Tag: Politics

Intolerance – in the United Kingdom and Cambodia

Opinions

Rev Ross Rennie, Director of Grace Missions, recently wrote to Mrs Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He assured her of his prayers, and those of many other Christians, regardless of political views or affiliation, who accept the authority of the Bible’s injunction in 1 Timothy 2: 1-2 to pray for all who are in authority. He wrote,

You are my prime minister and as long as you decide to keep your position I and the true Christian church of Jesus Christ will pray for your protection, for wisdom for our nation, to heal the wounds and rebuild this country, to root out bigotry and hatred in our nation, so as an Englishman I and others can be proud again of our nation and our democracy.

Ross also alerted the Prime Minister to two dangers which cause him great concern.

The Intolerance of the British Media

In his letter to Mrs May and another to the Director General of the BBC, Ross expressed his disappointment and anger at how the BBC has abandoned the value of impartiality with which it was founded and has become a platform for elitist, anti-Christian, anti-Brexit views. This is symptomatic of the way our news media have been corrupted.

To quote The Christian Institute,

The BBC has openly mocked the beliefs of millions of Christians and others with socially conservative views in its election commentary.

During an interview on Monday morning, Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys laughed at former MLA Nelson McCausland when he stated that the DUP’s policies are “compassionate”.

The BBC also ran a sizeable feature highlighting mockery of the DUP’s socially conservative values by various satirists.

Other media outlets have attacked the party for its views on sexual morality and marriage in recent days.

Telegraph columnist Dr Tim Stanley said the hostility shown towards the DUP because of its stance on same-sex marriage and abortion shows that mainstream Christian beliefs have become toxic in politics.

Writing about the resignation of Tim Farron as leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, who said, “To be a political leader… and to live as a committed Christian… has felt impossible for me”, Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, said,

“Tim Farron’s treatment demonstrates that Christians are simply not tolerated by the illiberal elite in positions of influence. This, alongside the widespread reaction to the DUP’s views on abortion and same-sex unions, is further evidence of this anti-Christian morality.

“The vilification of the DUP for its opposition to abortion and same-sex unions and castigation of Tim Farron is shocking and upsetting. If we continue in this crusade of ‘totalitolerance’, we will enter a harsh and conformist world where Christianity will be ‘no platformed’ and eventually squeezed out of every sphere of public life. The elite determines what are toxic unacceptable views. Unless you approve of their ‘new morality’ you are punished. At first comes the loss of privilege, a political position, a place at university, then the detriment: the refusal of a grant and ultimately criminal sanction.”

The Intolerance of Opposition in Cambodia

Ross wrote to Mrs May about the possibility of violence in Cambodia if the opposition party wins next year’s general election:

Many in Cambodia are very concerned about the possible actions of Mr Hun Sen, the Prime Minister, who has over many years marginalised all opposition even back to the time in 1997 when using his control of the army he ousted Prince Norodom Ranariddh when they were first and second prime ministers in a coalition government.

For many years Hun Sen has been seeking to neutralise the principal opposition party and he has made repeated threats that he will hold on to power, if necessary using military force, even if his party loses in the general election.

When Ross wrote to Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary, asking to discuss this with him, he was told he was too busy. Instead he was assured that the British government was giving money to Cambodia for election monitoring. Ross suggested to Mrs May that this was like giving money to Hitler to protect the Jews.

Alarm Bells

The alarm bells are ringing.

The tendency of the authorities in the United Kingdom seems to be to ignore them and only take action when it is too late, whether it is erecting barriers to protect pedestrians on London’s bridges or enforcing fire safety standards in high-rise buildings. Christians should be different.

  • It was said of the sons of Issachar they were “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do….” (1 Chronicles 12: 32).
  • The Lord said to Ezekiel, “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.” (Ezekiel 33: 6)

Where are the watchmen? Who will speak up? Who will give a warning? What will you do?

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Fighting for Survival

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There have been many occasions in history when the United Kingdom has been fighting for its very survival such as against the Spanish Armada with Sir Francis Drake and the First and Second World Wars, but the one thing about these times is people were united against a common foe. Unfortunately today we are on the brink of another battle, I believe for the very soul of this nation. I hope and pray on 9 June I do not wake up to Mr Corbyn as prime minister for many reasons: firstly I believe he is antichrist; he is disrespectful to the Queen; I believe he is a republican; I am bold enough to say he is an IRA sympathiser and as a British soldier I believe no military men should vote for this man as he has dishonoured those who died in conflict.

