What does this Trump / Kim handshake mean for the Christians of North Korea?
What does this Trump / Kim handshake mean for the Christians of North Korea?
What does the Trump / Kim Summit mean for North Korea’s Christians?
Firstly, we thank God the summit has happened. It has advanced peace and lessened the prospect of war. Naturally, the mainstream media are asking who ‘won’ or who ‘gained the most from it’?
It appears the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, to give North Korea its preferred name, will cease all nuclear tests. Meanwhile, the United States will stop what President Trump conceded are ‘provocative’ military exercises in South Korea. Neither of those undertakings appeared in the agreed communique, which is here.
That saw the DPRK committed to ‘work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’. But of course Kim Jung-Un does not want to end up like Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. So the undertaking does not amount to much. But asking who won and who lost is typical MSM playground talk. A more mature look is probably this one at RT.
Prov 22:10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Peace and prosperity
Firstly, we need to thank God the two men met at all. In addition, after last week’s G7 debacle, we thank God they agreed a statement. When President Trump met the G7 leaders last week, they could not agree a form of words. That was at least partly because the President wants Russia readmitted to a new G8, says the Guardian. This time, there is a stated intention of the US and the DPRK ‘to establish new US-DPRK relations’. These were: ‘in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.’
In addition, ‘the United States and DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula’.
As we keep saying, peace and prosperity are good things. God’s heart is for people to live in peace.
Eccl 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
But make no mistake, there are those who will dislike such words. They will be working to undermine the declaration. As Iran is telling the North Koreans, you can never be sure which Donald Trump is going to show up. Above all, the US is constantly trying to defend and enhance its economic interests worldwide. That’s not a reprehensible thing. All countries do it. We just need to be aware it happens and pray the more for peace.
Kim-Moon summit paved the way
Much prayer has gone into this process already. The historic meeting in April between Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in paved the way for the Trump-Kim summit.
Christianheadlines says: ‘The meeting of the two leaders signalled a major change in North Korea’s relations with the rest of the world and sparked hope that conditions for North Korean citizens–and particularly Christians–can begin to improve.’
Following the meeting, Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in issued a joint statement: ‘There will be no mo
re war on the Korean peninsula, and a new age of peace has begun.’
Christians in South Korea, says the website, were fasting and praying for the Kim-Moon summit. ‘In Paju, a city just south of the North Korean border, pastors held an all-night vigil and South Korean Christian politicians also fasted and prayed.’
Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Worst place to be a Christian
Open Doors says North Korea is simply the worst place in the world to be a Christian. Their website carries three terrible stories which illustrate the plight of North Korea’s Christian under Kim Jong-Un.
Open Doors’ Robert Kenna says: ‘It’s hard to fathom that people are not free to attend and be part of a church, or even express their religious beliefs to their children, out of fear they will say something to the wrong person.’
Christianheadlines quotes Ryan Morgan, an analyst with International Christian Concern Asia: ‘The regime still has up to 70,000 Christians locked away in virtual concentration camps.’ Mr Morgan added that a Christian believer and three generations of his or her family can still go to prison for life just for owning a Bible. Open Doors suggests over 50,000 Christians are imprisoned. Either way, it is outrageous and counter-productive. The Lord wants his people to live in peace, free from persecution. He sets his heart against a nation which oppresses. And just imagine the benefit to North Korea of all that liberated prayer:
Jer 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
Prospects for North Korea’s Christians
Kim Dong-chul, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Hak-song
So does all the diplomatic activity mean things are opening up for North Korea’s Christians? Is religious freedom high on the Trump agenda? Well, the three US nationals released by North Korea prior to the summit were all Christians. Professors Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song, and Kim Sang Duk are evangelical academics who were working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, according to Christianity Today.
Meanwhile, Fox News reports on Christians praying for the Kim-Trump Summit on ‘the Korean peninsula and in Singapore, where the monumental summit is taking place.’
It went on to say: ‘On Sunday, several churches just miles away from the Trump-Kim meeting location on Santosa Island, prayed for the two world leaders before their one-on-one discussion in hopes of North Korean denuclearization and a possible peace treaty to end the Korean War.’
1Tim 2:2 (Pray) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
‘Foley says, “From a Christian perspective there are four words we should be praying we hear at the summit. The four words we have been hearing are words like, ‘It’s a new day’. But as Christians, we should be praying that the words we hear are, ‘We need to repent, or we need to change.’”
‘Foley continues, “Those kinds of phrases like, ‘We need security guarantees’, or ‘Please give us money’, or ‘Let’s end this war’, all of those sound promising. But what we know as Christians is that unless there is a fundamental heart change on the part of the leaders of North Korea than all of the promises we hear at the summit will amount to nothing.”’
Foley says prayer should not be conditioned by a step-by-step approach. The idea that economic incentives are followed by nuclear disarmament and then followed by religious freedom is not biblical, he says.
Instead, ‘What’s known in the Scriptures and what North Korean believers follow is that in order for there to be change between nations, the heart of the leader of the nation must be transformed. Pray that God would radically step into this unusual situation and change the heart of North Korean leaders. Pray that they would seek God and find Him and begin to follow Him alone as Lord.’
Dan 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Open Doors prayer points
Open Doors estimates there are 300,000 Christians in North Korea. Chairman Kim could remember that Christians were at the forefront in opposing the Japanese occupation of the peninsular from 1910 to 1945.
President Trump and Kim Jong-un’s historic meeting on June 12 will be the first in a series of actions that sets Korea on a new course of religious freedom.
Kim will be convinced to release the more than 50,000-plus Christians unjustly held in detention centers and prison camps throughout the country.
Kim will allow for the creation of new churches where North Koreans can freely worship outside of the one “show church” that currently exists.
Existing believers within North Korea would take courage to lead a new revival of the Christian faith in North Korea.
We shall go even further. We urge that ‘big prayer’ for Kim to be convicted of how much more authority he would have under Christ Jesus, repent and believe in the saving power of the King of kings.
And that, in a way, is what Premier Radio says Christians in North Korea are praying for. It’s not regime change they want, because someone else would take Kim’s place. It’s a change of heart in the regime. We could also pray that US negotiators will keep raising this point. It’s one we can pray our UK MP’s press HM Government to raise with both North Korea and the US. And with South Korea, for that matter.
1Tim 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
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Southampton City Council heads the adoption lottery
Southampton City Council heads the adoption lottery
Research into adoption and care rates has revealed a postcode lottery. Children in some areas in England are 12 times more likely to be removed and adopted by child protection units.
The BBC and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism sent Freedom of Information Act enquiries to all English local authorities. Half provided full responses. The BBC reported the results in this article. The data reveal significant variation in adoption rates.
Twelve times higher
For children born in 2011-12 the chances of being placed for adoption by the age of five were 12 times higher in Southampton than Greenwich.
Twenty authorities had significantly increased adoption rates compared with children born five years before.
Andy Bilson, emeritus professor of social work at the University of Central Lancashire, wanted to compare child protection practice across all local authorities in England.
He sent a series of detailed questions to all 152 bodies, asking how many children, born between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, had by the age of five been investigated by social services, and how many had been permanently removed from their families, adopted or given placement orders by family courts. He asked the same questions about children born five years before.
Huge variation
Professor Bilson received full responses from 70 local authorities and used ONS data to calculate adoption rates.
The Southampton Coat of Arms is surmounted by a figure of justice.
This revealed a huge variation: in Southampton, almost one in 50 children had been adopted or had placement orders imposed. In Greenwich, which has a similar socio-economic profile, the rate was a twelfth of that – more like 1 in 600.
In Southampton there was a marked rise in adoption rates for the age group, compared with children born five years before. The FOI response also showed the authority had investigated many more families. The number of detailed investigations, carried out under section 47 of the children act, had risen from 215 to 454. There was a similar pattern in 19 other authorities.
Adoption promoted
For nearly 20 years, both Labour and Conservative governments have promoted adoption as a way of getting children out of care. Children, they said, often move from one foster family to another. They fare poorly in education. Some are abuse in care. Girls in care have figured highly in all the grooming scandals, from Rotherham, to Rochdale, to Bradford and Oxford. Outcomes for children in care are poor. Adopted children do much better than children in care.
The Blair Government set targets to get children into adoption. They gave local authorities financial incentives. All local authorities did was take more potentially adoptable children into care to chase the money. Children were too often taken by force from parents who wanted to keep their children. But the system was more interested in taking their children for financial gain than helping them to stay together as a family.
The mindset persists today. Professor Bilson found in the authorities where adoption had risen, the numbers in care had risen too. In authorities where adoption was stable or had fallen, care numbers had fallen.
“This is the exact opposite of what you’d expect,” he told the BBC. “It points instead to a difference in the way that children are being removed from parents.”
Southampton’s Blake Fowler
Blake Fowler’s sad case drove social workers to take more children into care ‘just in case’.
