News from The Kingdom

 When as Christians we encounter people of other faiths, beliefs and spiritualities, we do so in the name and the strength of the Jesus Christ and in the power of the Spirit of God. This faith points us to some key theological principles: 

God is no less generous in salvation than in creation

 The God whom we meet in creation is generous in grace and rejoices in diversity – ‘O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all!’ [Ps 104.24] This creator God is the same saving God who wishes to lead all to perfection.

 Jesus Christ shows us God’s face and opens the way to God

 In Jesus we have seen ‘the radiance of God’s glory’ [Heb 1.3]; he shows us the way to the Father and we wish to share this way with others. Our witness to this way needs to be made in such a way that it is heard as good news by all; it is not for us to proclaim limits to God’s saving mercy.

 The Spirit’s presence is known through the Spirit’s fruits. The Scriptures say, ‘The tree is known by its fruits’, and ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ [Mt 12.33; Gal 5.22f] When we meet these qualities in our encounter with people of other faiths, by God’s grace we may discern the Spirit’s presence.

 The societies in which our churches are called to mission and ministry are increasingly marked by a plurality of religions, beliefs and spiritualities. In large measure, this is the result of histories of migration of people from other countries who have brought their faiths and cultures with them. This has happened at different rates and over different periods: in some countries there are large and established communities of faith dating back several generations, while in others religious plurality is more recent or on a smaller scale. Moreover, the situation is constantly changing, as a result of the continuing arrival of people seeking refuge and well-being in all our countries.

 Beyond the visibly and culturally identifiable communities of faith, there is also now a wider plurality and fluidity of spirituality in our societies. Many seek meaning and purpose in new or alternative patterns of spirituality. There is a growth in conversions between different religions. While some opt for loose networks within which to probe ultimate questions, others turn to clearly defined answers offered through closely organised groups. At the same time, many people look for their beliefs and values to the secular and the human without reference to transcendence of any kind.

 The challenge of discernment

 In these complex and changing situations, we are faced with the challenge of discerning God’s purposes in our religiously plural societies by remaining faithful disciples of Jesus Christ open to the guidance of the Spirit. Within all our churches, there will be a variety of theological starting points, methods and conclusions in responding to this challenge. We seek to be particularly attentive to the ways in which the Bible can challenge and guide our thinking and practice in inter faith relations. In our reading together of scripture, we have found that the interaction of its texts with our contexts can at times highlight the diversity of views among us, and we recognise that Christian reflection on inter faith encounter is likely to continue to be a contested area in both our traditions for the foreseeable future.

 In these circumstances, it is essential that there should be candid and positive dialogue within our communion’s churches, and with fellow Christians in our ecumenical partner churches, to complement and resource our dialogue with people of other faiths, beliefs and spiritualities. In what follows, we offer as a contribution to this intra-Christian dialogue some reflections from our own experience on twelve concrete and practical issues which have a special importance for inter faith encounter in our societies. These are offered as examples; they are not intended as a comprehensive or systematic account. Moreover, given the ever-changing nature of the contexts within which our mission and ministry is set, these pointers must be seen as work in progress, in constant need of updating and revision.

 Twelve issues for Christians in inter faith encounter

 These pointers for inter faith engagement are mostly expressed in the language of personal encounter. We have found that meeting with people of other faiths can be a profoundly inspirational experience for our faith in the Only God of the Bible, leading to a deepening, renewing and enlarging it. As Christians, though, we are never involved in inter faith situations only as individuals, but always also as members of the Body of Christ. This representative role has a particularly high profile for ordained ministers; yet inter faith encounter is also an area of Christian witness and discipleship where lay people have a vital role to play, as they too speak and act on behalf of the whole Church.

 1.       Building long-term trust

 Our faith speaks of the centrality of permanent commitment to one another as the way to build stable and trustful relationships. In inter faith encounter, there can be no substitute for the patient, painstaking and time-consuming process of getting to know our neighbours of other faiths, earning their respect, and becoming their friends. We have found that it is within relationships of this kind, built up over many years, that dialogue acquires authenticity, the quest for truth can be honestly pursued, and difficult issues can be addressed and solved.

