More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities

England has to come to face what can be seen already in many cities at the continent.

• Statistics from 2011 Census show more Muslim children than Christian growing up in Birmingham 
• Of 278,623 youngsters, 97,099 were registered as Muslim compared with 93,828 as Christian  
• A similar trend has emerged in the cities of Bradford and Leicester
• Experts said more must be done to ensure that society does not become polarised along religious lines 

English: More crowds on Brick Lane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This frightens many Christians. What I do find strange is that of those scared Christians nobody wonders why so many Caucasians coming form a Catholic or protestant family (Anglican, Church of England)  wanted to convert to a religion which was not for a long time originally present in their surroundings.

In England’s second* city of Birmingham, of 278,623 youngsters, 97,099 were registered as Muslim compared with 93,828 as Christian. The rest were of other faiths such as Hindu or Jewish, or none.

A similar trend has emerged in the cities of Bradford and Leicester, the towns of Luton, in Bedfordshire, and Slough in Berkshire, as well as the London boroughs Newham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets, where nearly two-thirds of children are Islamic.

writes Paul Alexander in his article Children in many UK Towns and Cities now more likely to be Muslim rather than Christian. 

I do agree with Professor Ted Cantle, of the ICoCo Foundation who said:

‘What we are seeing are several trends running together. There is a long-term decline in support for the established religions, notably Christianity; continuing immigration from the Asian sub-continent; and higher fertility among the Muslim population, which has a considerably lower age profile.

But to me it is not only by deepening segregation exacerbated by the loss of white population from cities, which the professor and many white people say. It is not only in the cities where we can find more intensive concentration of black and minority ethnic groups as a result of replacement, that we do find Muslims. In Belgium for example there are a lot of Belgians, with Belgian Caucasian ancestors, who converted to the Islam.

It is far too easy to point the finger to a so called "pace of demographic change" and saying that the Government has no policy to combat segregation 

"because it inevitably reduces understanding and tolerance on both sides of the divide."

We should more come to see that we are going to a secularization because lots of people are not anymore interested in relgion and have no message in the god of others.

Why do not more people come to see that the churches in the West lost their flock? Churches are running, even so much that many churches already became closed and that in many villages there are not any more weekly services. For Sunday Mass people now have to go a few kilometres out of their doorstep, but this is perhaps demanded too much for them. So where is their connection with their faith and what do they want to do for their faith. The same can be said for their clergymen, are they really going out preaching, proclaiming the Word of God? How many Christians are willing to testify for their faith and do go out preaching the Gospel of the Good News?

Do Christians not have to see in their own bosom, to find that not many Christians really have a true faith?

There is still hope for the Christian community to have it back growing or not diminishing any more.

The figures show that Christianity is still the dominant religion in every local authority area in England and Wales, even in the most culturally diverse towns and cities.

Of the 45.5million participants, 27.9million subscribed to Christianity, compared with 1.8million Muslims, the second largest grouping.

However, among dependent children – defined as those aged up to 15, or between 16 and 18 and in education and still living at home – the gap is narrower.

Of 12.1million youngsters, 6.1million were Christian and 1million were Muslim. And in some places, the balance has now tipped towards Islam.

In Bradford, 52,135 children are Muslims (45 per cent) next to 47,144 Christians; in Leicester the figures are 22,693 and 18,190 respectively.

The widest gap is in Tower Hamlets where 62 per cent of children are Islamic, outnumbering Christians by 34,597 to 8,995.

writes Paul Alexander.

Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, said:

‘Britain’s Muslims make up just 5 per cent of the population but have a younger demographic profile than other faiths, as these figures show. It matters to us all that this next generation of young British Muslims develops a clear and confident sense of their British identity alongside their Muslim faith. It’s important that schools teach all of our children the values of respect and tolerance.

For every Western country it is important that all children learn to respect all other cultures and religions.