The BBC asked Southampton why it had changed its approach. The authority responded: “All children who were adopted were subject to rigorous scrutiny by the legal system and the Family Court, both of which agreed with the Local Authority that not only had the threshold for a Care Order been met, but that the Local Authority had exhausted all opportunity and support for any potential family or other carers: adoption was therefore the only realistic option.”
However, the BBC suggests another influence may be at work in Southampton. In 2011, there were four child deaths, one especially high profile. Blake Fowler died of a head injury aged seven. Concerns had been raised about him since he was a toddler: the authority were later severely criticised for failing to act.
Sir Mark Hedley, who for many years was a High Court judge in the Family Division, told the BBC: “It would be wrong to suggest that one is the cause of the other. But there is no doubt that public criticism of social workers if children have suffered will lead to an increased priority being given to child protection at the expense of maintaining family groups.”
Action varies
Social workers have to intervene if they believe a child is at risk of significant harm. But ‘significant’ is not defined in statute. Sir Mark says action will vary from one authority to another.
“There will inevitably be a wide range of views in relation to what is significant harm,” he said. “Just as there will be a range of views about the desirability of intervening in families in the first place.”
Professor Bilson found that far more children are being put on child protection plans because of “emotional abuse” and neglect – 82% of the children in the younger group. Again, these are terms which can be subject to interpretation.
Medway’s emotional abuse
Last year, Christian Voice uncovered wide discrepancies in practice for the ill-defined category of ’emotional abuse’. The Government’s most recent figures showed wide variations in numbers of children taken into care and reasons given. The discrepancy showed up widely in the contrast between the two councils in Kent. They were Kent County Council and Medway Council. We have been following some terrible cases of injustice in Medway.
Kent County Council took 1,049 children into care in 2015-2016. The population of Kent CC area at the last census was 1,541,900. Under 20’s were 360,605. So a Kent child has a 0.29% chance of being ‘in care’.
Medway Council took 539 children into care in 2015-2016. The population of Medway’s council area at the last census was 263,925. Under 20’s were 74,000. So a Medway child has a 0.73% chance of being ‘in care’.
In Kent County Council, 656 children were taken for neglect, 63% of the total and higher than the national average for England. The Council took 203 children for ‘emotional abuse’. That is 19%, lower than England’s national average.
But in Medway, 237 children (44%) were taken for neglect and 257 (48%) for emotional abuse. Given Medway’s far lower population, are we really being asked to accept that children in Chatham and Rochester are suffering ‘emotional abuse’ (whatever that is) over six times more than children in Canterbury and Ramsgate?
Dramatic picture
Over the last decade, the number of children in care has risen by 134%. That means for every four cases then there are seven now. Many talk of the crisis in the care system, the family courts overwhelmed by cases.
Why this happens is less clear, though council support for families, so-called early intervention, has been dramatically reduced thanks to cuts, and rising poverty increases the pressure. For many months now local authorities have been warning that more families are in crisis, and that child protection is becoming an emergency service.
Professor Bilson’s research provides a dramatic picture of varying approaches in different authorities.
Best interests of the system
The Department for Education said: “Every decision regarding adoption is made with the best interests of the child at its heart. Many children and their adoptive families have had their lives transformed by adoption, and we are determined to support them every step of the way.
“On top of this, there are of course a number of alternative options available, including long-term fostering and special guardianship, which may be chosen when it is best for the child.”
But many parents tell Christian Voice care decisions are too often made in the best interests of the system. We have seen outrageous injustice in what is now a child protection industry. Social workers, solicitors, barristers, court psychologists, even judges all depend on this industry for their income.
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Empathy, common sense and basic humanity all took the afternoon off yesterday as the House of Commons debated how best to set about killing more children in the womb. The link to the debate is here.
Instead of a succession of hard cases and heartrending sob stories, they should start with the presumption that human life is to be protected, then move to ask what is the question. They did the opposite.
Peter Hitchens says here the Irish referendum was ‘pretty much the end for Christian Europe’. What will he say about this travesty of a debate? Except to ask: ‘And once one vulnerable, voiceless minority has been classified as less than human, who will be next?’
After a Commons debate on abortion time limits in 1990, Sir David Amess said ‘the witches flew in’. After six votes, a 24-week limit was agreed. That is more permissive than any other jurisdiction. It is also way past the point at which babies can now survive outside the womb. It is twenty-one weeks after a baby’s heart starts beating. Moreover, it is 24 weeks after a new human life was created by God’s miracle of sexual reproduction.
Innocent blood cries to heaven
The taking of an innocent human life was the first ever crime and it was a crime which cries to heaven:
Genesis 4:10 And he (God) said (to Cain), What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
The witches flew in again yesterday afternoon as Stella Creasy MP initiated a debate. She said she was encouraged by the referendum in Ireland. That is expected to lead to abortion being legalised in the Republic up to twelve weeks. But Stella Creasy and her supporters want abortion to be decriminalised completely throughout the whole United Kingdom. She would do that by repeal of Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (below). She seems to think that would legalise abortion up to 24 weeks. Others say it would mean up to birth. Don’t expect those spitting in the face of God to tell the truth.
Dressed in kindness
The face of evil is dressed in kindness. Stella Creasy quoted Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. She said he: ‘welcomed the yes vote in Ireland a week ago, saying that Ireland will no longer say to women, “Take the boat” or “Take the plane” when they need an abortion. Instead, he said, Ireland will say, “Take our hand.” ‘ The abortionists will actually say, ‘Hand over your money!’
Ms Creasy said she was supported by a number of members of the Death Squad. She named Alliance for Choice, the London Irish Abortion Rights Campaign, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the Family Planning Association, Marie Stopes and Amnesty International. Two of those are actual abortion providers. BPAS and Marie Stopes make their living from killing. Yet the word of God curses them:
Deut 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Hypocrite of the day
Our prize for hypocrite of the day goes to Vicky Ford (Con): ‘If people check my voting record, they will see that I always support the woman’s right to choose. I always support the woman’s right to access contraception, and I never support the death penalty.’ Except for unborn children in what should be the safest place on God’s earth. The MP for Chelmsford supports the death penalty for them all right.
‘Idiot of the day’ goes to Huw Merriman (Con) who ‘fundamentally believe (s) in the right of women to choose what to do with their bodies.’ Er, her baby is a separate and distinct body. Duh. But Jo Stevens made that a hard decision with ‘Every man in this Chamber has control and choice over their reproductive healthcare. Every man in this Chamber can have a vasectomy if they wish to do so, without the threat of prosecution.’ Do try not to laugh…
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP) spoke very well, as did Fiona Bruce (Con). The DUP’s Sammy Wilson said he was ‘not embarrassed’ about the law in Northern Ireland. There were people living there today who would otherwise have been ‘discarded and put in a bin before they were ever born’.
Naturally, the reality of abortion was not something which could be allowed to intrude. Hannah Bardell (SNP) said ‘to talk about unborn children being thrown in the bin or babies being disposed of, are disgusting ways to describe the choices that women have to make anywhere in the UK but particularly in Northern Ireland’.
We say the ‘choice’ to kill your child should not even be there in any kind of civilised society.
Unborn child has no human rights
The expression ‘human rights’ was uttered forty-four times in the debate. In contrast, ‘unborn child’ was mentioned by just four MPs: Sir Jeffrey, Fiona Bruce, Sammy Wilson and David Simpson (DUP). The minister, pro-abortion Karen Bradley, hedged her bets by speaking of ‘unborn foetuses’. Watch my Nanosermon on the use of such language: ‘Foetus leaps in womb shock.‘
The House did not vote. It merely ‘considered the role of the UK Parliament in repealing sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.’ Abortion remains a devolved issue in Northern Ireland. The BBC sets out Mrs May’s options here, but cannot resist a bit of low-key pro-abortion campaigning along the way.
The word of God to Israel remains a challenge to every nation today:
Deut 30:19: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Pray our nation (and your nation) would choose life.
Offence Against the Person Act
The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 says:
58 Administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion.
Every woman, being with child, who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, shall unlawfully administer to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or shall unlawfully use any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, and whosoever, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she be or be not with child, shall unlawfully administer to her or cause to be taken by her any poison or other noxious thing, or shall unlawfully use any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable . . . to be kept in penal servitude for life . . .
59 Procuring drugs, &c. to cause abortion.
Whosoever shall unlawfully supply or procure any poison or other noxious thing, or any instrument or thing whatsoever, knowing that the same is intended to be unlawfully used or employed with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she be or be not with child, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable . . . to be kept in penal servitude . . .
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Germaine Greer has told an audience at the Hay Literary Festival that ‘most rape’ is not violent but ‘lazy, careless and insensitive.’
Her intervention prompts us to look at what the word of God says. We shall find it is at odds with both contemporary views and Miss Greer’s revisionism. But first, what did she actually say?