 2.       Speaking loving and truthfully

 Speaking truthfully requires us to avoid simplistic or homogenising language. Rather, we need to recognise the complexity and diversity of all faith communities, our own included. When we speak of the beliefs and practices of others, we must first seek good information and rely on authoritative sources to build up our knowledge, and we must talk about our neighbours in language that will enable them to recognise themselves in our descriptions.

 This will involve us in an imaginative and sympathetic effort to think ourselves into their situation. It is unfair to compare the ideals in our own religion with the practice of another, or vice versa. Christians and members of other communities need to acknowledge that we all face challenges in living by faith in our societies. Even in situations where we strongly disagree with others, we must speak calm and firmly the truth of God, and allow time for the Holy Spirit to work. We must do so with respect and to love, not exactly to the faith which informs them, but to themselves as a person and as our neighbours. . We must remember that they were sometimes culturally introduced to such a faith, like many brothers and sisters from the first Church were. Bring them the truth just as Jesus and His disciples did, with the conviction that the Truth brings freedom from strongholds. Do not criticize. If we feel there are times when we must be critical of others’ positions, we cannot avoid the challenge of self-criticism.

 3.       Sharing our faith

 We are called to share with others our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God as well as the promise of the Kingdom of God on earth, in ways that are confident but sensitive. As we do so, we are ready to listen and to learn as well as to speak. We recognise that the intentions of those engaged in dialogue may differ, and it is easy to suspect one another of hidden agendas. As we said before, we cannot force our beliefs on others, but we should always be ready to witness to our faith by deeds as well as by words and let the Holy Spirit do his part. We must never exploit the situation of vulnerable individuals and groups, nor make our service of others conditional on their accepting Christian faith.

 4.       Responding to changing societies

 While we rejoice in the new vitality that religious and cultural diversity has brought to many parts of our societies, we are also aware of the confusion and pain that can be felt by long-established communities who find their neighbourhoods transformed. We emphasise the importance of maintaining a vigorous and engaged Christian presence at local level in multi-faith areas. We recognise also the need to be aware of the ethnic and religious discrimination in our societies which affect other faith groups.

 5.       Working for the common good

 We seek co-operation with people in other faith groups on practical projects where this is appropriate and possible. As the Church of the Almighty God, we have a particular role to play in encouraging our national governments and local authorities to explore and to understand the complexities of faith community organisations. We recognise that people of all faiths have a concern for the whole of society, while at the same time we all need to be honest about the real differences we can experience when we try to interpret in practical terms values which may sound the same when expressed as generalities.

 6.       Involving women and men

 We recognise that in many inter faith situations there is a need to strengthen the presence and active involvement of women and men in a same level. Together with people in other faith communities, we should strive to ensure that participation in inter-religious events has fair gender equality. At the same time, we need to recognise the strength of the cultural and religious factors which may inhibit the participation of women alongside men in inter faith activities. In inter faith dialogue, we should be ready to raise issues of women’s rights as human rights.

 7.       Safeguarding the freedom to believe to avoid serious matters

 The Christian commitment to love our neighbours and to seek justice for all leads us to affirm the importance of religious freedom in every society. Within our own countries, this is safeguarded by the European Convention on Human Rights: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others, and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.’ (1950). It is important that the Christian faith should not be abused to control or repress others. However, our witness should be used to firmly express the truth manifested by the God of creation: the God of the Bible.

 8.       Changing some of our religious commitment

 Where the Spirit is at work, we rejoice that conversions of people to the way of Christ may happen. They must always be the free result of God’s interaction with others, not of our own planning or persuasion. We recognise that inter faith encounter is powerful and unpredictable in the transforming effect it can have on people’s lives. It may lead to people changing their faith commitment away from as well as towards Christianity. We may also understand that inter faith encounter brings us closer to God within the framework of our own faith commitment. It is important to be aware of the difficulties that can be faced by new believers, and be prepared to change our churches, if needed, in order to welcome new members. Some converts can find the whole concept of inter faith dialogue difficult, especially if it involves them in encounter with their previous religion. Other converts may have a valuable personal contribution to make to inter faith understanding, and their help should be tremendously valuable.

