Dr. Jeff Riddle reviews ‘…Matthew Barrett’s comments on problems with modern translations, with respect to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son, in his book Simply Trinity (Baker 2021), recently named by Christianity Today as a 2022 book of the year in the category of theology and ethics (read about it here).
Among other things, Barrett points out that in the twentieth century scholars “erased ‘only begotten’ from John’s corpus and replace this phrase with ‘only’ or ‘unique’ instead,” adding that due to this change “generations of Christians were never introduced to the concept of eternal generation” (186). He also announces, “that consensus is now changing, and fast” (187).
This illustrates the sometimes subtle (or not so subtle) theological problems that arise from modern texts and modern translations.
I also covered this issue in WM 207, reviewing part of a conversation between Barrett and Charles Lee Irons, and I did a text note on John 1:18 in WM 56.’http://www.jeffriddle.net/2022/01/wm-222-barrett-modern-translations.html
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‘The pastor of Action Church—a Florida multi-site megachurch planted with the Association of Related Churches (ARC)—has quietly divorced his wife in a court half the state away from the Orlando-area church.
Justin Dailey, the lead pastor of Action Church, and his former wife, Stefanie Dailey, filed an uncontested dissolution of marriage in Dixie County, court records show.
The petition was filed June 3, 2021, in the rural county on the Gulf Coast in northern Florida, some three hours’ drive from the couple’s Seminole County address. The case was closed two months later, on August 5.
The court record lists Justin Dailey as the plaintiff and Stefanie Dailey as the defendant. Florida is a no-fault divorce state, meaning courts do not assign fault to either partner during the divorce process. The state also permits residents to file in any county they agree on.
The Roys Report did not find an announcement by either Justin Dailey or Action Church, publicly acknowledging the dissolution. Action Church did not respond to a request for comment.
Justin Dailey was 19 when he started attending ARC’s flagship Church of the Highlands (COTH) in Alabama in 2005. He also attended COTH’s ministry school, Highlands College.
He was in his early 20s when he and Stefanie married.
In 2008, the couple moved to Florida to pastor Bayside Community Church. Then Dailey partnered with the ARC to plant Action Church.
In an Action Church pre-launch post from June 2013, the Daileys specifically thanked ARC flagship congregation, Church of the Highlands: “Especially Chris Hodges, Pastor Layne Schranz, and Pastor Randy Bezet for everything you have taught (us), and for always supporting (us)!” they wrote.
According to the church’s website, Action officially launched on January 26, 2014, in Winter Springs, Florida. It’s since grown to four campuses in the Orlando area.
Stefanie Dailey was reportedly considered a pastor at Action Church alongside Justin Dailey.
The church states on its website that it has trustees, or non-staff elders, and overseers, other pastors who “may be called in to help in accountability matters relating to the Lead Pastor.” The website does not name the trustees or overseers.
State records show Dailey serves as the president of the incorporated entity and Nelsa Rivera, wife of Action campus pastor Eddie Rivera, is the secretary-treasurer.
ARC is one of the largest church planting organizations in North America. It’s also been embroiled in several recent scandals involving pastoral misconduct.
The Roys Report reached out to ARC to ask about Dailey and its policy on divorce, but ARC did not respond.
Justin Dailey is one of several ARC church pastors named in a recent lawsuit alleging they knew ARC’s former national director of church planting, Joshua Mauney, had a history of sexual misconduct.
The suit alleges Mauney raped and sexually assaulted his female assistant numerous times while leading a former ARC member church in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
A second lawsuit claims COTH pastor Dino Rizzo failed to protect an intern after finding out she was sexually harassed by the pastor of Vibrant Church, an ARC church in Mississippi.
An ARC pastor in Tennessee is on sabbatical amid allegations of adultery and one in Houston resigned at the end of 2021 after confessing to adultery.
COTH also removed one of its pastors last July after a former assistant accused him of raping her at his previous church.’https://julieroys.com/orlando-megachurch-pastor-justin-dailey-divorce/?mc_cid=3c623e42a4&mc_eid=b13d34ad49
The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air is described for us in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Dr. Manfred Kober was a Professor for many years at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa. His four page paper for the Faith Pulpit is worth a read at https://www.manfredkober.com/materials/FP/1988_1001_How%20Soon%20the%20Rapture.pdf.
If you do not know what the Gospel is Paul gives forth the Gospel in 1Corinthians 15:1- 11 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
- ‘Ali Harbi Ali, a 25-year-old Muslim man of Somali descent, lunged at and repeatedly stabbed British MP Sir David Amess with a knife. Amess, 69, died soon after…. It is worth noting that, when it comes to severely persecuting and slaughtering Christians, Somalia is the world’s third-worst ranked nation, after Afghanistan (#2) and North Korea (#1) . — United Kingdom.
- “The Christians are treated as slaves bounded to Muslims… Christians enjoy no rights, no dignity, and no protection in this country. The overall system of society is based on religious hatred against Christians and other minorities.” — Asif Muniwar, local human rights defender; International Christian Concern, October 12, 2021, Pakistan
- [T]hree Christian workers died after Muslim emergency staff refused to rescue them because Christians are supposedly “ritually unclean.” Problems began when the Muslim employers of sewage worker Michael Masih, aged 33, threatened to fire him unless he entered a highly toxic sewer without any personal protective equipment or masks…. “An emergency team got to the sewer within 10 minutes but on arrival they looked down the pipe and could see the men but refused to save them. This was on account that they were choorah [dirty cleaners] and would cause the Muslims to become ritually impure.” — British Asian Christian Association, October 8, 2021, Pakistan.
