspaper men (who only want the truth) can hack into peoples phones to make a scoop to raise circulation figures why can't they get a piece of the pie. They are beset by greedy people all around them and the lines of accountability have been torn down and opportunities are far out of reach for them.
Liberals using human wisdom sought to restrict parents from correcting their children, as one man put it "I can't slap my kid, send him to his room or act against his behaviour for fear of the social worker being called.

Today I was told of one child in my own peaceful town who was queuing with her mother in a shop. When she was pulled back into the  line and she turned on her mother saying "leave me alone bitch! Liberals in the media, school boards and seats of power must take responsibly for the fruits of their interference in society.

Its time for another renaissance, a radical overhauling of just where secularism has got us and the high cost of individualism still to be paid. Human wisdom is foolishness with God and we must return to a re-evaluation of
whether we have understood the message of Christ and His Kingdom and depart from a church-ianty that is toothless and mediocre.

Ron George