Confession made by a former Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander of the Thirty-First Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite who had withdrawn from Masonry in 1968 for religious reasons.

 

He was a judge, and a particularly quick-tempered one. We spent a long time talking about Masonry and religion, but after a while I began to ask him about the Ancient and Accepted Rite of the Thirty-Third Degree. About Masonry, he said quickly. ‘No, I dare not go into that,’ he said. ‘We’d better stick with religion.’ It seemed a perfectly normal answer . and sounded like the usual rebuff. But I thought immediately afterwards how strange it was that he had used the words ‘dare not’. Most people said, ‘I’d better not’, or ‘I’d rather not’. I remarked on his use of the word. He said, Anyone in public life has to be cautious.’

‘Cautious,’ I repeated. ‘That’s a masonic word of recognition.’

‘You’ve obviously delved into the ritual, so you know,’ he said. ‘But I mean cautious in the sense everybody understands it.’

‘What must you be cautious about?’

‘I don’t like this line of questioning. I agreed to speak to you in general terms about why my commitment to Jesus is incompatible with the masonic religion. I do not wish to be drawn into discussion of matters covered by whatever undertakings I have … taken.’

‘By undertakings, do you mean masonic oaths?’

He paused. ‘Yes, I do. I prefer the word obligation to oath. It’s not the same.’

I remember thinking as I turned the conversation back on to the track I wanted it to follow that it would be interesting later on to return to this question of the distinction between an obligation and an oath. I never did.

‘Why do you have to be cautious, careful’, I said. ‘You’re not a Mason any more. I’ve got copies of all the rituals of the 4th to 33rd degree. There is no obligation which could possibly be interpreted to forbid you from telling me what you meant when you used the word “dare” in an ordinary conversation.’

This isn’t about my religious convictions, is it?’

‘Many of your former masonic colleagues are very powerful people in this country. Do you think there would be some kind of reprisal if you gave away any secrets?’

‘Not of the kind you’d write about in a book about Jack the Ripper.’ He laughed. A bit hollowly.

‘Well, not murder, no, I wouldn’t have thought so.’ I, too, laughed. I felt oddly embarrassed. ‘But there is some kind of reprisal to be feared then? Something more … subtle?’

He began to look angry. He had made a slip. ‘That was a figure of sp– I was making a joke. A very bad joke.’

‘But you said-’

‘I know, I know!

I could see the rattled ex-Mason automatically slipping back into the practice of a lifetime. Sometimes you shall divert a discourse, and manage it prudently for the honour of the worshipful fraternity. I would not be diverted into defending the evidence and arguments in my first book. I felt I was close to something. I pressed on.

‘Leaving murder aside, can I ask you . . .’ And then it hit me. ‘Can I ask you, as a Christian, have you ever seen at first hand any sort of reprisals carried out by Freemasons using masonic influence against any non-Freemason or anti-Freemason?’

All at once, he seemed to relax, or to somehow collapse into a smaller man as he let all the anger go out of him. ‘As a Christian . . .’ He paused thoughtfully, and I noticed how very many times he blinked his eyes during this hiatus. I wondered at one point if he was praying for guidance. He drew a long, slow, deep breath. ‘As a Christian, I have to tell you that I have never in my whole life witnessed or heard about a single act of hostility by a Freemason or group of Freemasons that was sanctioned by Grand Lodge or Supreme Council’ He looked at me significantly as he laid stress on that qualifying clause. ‘There,’ he said. ‘I have said nothing which betrays my obligations.’

‘I have heard from quite a lot of contacts about organized action by groups of Freemasons that have resulted in the financial or social ruin of certain people,’ I said.

So have I,’ he said, still looking me straight in the eye as if telling me this was important. ‘So have I.’ ‘Have you any direct knowledge of such happenings?’

‘Not of such happenings which had the backing of official Freemasonry.’

‘But of action which was unofficial? In other words, Masons abusing the Craft for their own ends?’

‘You know the answer to that, from the way I have said what I have said.’

‘I have also heard about people who have “crossed” certain Masons and finished up in prison . …’

He stopped me in mid-sentence by placing a finger on his lips.

