Christian Voice Watch

The Daily Mail ran a silly story about the lack of Christmas cards with religious imagery for sale in British supermarkets. The figures published suggest that just 3% of cards stocked were religious.

The figure doesn't seem particularly surprising. If say 20% of Brits are keen on religion, but don't send religious cards to people not interested, then 20% of people would send religious cards to 20% of their friends. This means that just 4% (a fifth of a fifth) of total cards sent would be religious. And no doubt they would still send some Santa cards to kids etc, so perhaps 3% is a actually a good estimate of the demand for religious cards.

Anyway such logic is not apparent to Christians who think the are being hard done by the supermarket buying departments.

In particular Stephen Green of Christian Voice had some choice words of paranoia:

I can't believe this is being led by consumer demand.

I believe there is anti-Christian prejudice in the buying departments involved.

There's too much of this multicultural indoctrination and too much of an idea that if they put out Christian cards they will alienate or discriminate against or offend other faiths.

There's a kind of militant atheism and nasty secularism at work in this country which is completely opposed to Christianity.'

Every little publicity helps

As the Daily Mail has reported, retail giant Tesco have stopped sponsoring Cancer Research UK and switched their support to London Gay Pride.

Christian Voice quoted the Daily Mail wind up merchant, Richard Littlejohn, who said: If gays want to dress up as Carmen Miranda or mince up and down The Mall in nothing but their knickers, that's fine by me. But why would Britain's biggest supermarket want to be associated with such an event, at the expense of cancer victims?

Now Christian Voice are trying to arrange a boycott of Tesco. The organisation writes:

There are five important and effective things Christians can do:

1. Pray that God will send shame and confusion into the Tesco boardroom (you can argue He has done that already). Pray that every decision they take is the wrong one, that turnover falls, that profit turns to loss, that the share price drops, that investors leave, that directors are sacked.

2. Boycott Tesco and encourage others to do the same.

3. Mount a witness with banners and/or give leaflets out to shoppers outside Tesco's high street stores Tesco Direct

4. Email/write to Tesco Group

5. Sign our petition: Boycott Tesco

Christian Voice humourously blogged about Stonewall's Bigot of the Year Award:

The respected journalist Melanie Phillips has been congratulated by Christian Voice on her award of Bigot of the Year by the Stonewall homosexual lobby group. But we have accused Stonewall of cowardice for not inviting any of those shortlisted to their awards dinner last night.

Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, was also shortlisted for the award for his comments about Elton John's designer baby and for championing the right of African nations to keep sodomy as a criminal offence.

The others shortlisted on the Stonewall website were the Rt Rev Arthur Roche, Scottish Section 28 campaigner Sir Brian Souter and Bill Walker MSP. Not one of those shortlisted was actually invited to the awards ceremony and dinner, an omission described as a grave discourtesy by Christian Voice.

Stephen Green said today:

It was a great honour to be shortlisted for Stonewall's 'Bigot of the Year award and I am disappointed not to have won. I really must put more effort into opposing the gay rights lobby before next year's event. All the same, I congratulate Melanie Phillips for her winning position of standing up for the right of children not to be abused by Stonewall-devised homosexual imagery in sex education.

Yesterday I described Stonewall's failure to invite those shortlisted for such an important award as a grave discourtesy. I expressed disappointment that a group which has, as I put it, "such lofty ideals as the promotion of buggery and gross indecency" should be so lacking in the fundamentals of social intercourse.

Stonewall have announced their Awards for 2011. And amongst them:

Bigot of the Year

An individual who has gone out of their way to harm, hurt or snub lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the last year.

Melanie Phillips -- Long infamous for her bigoted views on just about everything from the NHS to Barack Obama to gay rights, this year Phillips really outdid herself by comparing gay people to animals, writing that Britain is in the grip of a Government-backed drive to promote the gay agenda and claiming that gay people risk becoming the new McCarthyites simply because they want to stay at a bed and breakfast.

Other contenders who lost out were Scottish entrepreneur and Section 28 backer Brian Souter, who was knighted this year; Christian Voice leader Stephen Green and the Rt Rev Arthur Roche, a previous nominee who campaigned for adoption agencies to be allowed to bar gay people.

Having watched Lovehoney's teaser ad, I'd say that if people's sexual happiness depends on buying Lovehoney's products then they might be better looking for a psychological or spiritual remedy first.