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Note: *The Daily Mail, Sept. 15, 2014, denotes Birmingham as England’s “second city” but some estimates rank Birmingham as the third largest city by population, below Manchester and London.

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Related articles

• Children Now More Likely to be Muslim than Christian in Some British Cities (seattle.thedailydigest.org)
  There are now more Muslim children than Christian children growing up several British towns and cities. Figures from the 2011 census show that in places such as Birmingham, Bradford and Leicester, a child is more likely to be raised in Islam than Christianity as Britain's demographics radically change.
• Britain: Muslim Kids Outnumber Christian Kids in 2nd Largest City (cnsnews.com)
  A Sept. 15 report in the Daily Mail on the “changing face of Britain,” shows that in Birmingham, the second largest city in England by population, there are 93,828 children registered as Christian and 97,099 registered as Muslim, out of a total child population (age 18 and under) of 278,623.
• 'Trojan Horse 2' in London (schoolsimprovement.net)
  The Sunday Times is reporting that as many as a dozen schools in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets face investigation after claims they have fallen under the influence of Islamic fundamentalists…
  According to government sources, officials at the Department for Education (DfE) are concerned that the situation may be worse than that uncovered in the “Trojan Horse” scandal earlier this year, in which Islamic fundamentalists attempted to infiltrate secular schools in Birmingham. Emergency inspections of 21 schools in the city by the schools regulator Ofsted resulted in five schools being placed in special measures.
  “Tower Hamlets is expected to be the next Birmingham, but even worse, because the problems surrounding Muslim fundamentalists imposing their views on education seem to be more embedded,” said a senior Whitehall source.
  Both secular state schools and private Islamic schools are under suspicion, and there are concerns that non-Muslim teachers are staying silent for fear of losing their jobs.
  “The DfE will rely on whistleblowers to come forward about non-Muslim teachers being sidelined by Muslim fundamentalists in the borough,” the source said. “But potential whistleblowers fear they may be bullied, further sidelined or fired if they raise concerns.”
  
• The changing face of Britain: A child in Birmingham is now more likely to be a Muslim than Christian (dailymail.co.uk)
  
• "Christians flee Muslim-dominated areas for fear of being stoned to death" [Darleen Click] UPDATED (proteinwisdom.com)
  Christians with Middle Eastern backgrounds in Denmark experience harassment, verbal attacks and in some cases direct violence from Muslims. TV2 News has been in contact with a number of Christians here in Denmark who tell of violent experiences.
  
  Christians with Middle Eastern backgrounds in Denmark experience harassment, verbal attacks and in some cases direct violence from Muslims. TV2 News has been in contact with a number of Christians here in Denmark who tell of violent experiences. - See more at: http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=55193#sthash.DiVRmF25.dpuf
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  Christians with Middle Eastern backgrounds in Denmark experience harassment, verbal attacks and in some cases direct violence from Muslims. TV2 News has been in contact with a number of Christians here in Denmark who tell of violent experiences. - See more at: http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=55193#sthash.DiVRmF25.dpuf
• Islamist extremism spreads to London schools? (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
  Allegations about the imposition of extreme views in Tower Hamlets classrooms come as UK schools inspectorate Ofsted prepares to publish the findings of emergency inspections of 40 schools in England in the past fortnight.
  The prospect of a new Trojan Horse-style scandal in Tower Hamlets will alarm ministers.
  The original plot, first revealed by The Sunday Times, resulted in the removal of several head teachers and boards of governors in Birmingham.
  A report into the scandal by Peter Clarke, a former head of counter-terrorism at Scotland Yard, found evidence of a "sustained" attempt to impose hardline Muslim views, with female staff bullied and Christian assemblies scrapped.
  
• Into the blast furnace (voxday.blogspot.com)
  The UK's demographics are illustrating the truth of GK Chesterton's observations concerning the human disinclination to believe in nothing:
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  If he thinks segregation is a problem, just try desegregating those communities. Because communities that can't peacefully segregate will always eventually find another, less palatable means of doing so.
  