She suggested offenders could have an ‘r’ tattooed on their hand, arm or cheek. They should also, she proposed, do 200 hours’ community service.
Neither will happen, but her intention was both to irritate and trivialise the crime. As an exercise in provocation, some commentators said, it worked. The audience, said one, was ‘stunned’.
The academic argued that rape is rampant in society and ‘the legal system cannot cope with it’. She said it always ‘comes down to the issue of consent’. In her view, the alleged victims become little more than ‘bits of evidence’.
No communication
‘Most rapes don’t involve any injury whatsoever,’ Miss Greer said. ‘We are told that it is a sexually violent crime. An expert like Quentin Tarantino will tell us that when you use the word rape you’re talking about violence, a throwing them down. It is one of the most violent crimes in the world.’
Dr Greer said she firmly disagreed with that.
‘Most rape is just lazy, just careless, insensitive. Every time a man rolls over on his exhausted wife and insists on enjoying his conjugal rights he is raping her. It will never end up in a court of law.
‘Instead of thinking of rape as a spectacularly violent crime, and some rapes are, think about it as non-consensual … that is bad sex. Sex where there is no communication, no tenderness, no mention of love.’
Germaine Greer is controversial!
Dr Greer acknowledged her thesis would be controversial. “It is moments like these, I can hear the feminists screaming at me, ‘you’re trivialising rape!’
“Well I’ll tell you what … You might want to believe that the penis is a lethal weapon and that all women live in fear of that lethal weapon, well that’s bull****. It’s not true. We don’t live in terror of the penis … A man can’t kill you with his penis.”
She questioned a statistic which said that 70% of rape victims had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder compared with 20% of conflict veterans.
‘What the hell are you saying? Something that leaves no sign, no injury, no nothing is more damaging to a woman than seeing your best friend blown up by an IED is to a veteran?’
Society wanted women to believe that rape destroyed them, she said. ‘We haven’t been destroyed, we’ve been bl***y annoyed is what we’ve been.’
Changed minds
Such a view is supported by the evidence in some recently collapsed rape trials. The accusers were happy to engage in sexual relations with a man. They even sent texts afterwards saying how much they enjoyed it. Then they changed their minds. And rather than put it down to experience, they went to the police and accused the man of rape. It is such an easy accusation to make. And in such a sex-obsessed society as ours, as Miss Greer points out, some will see rape everywhere.
Dr Greer referenced Tarantino, but his view of rape as inherently violent is not new. Seeing rape as less a sexual act and more ‘an act of violence, with sex as the weapon,’ was coined by Professors Burgess and Holmstrom in 1974. Feminists took it up with gusto. However, plainly, Germaine Greer disagrees with that view. But she flies to the other extreme and trivialises sexual congress. She is right at a human level to call for more intimacy and gentleness. But she is wrong to suggest unwanted sexual intercourse is only seriously wrong if actual physical violence is involved.
The Biblical view
The Bible views rape as an act not of violence but one of sexual violation. And that is simply because the Almighty designated marriage as the only place for sexual relations.
Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi were outraged their sister had engaged in what she and her boyfriend Shechem intended as pre-marital sex:
Gen 34:1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
This was not rape. There is no hint of force, as when Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar in 2Sam 13. Nor was it a drunken pick-up in a town-centre pub. It was not a one-night stand. Dinah and Shechem seriously wanted to get married. But the word ‘defiled’ shows the seriousness of doing what they did the wrong side of the wedding feast.
A grammatical dictum explains the correct usage of the word ‘anticipate’. ‘When we say Shechem and Dinah “anticipated” their marriage we do not mean they were looking forward to it.’ Instead, they had jumped the gun. Shechem was a wealthy prince. He was even willing to be circumcised and accept the God of Israel. But to no avail. Simeon and Levi pulled a trick and massacred all the men of his city. When their father Jacob remonstrated with them, they furiously replied:
Gen 34:31 … Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
The grace of God in the law
They were hasty, cruel and violent, said their father. Nevertheless, theirs would have been the prevailing view. It is indeed a Biblical view. But all the same, there was another Biblical way, the way Shechem pleaded for. The law, codified on Mount Sinai but in existence in their day, made gracious provision for such an occurrence:
Exodus 22:16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
The dowry of virgins was higher than that of non-virgins, for a mixture of spiritual and practical reasons. Despite what Dr Greer said and what much of our society believes, the loss of her virginity outside marriage was – and is – a devastating thing to happen to a girl. Moreover, the Lord expected families to safeguard their daughters:
Lev 19:29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
Despite what Germaine Greer says, consent is not remotely the issue. The Bible commends grace, love, tenderness, respect and patience within marriage, but neither is that the issue. The only consideration is, ‘Are they married?’ Only within marriage is consent to sexual intercourse valid. Going further, within marriage, consent to sexual intercourse is assumed.
Death penalty for adultery and rape
Seen in this context, we can understand the death penalty for adultery in Deuteronomy 22:22. It is a violation of the sacred bond of marriage. We can see why a man who really does rape a betrothed woman faces the death penalty a few verses on:
Deut 22:25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:
We can see why, if the laying together is consensual, the verses that follow lay the death penalty on both. In all these cases, as Deut 24:1-4 and Numb 35:31 make clear, the death penalty could be commuted to a payment of money. But it remains a serious violation of God’s created order, given for our good.
Stability of marriage
God’s design for society is far away from our own, and a world away from the one Germaine Greer proposes. God takes sex seriously because he takes marriage seriously. And he takes marriage seriously because he takes the stability of society seriously.
On the issue of sentencing, Prof Greer is wrong again. There can never be two classes of convictions. There cannot be a serious, proper, proven rape which leads to prison, and a sort of second class, barely-proven, semi-rape which merely requires community service.
The Bible, all the way through, in both Old and New Testaments, demands a case be proven by witnesses:
Deut 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Matt 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Our current practice is to grant anonymity to accusers but not to the accused. Such different treatment is what the Bile calls ‘respect of persons.’ It too flies in the face of the Biblical witness:
2Chron 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
Germaine Greer as ‘TERF’
Germaine Greer wrote the book ‘The Female Eunuch’ in 1970. It probably did as much as anything to set the feminist ball rolling. It played a part in the so-called sexual revolution. But maybe its author now sees what she set in motion has become the monster it always would be.
Certainly she is not now afraid to annoy the chattering classes. To take another example, Prof Greer has infuriated what we these days call ‘snowflakes’ with her views on transsexuals. Students at both Cardiff and Bristol have tried to ‘no-platform’ her. Why? She maintains male-female transsexuals are ‘not women’. That makes her a ‘TERF’, a ‘Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist’ and a holder of ‘transphobic’ views.
Thank you, Dr Greer
So we thank her for raising this issue, which has allowed us to seek the Lord. We pray to have done that faithfully. No doubt our many contributors will correct and clarify in the comments.
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Sky News reports, ‘The former leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for 13 months after flouting court orders for a second time.’
It goes on, ‘The EDL founder – whose real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon was listed on court documents – was sentenced to 10 months for contempt of court. He was given a further three months for breaching the terms of a previous suspended sentence.’
Mr Robinson was arrested on Friday outside Leeds Crown Court. Apparently, he and his cameraman Caolan Robertson were broadcasting details of a current trial live on Facebook. A number of mainly Muslim men stand accused of grooming under-age girls for sexual purposes.
‘Swift injustice’
The trial itself is subject for some reason to blanket reporting restrictions. Astonishingly, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC also placed reporting restrictions on details of Mr Robinson’s sentence. Only when these were lifted yesterday ((Tuesday) could the mainstream media report it. But the details were already all over social media and on news outlets worldwide. On Zerohedge, Tyler Durden described the events as ‘Swift Injustice’. Fox News reported on the case on Friday. The same outlet reported later on political leaders across Europe calling the jailing politically motivated. Even Donald Trump Jr was expressing himself shocked at the UK’s apparent clampdown on freedom of expression.
The judge told Mr Robinson his actions could cause the ongoing trial to be re-run, costing “hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds”. But apparently, to date, the trial is still proceeding.
The hour-long footage had been watched 250,000 times within hours of being posted on Facebook, the court heard. The judge viewed some of it, we understand.
Of course Sky News, like most of the media, could not resist referring to ‘the right-wing activist, 35, of Wilstead, Bedfordshire’. All ‘right-wing’ means is that Mr Robinson has taken against Islam. And that stems from his experience of Muslims on council estates in Luton,
Tommy Robinson on Muslim gangs
When Judy and I met Tommy Robinson in 2010 on one such estate, he expressed no ‘right-wing’ opinions. He was not for big money, or opposed to trades unions, or an anti-society individualist. Instead, he told us of drug dealing and prostitution rings all run by local Muslims. He and his friends had become appalled by the Muslim rackets and the racketeers. Moreover, they wanted to call attention to it at a time when politicians were denying any problems existed with Islam. This was even before the Rotherham grooming trial.