Many of us have given up on regulators like Ofcom, where the politically-correct liberal agenda rules OK. I cannot remember the last time they upheld a complaint over morality or decency.

[...err how about yesterday when Ofcom whinged at 50 Cent's music video with a trio of topless ladies].

Some will say that the adverts should be shown after the so-called watershed but I am not convinced that the watershed is either observed or that it is logically defensible.

Surely if children shouldn't be viewing sexual images because they are corrupt and corrupting then adults are compromising themselves as well. Since when did a need to watch or read pornography or listen to bad language become a mark of being an adult? Just as surely as good art exalts, evil art debases.

Pornography and brutality have no place in the culture of a vibrant society, and every civilisation which has exalted sex as we are doing today has been one in its death throes.

...Read the full article

Comment: More Nutter Comments

30th September 2011. See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Director of the Family Education Trust, Norman Wells, condemned the decision to allow the adverts, saying:

Sex is an intimate expression of lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, not a commodity to be advertised and sold like washing powder or a mobile phone.

Sexual intimacy belongs in private and is cheapened when it is paraded on television and used as a tool to entice viewers to visit and make purchases from an online shop.

Many viewers will find this advert very distasteful, not because they are prudes who disapprove of sex, but because it divorces sex from its proper context and further adds to the sexualisation of society with all its damaging consequences.

Comment: And on a Brighter Note

30th September 2011. See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

LoveHoney has a relationship with sex therapist Tracey Cox, who sells a range of products through the site. She said the commercial was tame in comparison to the music videos which appear regularly on daytime TV. She said:

If you look at the ad and compare it to any music video clip -- like Rihanna for example -- this is pre-school. What they get away with in music videos is crazy

One in two marriages is failing and a way of dealing with that is to use sex toys. We should be encouraging it.'

The sixth Stonewall Awards ceremony, supported by Nationwide, will take place on 3 November 2011 at the V&A museum. The event celebrates those who have made a positive impact on the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain.

Three of the Awards will be voted for by thousands of Stonewall supporters from across Britain: Hero of the Year, Bigot of the Year and the Stonewall Community Group.

The other seven awards will be chosen by a panel of judges including England women's national football team coach, Hope Powell, John Partridge, Gok Wan, TV producer Maureen Chadwick and Eddie Mair.

Shortlist for Hero of the Year -- An individual who has encouraged, inspired or achieved the most for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the last year.

• Joan Armatrading -- Lesbian icon and British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading has had a long and illustrious career including three Grammy nominations, two BRIT award nominations and an MBE. Joan tied the knot this year to her long term partner Maggie Butler.
• Bette Bourne -- Bette Bourne is a legendary actor, drag queen and equal rights activist who has been performing on stage since he was 16 years old. In the 1970s he joined the Gay Liberation Front and has been a tireless campaigner and advocate for gay equality. The Times describes Bette as a veritable piece of social and political history who has been in the thick of it for the past 50 years . What better reason to nominate him as Stonewall 2011 Hero of the Year?
• Roger Crouch -- In 2010 Roger Crouch went through every father's worst nightmare when his son, Dominic, took his own life at the age of 15. Dominic had allegedly experienced homophobic bullying at school following a game of kiss and tell . Since Dominic's death, Roger has dedicated himself tirelessly to working to raise awareness of homophobic bullying in schools.
• Lady Gaga -- Lady Gaga has received international recognition not just for her iconic pop songs and music videos but for her enthusiastic campaigning for LGB&T equality. She led lobbying efforts for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, has been a vocal advocate of marriage equality and her single Born this Way instantly became a gay anthem for a new generation.
• Paul Martin OBE -- Paul Martin has been with the Lesbian and Gay Foundation since its creation in 2000 and as Chief Executive has developed its campaigns against homophobic hate crime as well as an array of services for LGB&T people in Manchester. The self-professed radical fairy was this year awarded an OBE for services to equal opportunities.

Shortlist for Bigot of the Year -- An individual who has gone out of their way to harm, hurt or snub lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the last year.