‘If I told you everything I know about Freemasonry being betrayed by its members, it would surprise you,’ he said. ‘It would make your hair stand on end. I can’t tell you any more.’ Then, as if it was an afterthought, but I don’t believe it was, he said, ‘Give me your phone number. You might hear from someone in a few days.’ I gave him the number. ‘Who?’ I said.

The finger went back to his lips and he went to fetch my coat.

‘God bless,’ he said as I left, and I ran pell-mell to a sandwich bar in nearby Chancery Lane to scribble down the notes on which this account of our meeting has been based.

Four days later I received a phone call from a man who told me he  would very much like to meet me. I tried to get him to say something concrete on the phone, but he would not even tell me whether or not he was a Mason.

Despite his unwillingness to talk – perhaps, in a way, because of it – I arranged to meet him the following Saturday in the vestibule of the Cafe Royal. From there we would go to his club. He said his name was Christopher. Whether this was his Christian name or his surname I didn’t know.

When I arrived, he was sitting in the armchair to the right of the fireplace, just inside the entrance, smoking a small cigar in a holder and reading that day’s Times. He was tall, more than six feet, slim and aged about fifty. Everything about him spoke of affluence, except his plain National Health Service glasses. We went to his club, which he pledged me not to name as it could be used to identify him. It turned out that Christopher was one of his three Christian names and that he was a very senior Civil Servant in Whitehall. He had contacted me, he said, not as a result of seeing the New Statesman advertisement – although he had seen it when it appeared – but at the request of my cautious Christian Judge. He asked me what I wanted to know. I said I took it that he was a Freemason. He nodded and took some papers out of his slimline briefcase. He wanted me to be in no doubt as to his bona fides.

After examining the papers I told him I was interested to know what a person might have to fear from a group of influential Freemasons if circumstances made him, for instance, a threat to them in the business world; or if he discovered they were using Masonry for corrupt purposes; or had fallen a victim of their misuse of Freemasonry and would not heed warnings not to oppose them.

‘It is not difficult to ruin a man,’ he said. ‘And I will tell you how it is done time and again. There are more than half a million brethren under the jurisdiction of Grand Lodge.

Standards have been falling for twenty or thirty years. It is too easy to enter the Craft, so many men of dubious morals have joined. The secrecy and power attract such people, and when they come the decent leave. The numbers of people who would never have been considered for membership in the fifties are getting larger all the time. If only five per cent of Freemasons use – abuse – the Craft for selfish or corrupt ends it means there are 25,000 of them. The figure is much closer to twelve or thirteen per cent now.’

It transpired that Christopher was one of a small and unpopular group within Masonry who some time in the early seventies had decided that either they had to get out of the Brotherhood or they had to do something ‘to stop the rot’ which the blinkered officers of Great Queen Street refused to admit was there. His reason for talking to me was to assure me that the Brotherhood was an essentially good body of men devoted to all that was best in the British social system and which promoted brotherly love and contributed to the wellbeing of the country and to the relief of suffering. He wanted this put firmly across to the public, and his group wanted pressure brought to bear on those in positions of responsibility within the Brotherhood to put Freemasonry’s house in order – to institute proper policing, to close down Lodges used for shady dealings and to root out corrupt brethren and expel them. The group – it had no name – also wanted the whole business of masonic secrecy looked into by Grand Lodge, most of them believing that secrecy was more harmful than helpful to Masonry.

