"Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first." --- Mark 10:29-30

The cathedral is the embodiment of the sanctuary (in a very real sense) of God Almighty in the United States and the embodiment of the Christian principles upon which our country was founded...indeed the very spiritual core of these United States. They and this nation have been spiritually raped. Decent people are angry...appalled...heartsick. --- A former Episcopalian

Dear Brothers and Sisters
www.virtueonline.org
November 21, 2014

COSTLY FAITH. You may have missed this, or not have read about the personal life of the woman who stood up boldly for Jesus Christ at the Washington National Cathedral to denounce the Muslim intrusion into the sanctuary of a Christian House of worship. Before I tell you what it cost her to do this, read first what Jesus had to say: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his (own) household." Matt 10:34-35

Christine Weick, the Christian woman who sneaked into the invitation-only Islamic prayer service last Friday afternoon at the Washington National Cathedral, is living primarily out of her car while touring book fairs and other various events. She doesn't have a home. She said her husband divorced her last year "over spiritual conflict," and her family disowned her because she took a stand against same-sex marriage and other "moral issues."

This is the world we now live in -- one that we will be seeing more and more of as Christians who stand up for the gospel feel the sting of lawsuits, rejection, family disintegration, hatred and, in time, death. Jesus said he came to bring a sword not soft words, a lesson that Christians in the Middle East are now learning as thousands are being slaughtered by Muslim extremists. Increasingly, those in the West are now beginning to learn this as well.

Of course there are degrees of suffering, and North Americans have "not suffered unto blood" (Heb. 12:4) as our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are undergoing and who continue to suffer, with the real possibility that Christianity might well be annihilated completely in what was once called the Fertile Valley.

What is terrifying about this event is the sheer gullibility of cathedral Dean Gary Hall who not only allowed this event to take place but actually welcomed it.

A number of commentators have pointed out that to allow them to pray, remove Christians who speak the truth, and then conduct the jummah (Muslim call to prayer) in a Christian Church is not just asinine, it's a sure sign of apostasy. To go further, Imam Ebrahim Rasool, who is South Africa's ambassador to the U.S., read a passage from the Qur'an that Dr. Andrew Bostom claims are stinging rebukes of Christianity and Judaism.

Bostom, author of "The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims" and "The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, pointed out reporter Diana West, "noted an opening summary overview of this commentary's gloss on Koran 3:26 (and 3:27)--invoked, prominently by Ambassador Rasool during his main khutbah (sermon)."

"The emphasis in this omitted section of the gloss is of profound importance to what transpired at The National Cathedral Muslim prayer service, Friday, November 14, 2014," Dr. Bostom wrote.

Bostom basically said that Rasool was engaging in the time honored Islamic tradition of taqiyyah. He wrote: "Consider the main khutbah (or sermon) delivered by Muslim South African Ambassador to the U.S. (and champion of the jihadist Muslim Brotherhood), Ebrahim Rasool."

Extolling his National Cathedral Christian hosts, ambassador Rasool quoted --in deliberately truncated fashion--only the latter portion of Koran 5:82 (equivalent to this: "...and you will find the nearest in love to the believers (Muslims) those who say: 'We are Christians.' That is because amongst them are priests and monks, and they are not proud.")

What Mr. Rasool omitted is the virulently Jew - and "pagan"-hating, opening half of verse 5:82: "Verily, you will find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers (Muslims) the Jews and those who are Al-Mushrikun (i.e., "idolatrous" Hindus, Buddhists, and Animists)."

The Jew-hating nature of this verse--well-established by classical Koranic commentaries, spanning over a millennium--was re-affirmed by Sunni Islam's most prestigious center of religious education, Al-Azhar University, and its current leading cleric, Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb. During an interview with Al-Tayeb, which aired on Channel 1, Egyptian TV, October 25, 2013, Al-Azhar's Grand Imam gave a brief explanation of the ongoing relevance of verse 5:82, which has been invoked--"successfully"--to inspire Muslim hatred of Jews since the advent of Islam:

"A verse in the Koran explains the Muslims' relations with the Jews...This is an historical perspective, which has not changed to this day. See how we suffer today from global Zionism and Judaism...Since the inception of Islam 1,400 years ago, we have been suffering from Jewish and Zionist interference in Muslim affairs. This is a cause of great distress for the Muslims. The Koran said it and history has proven it: 'You shall find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers to be the Jews...'"

Not long afterward, and clearly unnoticed by his witless hosts, Rasool invoked the Koran's vitriol towards Christian societies (and indeed all non-Muslim civilizations who refuse to submit to a Sharia [Islamic Law]-based Muslim order), quoting Koran 3:26: "(Say (O Muhammad SAW): 'O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.') Two classical Koranic commentaries, and a renowned modern gloss, underscore the consistency of this mainstream, authoritative interpretation of Koran 3:26, spanning 600-years, till now.