• Stephen Green -- Christian Voice leader Stephen Green shocked viewers of BBC News in December when he launched a homophobic tirade against new parents David Furnish and Elton John. The BBC was harshly criticised for asking Stephen Green to comment given his previous support for the death penalty for gay people.
• Melanie Phillips -- Long infamous for her bigoted views on just about everything from the NHS to Barack Obama to gay rights, this year Phillips really outdid herself by comparing gay people to animals, writing that Britain is in the grip of a Government-backed drive to promote the gay agenda and claiming that gay people risk becoming the new McCarthyites simply because they want to stay at a bed and breakfast.
• Rt Rev Arthur Roche -- In 2010 Leeds-based adoption agency Catholic Care lost their appeal to win an exemption from discrimination law which would allow them to turn away same-sex couples. This didn't deter the Rt Rev Arthur Roche from continuing to squander valuable money by again and again seeking the right to discriminate against suitable parents. Previously nominated in 2010, Roche has been re-nominated this year in recognition of his tenacity in pursuit of prejudice.
• Brian Souter -- Brian Souter, famed for bankrolling the Keep the Clause campaign that urged Scottish voters not to repeal legislation in Scotland forbidding local authorities to intentionally promote homosexuality (known as Section 2A in Scotland and Section 28 across the rest of the UK) was this year awarded a knighthood.
• Bill Walker MSP - In August 2011 Bill Walker MSP caused a storm when he said that gay relationships were not in any way equal to straight ones. He then proceeded to complain that he was upset by messages calling him a bigot. If that wasn't enough, the very next week, when asked for his views on an anti-homophobia campaign logo he told the Sunday Herald that the ludicrous logo reminded him of the Nazis .

Truro's sex shop will stay open for the short term despite the Christian Institute's (CI) attempts to stop it trading immediately.

The High Court threw out the mean minded action brought by the nutter group and city councillor Armorel Carlyon against the Mrs Palm sex shop.

The shop was given a licence in September last year by the new unitary authority, Cornwall Council, who had overturned the previous Carrick District Council's zero sex shop policy.

However nutter pressure resulted in a change of heart about granting the licence, and the council somehow obtained new, and unlikely sounding, legal advice that the new council should not have overruled the old council. The council withdrew the shop's licence, but perhaps realising the somewhat shaky ground and unfairness to the shop, granted a licence waiver. This allows the shop to continue trading until the whole mess is examined by the High Court in a Judicial Review on 21st September 2011.

However the christian busy-bodies couldn't wait this long, and asked the court to terminate the waiver.  but the Hon Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled in favour of Cornwall Council's decision to grant the waiver. The CI was also ordered to pay Cornwall Council's costs in full, estimated at £ 8,000.

The judge also stayed the scheduled judicial review into the granting of the licence, effectively saying that the licensing process was followed correctly and that the licence stands without need of further review.

Joint owner of the shop, Braxton Reynolds said:

I'm relieved that Mr Justice Hickinbottom found in favour of the decision of the council that the business, for which no regulatory issues at all have been raised, should be allowed to trade and that it would be unfair and unreasonable to stop us trading for a few weeks. It would be commercially inappropriate.

Speaking after the High Court ruling Mike Judge, head of communications at CI, said:

We're disappointed because we felt having accepted that granting of the licence was unlawful, and particularly because of the location, it shouldn't be allowed to remain open without a licence.

The legislation says the council has to take into consideration the suitability of the location. If right next door to a school uniform shop is regarded as somewhere suitable then anywhere is suitable, it makes a mockery of the law.

Rather bizarrely, the redetermination of the licence hearing is expected to take place on September 7 in St Austell, a couple of weeks before the High Court Judicial Review on 21st September.

Update: A Miserable Christian Voice

2nd September 2011. See  article from  christianvoiceuk.blogspot.com

Stephen Green's Christian Voice have written on their blog:

Oppose Sex-Shop in Cornwall

Christian campaigners are praying for a large turn-out in St Austell on Wednesday 7th September for the hearing of a sex-shop application.

The meeting will be held in Restormel District Council Chamber, 39 Penwinnick Road, St Austell, PL25 5DR, at 10.00am. The sex-shop itself is in Little Castle Street, Truro, next to a shop selling school uniforms about 200 yards from the Cathedral.

PRAY: For a large number of Christians and concerned parents and residents to attend the licensing committee on 7th September. That the Licensing Committee will overturn its previous decision and refuse a license for the sex-shop. Pray for the fear of God, or at least some consideration of the welfare of children, to inform the committee.