Christopher explained that Masonry’s nationwide organization of men from most walks of life provided one of the most efficient private intelligence networks imaginable. Private information on anybody in the country could normally be accessed very rapidly through endless permutations of masonic contacts – police, magistrates, solicitors, bank managers, Post Office staff (‘very useful in supplying copies of a man’s mail’), doctors, government employee bosses of firms and nationalized industries etc., etc. dossier of personal data could be built up on anybody very quickly. When the major facts of an individual’s life were known, areas of vulnerability would become apparent. Perhaps he is in financial difficulties; perhaps he has some social vice – if married he might ‘retain a mistress’ or have proclivity for visiting prostitutes; perhaps there is something in his past he wishes keep buried, some guilty secret, a criminal offence (easily obtainable through Freemason police of doubtful virtue), or other blemish on his character: all these and more could be discovered via the wide-ranging masons network of 600,000 contacts, a great many of whom were disposed to do favours for one another because that had been their prime motive for joining. Even decent Masons could often be ‘conned’ into providing information on the basis that ‘Brother Smith needs this to help the person involved’. The adversary would even sometimes be described as a fellow Mason to the Brother from whom information was sought perhaps someone with access to his bank manager or employer. The ‘good’ Mason would not go to the lengths of checking with Freemasons Hall whether or not this was so. The ‘target’ was presented as a Brother in distress by a fellow Mason, especially a fellow Lodge member, that would be enough for any upright member of the Craft.

[I discovered from other sources that this system has been long established within Masonry for the 'legitimate' purpose of bringing succour to a distressed Brother Mason or to the family of a departed Mason. It is common for details of a Freemason's debts, for instance, to be passed to his Lodge by his masonic bank manager. This 'invasion of privacy' is for no more sinister reason than for his brethren to club together and pay off his debts. This occurs most often after the death of a Mason, but by no means always. And this, apparently, is just one example of the many methods by which Freemasons obtain information about each other for genuine purposes.]

Sometimes this information gathering process – often involving a long chain of masonic contacts all over the country and possibly abroad – would be unnecessary. Enough would be known in advance about the adversary to initiate any desired action against him.

I asked how this ‘action’ might be taken.

‘Solicitors are very good at it,’ said Christopher. ‘Get your man involved in something legal – it need not be serious – and you have him.’ Solicitors, I was told, are ‘past masters’ at causing endless delays, generating useless paperwork, ignoring instructions, running up immense bills, misleading clients into taking decisions damaging to themselves.

Masonic police can harass, arrest on false charges, and plant evidence. ‘A businessman in a small community or person in public office arrested for dealing in child pornography, for indecent exposure, or for trafficking in drugs is at the end of the line,’ said Christopher. ‘He will never work again. Some people have committed suicide after experiences of that kind.’

Masons can bring about the situation where credit companies and banks withdraw credit facilities from individual clients and tradesmen, said my informant. Bank can foreclose. People who rely on the telephone for their work can be cut off for long periods. Masonic employees of local authorities can arrange for a person’s drains to be inspected and extensive damage to be reported, thus burdening the person with huge repair bills; workmen carrying out the job can ‘find’ – In reality cause – further damage. Again with regard to legal matters, a fair hearing is hard to get when a man in ordinary circumstances is in financial difficulties. If he is trying to fight a group of unprincipled Freemasons skilled in using the ‘network’ it will be impossible because masonic Department of Health and Social Security and Law Society officials (see pp 189-90) can delay applications for Legal Aid endlessly.

‘Employers, if they are Freemasons or not, can be given private information about a man who has made himself an enemy of Masonry. At worst he will be dismissed (if the information is true) or consistently passed over for promotion.’

Christopher added, ‘Masonic doctors can also be used. But for some reason doctors seem to be the least corruptible men. There are only two occurrences of false medical certificates issued by company doctors to ruin the chances of in individual getting a particular job which I know about. It’s not a problem that need greatly worry us like the rest.’

He continued for about half an hour to list examples of the ways in which corrupt members of the Brotherhood could defeat opposition, repeating every few minutes that these kinds of circumstances involved a minority of the brethren and that most would be utterly appalled at even the suggestion that such things were happening, let alone countenance them. ‘ That they were happening at all reflected the deterioration of the Craft inasmuch as its entry requirements were no longer stringent enough. Those in power in Freemasons Hall knew something of what went on, but they felt defeated by it and preferred to look the other way rather than take steps to eradicate it. If Christopher and his group failed to force the issue into the open, he said, the organization would become so morally polluted that it would simply cease to exist. But he was not solely concerned with the Brotherhood. It was the victims of those who used Masonry as a source of personal power who had to be helped as well.