At that time I even observed a rally of the English Defence League. It too is always described to this day as ‘right-wing’ or ‘far-right’. It was not much more than a bunch of football supporters concerned about encroaching Islam and Islamification. They were bothered about halal meat in supermarkets, schools and prisons. They were worried about Islamic violence from murderous Al Qaeda. Islamic State was not even on the radar at this time. But for all their chants of ‘E – E – EDL’, the marchers were hardly from the ‘right’. I gained the impression a distinct majority were working-class Labour Party voters.
As for the Muslims Mr Robinson spoke about, it appeared criminality sat easily with their Muslim faith. These Muslims went to the mosque and did their prayer. That alone made them ‘good Muslims.’ Our elite will never admit it, but repentance of sin is not big in Islam. It is not like Christianity at all. It is a religion of works. By that we mean it is built around doing faith activities, the ‘pillars of Islam’.. It is not framed around forgiveness and gentleness. There is no fruit of the Spirit in Islam. And no Saviour.
Restrictions Political?
Going back to the court, I am puzzled as to why Tommy Robinson pleaded ‘guilty’. Such a plea removes a major plank of an appeal. He can only appeal the sentence, not his conviction. But these things happen when you are under duress and have an inexperienced duty lawyer. Maybe he can appeal his conviction on the grounds of being wrongly advised.
Alex Jones on InfoWars is not known for restraint. But while interviewing Tommy’s cameraman Caolan Robertson (Twitter account here), he described Tommy Robinson as a ‘political prisoner of the West.’ That provocative statement actually seems difficult to argue against.
What tells us that charging and sentencing Tommy Robinson was a political act? For this writer, above all it was Judge Geoffrey Marson QC imposing reporting restrictions on his jailing. The Independent newspaper and Leeds Live went back to court to challenge Judge Marson’s order. The Washington Post says this was ‘in part by arguing that their competitors were already violating it.’
Either the judge himself or another judge lifted the restrictions. That means they were wrong in the first place. And that makes their imposition a political act.
In an editorial, the Indy itself said: ‘Like him or loathe him, the jailing of Tommy Robinson for contempt of court was an event of legitimate press and public interest. It cannot be right, whatever else, that a British citizen can be deprived of their liberty “in the dark”, the very fact of their whereabouts made a secret. It feels wrong, and, in spirit at least, partly in breach of the ancient principle of habeas corpus.’
Impact on the trial
So the reporting restriction on Tommy’s imprisonment was a political act. Now, where does that leave the restriction on reporting on the actual trial itself?
The Daily Mirror tries to show in this article why jailing Tommy Robinson was the right thing to do. It says of his Facebook live stream: ‘The video included comments that could have caused the collapse of a long-running trial, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
That’s ‘could have’. Did the trial collapse? It does not appear to have done.
The Mirror goes on, ‘As well as breaching this order, Robinson also made comments that impacted on the defendants’ right to a fair hearing before a jury.’
Tommy of all people ought to know that being charged is not the same as being guilty. It really is not right to shoot footage assuming defendants’ guilt before the jury have reached a verdict.
Nor is it right to go up to defendants in the street during a trial and ask if they have their prison bag packed. And that is what Tommy Robinson was doing on some occasions.
The jury – the weak link
The jury is considered a weak link. Judges tell jurers not to pay any attention to social media. In some cases they advise jurers not even to look at it. It is hard these days to avoid social media. But it is do-able. Moreover, jurers are obliged to do their job fairly. They are essential to the system. We cannot trust judges alone.
The Mirror asserts, ‘His arrest and conviction were to protect our justice system – under legislation that ensure trials don’t collapse’.
Fair enough, except there appears to be scant evidence that what he did actually prejudiced the trial. So could there be a political motive behind reporting restrictions on the Leeds case and the earlier one in Canterbury?
It is a fact that those charged were predominantly Muslim. It is a loathing of Islam that motivated Tommy Robinson to make his broadcasts. And the establishment have a corresponding defensive attitude towards Islam. Tony Blair may have been the first politician to say ‘Islam is a religion of peace’. Even today our leaders do not want to upset the multi-faith applecart. Muslims are rising to positions of power and influence. Many are councillors, some are MPs. And of course a Muslim is now Home Secretary. Another is the Mayor of London.
Muslim grooming gangs
The backdrop is this. A malaise has affected Rochdale, Rotherham, Telford, Newcastle, Oxford, and, says the Spectator, eleven other English towns. In all cases, gangs of Muslim men have been convicted of grooming young non-Muslim girls for sex. Adherents of the Mohammedan religion see those outside it as inferior. They would not do it to Muslim girls. They are seen as ‘haram’. Their whole community would be outraged.
But other young women hanging around parks or city centres, perhaps involved in the care system, are easy and permitted prey. They are ‘halal’. The problem is inherent in the religion. It is a national scandal. And apart from a few brave mainstream politicians like gutsy Anne Cryer in Rochdale, no-one wants to admit it. No-one from the police, to social services, to local councillors, right up to the Prime Minister, will talk about it.
The subsequent vacuum was always going to be filled. And Tommy Robinson has taken it upon himself to fill it. Well, someone had to. It seems prophets, not just angels, can come in strange guises.
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The Republic of Ireland has voted for the evil of abortion with duplicitous language employed by the 'Yes' side.
The Republic of Ireland has voted for the evil of abortion with duplicitous language employed by the ‘Yes’ side.
As the BBC reports here, the Republic of Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to overturn its constitutional ban on abortion by 66.4% to 33.6%.
A referendum held on Friday resulted in a landslide win for the Eighth Amendment repeal side.
Currently, said the BBC, abortion is only allowed when a woman’s life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality.
The Eighth Amendment, which grants an equal right to life to the mother and the unborn, will be replaced.
The Eighth Amendment
It is worth reminding ourselves of what the Eighth Amendment actually says, or said:
The Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution:
“The state acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”
Voters in Ireland have by a two-to-one majority specifically rejected the right to life of human beings yet to be born. It is an astonishing snub to Almighty God:
Deuteronomy 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
A baby of eight weeks gestation, just a month younger than the typical age for abortion
Is this a manifestation of what writer G F Dalton described in his 1974 book, “The Tradition of Blood Sacrifice to the Goddess Eire”? Eire, or Erin, was an earth-goddess closely identified with the land. Or perhaps still is, if she has never been formally cast out. And according to Dalton, she demands blood sacrifice. As we shall see below, ’twas ever thus among the pagans.
For ‘women’s lives’?
But what can our excuse be in the United Kingdom? The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children says 8.4 million abortions have been carried out in Great Britain since the Abortion Act 1967 came into force in 1968. If Satan draws power for the shedding of innocent blood, over 160,000 legalised murders per year will do him just nicely.
As always, the pro-abortion side employed duplicitous language in the Irish referendum. One popular ‘Yes’ poster had the slogan, ‘For women’s lives’. Women’s lives were already protected by the 8th Amendment. It was unborn babies’ lives which were at stake.
As John McGuirk from ‘Save the 8th’ put it, “The unborn child no longer has a right to life recognised by the Irish state.” “Shortly, legislation will be introduced that will allow babies to be killed in our country,” he said.
Tweeting on Friday night, homosexual Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “Thank you to everyone who voted today. Democracy in action. It’s looking like we will make history tomorrow… ”
Irish health minister Simon Harris tweeted: “Will sleep tonight in the hope of waking up to a country that is more compassionate, more caring and more respectful.” How can killing the defenceless be compassionate, caring or respectful?
Mrs May is pro-abortion
Theresa May: pro-sodomy and pro-abortion.
UK politicians joined in, the Prime Minister disgracefully leading the way. Mrs May tweeted gushingly on Sunday: “The Irish Referendum yesterday was an impressive show of democracy which delivered a clear and unambiguous result. I congratulate the Irish people on their decision and all of #Together4Yes on their successful campaign. – PM @theresa_may #repealedthe8th”
Well, at least we now know where the vicar’s daughter stands. Moreover, she was urging gay rights on the Commonwealth last month. That came days after bombing the sovereign state of Syria, an illegal act of aggression. Does anyone still think she will deliver Brexit without our prayer and a mighty move of God?
Penny Mordaunt MP, the UK’s minister for women and equalities, rallied to the pro-death banner, speaking of a “historic and great day for Ireland and a hopeful one for Northern Ireland”.
Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, chair of Westminster’s health committee, also called for Northern Ireland to legalise abortion. Currently, the Province is the only part of the United Kingdom to stand against both abortion and gay marriage.
‘No impact’ on Northern Ireland
Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald celebrate the result of the abortion referendum in Dublin by calling for abortion in Ulster. Photograph: Reuters
Indeed, all the media are talking up invented implications for Ulster. Naturally, the BBC is taking the lead. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin’s Mary-Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill held up a sign saying: “The north is next”. So much for respecting the teachings of their church, eh?