  Well done, secular Britain. Out of its desire to weaken Christianity's societal dominance, it imported Islam. That's like leaping out of the frying pan and into the blast furnace.
• Archbishop of the Anglican Church Says It's Acceptable to Have Doubt, and Still Be a Christian (nollywoodmagazine.com)
  Some are coming for his head but I totally agree with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who has said he sometimes has doubts in his belief in God.In an interview with BBC, Bristol the leader of the Church of England said he doubted in “lots of different ways”.
  
  Some are coming for his head but I totally agree with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who has said he sometimes has doubts in his belief in God.
  In an interview with BBC,  Bristol the leader of the Church of England said he doubted in “lots of different ways”.
  - See more at: http://www.nollywoodmagazine.com/2014/09/archbishop-of-the-anglican-church-says-its-acceptable-to-have-doubt-and-still-be-a-christian.html#sthash.8O3gHcp6.dpuf
  
  
  Some are coming for his head but I totally agree with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who has said he sometimes has doubts in his belief in God.
  In an interview with BBC,  Bristol the leader of the Church of England said he doubted in “lots of different ways”.
  - See more at: http://www.nollywoodmagazine.com/2014/09/archbishop-of-the-anglican-church-says-its-acceptable-to-have-doubt-and-still-be-a-christian.html#sthash.8O3gHcp6.dpuf
• Vicars 'Set to Report Confessed Crimes to Police' (ibtimes.co.uk)
• (Telegraph) Some Anglicans in the same-sex marriage debate sign 'love letter' to Bishops (kendallharmon.net)

More Mexicans start questioning Catholic doctrine and the concept of the Trinity

In Mexico at last more people start questioning Catholic doctrine and the concept of the Trinity — three Gods in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit — as opposed to one God in the unitarian Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In 1970, Catholics comprised 96.7 percent of Mexico’s population. By 2010, that number had fallen to 82.7 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. Most of this change is attributed to growth in other Christian denominations. Evangelicals, Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses now account for 8 percent of Mexicans who identify with a religion.

But we may also find several Mexicans who could not find themselves at ease with the Christians who do not believe in the Trinity, though they say it was that trinity that bothered them. So why did many Catholics not find non-trinitarian Christians but can they at last find enough places in the Bible to prove there is no such thing as a three-une God. what was it that attracted them to convert and to seek spiritual salvation in Islam?
Pew estimates Mexico will be home to 126,000 Muslims by 2030, up from 111,000 in 2010.

Map showing the relative proportion of Christianity (red) and Islam (green) in each country. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 Pat Dollard looks into the cause in ‘I Realized It’s A Beautiful Religion’ – Mexican Catholics Leaving ‘Dios’ For ‘Allah’

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Quran can convert to Christianity

That the holy Quran can convert people to Christianity has been said already previously by former Muslims who became Christian. Recently also a former Muslim imam convert to Christianity and believes that God protected him from death threats and torture at the hands of his family members.

Mario Joseph, a former imam who shared the story of his conversion and subsequent persecution with the HM Television program “Changing Tracks,” broadcast by the EUK Mamie Foundation run by the Home of the Mother religious community, got the English-language interview, first posted in April 2014, by now has more than 250,000 views on YouTube.

Mario Joseph got onto this world because his mother rejected doctors’ advice to abort him when she had an infected womb during pregnancy. After his birth she dedicated him to God. Studying the Quran, he noticed that the name of Jesus was mentioned more often than the name of Islam’s prophet Mohammed and that Mary, known in Arabic as Mariam, was the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran. In Islam, Mary is recognized as a perpetual virgin who was conceived without sin.

Mario Joseph decided to accept Jesus, which was not happily received by his parents, who found they had to punish him. He was bound and deprived of food and water for several days and his brother forced him to drink urine as a punishment. The lack of food and water affected him severely, he recalled, adding that after as many as 20 days, his father entered his cell, choked him and threatened him with a knife unless he renounced Jesus.

