Katie Hopkins. The name might mean something to you or it might not. You might have heard the name but not able to place the face. Either way, it’s likely that you’ve heard someone talk about her in work or complain about her recent horrible article in the Sun.
If you really want to read it, google it. Continue reading
So Job had it pretty rough. If you know anything about the story of Job from the Bible, you’ll know he was one unlucky dude. Anything bad that could happen to a person happened to Job. Continue reading
Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for. No, not an end to Madonna’s leather wearing and dancing days (we know you’re not 40 anymore). Even better. A new Bible that replaces all mention of God or Jesus with Kanye West.
I guess this is a natural progression for someone who has an ego so huge it makes Shia Labeouf seem like the shy retiring type. But if you’re honest can you really tell the difference between Kanye and Jesus? At least Kanye has made more than one album, although to be fair, Jesus’ first one sold really well. 
Below are some famous quotes. Some from Jesus and some from the new Yeezus. (Yeah I don’t understand it either). See if you can accredit the quotes to the correct Messiah.
A/ “I jog in Lanvin.”
B/ “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
C/ “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
D/ “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”
E/ “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
F/ “I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things.”
G/ “I am God’s vessel. But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.”
H/ “Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go.”
I/ “I have come to steal from the rich and give to the poor”
ANSWERS
A/ Kanye- This one is clearly Kanye by applying some simple logic. Jesus was like Superman which meant He never had to run, He just flew. Duh! Plus Jesus could never afford Lavin’s on a carpenters salary.
B/ Kanye- Somewhat surprisingly this was also Kanye. Presumably directed at his critics.
C/ Jesus- This one was definitely Jesus but could easily have been Kanye e.g. talking about how Spotify is stealing from millionaire musicians as opposed to Tidal which as far as I can tell is a new Laundry detergent that Kanye and his struggling to make ends meet pals like Jay-Z and Madonna have developed.
D/ Kanye or maybe, Jesus. Go on admit it, you genuinely can’t tell who said this.
E/ Kanye- LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL ha ha aahh…. ah no no… I can’t get that one past you. No, yeah, you’re right, that was Jesus.
F/ Kanye- Although Jesus could easily have said that if it wasn’t for lots of us screwing it up for him.
G/ Jesus- It’s hard to believe the man behind such hits as “I won”, from his final resurrection album, “Jesus Walks” about his stroll along the surface of water and of course the fan favorite, “Hold My Liqour” from his experimental Water into Wine era, never got to see them live.
H/ Jesus- Because if physics can’t stop Him, nothing can.
I/ Robin Hood
How did you do?
What does Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus mean?
Well it means a lot. We don’t all agree exactly what it means. But it means something.
Whatever it means though, it won’t matter unless it’s something that draws us into a deeper and more meaningful life that creates room for the darkest and brightest parts of our lives to live side by side. 
What matters is that something that changed the world forever occurred. Something that is opening up the world to a way where our pain doesn’t have to have the final say anymore.
Easter Sunday is the day we learn to accept our forgiveness.
In order that we can learn to forgive our enemies. (Tweet this)
Easter Sunday is the day we learn to pray like Jesus did, for the people that have wronged us. Where the people and the groups and the enemies that seek to destroy us can not, because Jesus took them on and came out on top.
But not through violence or a desire to even the score, but through a simple plea for forgiveness. The “them” Jesus calls for God to forgive is not one specific group of people (sorry) but all people (sorry). (Tweet this)
It’s me.
It’s the bullying boss who makes your life a living nightmare.
It’s Isis.
It’s Protestants and Catholics.
It’s Child Abusers.
It’s Republicans and Democrats.
It’s Muslims, Jews and Buddhists and every person who sees the world different than me.
It’s the LGBT community.
It’s the heterosexual community.
It’s the groups that want to reject someone for their skin color, political ideology or sexual orientation.
It’s Barack Obama.
It’s the terrorists who murdered journalists in Paris.
It’s the high jackers from 9/11.
It’s you.
It’s Nigel Farage.
It’s David Cameron.
It’s Sinn Fein.
It’s the DUP.
It’s Boko Haram.
It’s Joseph Kony.