So if you are a UK citizen I would like you to search your own conscience if this is where you should put your vote. I urge you to seek God, as this vote is not just about leaving the European Union, this is about the moral fabric of our nation. I myself am not a traditional Tory voter, but in the light of the two candidates I have no choice but to vote for Theresa May. I hope and pray if God grants it and she becomes prime minister of this country she will take a look at the state of our nation, enact laws that are fair to all in society and reverse many of the laws which take away the rights of the parent and are detrimental to the poor and needy. The word of God is very clear, if those in power are not mindful of the less fortunate of our society, I believe on judgment day they will pay the price.

So I would ask you, brethren, in the next few days to pray that we do not wake up on 9 June to a nightmare, as if Mr Corbyn is elected, I believe many of our freedoms will disappear. Whether that is good or bad for the church of Jesus Christ only time will tell, as no matter what this world does, our Father God is sovereign. He appoints and He demotes, no matter what man might think. He is the Great I AM.

Rev Ross Rennie

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Wickedness in High Places

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The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I wonder if he had in mind the Roman Empire and meant us today to see the wickedness that is gong on in our name in the Mother of all Parliaments. When a nation has no consideration for the poor, the sick and the disabled I believe it has lost its way. When its moral compass has shifted to benefit the rich and not the less well off we have lost the heart of the nation. I would like you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for the leaders of the United Kingdom. They say they were elected on a majority but our electoral system has been manipulated and corrupted over many hundreds of years by the Labour and Conservative parties, as for as long as I can remember they have always been the parties that have been in power. They are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee who went to fight a battle. I think it was over a rattle. But unfortunately these two parties have squabbled since the Second World War on who is right and who is wrong. I am old enough to remember the Winter of Discontent when this country was on a three-day week and we lit our homes with candles. The price of a candle could be anything up to £5, which was a lot of money back in those days. But I have seen another phenomenon, which I believe to be evil, that was brought in by Margaret Thatcher and that was the love of money.

I praise God that the House of Lords has blocked this wicked bill to reform the tax credits, but it would seem now those in power are not happy with the results even though the majority of the country are opposed to these slashing cuts. Yes, we all know we have to live within our means, but unfortunately the politicians have short memories. It was the banks that caused the crash because of their greed and it was us, the public, taxpayers, who baled the banks out. We had the scandal of politicians manipulating their expenses, PPI, corruption at all levels of government, police forces being castigated for their behaviour, and now we see the inhumanity to man regarding people escaping a war zone. My brothers and sisters, I will put this all down to the love of money. Jesus told us we can only serve one master, Him or money.

So I would like us all to seek the Lord, as those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

The Bible also says that Jesus is the Head of the church, so we are the shoulders. That would intimate to me that we are the government or the governing power on this earth. So therefore we have a say in the affairs of man through the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The solution to this country’s problems is simple. Well paid work that pays to go to work, investment in our industry as Germany has done, affordable housing whether rented or bought. That would mean the rich being taxed, companies paying their fair share such as Amazon, Starbucks, and the list goes on. I think it was Mr Cameron who once said we are all in this together, but unfortunately his party only benefits the rich and the powerful. They still treat us like public schoolboys and throw us a few crumbs when they choose to when they want our vote. So I hope in four years’ time, if this government survives, you will remember what they did at the beginning and punish them, as nowhere in their manifesto did the Tory party ever say they were going to attack tax credits. As the press has borne out, these tax credits are a safety net to many lower paid families who did get off their backs and go to work, and I am sure you know many and so do I. As for the minimum wage, many employers will never pay that, as many companies now are reducing staff to reduce their pay bills, which will mean that their existing workers will end up doing more for less, which is always the case. The bottom line, as many of us in business understand, is if you do not speculate you do not accumulate, and this present government seems to have no understanding that selling off the family silver and emptying the cupboards is unsustainable. Austerity never works; it just puts more money in the pockets of the mega rich. The only way for a country to grow is inward investment: building small businesses which then can become larger, as Germany has done in the past twenty years. As for Cameron, he has already stated he does not intend to see this parliament out and he will do the damage before he goes. When I look at the political elite unfortunately I do not see any leaders, and that is a sad state for our nation.
So, my brothers and sisters, if you live in the United Kingdom pray like you have never prayed before. If you are reading this from across the world please pray for us, as the only answer to this country’s problems is if this nation turns back to Jesus and the values of our forefathers.