“I knew my dad well that he would kill me,”

Mario Joseph said.

“When I knew that it was my last moment… I thought, ‘Jesus died, but He came back. If I believe in Jesus and die, I too may get my life’.”

At that point he felt energized, pulled his father’s hand down, and cried out Jesus’ name. His father then fell down and was cut severely by his own knife, causing him to foam at the mouth, Mario Joseph said. When family members took his father to the hospital, they forgot to lock the room.

The young man then ran out and caught a taxi. The driver was a Christian and helped get him food and drink.

“That day, really I understood, my Jesus is alive even now. When I called him for my need, he saved me.”

Mario Joseph found a Catholic retreat center in India, where he could stay and give talks in various languages.

He took the name “Mario,” a male version of Mary in Italian. He also took the name Joseph for Mary’s spouse.

Mario Joseph said he did not expect that he would still be alive 18 years after his conversion. He said people are still trying to kill him, and his parents held a mock funeral ceremony for him to signify that he was an outcast. On the mock grave, they marked as his death date the date of his baptism.

Although he has had no contact with his family members, he prays for them and believes that “God can touch them within a moment.”

Even if they never accept Christianity, he explained,

 “I’m always saying ‘Jesus, please take them to heaven’.”

This imam former Muslim imam may have found Jesus, and found many things in Catholicism where he found himself at ease.

It is strange he came to accept the Trinity and even came to do worship of the human being Mary. For such conversions Muslims are very afraid, but if some of their Muslim brothers and sisters would come to see who Jesus really is, and what the Plan of God is with humanity, they should not be so much afraid.

I do invite Christians and Muslims to come and look at the Quran and Bible verses which are presented to come to understand both writings better and see the similarities and come to see where certain Quran  verses can lead tot and how certain teachers can twist the words of those holy books.

Come and have a look at the series Quran and Bible verses comparison:

Quran versus older Holy Writings of Divine Creator

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Quran quotes

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  Last year I posted the commentary found in a popular Qur’an edition by Maulana Muhammad Ali.
  +
  If Muslims do not want to believe that Jesus died and was resurrected, fine. That’s your prerogative. But to argue that the New Testament Gospels do not depict Jesus as dying is… well… crazy!
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  Please note that, as with all charts of this kind, the information is oversimplified and should not be used as a sole resource.
  
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  He added, ‘The reason they want to kill me is very clear – it is because of being a convert to Christianity; above all, to them it is like I brought shame by converting, as a (former) sheikh. But to God the Almighty Father, this was His plan for me to expand His Kingdom.’
  +
  Flashback: Uganda: Daughter Beaten By Her Father, Hospitalized After Converting To Christianity – “A dream of praying in a church frightened a recent college graduate in Uganda, the Muslim daughter of sheikh; she knew he was capable of seriously hurting her for such a religious switch. Wenene Nuru, 23, of Iki-Iki township in Pallisa District, had been listening to a Christian-Muslim dialogue on ‘The Sonship of Jesus Christ’ on the radio before she had the dream on Feb. 28… On March 4, at about 8 p.m., her father, Nuru Rajabu, could no longer contain his anger. ‘My father began beating me with clubs and blows, and I started screaming in great pain,’ she said. ‘While I was down on the floor bleeding, my father went looking for a knife to kill me…'” Read more.
  
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• Overthrowing Judaism and Christianity (mohammadalbaba.wordpress.com)
  {And say, "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Falsehood is surely bound to vanish." (81)}, Al-Isra, Translation of The Holy Quran. In this article, I confute Judaism and Christianity from an Islamic, or logical, point of view. As Muslims, we believe in Moses peace be upon him and his Scripture (the Torah), and in Jesus peace be upon him...
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Uprooted Baptists their new idea of baptism

End 1970ies it looked like the Southern Baptitst Union was going to bring too many changes the followers of the original Anabaptists and Baptists could not accept.