It’s “them”.
It’s the destruction of the curtain that separates the worthy and unworthy to create reconciliations that will surprise and shock us all.
It’s the great reconciliation between God and every man, woman and child.
This is where we find Hope. This is where we find Peace. This is where we find Forgiveness.
This is not just good news.
This, is the the best news.
When I left Northern Ireland almost 18 months ago, it was a diverse country. In that time, I believe it has become even more diverse than ever and this is a beautiful thing. We need to be different, not simply because it would be boring otherwise but because we can learn from each other.
This applies to whether you live in Belfast or Detroit.
But the temptations still exist to pigeonhole each other. It makes life so much easier for everyone if we make huge assumptions about someone when we meet them which saves us the trouble of actually sitting down and talking to “themuns”.
Because Heaven for fend that we might actually come away seeing how we are similar.
But the real problem with ignoring our diversity is funnily enough that it leads to ignorance and arrogance.
When my worldview is threatened by coming across someone from a group that I had previously neatly squished into their box, I go on the defensive. I don’t want to be wrong; I can’t be wrong. If I am then I have to open myself up to everyone. And that could be disastrous for my beliefs.
I say all this because I have witnessed somewhat recently this very thing happening in Northern Ireland concerning the Ashers case.
Basically there are two camps. The Christian/religious camp and the LGBT equality camp.
At least that is what you may believe but the truth is that there are not two distinct sides but a blurry, kaleidoscope of differing and agreeing opinions. There are those in the church who think that all Christians are (or should be) in agreement with Asher’s and the recent DUP plan to introduce a conscience clause. Then are those outside the church in the LGBT community who think that all Christians are jerks and all look at them as perverse or abominations.
But even that isn’t right because, wait for it, there are those in the church who are gay. Yes, for many of us that is not shocking in the slightest but for a great deal more of you that just can not be true can it?
Not only that but there are those inside the church, who are gay who don’t support the Equality Commission. And if you think that is mad well there are those outside the church, who are gay and agree with Ashers and the Christian Institute on their stance.
You might need to sit down to try and collect your thoughts and preconceived notions.
I know I have. 
But this is the beauty of Norn Iron. It’s a country that is changing. And changing for the better. Sure there are still bigots and there are still those who can not or will not let go of their hate. But rather than in the 70’s or 80’s or even for a huge part of the 90’s, when this was the norm, folks like this are now in the minority.
We do not have to agree. We do not have to see eye to eye. But we have to be willing to at the very least look into each others eyes.
Because when we do we may just realize that the beliefs that we hold so closely and vow to fight for so vehemently may well just be causing hurt and pain to others. Does that make our beliefs worth it? I’m not so sure it does.
Of course we still need to challenge bigotry and call out injustice as it happens. We still need to stand up for what we believe in but the minute we start dulling our love for those who are different than us simply because they are treating us poorly, the minute we have lost our own identity, not “them”.
For Christians in Northern Ireland are you willing to take the time to think through how your actions effect those in the LGBT community at large and the LGBT community in your congregations?
Love is a powerful force, much more than we usually give it credit for. I don’t really care what other groups do but as the church, our mandate is clear. It is to love everyone regardless of…..
(You can fill in what you need to here)
It that extremely hard? You bet it is. Is it the only way? You bet it is.
Are your beliefs as a Christian being challenged because someone can be gay and Christian? Or because a Presbyterian Minister can be a speaker at a Sinn Fein conference? Or because a Protestant could vote Sinn Fein and a Catholic could vote DUP?
If they are, don’t run from it. Don’t give into the voice that says they must be written off. Embrace it. Lean into it. Question why this might be the case. Look deep into yourselves and ask..
What belief is most important to you?
That being gay is an abomination?
Or that nothing is more important than loving everyone?
Ah the Bible. The Christian manual. The how to guide for how to live a Holy life. A list of long, unpronounceable names and instructions and rules and…I’m almost falling asleep thinking about it.