But Arlene Foster MLA, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader, said the result would have ‘no impact’ in the North.
“Friday’s referendum has no impact upon the law in Northern Ireland, but we obviously take note of issues impacting upon our nearest neighbour,” Mrs Foster said in a statement.
“The legislation governing abortion is a devolved matter and it is for the Northern Ireland Assembly to debate and decide such issues.”
Feminism’s dirty little secret
Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti exposed feminism’s dirty little secret. It is inherently pro-death. Abortion is ‘a feminist test,’ she said. She called for the Prime Minister to introduce abortion to Ulster over the heads of the DUP. And why should Mrs May do that? Because she was a “self-identifying feminist,” said Baroness Chakrabarti. “The test of feminists is whether they stick up for all women”, continued the noble lady.
Abortion is not of course ‘sticking up for all women’. But it is sticking it to Almighty God. And that is what matters to feminists.
Nevertheless, the words of the Lord of life to Israel echo down the ages:
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Blood defiles the land
Pray for Ireland and for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Pray there will soon come a time when we shall look back in horror at legalised abortion. That we shall hang our heads in shame and repent as a nation. Pray the two-to-one majority will reverse by the grace of God.
Some of us still cite this word to Solomon. We think the actions described, if carried out by Christians, or even some Christians in a gathering for prayer, will bring about the healing of our land:
2Chron 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Here is the stark reality. It does not matter how big the gathering or how sincere the prayer. Our land will never be healed while the blood of innocents flows daily from the abortion clinics of Great Britain. For that matter, it will never be healed while true restoration is not made for the victims of murder. Prayer is never wasted, but how much better to pray targeted prayers. That means prayers for repentance, not prayers of self-delusion. The Bible says clearly:
Num 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
Abortion is our version of pagan sacrifice
The terrible results of a vacuum abortion on a child of 12 weeks gestation. Innocent blood defiles the land.
God judged the Canaanites specifically because they shed the blood of their own children in pagan sacrifice:
Lev 18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
Even the people of Israel and then Judah fell into these evil pagan practices:
Psalm 106:38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
Every pagan society has engaged in human sacrifice. Abortion is our version of it. God is judging us with the violence on our streets. The Almighty is even warning us through that judgment. But make no mistake, a greater judgment is coming should we not repent. Every one of those pagan societies was destroyed and taken over by a spiritually stronger people. Now, who could those be today?
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Royal wedding. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.
Royal wedding. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.
It’s always uplifting to have a royal wedding! We celebrate the holy matrimony of Prince Harry of Wales and Meghan Markle. They have become Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Purpose of Marriage
It is worth reminding ourselves of what the Dean of Windsor told the Congregation. There was no nod towards the abomination of gay marriage in Dr David Conner’s introduction. He said, according to the Order of Service:
The Dean of Windsor David Conner greets the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at an earlier Matins Service at St George’s Chapel
‘Marriage is a gift of God in creation through which husband and wife may know the grace of God. It is given that as man and woman grow together in love and trust, they shall be united with one another in heart, body and mind, as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.
‘The gift of marriage brings husband and wife together in the delight and tenderness of sexual union and joyful commitment to the end of their lives. It is given as the foundation of family life in which children are born and nurtured and in which each member of the family, in good times and in bad, may find strength, companionship and comfort, and grow to maturity in love.
‘Marriage is a way of life made holy by God, and blessed by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ with those celebrating a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Marriage is a sign of unity and loyalty which all should uphold and honour. It enriches society and strengthens community. No one should enter into it lightly or selfishly but reverently and responsibly in the sight of almighty God.’
Power of love
Bishop Michael Curry makes a point in an impassioned sermon
It is safe to say few present have heard an black American pastor in full preaching flow. Rt Rev Michael Curry is presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church. Dr Curry waxed eloquent on
“The late Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said, and I quote: ‘We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world, for love is the only way.’
“There’s power in love. Don’t underestimate it. Don’t even over-sentimentalise it. There’s power, power in love,” he said.
Zara Tindall sat glued to her seat as Bishop Michael spoke of the power of love.
He went on, transfixing Mrs Zara Tindall in the process:
“Ultimately, the source of love is God himself: the source of all of our lives. There’s an old medieval poem that says: ‘Where true love is found, God himself is there’.
“The New Testament says it this way: ‘Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and those who love are born of God and know God. Those who do not love do not know God.’ Why? ‘For God is love.'”
World affairs
Dr Curry applied the power of love to world affairs:
“Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. Imagine business and commerce where love is the way.”
He said: “Imagine this tired old world where love is the way. When love is the way – unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive.
“When love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.
Citing Amos 5:24, he went on: “When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.
Royal Wedding preaching
The Bishop even preached the Gospel:
“‘There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.’
“And one of the stanzas actually explains why. They said: ‘If you cannot preach like Peter, and you cannot pray like Paul, you just tell the love of Jesus, how he died to save us all.”‘
“Oh, that’s the balm in Gilead! This way of love, it is the way of life. They got it. He died to save us all.
“He didn’t die for anything he could get out of it. Jesus did not get an honorary doctorate for dying. He didn’t… he wasn’t getting anything out of it. He gave up his life, he sacrificed his life, for the good of others, for the good of the other, for the wellbeing of the world… for us.
Watch in the days ahead
Nevertheless, we need to stay focused in the days ahead. The Duke and Duchess have generated much warmth towards the royal family and themselves. We need to pray Satan does not use that warmth against the Gospel.
It is no secret the new Duchess is a feminist. That anti-Christian movement sets up an ungody, unseemly competition between men and women.
The Washington Post says: On her new page on the British monarchy’s official website — in pulled out quotes — the woman now known as the Duchess of Sussex says, “I am proud to be a woman and a feminist,” referencing a line from a 2015 speech she gave at a United Nations event.
According to the Independent, ‘Her biography explains that early experiences of campaigning helped form a “lifelong commitment” to “social justice” and “women’s empowerment”.’
The ‘Post’ reminds her: ‘she will be expected to stay clear of party politics. She once called President Trump a “misogynist” and posted an anti-Brexit picture on her (now-deleted) Instagram feed. These kinds of political interventions are now a no-no, but many are curious to see whether she will continue to speak out on feminism and racial issues.’
No feminism and no ‘LGBT’!
Forget ‘racial issues’. The real problem comes if the Duke and Duchess begin to use their celebrity status to advance the feminist cause. Will they set women and men against each other, disadvantaging the poor as a whole? Feminism is easy to do as a duchess. It is not so easy in a village in Africa where people divide up jobs according to gender because doing it God’s way works.
An even greater mistake would be for the pair to push in any way for LBGT rights. Getting some transsexuals photographed with their royal highnesses is going to right up there on the activists’ agenda. But that is the way of man, not the way of God. It is the way of division, selfishness, rampant individualism and hatred of society and all that is holy. It is not the way of love – or the way of justice.
let’s be topical for a moment, because Christ is King of the here and now. Telling a confused teen they are a different gender and giving them puberty-blocking hormones is not loving. It is child abuse.
Pray into all this. Thank God firstly for the gift of marriage. Secondly, thank God for all his created social institutions and for our gender roles. Thirdly, pray for their royal highnesses to stay loyal and, well, married.
And fourthly, pray they stay not just out of party politics. Pray they keep away from all anti-Christian issues. May they not be found in the temple of Baal, advancing evil. This ministry will be watching, by God’s grace. May God break in on Harry and Meghan and convert them to his cause instead.
Even, perhaps we shall be so bold as to pray, as Dr Curry concluded:
“My brother, my sister, God love you, God bless you, and may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.”
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Maidstone Magistrates Court heard this case of a father involved in a rooftop protest at Medway Council.
Maidstone Magistrates Court heard this case of a father involved in a rooftop protest at Medway Council.
A father fighting for the return of his son appeared in court today on a charge of aggravated trespass.
Occupied porch roof
Maidstone magistrates heard Eugene Lukjanenko occupied the porch roof at Medway Council’s offices in Gun Wharf, Chatham, on 5th September 2017.
But whether his trespass was ‘aggravated’ was the question. Only if it was proved to be ‘aggravated’ would his actions contravene the criminal law. Furthermore, the evidence of Medway council employee Perry Holmes could have a bearing.
Mr Holmes filed a statement on 16th October 2017. Mr Lukjanenko expected him to attend court. The prosecutor told the court council business was disrupted. But defence barrister Owen Greenhall said it appeared any disruption was minimal. Council employees merely had to gain access through another door. The evidence of Medway’s Mr Holmes went ‘to the heart of the matter’, he said.
The prosecutor said she had received no request from the defence for her witness to attend. She complained she only received what is known as a ‘skeleton argument’ from the defence the day before trial.
Prosecution sprung new evidence
Barrister Owen Greenhall specialises in defending protesters.