WRITE: The time for formal objections having passed, write or email the members of the Miscellaneous Licensing Committee being respectful but firm in urging them to reject the proposal for a sex shop in Truro as inappropriate for the City and locality.

Update: Licensed Again

9th September 2011. See  article from  christian.org.uk

A sex shop licence has been granted for a second time to the Mrs Palm sex shop. However, the sex shop failed to get permission for an expansion.

The licensing committee of Cornwall Council decided to rehear the application, after it changed its mind about awarding the previous licence. Nutter pressure had led to supposed concerns that it should have followed policy set by the outgoing council.

After rehearing the application yesterday, the licence was granted despite some local nutters and Truro City Council being opposed to the move.

Responding to news that the licence has been granted for the second time, The Christian Institute's Mike Judge said:

We're obviously disappointed at the result. It's a decision that ignores local democracy, and ignores common sense. The law gives local authorities the power to refuse sex shop licences for locations that are unsuitable. If next door to a school uniform store isn't unsuitable, I don't know what is.

Mrs Palm manager Nicky Hewett said:

It had been a testing few months. No-one that has actually come into the shop has ever found anything offensive in here at all, everything is licensed goods and we are lawfully allowed to sell them.

Cardiff Mardi Gras
Cooper's Field, Cardiff
Saturday 3rd September.

Stephen Green of Christian Voice writes:

The annual Cardiff Gay Mardi Gras largely consists of a mixture of politically-correct and indecent stalls with a stage on which some lack-lustre acts.

There will be a Christian Voice outreach outside, which we call an evangelistic prophetic witness: standing up against this ungodly event and at the same time using it as a spring board for evangelism.

In 2006, this writer was arrested, thrown in the clink for four hours and charged with a public order offence by South Wales Police. There was massive publicity, SWP were sued for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution and they settled out of court. An officer we met at the event in 2007 said SWP learnt their lesson after that. So this will be an entirely peaceful and legal witness with good conversations expected and by the grace of God miraculous conversion on the devil's doorstep.

Pray:

• Pray for a peaceful, lively, blessed and successful Gospel outreach on Saturday week. May souls be saved from the day of wrath and welcomed into His kingdom, by His precious blood.
• But much as we want to reach out to sinners with the Gospel of grace, pray that this event is a financial disaster and that, as in 2008, it is washed out! May the Lord grant all who are coming along travelling mercies and may He bless all our efforts for His name's sake.

Note that the blog post also announces a new Christian Voice website at www.christianvoice.org.uk

Christian Voice suggested loads of Blble references to justify the following bilge but presumable the most basic 'love your neighbour' isn't amongst them.

Published on the Christian Voice blog:

Reject Cameron's Cultural Imperialism

David Cameron has pledged to use foreign aid as a lever for pressuring Africa to accept gay rights and legalise sodomy.

The Prime Minister's comments were made on 22 June as he hosted his second Downing Street reception for the perverted axe-grinders who call themselves the LGBT community , including one man known for staging pornographic events.

The Prime Minister said that a spin-off benefit' of giving foreign aid is that it allows the Government to have a say in what happens in the world's poorest countries. He said: We have got the ability to speak to African leaders, African governments, about this issue that I know concerns everyone here tonight. And it concerns me.

During the course of the evening Mr. Cameron spoke with pride of the Government's accomplishment on homosexual issues but emphasized that they have a long way still to go in addressing the societal problem of homophobia.

The only thing worse than Mr. Cameron devising wicked plans for this country, however, is that he intends to export his schemes to Africa. Locked in a colonial timewarp, he thinks the white man knows far better than those he regards as ignorant black savages.

Pray that he is brought to his knees in repentance for his behaviour and that this will be the last of such meetings held at 10 Downing Street.

Well Christian Voice suggest:

Legalised sodomy and pornography and moral-free sex education

David Cameron has identified the causes of the riots and looting this week in Britain. It is a lack of responsibility, which comes from a lack of proper parenting, a lack of proper upbringing, a lack of proper ethics, a lack of proper morals. It is as much a moral problem as a political problem, he has said.

We must give him full marks for stating the blindingly obvious. People behave well for one of two reasons; either they have the fear of God before their eyes, or the fear of the long arm of the law. In other words, either an internal or an external moral compass is necessary for good behaviour.

But who defines good behaviour ?

David Cameron blames the parents ('a lack of proper parenting, a lack of proper upbringing'), but does he realise that 50% of children are growing up in Britain without their natural father?