From the 1980 onwards lots of disturbance was felt and in the 1990ies many Baptists became very disturbed by the image the public was getting from the Baptist they could see on the small television screen.  The screen at that time still might have been small but the impact was big.

The trinitarian Baptist gained more and more terrain in Europe and wanted to have theri American way of thinking imposed on us Europeans. For many years I resisted to leave the Baptists, because I wanted to honour those who had lost their life for our faith in the Only One God. At the end I only could follow thousands of my brothers and sisters by leaving the changes in the Baptist community for what they had become, with fear for what they still might become.

Our fear was totally founded. those who left the community had sound reasons, because the church gliding to main protestant church-denominations who believed in a three-une God and would if they were not carefull soon be taken over by other false teachings of those churches.

Today those Baptists are closer to the other protestant and Catholic denominations where it is not necessary to have a sound mind to decide to follow Jesus.

Once a church takes over the Trintiy to get more power and find more people to join them everything can happen to continue in the pagan traditions and to go further away from biblical teachings.

The Southern Baptists could see their churches following their union rules growing in amount. Like many other churches they do have to face the problem not many people are interested in God. Though they do know people do like a lot traditions and festivals. Feast for children having their first year in the lower school or for becoming of age are very popular. A special day for celebrating the by is also very much liked by people.
The Baptist Church also is aware of such events which could attract more people in their church. Like all other churches they saw their number of baptisms going way down.  Converts, new members, and the Millennial generation are unwilling today to commit themselves or to feel bounded by one or the other church denomination. To be baptised as an adult in front of others does not appeal to them. Certainly not going under water in front of so many people, at their age.

It is incredible but it seems that one demographic of Baptists is getting baptised in greater and greater numbers. Normally the rule for baptism was that the person should really know what he or she was choosing for. He should be of age. But the contemporary Baptists do not seem to find that important any more. For them children five and under can also be baptised.


By Lutherans and other protestants such child baptisms also can be found more frequently. In a few years perhaps we shall see also a 'first communion' and a 'holy or second communion' like in the Catholic church, where people, though they do not go to mass regularly, can have a celebration for their kids where they can treat it with many presents and give a great feast for many guests, showing off with bouncy castles, electronic games, firework and exuberant meals for 60, 80- 150 guests, like mini-weddings and their sons and daughters dressed like little princes and princesses or brides.

Credobaptist traditions like the SBC usually baptize children at the “age of accountability” or “age of reason.” The Baptist Faith and Message asserts that children are not morally accountable until they are “capable of moral action.” Based on the coming-of-age celebration in Jewish culture (bar mitzvahs for boys and bat mitzvahs for girls), some place the age of accountability around ages 12 and 13. However, since children develop at different rates, there is latitude on pinpointing personal spiritual maturity. Still, Southern Baptist churches have traditionally said children cannot make a legitimate profession of faith until preadolescence. Thus, baptism is typically reserved for prepubescents on up. . .

Alvin Reid, evangelism professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and task force member, said he suspects the main reason for the increase is

 “well-meaning parents so want their children to follow Jesus that pastors have been pressured and have not taught well biblical conversion and discipleship.”

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National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly of the U.S.A. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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  Image: Gamma Man / Flickr

  Baptism service at an SBC church in Virginia.
  For the seventh year in a row, the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination, has seen a "heartbreaking slide" in baptisms. Last year saw the second-worst total of baptisms in 60 years, and this year the denomination lost more than 105,000 members and 188,000 Sunday worshipers, according to its Annual Church Profile.
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  David Galvan, a task force member and pastor of New Life Hispanic Baptist in Dallas, said, "In our church, we have followed the example of W. A. Criswell [former SBC president] and baptize children at nine years of age [and older]." He also said he personally didn't know of any Baptist churches that baptize children under five.
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  The SBC believes it’s a sign of success that a bunch of preschool-aged kids are willing to go swimming for a few seconds. Because that’s all this really is for them. Meanwhile, as those children grow up and see how the SBC treats women and LGBT individuals, they’re getting the hell out of there.
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  Floyd said the SBC’s stance reflects the denomination’s adherence to the Bible and will not be compromised. Earlier this month, a Southern California SBC church decided to stop condemning homosexuality as sinful and instead embraced a “third way.” Floyd said Wednesday that in relaxing its views on gay members, the church and its pastor had “chosen to disassociate itself with the Southern Baptist Convention” and that the denomination “does not support or condone” such action.
  The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the nation, with 15.7 million members, according to a recent report by the denomination’s publishing arm, Lifeway Christian Resources.
  