It’s not every inspiring, let’s be honest. Not, that is when the only way we think about the Bible is as a very long and boring instruction manual for Christians without even the helpful pictures that IKEA provide. Continue reading
A couple of months ago we had the obligatory New Year’s Resolution’s Facebook post, Tweets and blog posts and now the Lent ones are trickling in. Stupid “I can’t think of anything to write about so I’ll just write about Lent”, Lent blog posts…
Speaking of Lent.. Continue reading
I am no legal expert. I mean I enjoy watching Law and Order and heck, is there a better court room scene than Jack Nicholson yelling at Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men? So I am very under qualified to comment on the legal ramifications of the Conscience Clause that the DUP have brought forward in light of the Asher’s Bakery case. Continue reading
As I write this I am listening to a debate on the radio show about the issue of creating babies using the DNA from three parents. The debate is between two women, one who thinks it can be a good thing and one who doesn’t. Both coming from very different sides of the argument. As I listen I am struck by the tone of their voices. It sounds really weird and I don’t really understand what is happening.
Both women are speaking calmly, clearly and this is the part I don’t get, aren’t speaking over each other. They clearly haven’t been schooled properly on the art of debating. One of the women even had the audacity to highlight parts of the issue where they agreed with each other. Is she crazy?! If she doesn’t tread carefully then this could quickly digress into a civilized, informed and graceful conversation on a delicate topic.
They should have been listening to a debate I heard yesterday when two men were on discussing another topical news story. If the women had tuned in then they could have saved themselves the horrible outcome of really listening and learning something from someone who holds a different viewpoint to theirs.
That was a proper debate because I didn’t really understand where both sides stood because they were shouting over each other so much which was good because as a man the noise allowed me to sit confidently in the my own smugness.
And besides everyone knows that whoever shouts louder is right.
Or take last week when at the Consecration of the Rev. Libby Lane, as the first female Bishop in the Church of England, some bloke who reads the Bible, because he said he did, shouted his objection to what was happening. Then from what I can tell happened, realized that this wasn’t the “Biblical mandate for the requirement of Pastors to preach while jumping up and down on a bouncy castle blindfolded” meeting that he assumed it was, leaving his “not in the Bible” heckle slightly awkward as he shuttled off. 
And I’m sure that even that’s got to be in Leviticus somewhere.
But at least he made a scene of himself, unlike the Rev. Libby Lane who just stood there, all dignified and deferential. How dare she? Didn’t she know that the whole world was watching? How could any of us take her seriously as a Bishop if she didn’t at least yell back to the man, “I know I am, but what are you?!’
Which wouldn’t have made any sense whatsoever, and so would have been a perfect start.
But even if there are some logical reasons why women should be allowed to be the main Pastor or Bishops in the church, those aren’t important because even though us men are clearly more logical, the Bible says you can’t do it which means that you don’t need to think logically anymore. Which if you think logically enough, is so illogical that it becomes logical again.
And yeah I mean sure, the Old Testament says we should keep slaves and stone women, things that we have clearly moved on from in the church; but you know we need to read the Bible in context and we have the New Testament now. Instead of women trying to get into positions of leadership within the church they should just be grateful we aren’t stoning them every five minutes. Where’s the gratitude eh?
Now I know that there are a lot of men Pastors who have failed on a huge public platform, but that’s only because you can’t sympathize with someone unless you go where they go. One reason for why women can’t be leaders in the church is because they get far too emotional and wouldn’t be well suited to the high pressure situations that many male Pastors face, like how much to tip a prostitute or how to keep someone who was spiritually abused by men in the church quiet.
But finally,
If you think women should lead in the church you may well point me to examples of men who couldn’t be trusted to be Christian leaders, like some of the really Holy Biblical men in the Bible who God chose to lead. Men like King David, who was so Holy and kind that He had his pal Uriah murdered, but even that was only because he wanted to save Him the embarrassment of finding out that he had been sleeping with his wife. That’s compassion.
Or the fact that the first person to proclaim the Gospel was not a man, but actually a woman.
But when you think about it clearly and logically like a man would, that was only because Mary Magdelene was going to the tomb to give it a good clean.
No, if you ask me, women should know where their roles are in the church and let us men do what we do best and lead.
After all, we’ve made such a fine job of it so far.
paulrobinsonwrites 