Magic Statistics

The Most Rev Dr Mouneer Amis (at right), Anglican Primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East, this morning delivered a clear and unambiguous message to the Episcopal Church House of Bishops.  Here are two snippets.

My friends, you may believe you have discovered a very different truth from that of the majority in the Anglican Communion. It is not just about sexuality, but about your views of Christ, the Gospel and the authority of the Bible. Please forgive me when I relay that some say you are a different church, others even think that you are a different religion.

I understand that it is difficult for you in your context to accept the standard teaching of the Anglican Communion.  This is why you refused to accept Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10.  You also ignored all the warnings of the Primates in 2003, 2004, and 2005.  Your response to the Windsor Report is seen by the Primates as not clear.  You cannot say you value being member of the Anglican Communion while you ignore the interdependence of the member churches.
. . .
My friends, if you really believe that the truth revealed to you is different from that shown to the rest of the Communion, then you need to uphold that claim with boldness even at the risk of losing unity. If you think it is right and necessary to ordain and consecrate practicing homosexuals and that you should bless same sex partnerships or even  marriages, you should be true to what you believe is right and accept the consequences.

However, if you appreciate being members of the global Anglican family, then you have to walk along side the members of your family.  Those who say that it is important to stay together around the table, to listen to each other and to continue our dialogue over the difficult issues that are facing us are wise.  We whole heartedly agree with this, but staying around one table requires that you should not take actions that are contrary to the standard position (Lambeth 1:10) of the rest of the Communion.

Read the whole thing.

This speech seems to me a forthright call to TEC bishops to be honest about their actions and the situation of their church within the Anglican Communion.  Canon Kendall Harmon issued a similar call two days ago so, clearly, this is a key point for many Anglicans and Episcopalians.

Despite this, there are reports that Abp Anis’s remarks upset many bishops and at least one attendee is said to have offered “a private apology”.  To whom the apology was made and in what context are unknown.

Now comes this depressing news:

[T]he Daily Telegraph has seen a draft document drawn up by a senior bishop who urges his colleagues to adopt a far less clear position that will be open to a wide range of interpretations, allowing liberal American bishops considerable leeway.

Get ready for more obfuscation.

Previous related posts:

• No evidence that homosexuality genetically determined
• Emerging or Episcopal?
• “The problem is the Western church’s way of handling Scripture”
• Primates’ communiqué “un-Anglican”?
• Each Anglican province “has its own understanding of the Gospel”

Last week, UN investigator on racism Doudou Diène denounced what he sees as a rising trend of Islamophobia, especially in Europe.  A representative of the World Evangelical Alliance has rejected that allegation, saying the root problem is not Western anti-Islamic bigotry but Islamic apostaphobia.

The religious liberty arm of the World Evangelical Alliance strongly rebuffed a recent report that claims, among other assertions, that the source of Muslim extremism is the "defamation" of Islam.

“I would propose that the very heart of the issue is not ‘defamation’ of Islam or ‘baseless’ Islamophobia,” expressed Elizabeth Kendal of the WEA’s Religious Liberty Commission, “but the fact that the dictators of Islam are now as ever consumed and driven by 'apostaphobia!'”

“Indeed the new openness brought to the world through globalization and developments in information and communication technologies is causing the power stakeholders and religious dictators of the non-free world to be seriously gripped by apostaphobia – a well-founded fear of loss of adherents, which is manifested primarily as uncompromising repression and denial of fundamental liberties, by violent and subversive means,” she added Monday.

Ms Kendal also pointed out many errors and omissions in Mr Diène’s report.

The partiality of the report was apparent, Kendal wrote, when Diene cited the Crusaders as an example of early Isamophobia without mentioning jihads, Dhimmitude (laws governing non-Muslims minority), and the fact that the unsuccessful Crusaders to the Holy Land were counter-insurgencies in response to imperialistic Islamic jihads.

She warns that acceptance of Diène’s report and recommendations would mark the first step in the  “Islamization of international human rights.”

Previous related posts:

• Windsor billboard extols Hezbollah leader
• Muslim converts in Germany under threat
• Canadian Muslim journalist assaulted for “writing against Islam”
• Hatred and tolerance cut Muslims off from Christ

Biofuels derived from rapeseed and maize have been found to emit more greenhouse gas emissions than they save, and far more GHGs than oil or gasoline.

Rapeseed and maize biodiesels were calculated to produce up to 70 per cent and 50 per cent more greenhouse gases respectively than fossil fuels. The concerns were raised over the levels of emissions of nitrous oxide, which is 296 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Scientists found that the use of biofuels released twice as much as nitrous oxide as previously realised. The research team found that 3 to 5 per cent of the nitrogen in fertiliser was converted and emitted. In contrast, the figure used by the International Panel on Climate Change, which assesses the extent and impact of man-made global warming, was 2 per cent. The findings illustrated the importance, the researchers said, of ensuring that measures designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions are assessed thoroughly before being hailed as a solution.

Yeah, that would be why it’s called “science”.

In the US, more maize is now being used to produce ethanol than is used for food.

Previous related posts:

• Prehistoric creatures exacerbate global warming
• No such thing as an environmentally friendly car
• Is there anything that doesn’t make global warming worse?

Bob Dylan’s radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour, launched its second season of dreams, schemes, and themes earlier this week.  The theme of this week’s show was “Hello”, featuring, among many other fine songs, “Hello Walls” by Willie Nelson, “Hello Mary Lou” by Ricky Nelson, and “two very different songs with the same title” “Hello Stranger”—one by Barbara Lewis, the other by The Carter Family.

Dylan’s between-song comments cover a lot of ground.  Here, he offers some demographic statistics on the aging population, a frequent topic on this blog and one that is apparently on his mind as well.

The baby boomers are gettin’ older.  By the year 2030, the first baby boomers will reach 84 years old.  The number of Americans over 65 will have grown by 75% to 69 million.  That means more than 20% of the population will be over 65, compared with only 13% today.

There’s a lot of old people, and a lot of old people are sad and lonely, and here’s a song that captures that sadness and that loneliness.  It was recorded by Bette Midler and Joan Baez, but here’s the man who wrote it.  “Hello In There” by John Prine.

Playlists for all TTRH shows are posted here.  There are several sites where audio files of the shows can be downloaded.  Dylan fans will want to bookmark ‘em.

h/t: Expecting Rain

Previous related posts:

• Dylan pays tribute to The Animals
• Nick Cave sings Dylan: “Death Is Not The End”
• Dylan buys his home in the Highlands

The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Matthew, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

O almighty God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St Matthew 9:9-13

A brief biography of St Matthew is posted here.

Artwork: Orcagna, Saint Matthew and Stories of His Life, c. 1367-70, Tempera on wood, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence [Completed by the artist's brother, Jacopo di Cione].