‘Only the fighters have any hope of beating the system once it’s at work against them,’ he told me. ‘Most people, fighters or not, are beaten in the end, though. It’s . . . you see, I … you finish up not knowing who you can trust. You can get no help because your story sounds so paranoid that you are thought a crank, one of those nuts who think the whole world is a conspiracy against them. It is a strange phenomenon. By setting up a situation that most people will think of as fantasy, these people can poison every part of a person’s life. If they give in they go under. If they don’t give in It’s only putting off the day because if they fight, so much unhappiness will be brought to the people around them that there will likely come a time when even their families turn against them out of desperation. When that happens and they are without friends wherever they look, they become easy meat. The newspapers will not touch them’.

‘There is no defence against an evil which only the victims and the perpetrators know exists.’

What does the future hold for the United States’ space program?  Will our children and grandchildren explore planets and moons beyond our solar system?  The answer may surprise you.

For decades, our quest to explore space has been a symbol of the American power, leadership, ambition and ingenuity.  But largely because of financial weakness, American space dominance seems to be slipping away.  Some even now predict the “space-race” is over.  However, the truth is completely the opposite.  We have not even begun!Existing budget restrictions compounded by the global financial crisis are constraining NASA in ways never before experienced.  As a leading economist recently stated in a BBC News interview, alluding to Hank Paulson begging congressional leaders to pass the financial bailout plan, “How symbolic that Chinese astronauts take a spacewalk while the US Treasury Secretary is on his knees” (October 1, 2008).   Budget constraints are now forcing NASA to plan more than 8000 job cuts and retire its aging space shuttle fleet years before the agency has an alternate transport vehicle in place.  So, how do we intend to put astronauts and payload into space?  Planners now intend to rely “entirely upon Russian Soyuz capsules and rockets to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station for half a decade.”  Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University noted, “It is our fault for not having a replacement for the shuttle much earlier than Orion will be available. It puts Russia in a very powerful position” (CNN.com, August 14, 2008). What an embarrassment for the once-mighty US space program!  And, how long can we depend on friendly support from Russia, China or others to transport our astronauts and our payloads into space? In the midst of very provocative military saber-rattling, as Russia recently flew nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela and the Russian navy prepares to participate in joint war exercises with Venezuela as a show of force in “our backyard”; and as China cancels US military communication and meetings because of their anger over our weapons sale to Taiwan, depending on Russian or Chinese good will seems quite naïve. So, what is the future of US space exploration?  Will your children’s children explore distant planets and distant moons?  The word of God holds the answers.  Despite what the vast majority of ministers and priests incorrectly teach, a Christian’s reward is not to go to heaven after death.  Jesus made it abundantly clear that no one has ascended to heaven (John 3:13); not Abraham, not Moses, not Stephen the Martyr, not your relatives – no one, except Christ Himself.  The truth is that Christ will return to this earth to establish His government here – on the earth (Revelation 11:15; James 2:5; Matt 5:5). Then, Christ will reign with His saints who have kept His commandments,  including His Sabbaths (1 John 5:2-3).  The saints will be transformed into spirit beings and will rule with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 2:12; Revelation 20:6).  They will become the awesome children of God, superior even to angels, and will shine like the very stars of heaven (Daniel 12:2-3; Hebrews 2:5-8).  At this time, our space exploration will truly begin!  We will “inherit all things,” meaning the entire universe – all the stars, galaxies and planets throughout the vastness of space, and will enjoy eternity with God our Father and Christ our Elder Brother!  We will then look back at our current meager attempts to escape the earth’s immediate proximity as utterly unimpressive.  This is our future and our children’s future – if we submit to God now strive to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Recently, two of the world’s most vocal atheists published books to defend their claim that there is no evidence for God’s existence. Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great) have presented their best arguments for their position that God does not exist and that religion poisons the world. Ironically, their own books provide much “evidence” to the contrary. Read the rest of this entry »

Events over recent months have created a dire situation among the nations of th world and in the world of international finances. Natural disaters adversely affect the economy. For instance, The Times of 10 of Setember harolds that Britain is facing its worst harvest for the least 40 years as thirty per cent of the country’s grain lies in waterlogged or sodden ground. Read the rest of this entry »