"In these verses, Muslims have been taught and prompted to make a particular prayer which, in a subtle way, gives an indication that they are going to overpower the disbelievers," wrote Bostom. "This has its proof in the background in which these verses were revealed. When the Holy Prophet [Muhammad] promised that Byzantium and Persia will be taken, the hypocrites and Jews laughed at the idea. Thereupon, this verse was revealed."

When Breitbart News asked the dean of the National Cathedral whether it was appropriate to host Muslim prayers on the 100th anniversary of the last Caliph's call for Jihad against nonbelievers, which resulted in the slaughter of innocent Christians, Hall answered, "I did not know that it was that anniversary. But knowing it now, it actually seems to be more appropriate to have an event that is on an anniversary of a hard time... There have been atrocities on both sides. There have been extremists on both sides." SAY WHAT!

Hall went on to say, "The second thing, is that, the Christian church... a few centuries before was doing similar kinds of things in the Holy Land with the Crusader states and the Crusades themselves. Almost every religious tradition is guilty at some point of fostering violence in the name of that religious tradition."

Please stop! The Christian faith was not founded on one that engaged in pedophilia. It was not founded upon the murder of those the Christ opposed. It was not founded upon thievery, terror and violence done by its founder. Islam is the embodiment of that from its inception in the person of Mohammed.

Breitbart pressed Hall further, asking him if he was aware that all of the Islamic organizers of the prayer service were either associated or members of the Muslim Brotherhood. "No, I'm not aware of that. We're a faith community... This essentially was the time to come together and pray. I have not heard those allegations. I don't think that they are germane to an event that is just essentially a prayer event."

He went on to state that he was no more alarmed of the Muslim Brotherhood's ties than he would be "people in my own faith and tradition have links to other kinds of... inappropriate or unethical or immoral kinds of behavior.

"Hall is a man with his head in the sand. He is merely demonstrating his idiocy with such statements. If one wishes to compare the history of Islam with the history of Christianity, then please do so, but do it fairly. Compare their founders. Compare their writings and teachings and you will see that they cannot be equated in any way. They can only be contrasted."

Islam promotes itself as the religion of peace, though it is not. It speaks as though it is a harmless little lamb, but in reality it is a dragon. Sadly, many people, including self-professed Christians and even Jews, believe that Islam is harmless and that we are not at war with its ideology... but we are.

At least there was one self-conscious Christian, a woman no less, who took a stand against the doctrines of Islamic anti-Christ on Friday and now God is giving her a platform to proclaim the truth.

*****

Archbishop Justin Welby's presidential speech to the Church of England Synod this week was, at one level brutally honest, realistic, and hopeful. Still he cannot see how the broken unity (or visible disunity) can be repaired without considerable sacrifice.

He noted, "We live in a community that exists, that is deeply engaged with its world almost everywhere that is diverse and argumentative and fractured. He acknowledged the Communion is divided." He called for repentance.

"There are enormous problems. We have deep divisions in many areas, not only sexuality. There are areas of corruption, other areas where the power of the surrounding culture seems to overwhelm almost everyone at one point or another."

Welby believes the divisions may be too much to manage. "In many parts of the Communion there is a belief that opponents are either faithless to the tradition, or by contrast that they are cruel, judgmental, inhuman. I have to say that we are in a state so delicate that without prayer and repentance, it is hard to see how we can avoid some serious fractures."
"Where do we go? There are no strategies and no plans beyond prayer and obedience. It comes with prayer, and us growing closer to God in Jesus Christ and nothing else is an effective substitute."

You can read the full report in today's digest.

*****

Pope Francis learned this past week what Rick Warren, Russell Moore, and N. T. Wright all think about Marriage. According to various newspaper and magazine reports, Warren turned the Vatican conference into "revivalist meeting," while Moore explains why marriage crosses theological boundaries.

"There is always a danger in being the 28th speaker in a conference," said Rick Warren during his speech at Pope Francis's marriage conference. "What's left to say?"

Apparently plenty, as Warren's speech --which he said he wrote from scratch the night before after yesterday's speakers covered his previously prepared main points -- was "probably the first time ever the synod hall resembled a revivalist meeting," tweeted David Quinn, an Irish Catholic columnist. The Saddleback Church senior pastor reportedly received a standing ovation following his remarks defending marriage between a man and a woman.

"As Christians we seem to be known more for what we're against than what we're for. I want to change that," said Warren. According to his prepared remarks, he explored why Hebrews 13:4 commands that "marriage is to be honored by everyone" and laid out an "action plan" for conference attendees. In true evangelical form, his eight steps are in mostly alphabetical order:

Affirm the authority of God's word
Believe what Jesus taught about marriage
Celebrate healthy marriages
Develop small group courses to support marriage
Engage every media to promote marriage
Face attackers with joy and winsomeness
Give people confidence
Teach the purposes of marriage

"To redefine marriage would destroy the picture that God intends for marriage to portray, and we cannot cave on this issue," Warren said. "It's a picture of Christ and His Church."