Who is responsible for that if it isn't the politicians who legalised no-fault divorce on demand in the 1960s, legalised sodomy and pornography, brought in moral-free sex education around the same time and pushed condoms at teenagers just because they hated Christian morality?

And who is equally responsible if not the present Coalition Government which allows all of that to continue on its life-destroying way, not seeing any of it as an offence against proper morals ?

Perhaps David Cameron knows better:

See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry Messenger

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to explore ways to halt the use of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger if these were being used to plot violence, disorder and criminality.

All three have been implicated in rioters' ability to communicate since the violence began in London on Saturday. A solemn David Cameron addressing the House of Commons about the riots

The Government and the intelligence agencies MI5 and GCHQ are in talks with mobile phone companies and internet service providers about how they might prevent gang leaders from co-ordinating looting raids using social media.

Senior sources said that among the options they are considering are turning off mobile phone masts in riot areas or shutting down the accounts of known suspects when trouble starts.

Social media is being targeted as there is no straight-forward way for police to cut off individual's phones at short notice.

Technology blogger for Msnbc Rosa Golijan said the Government had three options to prevent rioters from using social media; banning individuals from social media sites, black-listing certain web-pages in the way the China does, or temporarily shutting down the internet.

Surely turning off the internet would be enough to cause a riot in the streets

North Wales Mardi Gras
15-17th April 2011
Mona Showground, Anglesey

Christian Voice are kindly being suitably 'outraged' so as to publicise the event:

Christian Voice is planning a prophetic evangelistic witness to reach the lost souls going to the Anglesey homosexual Mardi Gras. It is the first event of its kind in North Wales and we aim to oppose the shameful promotion of sodomy on the Island and preach the Gospel of salvation.

We shall give out leaflets explaining the sinfulness of homosexual activity, our responsibility to keep the laws of God, how the blood which Jesus Christ shed on the Cross brings forgiveness for sins, and that his Resurrection on the first Easter Sunday means a new beginning and a new life.

A little more balance from the organisers who write:

This is the first festival of its kind to happen on a large scale in North Wales. The response so far has been phenomenal, it's going to be a huge event The Largest Gay event ever in the history of the North Wales gay community.

A gay man and a lesbian woman have married for a university art project. Nora Battenberg-Cartwright and Paul Cartwright at the University of Worcester, were married in Germany.

Battenberg-Cartwright told the Daily Mail:

It's about an artistic unity rather than a love union, to join each other in art and make us the art. It's a really truthful marriage and we will still see other people, By marrying ourselves we were in effect marrying art. If we ever decided that we got to the point where we wanted to marry another person, that would be the end of the art career, really.

But neither of us can see it on the cards, both of us expect to be old and married and continuing together. The marriage is kind of the foundation of our art. We do love each other, but in a different way.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said the couple are denigrating the marital union:

Marriage is not an art project, it is the life-long union of man and woman and part of that is the sexual act which is there for companionship and the raising of children. If I was marking them I'd give them no marks - what has being married got to do with art? Marriage is under attack from homosexual and civil partnerships which are an attempt to downgrade it.

TV Censor Ofcom will not intervene over complaints about BBC News using  an anti-gay extremist to 'balance' the Elton John Surrogacy story.

Viewers have also complained directly to the BBC who has also rejected the complaints.

Ofcom said that its remit meant it was not able to assess the BBC's decision to invite Stephen Green for an interview as broadcasters have editorial freedom.

Those who complained to Ofcom were told:

Ofcom has no creative input into programmes. Broadcasters have editorial freedom in deciding who to invite to participate in programmes including news items such as this. We are therefore unable to comment on the BBC's decision to include the brief interview with Mr Green in this segment. We can therefore only assess the actual content of the item.

We assessed the news report against Rule 2.3 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code which requires broadcasters to ensure material that has the potential to offend to be justified in view of the context.

Ofcom said that the news article had a celebratory tone which was briefly countered by Mr Green. Whilst we fully recognise that many consider Mr Green's view to be naïve and archaic, we must acknowledge that he is entitled to hold it and these remarks (which were clearly signalled to reflect his own opinion and not the broadcaster) did not contain any aggressive incitement or derogatory language.

Consequently, we will not be recording a breach of Rule 2.3 of the Code on this occasion.