Roger Aubrey

Non-Muslims 'should fast during Ramadan'

I thought the silly season was over. Here's one to end your week with a bang. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, thinks non-Muslims should fast during Ramadan and break their fasts at mosques to enhance their understanding of their Muslim neighbours. According to Ruth Gledhill, religious correspondent of the Times, Boris made the comments after visiting a mosque today.

Gledhill makes an interesting point about expecting Muslims to reciprocate by observing Christian and Jewish practices like Lent and Passover. Can't see that happening. Have a good weekend.

Read Ruth Gledhill here.

Persecution in Laos

Officials Announce Ban on Christianity in Lao Village http://bit.ly/75VKZ

Twitter update

Well, I have been tweeting for a couple of weeks now (that's what you do on Twitter), and I have to say that, despite my long held reservations about the whole thing - I really enjoy it! I thought that the whole thing was just having people send inane sentences into the webosphere ('I'm looking out of the window/brushing my teeth/blowing my nose'). And that does go on. But Twitter is much more than that. You can get information about pretty much anything very quickly; communicate with all kinds of people; follow developing news stories (the Michael Jackson one was educational, as is Iran); express your thoughts and views; have a say; and even have famous people 'follow' you (they receive all your tweets).

So, will I keep tweeting? Definitely. Now I'm getting the hang of it I appreciate its benfits and its usefulness in communication and sharing Jesus.

If you want to follow me, join Twitter then go here:

http://twitter.com/rogeraubrey

When icons die

Yesterday saw the deaths of two icons: one expected, the other a total shock to many. Farrah Fawcett, original Charlie's Angel who later became an accomplished actress, died after a long battle with cancer, aged 62. Michael Jackson, self styled king of pop, died suddenly at the age of 50. I happened to be watching Sky news last night as the story of Jackson's collapse and death unfolded. Then I turned to Twitter; it was amazing to see literally thousands of messages each few minutes popping up on the screen. Fawcett's death had been reported earlier in the day with measured and prepared tributes. Jackson's passing seemed to be a media event: helicopters over his house; footage of the ambulance leaving the home; his sister and other members of the family caught on camera in their moment of grief. Even in death he had no privacy.

While one is naturally saddened by these deaths, especially since both Fawcett and Jackson were relatively young, such events make us think of our values and hopes. I can remember that in the 70s every girl wanted Fawcett's hair and teeth and be able to beat up villains; we all thought that we could dance like Jackson! I can remember him as a young boy with the Jackson 5 singing 'I want you back': just great pop music. But values and hopes must have more substance than that, because icons die. Their memories live on, but they are gone. It's true they leave us values, but the fact that they are no longer here leaves a terrible chasm in the heart of their followers.

That's why for Christians, all ultimate values and hopes can be placed only in Jesus Christ. He is not an historical, popular, dead icon, but a living person. Many people confine him to the pages of the New Testament as a man who lived and died two thousand years ago. But Jesus is the Eternal God who became a man, and still is one today. Christians should never look back with nostalgia to history and a past life, as fans of Fawcett and Jackson will have to. We don't live with the memory of Jesus; we live with him. He is alive today.

Cartoon time

Thought this was rather apt right now considering what's going on in our Parliament:

God at work in China

Here is a terrific article from last Saturday's Times on the vast numbers of people being saved in China. Our contacts within the country say that the actual number of believers is now around 150 million.

Read the article here.

Vindication for Christian Registrar

A Christian registrar who was harassed and discriminated against after she refused to carry out same-sex civil partnership ceremonies has won a key legal battle. Lillian Ladele, 47, said that she was treated like a pariah by colleagues at Islington council in North London after she said that she could not carry out the ceremonies as a matter of religious conscience.

 

Read more about this story here.

'You can't preach here'

Two Christian preachers were stopped from handing out Bible extracts by police because they were in a Muslim area, it was claimed yesterday. Oh yes, this incident happened in the UK. Read more

'Radical Islam filling a void'

The decline of Christian values is destroying Britishness and has created a "moral vacuum" which radical Islam is filling, one of the Church of England's leading bishops has warned. Read more of what Michael Nazir Ali has to say here.

Should we just go in?

The continued iniquitous behaviour of the ruling military junta in Burma guarantees the death of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of ordinary helpless and needy people in that country. Ever since Cyclone Nargis struck over a week ago with devastating effects, the generals have steadfastly refused any proper and adequate international assistance and relief, which is poised ready to help.

How far can a country go before the international community, in the guise of the UN, steps in and says enough is enough? When is it right to say that a nation's sovereign rights to rule its own people are to be forfeited for the sake of the survival of its population? Does there come a time when the UN says 'we're coming in'? It seems a little clearer when it comes to war (but even then the examples of Darfur and Tibet demonstrate the weakness of the toothless tiger that is the UN). But isn't what is happening in Burma an act of war? The generals are killing their own people by wilful neglect and active ignorance. I know the ethical and political questions are massive: but people are dying when they could be saved. That just can't be right.