However, it emerged in court that she herself only served video evidence recorded by a police officer that morning. Mr Greenhall was faced with trawling through 45 minutes of video recording. The protest law specialist thought some of the footage could be helpful to his client.
This is not the first time prosecutors have sprung evidence on the defence at the last minute. In January this year, a string of sexual offence cases collapsed because the police or CPS held back evidence. And in all the cases, it helped the defence.
Not surprisingly, chairman of the magistrates Julian Green granted the defence an adjournment.
The case returns on 13th June for a review and to set a new date for trial.
Protest against forced adoption
Eugene Lukjanenko occupied the porch roof over the entrance to the council offices. A group of people on the ground also protested against forced adoption & foster care.
Two police cars were called to the protest, where four people were spotted handing out leaflets. A spokesman from the police said: ‘Officers have been made aware of a protest on a roof in Dock Road, Chatham. Officers were called to the scene at 7.21am on Tuesday 5 September 2017.’
One protester told the local KentOnline newspaper they were calling on the government to investigate the way in which children are taken into care.
Mr Lukjanenko came down from the roof voluntarily at 7.30pm the same evening. He was arrested and later charged.
Contempt of court
Eugene Lukjanenko was convicted of contempt at Canterbury County Court in January and July 2017 and again in November, when he was sent to jail.
In March this year, Mr Lukjanenko was released after spending four months in jail for contempt of court. Eugene Lukjanenko was convicted of contempt of court at Canterbury County Court in January and July 2017. Judge Richard Scarratt handed him suspended sentences. But in November 2017 he was again found guilty. This time he was sentenced to eight months in prison. Mr Lukjanenko served the time in Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey.
The judge found the Ukrainian concert pianist guilty of a number of breaches of court orders. They included naming social workers. Elsewhere that is an allowable freedom of speech. Mr Lukjanenko also enabled so-called ‘jigsaw’ identification of his son. The court heard no evidence that his son, aged fourteen, had actually been identified. But the secrecy of the family court has to be protected.
‘J’ first taken into care in 2010
The story started in 2010 when Mr Lukjanenko’s son, ‘J’, as we must call him, was taken into care for the first time. His father, who is a single parent, left his son, 8 at the time, home alone. ‘J’ got into some trouble with a neighbour’s son. The latter climbed into the garden and set fire to a shed with ‘J’ in attendance. The fire brigade attended and put out the small fire.
It then emerged Mr Lukjanenko had left ‘J’ alone in the house. Rather than warn Mr Lukjanenko not to leave his son alone again, Medway Council took his son away. There is little evidence the Council tried to keep this family together. That is what social workers are supposed to do, except in the most extreme cases of abuse or neglect.
Medway Council allowed violent videos
Medway Council allowed ‘J’ to watch video games which inspired Norwegian neo-Nazi Anders Breivik
Moreover, if there was ever a case for a local authority working with a parent to keep a family together, this was it. They complain they do not have the money to pay staff to spend hours working with a family. Instead, Medway Council took ‘J’ into care at huge cost to the taxpayer.
According to friends of the family, Mr Lukjanenko’s son suffered horrific emotional abuse at the hands of Medway Council while being in care. They say Medway allowed ‘J’ to watch violent video games. These even included one played by Norwegian neo-Nazi Anders Breivik before he murdered seventy-seven people, including children, at a summer camp.
His father contends Medway failed to safeguard ‘J’ while he was in their care. He also says they refused to let him practice his music. The son, like his father, is a gifted musician.
Son had learned violent behaviour
During the court process, a psychologist, one Celeste Van Rooyen, reported on Mr Lukjanenko. She recommended Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This is usually prescribed for addiction, anxiety, psychosis or emotional trauma. It aims to change feelings by the subject taking control of his thoughts and behaviour. It is hard to see what use it could have been for Mr Lukjanenko. No-one would supply it for him, in any case. Eventually, a judge said J should go home.
Mr Lukjanenko told this ministry that when his son came out of care, the effects of the emotional harm inflicted on him by the council became apparent in increasingly violent behaviour.
In 2014 there was an episode of extreme behaviour from ‘J’. Mr Lukjanenko made the mistake of dialing 999 to ask for help from paramedics. Ambulance staff attended with police and naturally, social services again became involved. J was again taken into what the system refers to as ‘care’.
Council told the press
Disturbingly, there were lurid stories in the press of the boy ‘cowering under a piano’. These stories, astonishingly put about by the local authority, made it appear as if the son was hiding from his father. In reality, says Mr Lukjanenko, he was trying to hide from the police and social services.
Mr Lukjanenko then made a second mistake. He complained about Medway Council. Many parents report the system ‘biting back’ when they complain.
The Council promptly commissioned one Melanie Pringle Kelly Gill to provide a psychologist’s report on Mr Lukjanenko. In this ministry’s experience, a case in the family court is never complete without a psychiatric report on at least one parent. There are many psychiatric professionals who do little more than write court reports on parents. It provides a good living.
Melanie Gill and David Keighley
Miss Gill’s website claims she specialises ‘in developmental trauma, attachment science, schema theory, family dynamics, mental health and child and adult forensic assessment’. Her LinkedIn page claims she is a lecturer at Roehampton University, a manager at Sussex NHS Foundation Trust and founder of the Mindful Policy Group.
The latter has child psychologist Penelope Leach at its head. But Melanie Gill’s two most recent sources of remuneration are as a forensic consultant to the courts and as a ‘Specialist Psychologist and Forensic Consultant in Private and Public Law cases’ and ‘Expert Witness’.
Melanie Gill channels her fees through a limited company, Keighley Gill Consulting. And who is the Keighley part? He is David John Keighley, who describes himself as a ‘writer’. Powerbase describes him as ‘a media consultant and right-wing operative’. He was head of press and publicity for ITV breakfast franchise TV-am. He then founded a media monitoring company, Minotaur Media Tracking. His fellow director was Kathy Gyngell, widow of TV executive Bruce.
Link to Conservative Woman website
David Keighley moved on to news-watch.co.uk to file stories about BBC bias against Brexit. He is also a director of Melanie Gill’s ‘Mindful Policy Group’. She, strangely, isn’t.
Melanie Gill is also well-connected in Parliament, though Mr Keighley. She has signed letters urging protection for children from pornography online.
And what of Kathy Gyngell? She heads up the Conservative Woman website. It is relentlessly pro-family and traditionalist. We should thoroughly approve.
But surprise, surprise, it carries a hypocritical article from Melanie Gill praising Dr Leach for a book showing the damage done to children by splitting them from their parents. That is exactly what Medway Council commissioned Melanie Gill to do to Eugene Lukjanenko and his son.
Inherited Holocaust Trauma
Melanie Gill, inventor of ‘Inherited Holocaust Trauma’
So what kind of report did Melanie Gill write on Eugene Lukjanenko? Well, she discovered (because he told her) that his 84-year-old father survived the Jewish ghetto in Vinnytsa in Ukraine during World War 2.
Although conditions were appalling in the ghetto, the Nazis did not separate families as in the concentration camps and Mr Lukjanenko’s father remained with his father and mother.
Out of this, Melanie Gill dreamed up a previously unheard-of condition. She decided Mr Lukjanenko was suffering from ‘inherited holocaust trauma’. This imaginary genetic condition must affect a huge number of Jewish people. Because of it, Melanie Gill proposed, and one Judge Veronica Hammerton agreed, Mr Lukjanenko was unfit to care for his son until he had therapy.
And of course no psychiatrist would provide such a ridiculous course.
In addition, a police report about the Lukjanenko home led the CPS to reject any idea of the father being prosecuted for neglect. However, Judge Hammerton said the same report showed an overwhelming case for removing ‘J’ at once. Welcome to the crazy, secretive world of the Family Courts.
‘J’ was taken into care for ’emotional abuse’. The term is ill defined and subject to a range of variation across England and Wales. If one believes the figures, emotional abuse is two and a half times more rife in Medway than in the rest of Kent.
Medway Council did not honour Care Plan
A care plan allows Mr Lukjanenko to see ‘J’ in a ‘contact centre’ four times a year, although he says Medway failed to honour this commitment. Father and son are forbidden to speak in their native language and when Mr Lukjanenko tried to pass a copy of the Human Rights Act to ‘J’ the social workers objected, saying it was not in ‘J’s’ ‘best interests’ to know his human rights.
Mr Lukjanenko also says:
* Medway refused to deliver Christmas presents to his son,
* They refused to pass on Christmas cards from family and friends,
* They even refused to allow ‘J’ to take a phone call from his grandfather,
* Medway refuse to accept that keeping ‘J’ in care is doing him any harm,
In July 2017 Councillor Andrew Mackness refused to talk to Eugene L about his son. He is Children Portfolio Holder at Medway Council. Mr Lukjanenko wanted to ask him why Medway children services were, as he put it, ‘ruining’ his son and not allowing him to see his father.