• Five Reasons Why Most Southern Baptist Churches Baptize Almost No Millennials (christianitytoday.com)
  
  The "heartbreaking slide" in Southern Baptist baptisms has now entered its seventh year. While the loss of nearly 4,600 baptisms was not as steep as last year's drop, the continued decline (full stats below) is still enough for LifeWay Christian Resources president Thom Rainer to tell Baptist Press, "I am grieved we are clearly losing our evangelistic effectiveness."
  And according to a recent report by a special task force of pastors, the baptism drought in America's largest evangelical denomination—which counts 15.7 million members and 5.8 million Sunday worshipers—is worst among millennials.
  In last year's Annual Church Profile, 60 percent of the more than 46,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) reported no youth baptisms (ages 12 to 17) in 2012, and 80 percent reported only one or zero baptisms among young adults (ages 18 to 29). One in four Southern Baptist churches reported zero baptisms overall in 2012, while the "only consistently growing" baptism group was children under five years old.
  "The problem is even greater than these numbers indicate," states the task force report. "Considering how the North American population has increased substantially between the 1950s' baptism peak and today, these figures indicate how much ground we have lost and are losing."
  Fewer churches are contributing statistics to the denomination's annual report these days. But the task force notes, "Although it would be convenient to blame declining baptisms on declining reporting, our statisticians concluded that we still have a steady decline in baptisms even when a lack of reporting is factored into the equation."
  The report identifies five problems behind the baptism drought

Church has to grow through witness, not by proselytism

In January pope Francis I spoke about Benedict XVI who said that the Church grows through witness, not by proselytism.

Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal (Photo credit: Catholic Church (England and Wales))

Jesus gave the order to his disciples and to all who wanted to follow him, to go out in the world to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.  Evry person calling himself a Christian, should know that this should mean to be a follower of Christ, should also follow those teachings and orders of that person.

The witness that can really attract is that associated with attitudes which are uncommon:

the pope said and named them:

generosity, detachment, sacrifice, self-forgetfulness in order to care for others. This is the witness, the “martyrdom” of religious life. It “sounds an alarm” for people.

When people are religious those people should make a life for themselves filled with with thinkings which are not always of this world. Looking at this world, we can not escape living in it but should be careful not to become 'of it'.

 “religious life ought to promote growth in the Church by way of attraction."

continued the pope.

“The Church,” therefore, “ must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! It is possible to live differently in this world. We are speaking of an eschatological outlook, of the values of the Kingdom incarnated here, on this earth. It is a question of leaving everything to follow the Lord. 

The pope did not want to say “radical.”

Evangelical radicalness is not only for religious: it is demanded of all. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way. It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”

 Pope Francis has returned in a circular fashion to concepts that he has already touched on, exploring them more deeply. In fact he continued:

“You should be real witnesses of a way of doing and acting differently. But in life it is difficult for everything to be clear, precise, outlined neatly. Life is complicated; it consists of grace and sin. He who does not sin is not human. We all make mistakes and we need to recognize our weakness. A religious who recognizes himself as weak and a sinner does not negate the witness that he is called to give, rather he reinforces it, and this is good for everyone. What I expect of you therefore is to give witness.

The pope wants this special witness from religious people and warns them to look out not to restrict themselves to dogmatic teachings endangering them to go into fundamentalism.

