Bishop supports Bill to restrict Sharia law
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has lent his support to a Bill tabled in the House of Lords this week to scale back the influence of Sharia law. Sharia - or Islamic law - is used in around 85 Sharia councils and Muslim arbitration tribunals across the UK. The Bill, tabled by Baroness Caroline Cox, proposes banning the use of Sharia law where it conflicts with English law in discriminating against women and non-Muslims. It proposes to protect women by stopping discriminatory rulings that are contrary to UK law and ensuring that Sharia law does not appear to have jurisdiction where it does not. The baroness said, ‘Cases of criminal law and family law are matters reserved for our English courts alone'. Expressing his support for the Bill in the House of Lords, Bishop Nazir-Ali said Sharia was inherently unequal. Muslims and non-Muslims are treated unequally. Similarly, men and women are treated unequally.
Pray: for those who debate and rule on this matter so that an equitable solution may be found that affords protection to all. (Dt.8:11)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bishop.supports.bill.to.restrict.sharia.law/28146.htm
Bishop blames binge-drinking culture for blighting Britain
An Anglican Bishop has hit out at the Government’s failure to tackle alcohol abuse, an issue he describes as ‘one of the major sins of our time’. The Rt Revd Geoff Annas, the Bishop of Stafford, blamed the extension of the licensing laws and called for a ‘seismic shift in attitudes’ towards alcohol, as there has been towards tobacco. He said successive governments had failed to prevent alcohol abuse, ‘a problem that blights our society and colours the view the rest of the world has of our nation’. The Bishop declared that, in hearing countless tragic stories of lives damaged by binge-drinking, it was time for the church and society to speak out. In a letter published in parish magazines across the Diocese of Lichfield, he said: ‘Hospital managers, the police and fire services have all told me in recent months of the way alcohol related issues are soaking up ever decreasing resources.’ Pray: that Government and society will take this matter more seriously and that a solution may be found. (Ro.13:13) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bishop-blames-binge-drinking-culture-for-blighting-britain/
Christian sacked after abortion leaflet row
Margaret Forrester discussed the booklet with family planning staff at the health centre where she worked because she felt that the NHS was failing to give patients information about the risks and other options to terminating a pregnancy. But after a six-month disciplinary process, during which Ms Forrester had to fight her own case and became ill, she was found guilty of ‘gross professional misconduct’ and fired. She has spoken out over the ‘scandal’ of the pro-abortion culture in the medical profession and claimed that Christians were ‘an easy target’ for ‘politically correct’ bureaucrats in the NHS. ‘The NHS has a pro-abortion stance which comes from a secular religion. It is a belief system which is aggressively anti-Christian,’ she said. Ms Forrester’s difficulties began on Nov 2 last year, when she had an informal conversation with a colleague in her role as a psychological wellbeing practitioner in Westminster, central London.
Pray: for Margaret and that those in the NHS who have responsibility for advising those seeking an abortion will adopt a more balanced view. (Dt.30:19)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8569283/Christian-sacked-after-abortion-leaflet-row.html
Christians praying for England's drought-hit farmers
A wet weekend has done little to allay the fears of farmers in drought-stricken parts of England. The Government declared parts of East Anglia and the Midlands to be in a state of drought last Friday after England and Wales experienced their driest spring on record. Graham Thompson, Chair of the East Anglia District of the Methodist Church, said ‘A great many farmers are irrigating their crops and there is great anxiety that there may not be sufficient water for the usual period of irrigation later in the growth cycle,’ He said Methodist ministers in East Anglia were offering their support to the farming community and praying with Christians involved in farming. ‘It would not be quite right to say that we are 'praying for rain' but we are asking God to guide our farmers as they seek to make the best use of the resources they have.’ Pray: for those affected by this drought both in the UK and around the world. (Ps.147:8) More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.praying.for.englands.droughthit.farmers/28150.htm