Protest lost minister his seat
This protest at Edward Timpson’s home in May, cost the minister his seat and led to a Tory manifesto commitment on reform of the family courts, which is yet to be honoured.
Just before the 2017 general election, Mr Lukjanenko staged a protest on a roof of the home of children’s minister Edward Timpson in Tarporley, Cheshire. He occupied the porch roof for almost three days, 57 hours in all.
According to the local press, in October 2017 Mr Lukjanenko, ‘60, of Rainham in Gillingham, was found guilty after a trial at Chester Magistrates Court of harassing Edward Timpson, the former Tory MP for Crewe and Nantwich, after staging a 57 hour rooftop protest against forced adoption at his home in Utkinton.
‘Lukjanenko was found guilty of one count of pursuing a course of action that amounted to harassment, and one further count of failing to comply with a police order to leave the premises,’ the Chester Chronicle went on. Mr Lukjanenko was given 26 weeks’ custody for the harassment charge. He was sentenced to four weeks for the failure to comply charge. Both sentences were to run concurrently and were suspended for two years.
The protest led to a manifesto commitment from the Tories to reform the family courts. Nevertheless, the Conservative MP lost his Crewe and Nantwich seat by fewer than 100 votes.
In prison for no crime
While he was in Elmley Prison, prison officers managed to arrange a visit from Mr Lukjanenko’s son. He says they were sympathetic and puzzled to find someone in prison who had not committed any crime. The fact that the pianist went on a 62-day hunger strike in protest at not seeing his son strengthened the hand of the prison management in their dealings with Medway.
But it is increasingly clear that Medway are holding J against his will.
At one of the contempt hearings, Mr Lukjanenko had lunchtime discussions with Medway officials. During these, he produced a letter.
The letter was signed by his son, and said he wanted to come home. It emerged Mr Lukjanenko drafted it. He gave it to his son to read and sign in his last meeting at the local authority contact centre. Although these were not family court proceedings, the judge was aghast. ‘Was not the contact supervised? How did that happen?’ Judge Richard Scarratt demanded.
‘Please don’t give up’
Contact centres are intended to be heavily policed by social workers. Parents are not even supposed to tell their children they love them or that they are fighting to get them home. They may certainly not pass pieces of paper to them.
On Mr Lukjanenko’s 60th birthday in August 2017, his son sent him a wallet with a note tucked in with the present. The note was written in Russian. Mr Lukjanenko was pleased to see his son could still write Russian. He claims social workers are trying to deny the boy his language, Jewish religion, family connections and culture.
But he was greatly encouraged by the note. It read: ‘I know things are difficult for you and for me, but please don’t give up.’
Please pray
Please continue to pray form Mr Lukjanenko and his son ‘J’. Pray for the council workers. The Deputy Director of Children and Adults Services, one Ann Domeney, is heavily involved. And Mr Lukjanenko told us in November 2017 that her boss, Director Ian Sutherland ‘called me to say my son “will never come back’ to my care”.’ That does rather show an obstructive attitude.
Pray for local Councillors to call their officials to account. Pray for justice in this case. Furthermore, ‘J’ will be sixteen later this year. It is vindictive for a UK local authority to hold a young man against his will in such a way. Medway could and probably should find themselves on the end of legal action from J for breach of his right to a family life.
Scripture says: Exodus 23:6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Ezekiel 45:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. Amos 5:24: But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
We are asking Medway Councillors for comments on this story.
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Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner sit alongside Benjamin Netanyahu
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner sit alongside Benjamin Netanyahu
We celebrate with Israel and Israelis the seventieth anniversary of David ben Gurion’s Declaration of Independence on 14th May 1948.
Independence Day
Independence Day is ‘Yom Ha’atzmaut’ in Hebrew. It gave Israelis the opportunity also to celebrate GDP growth of around 3.5%. That’s much higher than the still-slumping euro zone.
But, as Max Schindler puts in the Jerusalem Post, ‘since the 1970s, Israel has fallen behind the rest of the West when it comes to investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure and transportation per capita – as anecdotally demonstrated by the worst congestion among developed OECD nations.
‘At the same time, Israel faces two primary socioeconomic challenges: declining labor productivity – which makes it harder to raise living standards, and the many ultra-Orthodox and Arab pupils – comprising nearly 40% of all students – who are receiving a third-world education.’
US Embassy opens
Moreover, on Independence Day the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The US embassy is in an upmarket district of southern Jerusalem called Amona. Donald Trump made a promise to move the embassy during the US presidential election.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara had front row seats. Republican billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam were highly visible. Haaretz.com says: The Adelsons’ presence in the front row symbolized the weight of their role in pushing for to the embassy’s opening.
David Friedman, the US Ambassador, hosted the event. Ivanka Trump unvelied the plaque. Not one US Democrat politician attended.
Mr Netanyahu quoted from the Bible:
Zech 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
Except, according to Haaretz, he omitted the final eleven-word phrase. Or maybe they did.
For Arabs, the ‘Catastrophe’
Riots in Gaza near the border with Israel. The smoke from burning tyres is intended to obscure the participants from recognition and sniper fire.
For the Palestinians or Arabs of Gaza, Judea and Samaria, there were no celebrations.
They refer to Israel’s Independence Day as ‘Nakba’, ‘the catastophe’. Naturally, Hamas organised protests which were seen television screens around the world. The terrorist group have threatened to break through Gaza’s border fences.
Of course Israel’s military will contain the protests. But the Daily Telegraph reports today that 58 protestors have died already. Almost 3,000 have been wounded. Sky News was broadcasting from Gaza last night. Its reporter Alex Rossi explained the Israeli snipers were deliberately targeting people’s legs. Viewers saw people injured that way.
We know Hamas are only out to provoke and get a reaction. We know the Israeli Defence Force needs to contain the protests. But such sniper activity seemed to go beyond crowd control. Christians who support Israel expect a higher standard from the Middle East’s only true democracy.
However, Hamas has succeeded in its objective. The world knows there is a conflict and that it remains unresolved.
Post-script: On 17th May, as the Metro reports, (but it’s all over the press) Hamas claimed 50 of the 62 killed were its fighters. Hamas published their names and ranks online, the paper says.
The President’s words
President Donald Trump addressed the audience via satellite. He said the move was ‘a long time coming.’ Israel, like all sovereign nations, had ‘a right to name its own capital’. (Jerusalem Post)
Mr Trump claimed the US would still be observing the status quo in terms of contested territories such as on Temple Mount.
‘The US will always be a great friend of Israel and a partner in the cause of freedom and peace,’ The President said. ‘We extend a hand in friendship to Israel, the Palestinians and to all of their neighbors. May there be peace.’
Boris Johnson said in January that Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in December 2017 was a “moment of opportunity” for peace. His critics accused him of putting a two-state solution in the Middle East at fresh risk. But the ‘two-state solution’ has always been easier to say than to set out plausibly on paper.
No Muslim claim to Jerusalem
Jerusalem showing the Dome of the Rock Mosque and the Western or ‘Wailing’ wall of the Temple Mount
The Foreign Secretary has since moved closer to other European countries. They all say moving the embassy is a threat to peace. They all want Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state. Muslims hold Jerusalem sacred. Nevertheless, we point out in this article that their claim is founded on a lie. Mohammed was never in Jerusalem. He made up a story about flying there so as not to be caught in an indiscretion.
Moving the Embassy will, in our view, do little for peace. But that is not the point. It is more a statement of intent, or as Jared Kushner put it: ‘the right thing to do.’
Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
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Ex-MI6 man Christopher Steele compiled the Trump Russian Dossier
Ex-MI6 man Christopher Steele compiled the Trump Russian Dossier
Revelations are popping out about links between poisoned double-agent Sergei Skripal and the Russian Dossier on Donald Trump compiled by a British spy.
D-Notice on editors
Colourful ex-ambassador Craig Murray reports on something called a ‘D-Notice’. More properly it’s a DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice). Nevertheless, people still refer to the old name, in use from the 1920s to the 1990s.
MI6 slapped this D-Notice on the mainstream media the minute Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury in early March this year. It prevented editors from investigating any links between Sergei Skripal and an intelligence outfit called ‘Orbis’. Orbis Business Intelligence was being run by ex-MI6 man Christopher Steele. More about Orbis and Steele below.
But why should there be any link between Mr Skripal and Orbis in the first place? Why should MI6 be worried enough to tell journalists not to look there? The missing piece in the puzzle is another MI6 operative. His name is Pablo Miller.
Pablo Miller
Pablo Miller recruited Sergei Skripal and worked for Christopher Steele at Orbis
According to Wikispooks, and it seems common knowledge, Pablo Miller recruited Sergei Skripal In the early 1990s. Miller was directly under Christopher Steele. Once relocated to the UK, in fact to not far from Salisbury, Miller became Sergei Skripal’s minder and friend.