"What are we going to do about this?" he said, according to a report from Christian Today. "The Church cannot cower in silence. The stakes are too high."

Never give up and never give in, was Warren's message, saying the Church cannot be salt and light in a crumbling culture if it caves in to the sexual revolution and fails to provide a counter-cultural witness.

Warren called it a "total myth" to have to compromise and give up on biblical truth and marriage in order to evangelize.

VOL has posted a number of videos of this ground-breaking conference at www.virtueonline.org which you can watch. One truly outstanding speech was given by Lord Sacks of London and we have posted this as a stand alone piece in today's digest.

*****

IN CANADA there are more church closings. Churches with dwindling populations continue to close, leaving parishioners looking for new spaces to practice their faith. Anglican worshippers are saying good-bye to their churches in the Sudbury area. St. James congregation has dwindled to 25 and can't afford to maintain the Paris Street building. The last service will be held Dec. 7. Another church, St. Mark's in Garson, was just put on the market and the worshippers are now populating other congregations. Further afield on Manitoulin Island, The Diocese of Algoma says there are five Anglican churches now, instead of six. One priest serves them all. There used to be three.

In other Anglican Church of Canada news, the church is considering the repercussions of changing the Marriage Canon. Having already shattered the unity of the Anglican Communion by blessing the union of same-sex couples, the Anglican Church of Canada, in a rare moment of penetrating insight, is considering the remote possibility that pressing ahead with actually marrying same sex couples will make things even worse.

Officially this is what is said, "The Commission on the Marriage Canon's final report will incorporate not only the submissions received from Anglicans across Canada, but will also reflect consultations about how changing the church's law to allow for same-sex marriage might affect relationships within and outside of the Anglican Church of Canada.

"It's clear that as we engage our conversation around this potential canon, it has implications for our relationships with others -- our relationships across the Anglican Communion and our relationships with our ecumenical partners. We also recognize that at some level, this is a no-win proposition. Whatever we put forward, there will be those who are unhappy, in pain, struggling."

That just about sums up the ACoC: pain, struggling, unhappiness and no Salvation.

*****

Archbishops of Canterbury and York are set to sign women bishops legislation into law in front of General Synod. Archbishop Justin said, "Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together. We will also continue to seek the flourishing of the church of those who disagree."

A string of senior female priests have been given special training to put them in prime position to become bishops in the Church of England when a historic change in canon law comes into force, the cleric who oversaw the process has disclosed.

The Rt. Rev. James Langstaff, the Bishop of Rochester, said there has been a major push to ensure that any female candidates interviewed for vacant sees in the coming months have the same chance as their male counterparts, some of whom may have been preparing for the process for years.

The decades-long campaign to open up the most senior positions in the Established Church to women will reach its conclusion when the Archbishops of Canterbury and York formally sign the change into law in front of the ruling General Synod in London on Monday

Ladbrokes, the bookmaker, installed the Very Rev Jane Hedges, the Dean of Norwich, as favorite to become the first female bishop at odds of three to one.

*****

The South Sudan Anglican Church is promoting a new paradigm for peace. The Peace Mobilisers group is an independent peace and reconciliation body in South Sudan meant to "build bridges across political and social divides and promote healing and reconciling among all South Sudanese."

The Anglican Church in South Sudan has joined other stakeholders in the region to address the country's continued conflicts by using a team of community members called "Peace Mobilisers".

Peace Mobilisers are a group of about eighty well-trained community and faith-based practitioners from across South Sudan brought together to share knowledge and experiences on the various approaches to reconciliation and sent back into their communities to influence change.

At the end of a 30-day training period for this group last month, the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and South Sudan, the Most Rev. Daniel Deng Bul told the media: "Peace in our country is paramount but building the unity of our people will be challenging and will need commitment and courage.

"But we are a big group, a battalion of peace and we can make peace in this county if we make a step together and we listen together." Archbishop Deng is the Chairperson of the institution, which organized the training, the South Sudan Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation.

*****

Forward in Faith, UK has a new chairman. The Rt Rev. Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract, has been elected unopposed as Chairman of Forward in Faith for a four-year term of office. He succeeds the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt. Rev. Jonathan Baker, whose term of office as Chairman ended at the meeting of the National Assembly held at St Alban's, Holborn, on Saturday 15 November 2014.