From the "Wake up the world" press conference January 2014

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Related articles

• Pope Francis condemns fundamentalism, urges setting an example over proselytizing (rawstory.com)
  Francis meet with 120 superiors general of men’s religious orders at the Vatican in November. His comments were published Friday by La Civiltà Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit weekly.
  “I am convinced of one thing: the great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery,” the pope said.
  To look at something from the periphery, the pope explained, meant analyzing reality through a variety of viewpoints, rather than filtering all experience through a centralized ideology.
  
• A Non-Political Pope? (Part 2) (clrforum.org)
  Some things he said in the interview are a frankly a little shocking. He told the interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense.” That’s a rather dismissive way to treat millennia of Christian apologetics. The pope’s views on conscience were also odd, from a Christian perspective. “Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them,” the pope said. “That would be enough to make the world a better place.” With respect, “do what you think is right” is not the Christian view of conscience. That sounds more like Anthony Kennedy than St. Paul. And would the world really be a better place if everyone did what he thought was right? How about jihadis?
  +
  the Church would “never go beyond its task of expressing and disseminating its values, at least as long as I’m here.” What the Pope seems to mean is that the Church as an institution should avoid getting involved in the workings of government and political parties, but that its prophetic role remains.
• Church division a scandal - Pope (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)
  The leader of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide said a goal of full unity between the two churches "may seem distant" but it remained an aim that should direct "every step".
  He said progress towards full unity would not be the result of human actions alone, but would be a "free gift of God".
  "Beneath his merciful gaze, we cannot claim that our division is anything less than a scandal and an obstacle to our proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the world," the Pope told Archbishop Justin Welby.
  
• Pope invites Romans, pilgrims, to Eucharistic procession (catholicnewsagency.com)
  “Every Sunday we go to Mass, we celebrate the Eucharist together and the Eucharist is like the ‘burning bush’ in which the Trinity humbly dwells and communicates itself: this is why the Church has placed the feast of the Body of the Lord after that of the Trinity.”
  
  The Holy Father also reflected on the Divine love of the Trinity, “origin and goal of the universe and of every creature.”
  
  He explained that the Trinity acts as a model of the Church where Christians are called to love with the perfect, sacrificial love of Jesus.
• Top Ten Myths About Pope Francis' First Year (dominicanablog.com)
  If Quoheleth had lived during the last year, he might well have said, “Of the making of many myths about Pope Francis there is no end.” As we give thanks to God for the Holy Father on this first anniversary of his papacy, it’s worth taking a moment to look back on some of the myths about Pope Francis that have made the rounds on the Internet this year. While this list could be many more pages long, what follows is my own Top Ten List of Myths about Pope Francis.
• Pope Francis Tells Religious Orders To "Wake Up The World" - 4 January 2014 (lucas2012infos.wordpress.com)
  