What can you do? Lobby your MP about your disgust at the way the poor, the needy and those who need help are being treated.

God bless you as you read this thoughtfully.

Ross Rennie

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Is Sunday Really the Most Miserable Day of the Week?

Opinions

Minister of State (Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise) for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Rt Hon Anna Soubry declared to listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that prior to the introduction of Sunday trading, Sundays had been ‘the most miserable day of the week’.

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Rt Hon Anna Soubry MP

Ms Soubry added, “The only thing to look forward to was Sing Something Simple on the radio. Goodness me, if that didn’t sum up a miserable Sunday.”

How sad! One can imagine Ms Soubry pacing restlessly up and down in the front parlour in the early 1990s, the only sound the ticking of the grandfather clock and a bluebottle buzzing at the window, endlessly repeating, “I can’t take much more of this! If only it were Monday. I’m desperate for a fix from Woolworths.”

Ms Soubry is not satisfied with the six hours of ‘retail therapy’ she has been able get at the temple of Mammon since 1994. She is now supporting Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s plan to hand responsibility for Sunday trading laws in England and Wales to towns and cities, allowing them to decide how long shops can stay open.

Rev Ross Rennie writes:

It is a sad day when a politician says Sunday is the most miserable day of the week.
There are many instances in the Bible that show how man has done that which is right in his own eyes, such as when Abraham tried to help God by taking Hagar. We know the result: Ishmael.

There is also the account of Abraham pleading for just ten righteous people in Sodom (Genesis 18: 23-33).

But there is a passage that is seldom read in our churches about what happened to Lot and his two daughters (Genesis19: 30-38). I suggest you read it for yourself and see the depths of depravity that man can descend to.

Last year we saw the unravelling of marriage as we know it. Some may say it is good thing, but I as a fundamental Christian know that it is not, and what mankind sows that shall he reap: a harvest of destruction. I understand grace, that God forgives us our sins through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I do know to my own cost there is a consequence to sin. As Jesus said, we become slaves to sin, and if sin is our master then it is a terrible master and it can destroy Christian and non-Christian alike. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14: 6).

We now have so-called ministers of the gospel debating on what Jesus said.

Many years ago I was a member like many of us of Keep Sunday Special. It was only the power of the multi-nationals and I would say the corruption of politicians allegedly that overturned the most sacred day of the week. Life now, as many of us know, is so pressured. Families do not even sit down for one meal in the week. They are glued to the television, their tablets or their smartphones, and even in some households they are playing on their phones while eating their meals.

This, I believe, is the start of the new order. George Bush first spoke about it many years ago and many politicians have spoken about it since. Our dear brother Barry Smith, who has gone to be with the Lord, spoke about this and people laughed at him and ridiculed him, but some of us listened.

Now we have a government minister saying that prior to the introduction of Sunday trading, Sunday was the most miserable day of the week. I would say the problem was not with Sunday but with the person, as God’s creation has never changed. The beauty of walking with your family or your friends in the countryside or by the sea or even in a park has all been wiped away by commercialism.

Unfortunately, whether you believe it or not, this is part of Satan’s master pan to homogenise the world into a one-world government and a one-world religion.

But as Isaac said (Genesis 22: 7) when his father took him up the mountain, “Where is the lamb?” There is only one Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

So, my brothers and sisters, I will pray for your countries and your leaders, that they turn back to God, as unless they do they are leading mankind to destruction. John Bunyan wrote about this in the 17th century. I suggest you read the book The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I would also ask, where are the leaders of the body of Christ? The Bible also says even the elect will be led astray (Matthew 24: 24). So, my brothers and sisters, we need to watch and pray as the Lord will be back soon to take us all home.

God bless you all

Rev Ross Rennie

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