In his address to the National Assembly, the Bishop of Pontefract called on members of Forward in Faith to respond to the invitation and challenge to flourish within the life and structures of the Church of England. Catholic Anglicans, he said, needed to be open to, and engaged with, the rest of the Church of England. He called on the Catholic Movement to be 'tolerant of the diversity of views that exists among us' and to 'work harder at unity amongst ourselves'. Bishop Tony's address may be read here:
http://www.forwardinfaith.com/news/na2014.html

*****

A Mission Roundtable in Singapore drew evangelical Anglicans from across the globe including the ACNA led by Archbishop Foley Beach representing various mission agencies. They were there for a "Roundtable" to discuss and further the vision of developing each of the nations that are part of the Diocese of Singapore into individual dioceses. Though Singapore is a tiny island city-state, it has a powerful, evangelical, Spirit-filled Anglican Diocese with vision enough to impact the world. Missionaries from Singapore have been deployed in six nations outside the little island. In addition to Singapore, the nations are: Thailand, Laos, Viêt Nam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Nepal.

Several hundred people met to share together what is working, critique what is not, and further all kinds of vision about mission. A Discipleship Training School in partnership with Youth With A Mission is being launched. They will spend three months in the classroom in Flower Mound, Texas, and then be deployed to share the Gospel with unreached people in the "10/40 Window".

*****

FROM NEW ZEALAND comes an invitation to all New Zealanders. A diverse group of churches throughout New Zealand, including the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, have come together to make a booklet HOPE FOR ALL available to all 1.4 million homes.

The pocket size 34-page booklet tells the story of the Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden who brought the Christian message to NZ some 200 years ago. It also tells of his befriending Maori Chief Ruatara. The booklet does not whitewash early Maori/Pakeha relationships, but it does tell the story of the first Sunday also on Christmas Day when 400 Maoris gathered to hear the gospel for the first time. The small booklet also tells heartbreaking stories of life's unfairness, but 2090 years after Marsden's arrival, the Christian message is still focused on making New Zealand a more hopeful place. The booklet includes the battle for justice, living the Christian life and Hope project a resourcing website for churches.

If you want to learn more go to: alltogether.co.nz

*****

CAMP WAPITI. The Diocese of Pennsylvania is being offered $5 million for Camp Wapiti in Maryland, a parcel of land on the Chesapeake Bay bought by the former Bishop of PA, Charles E. Bennison as a youth camp. The property has been appraised at $3.7 million.

It has been an albatross around the dioceses' neck since owning it. It was purchased for over $7 million and costs upwards of $80,000 a year to maintain. It has seen only a handful of young people use its facilities over the years and clearly it is not cost effective to maintain. A buyer has come to the rescue with a cash offer that would free the diocese from further maintenance fees and allow the diocese to spend the $5 million on more useful things in the diocese. Officials have told the buyer that they are not interested in selling it at all.

New zoning laws and Chesapeake Bay restrictions have now made it impossible for developers to develop, that would take a very lengthy 3-year expensive process with no guarantee of success. There have been no bids on the farm for the last 10 years and this IS a cash offer. The question must be asked would a new Bishop prefer a $5 million check or a property that is difficult to sell! The property has been appraised for $3.7 million.

The buyer said he we will allow the Diocese to use the property for 3 years free of charge. Because it so difficult to get zoning, the buyer said they would only use it as a horse farm but if it was sold to a developer, it is highly unlikely, in the next 5 years the church would have the profit.

*****

THANKSGIVING is only a week away. Think about making a donation to Anglican Relief & Development Fund. Give the gift of Clean Water this #GivingTuesday. Join ARDF as they start a new tradition of generosity this #GivingTuesday to their Anglican brothers and sisters around the world. Your support, both in this holiday season and throughout the year, allows ARDF to build powerful partnership that transform our world. Click here: http://anglicanaid.net/giving-tuesday-2014/

*****

We are soon to enter the Season of Advent and we hope that you will open your hearts and wallets to keep VOL coming into your e-mail. The time has come to give this everything we have. We are struggling for funding as we end the year and go into the New Year. If struggle is what it takes, we are prepared. VOL is worth it, the thousands of you who come daily to VOL's website think so or you would not come back time and time again. Clearly the work we are doing is worth it.

I want to challenge ALL of VOLs readers, please make a tax deductible donation. If you come to VOL's website regularly YOU ARE committed...committed not only to the stands we take but to our Anglican faith and tradition. To keep our staff paid, stories written, research done and website maintained we need your help. We are a lean ministry with minimal overhead. We are stripped down for survival. We do not receive corporate money. Still we are falling short on our Fall fundraising drive. If you are not an active donor, and you believe in what we do, please get behind VOL with a tax deductible contribution.
You can send your deductible donation here:

VIRTUEONLINE
570 Twin Lakes Rd
P.O. Box 111
Shohola, PA 18458

Or you can make a contribution through VOL's PAYPAL link here: http://www.virtueonline.org/support-vol/

Thanks for your support,

In Christ,

David