  Editor Antonio Spadaro, SJ, has written an article recounting the private meeting last November between Pope Francis and the Union of Superiors General of religious men at the end of their 82nd General Assembly.
  The 15-page article (available in English at the La Civiltà Cattolica website) documents the views of Pope Francis on religious life.
• Moving Through Time: Timeline of Religion (pcr.wpengine.com)
  Since the beginning of time, mankind has formed beliefs of the unexplainable and unknowable. Over thousands of years, these beliefs became traditional, customary, and institutionalized within regional societies. People continue to express an interest in spiritual matters from all corners around the world. Everybody has pondered the meaning of life, what happens after we die, what existed before us, and whether any other life exists in the universe. Mankind may never know concrete answers regarding the spiritual. In fact, humans may destroy the planet before we can discover the remaining life in unexplored regions. Nevertheless, we continue to seek spiritual enlightenment and a connection with our Creator.
• Why Are Christians the World's Most Persecuted Group? (tomohalloran.com)
  Why are Christians, as a new Pew report documents, the most persecuted religious group in the world?  And why is their persecution occurring primarily throughout the Islamic world?  (In the category on “Countries with Very High Government Restrictions on Religion,” Pew lists 24 countries—20 of which are Islamic and precisely where the overwhelming majority of “the world’s” Christians are actually being persecuted.)
  +
  Christianity is a proselytizing faith that seeks to win over converts.  No other major religion—including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism—except Islam itself has this missionary aspect (these faiths tend to be coterminous with their respective ethnicities: Buddhists, Asians; Judaism, Jews; Hinduism, Hindus).    Thus because Christianity is the only religion that is actively confronting Muslims with the truths of its own message, not only is it the primary religion to be accused of proselytizing but, by publicly uttering teachings that contradict Muhammad’s, Christians are accused of blaspheming as well.  Similarly, this proselytizing element is behind the fact that most Muslims who apostatize to other religions overwhelmingly convert to Christianity.  Finally, if indigenous Christians are many in the Middle East, because that is the cradle of Christianity, in other regions with large Muslim populations, such as sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia, Christian missionaries have won over millions of converts to the faith—many of whom are now targeted and persecuted according to Islam’s anti-apostasy law, which often calls for the death penalty.
• Pope: Saints are humble sinners, sanctified by Jesus (en.radiovaticana.va)
  “In this holy Church the Lord chooses certain people so that holiness can be better seen, to show that it is He who sanctifies, that no one sanctifies himself, that there’s no course to become a saint, that it’s not being a religious fraud or something of that sort… No! It’s not that! Holiness is a gift of Jesus to His Church and to show this He chooses people in whom His work of sanctifying is clearly seen.”
• Why are Christians the world's most persecuted group? (humanevents.com)
  Christianity is the quintessential religion of martyrdom.  From its inception—beginning with Jesus followed by his disciples and the early Church—many Christians have accepted martyrdom rather than recant their faith, in ancient times at the hands of Romans, in Medieval and modern times at the hands of pious Muslims and others.  Few other religions encourage their adherents to embrace death rather than recant, as captured by Christ’s own words: “But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven” (Matt 10:33; see also Luke 14:33).”   Conversely, Islam teaches Muslims to openly renounce their faith (taqiyya)—not just when their lives are threatened, but even as a stratagem of war—as long as they remain Muslim in their hearts.  Other religions and sects also approve of dissimulation to preserve their adherents’ lives.  Back in the 1800s, for instance, Samuel M. Zwemer, a Christian missionary, observed that in Iran “Bahaism enjoys taqiyya (concealment of faith) as a duty, but Christianity demands public profession; and hence in Persia it is far easier to become a Bahai than to become a Christian.”

Repentance and conversion are not milestones which we pass on the way of life and never see again

"Repentance and conversion are not milestones which we pass on the way of life and never see again. This would be to misconceive their true meaning. It is true that life is like a journey ... , but there are abiding principles which are essential for the whole journey and not simply for its commencement. Certainly, repentance has a beginning and comes to a special maturity when we see our need for forgiveness and for union with Christ and the Lord God. But, the fruits of repentance appear at all seasons of life, and keep us in a humble attachment to God. Moreover, when sin appears in our discipleship - and there is no disciple who does not sin - the wells of repentance spring up again as we make confession to God and seek His face. It is for this reason that "Forgive us our trespasses" appears in the Lord's pattern prayer.

Similarly conversion is not a once and for all decision. It is a turning and returning to God throughout our lives. We take up our cross at the beginning, and we have to take it up every day. Constantly we have to take our bearings afresh, like mariners at sea, and correct our course towards God:

"I thought on my ways, And turned my feet unto thy testimonies." (Psalm 119:59)

The threads of repentance and conversion are continuous in the wondrous pattern of life."

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Brother Harry Tennant
Repentance and Conversion
The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach

Chief means by which men are built up

The Bible applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit, is the chief
means by which men are built up and established in the faith,
after their conversion.

      -- J. C. Ryle