Christopher Steele (born June 1964) was our top spy with diplomatic immunity in Moscow in the 1990s. His friend and business colleague Christopher Burrows worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1990 to 2009, according to his LinkedIn page.
The Daily Mail, in the link below, claims Mr Burrows was also actually working for MI6 during that time. It is not surprising the Scottish Daily Mail, archived here at Pressreader, describes their enterprises as ‘spies-for-hire firms’.
Orbis Business Intelligence
Chris Burrows, Mr Steele’s partner in Orbis and its successors.
In fact, its own website (worth a look) says: ‘Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd. was founded in 2009 by former British intelligence professionals’. It gives an address of ‘9-11 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0BD.’
According to Companies House, Steele and Burrows formed Orbis Business Intelligence Limited in July 2009, They set up Orbis Business International Limited in July 2010. Next up was Walsingham Partners Limited in April 2015. Finally, they formed Chawton Holdings Limited in June 2017
Reporting on the latter enterprise, International Business Times says: ‘Steele, 53, and Burrows, 59, are also directors of Walsingham Partners and Orbis Business Intelligence, the Belgravia-based consultancy the duo founded in London in 2009 and which made more than £1m in profits between 2015 and 2016.
‘Steele, who quit the UK’s Security Intelligence Service (Mi6) the same year he set up Orbis, was forced to go into hiding when he was outed as the dossier author in January and returned to work in March.’
Christopher Steele’s home in Farnham bristles with CCTV
‘Christopher Steele’s British-based company, Orbis Business Intelligence, uncovered corruption at international soccer’s governing body, leading to the resignation of top officials, including president Sepp Blatter.
‘It was this work which gave credence to his reporting on Trump’s entanglements in Russia, officials in the US have said.’
Referring to the Trump Dossier, according to inews, ‘Andrew Wordsworth, co-founder of another London intelligence firm, Raedas, cast doubt on Mr Steele’s findings, saying it wouldn’t make sense for people high up in the Russian security establishment to leak information to a former British spy. “Russians believe once you are an agent, you’re an agent forever,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
LinkedIn profile disappeared
But what if Sergei Skripal was able to draw on his Russian contacts? Could he find out, or invent, material on Donald Trump with a Russian angle? And having done so, he could easily pass it to Pablo Miller. And the latter had links to Orbis.
The Daily Telegraph ran a story about an un-named ‘security consultant’ in early March. It said he was linked to Sergei Skripal and to Orbis. MI6 briefed their tame journalists that was ‘wrong’. But it wasn’t. The security consultant was none other that Pablo Miller. Miller boasted of his connections to Orbis on his LinkedIn page.
So we have demonstrable links between Sergei Skripal, Pablo Miller and Christopher Steele up to March this year.
Supposing Sergei Skripal was hankering to return to Russia. Some papers have suggested he was already in touch with the Russian Embassy or that he written to Vladimir Putin. He would want to show himself as bringing something of value. What if that was everything he knew about Steele’s Trump Dossier?
In such a case, who would want to either get rid of him or teach him a lesson? In the murky world of the spooks, anything is possible. One cannot rule out Russia’s FSB completely. Sergei Skripal did betray Russia. A Russian court convicted him in 2006. Nevertheless, Russia allowed him to go to the UK in a spy-swap in 2010. There is a convention that when spies are swapped they are left in peace. Otherwise, the system will not work in future. And Sergei had been here unmolested and in no fear for eight years.
Did the Russian Dossier change the game?
So what changed? What if we look elsewhere, to the UK or to the US, for example? The New Yorker says an intermediary called Fusion GPS paid Orbis for Steele’s work. Fusion GPS was paid by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign. Barrister and commentator James O’Neill suggests elements of the US ‘Deep State’, the CIA and MI6 were all involved. We know MI6 was.
Any of them, he says, had a better motive than the Russian state for wanting to be rid of Sergei Skripal. Which makes Mrs May’s allegations of Russian culpability look rather shaky. But what if Mr Skripal were just a convenient pawn in a game of demonising Russia? Surely that is too dark and would require too many politicians and officials to be in on it. It would have to leak. Orbis appears the best lead.
Craig Murray concludes: ‘Steele, MI6 and the elements of the CIA which are out to get Trump, all would have a powerful motive to have the Skripal loose end tied.’
Look where they tell you not to
As Mr Murray says, the first rule of journalism is to look where they tell you not to look. And he is annoyed none of the supposed ‘journalists’ of the mainstream media is doing that in this case.
A Guardian article says: ‘The D-notice system is a peculiarly British arrangement’. It goes on to describe it as ‘a sort of not quite public yet not quite secret arrangement between government and media’. the D-Notice mechanism is there ‘in order to ensure that journalists do not endanger national security.’ But there is no national security angle in the Trump Dossier. It was just dirt-digging. When such a mechanism is used to spare ex-MI6 agents embarrassment the D-Notice becomes a devalued currency. (The more so if one really were used to shore up a pre-arranged Government political line to sour relations with Russia.)
Scripture says the Lord expects us all to deal with each other honestly:
Lev 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Points for Prayer
Pray the truth comes out in this matter. Remind the Lord of his word:
Proverbs 10:9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
Luke 12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
And do pray for peace between the nations. This may be a millennial prophecy, but it shows that the Almighty regards peace between nations as a good thing:
Isaiah 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Also at Micah 4:3)
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Ichthyornis dispar - not a bird missing link at all
Ichthyornis dispar – not a bird missing link at all
The mainstream media is all over Ichthyornis dispar. This is supposed to be a ‘missing link’ between dinosaurs and birds. The name means something like ‘disparate fish-bird’.
Evolutionists like Bhart-Anjan Bhullar of Yale University claim: ‘It shows us what the first bird beak looked like.’ ‘It’s a real mosaic of features, a transitional form.’ That’s what he says. ‘A transitional form’. At last! The elusive missing link!
Evolution Cheerleader
The BBC is top cheerleader for evolution. Moreover, it’s not just David Attenborough. Expressions like ‘adapted’, ‘evolved’ ‘millions of years’ are used all over the network. Anyway, according to the BBC, ‘It has long been known that birds evolved from dinosaurs in what was a slow gradual process, involving feathers, wings and beaks.’ Has it really? Or should we replace the word ‘known’ by ‘thought by evolutionists’?
‘The bones of Ichthyornis were first found in the 1870s by the US palaeontologist Othniel C Marsh’, says Auntie. Apparently, Charles Darwin read about the fossil. He thought it afforded support for the theory of evolution. But he described it as ‘work on “old birds” .’
Researcher Daniel Field, from the University of Bath, said it was an ‘extraordinary new specimen’. He assured us it had ‘similar brain proportions to that of a modern bird’. However, ‘other parts of the skull more closely resemble those of predatory dinosaurs’.
Velociraptor’s jaws nothing like Ichthyornis dispar
Velociraptor’s powerful jaw is nothing like that of Ichthyornis dispar.
‘Right under our noses this whole time was an amazing, transitional bird,’ said Dr Bhart-Anjan Bhullar.
So is it? Not really. For a start, Ichthyornis dispar really looks like a bird. Its teeth are held in a fragile, elongated bill. It could give you a nasty nip. It might even hold something like a fish to stop it getting away.
But it has little in common with a therapod dinosaur like Velociraptor. The latter’s strong head and jaw is clearly designed for ripping flesh, which Ichthy is not. Some birds today do have powerful ripping beaks. That still does not mean they are descended from velociraptor. But, in any case, Ichthy didn’t. As it happens, the BBC claims: ‘The seagull-sized bird had a beak and a brain much like modern birds, but the sharp teeth and powerful jaws of dinosaurs like Velociraptor’. Did it? No. But none of the evolution-supporting mainstream media give you a picture of a velociraptor. It would never do to let the reader see the differences for himself.
Some modern birds have teeth
Even today, the Canada Goose has teeth.
And there is something else none of them will tell you. And that is that some modern birds have teeth.
There are not many, but among them are several species of goose. The Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, even domestic geese all have teeth. Then there is the tooth-billed bowerbird, which does what it says on the tin.
As it happens, the Independent, cited above, denies those species even exist. ‘Toothed birds vanished along with the dinosaurs and many other species after an asteroid impact 66 million years ago.’ Tell that to the Canada Goose. From a distance, if I were you.
And if parts of Ichthy’s head resembled something in a dinosaur, so what? It so happens we share many bodily features with birds. That is evidence of an overall Designer (yes, with a capital ‘D’), not a common ancestor.
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Even the Rational Skeptic website says evolutionists had ‘better let go’ of both Archaeopteryx and Ichthyornis Dispar. The latter, it says, was not a missing link. It ‘was 100 percent bird.’
But don’t expect the BBC or the Indy to let go of Ichthy any time soon.
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