- “Many shops were looted after they set them on fire. Church of Christ in All Nation (COCIN) was also burned down…. “[M]any houses were set ablaze. Bulls used for farming were also killed.” A local eyewitness said the murderers were dressed in Nigerian army uniforms and traveling in two vans owned by the Nigerian army. — International Christian Concern, October 17, 2021, Nigeria, which U.S. Secretary of Antony Blinken just removed from its 2021 List of “Countries of Particular Concern”.
- “[T]he herdsmen returned and shot [Dr. Habila Solomon, a medical doctor who also served as a Christian pastor] in his chest, killing him instantly. He was the reason why many people saw hope…. In the course of doing missions, God used him to provide drinking water, shelter, free education and feed the poor…. [and] also provided the [Muslim] herdsmen and their families with free medical care.” — Morning Star News, October 25, 2021, Nigeria.
- “Nigeria’s government seems unable or unwilling to stop the growing carnage…. More Christians have been killed for their faith in Nigeria in the last year than in the entire Middle East. Unless we find our voice, what is happening in Nigeria will move relentlessly toward a Christian genocide.” — Former U.S. Under Secretary of Education, Gary L. Bauer, calling Nigeria a “killing field” of Christians;” The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2021 annual report; Nigeria.
- Although the abduction, rape, and forced conversion to Islam of Christian girls and other religious minorities is rampant in Pakistan—with Muslim police, judges, and authorities often siding with the kidnappers and rapists—the nation is now witnessing record breaking numbers…. a nearly 300% increase from 2020…. This report comes on the heels of the Pakistani government’s rejection of an anti-forced conversion bill, which would have helped protect such minor girls. — Union of Catholic Asian News, October 14 and 18, 2021, Pakistan.
- “My cross has been with me for 40 years. It is part of me, and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm…. At this hospital there are members of staff who go to a mosque four times a day and no one says anything to them. Hindus wear red bracelets on their wrists and female Muslims wear hijabs in theatre. Yet my small cross around my neck was deemed so dangerous that I was no longer allowed to do my job.” — NHS nurse Mary Onuoha, who had fled from Uganda to the UK for religious freedom; Daily Mail, October 5, 2021, United Kingdom.
- “Why do some NHS employers feel that the cross is less worthy of protection or display than other religious attire?” — Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre; Daily Mail, October 5, 2021, United Kingdom.’https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17980/persecution-of-christians-october
‘Our country is divided. Many say it is more divided than any time since the Civil War. Most of you readers live here, so this is no surprise to you. Many articles and even whole books have been written in the last decade on the division in the United States, but the present situation provoked some to write in the last month on the subject. The following paragraph represents writing in the last month on severe division in America.
The City Journal published an article by Andrew Klavan, titled, “At the Heart of Our Divisions.” Klavan, part of Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, tries to explain the division as others have. Newsweek reports that a “Majority of Trump Voters Want to Split the Nation Into ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’ Halves.” The Las Vegas Sun reported it this way:
A new political poll offers an alarming look at the state of American unity and our population’s respect for some of the nation’s core values.
The poll, conducted by the University of Virginia’s nonprofit Center for Politics, shows that 52% of respondents who voted for former President Donald Trump were in favor of splitting the country into red and blue states, while 41% of voters for President Joe Biden agree with the idea. More than 2,000 voters participated in the poll, nearly equally divided between those supporting Trump and Biden.
Ed Kilgore at The Intelligencer, part of New York Magazine, writes, “No, We Can’t Get a National Divorce There’s growing sentiment for secession, particularly on the right. It should be rejected.” At Substack, Claremont senior fellow David Reaboi writes, “National Divorce Is Expensive, But It’s Worth Every Penny.” Karol Markowicz writes at the New York Post, “Sorry, but a national split up just won’t work.” Steven Malanga at the City Journal writes, “The New Secession Movement.” Conservative commentator Rich Lowry writes at Politico of all places, “A Surprising Share of Americans Wants to Break Up the Country. Here’s Why They’re Wrong.” Dan Rodricks writes at the Baltimore Sun, “Civil war unlikely, but the nation’s present course could still be disastrous.” Most of these were written in the last week, and there are more.
Okay, so there’s division. Everyone can agree with that. Putin of Russia and Xi of China smile. Why though? I’ve read or heard a lot of different reasons: media, tribalism, the education system, the deep state, and more. Klavan lists reasons in the first paragraph of his post. Those are typical, whole books written about them, but I believe these are surface reasons, I would call, non-worldview reasons, that are superficial and don’t dig deep enough.
My take on the acute and bitter division between states, people, and parties in the United States, I want to give credit, corresponds to something Nancy Pearcey writes about in her book, Total Truth. She explains a division portrayed by the lower and upper stories of a building or house with the lower story being “facts” and the upper story being “values.” Today you hear a lot about facts in the media, news, and schools. This is the “science is real” at the top of the leftist value sign. In this upper and lower story bifurcation, values are probably not what you think they are. Let me explain.
God is One. Truth, which proceeds from God, is also one. Pearcey’s proposition is “total truth,” the title of her book. There are not two stories that treat facts different than values, where values are constructed, personal and subjective. You can’t really know these with certainty. No, with God His natural laws, facts or science, are no different than moral laws. If you fall from the edge of a cliff, gravity sends you down to destruction. Breaking moral laws also destroys. Worse even. God is the Author of both.
Premoderns took a transcendent view of the world. Truth, goodness, and beauty, the transcendentals, all related to God. God transcending the world is the basis of the transcendentals. He’s not part of the world. He created it and having created it, He is separate from it. As James 1 says, that with God there is no shadow of turning. God is holy. He is Self-existent and immutable. Nothing affects Him. All meaning comes from God, so truth, goodness, and beauty, the transcendentals, are objective.
This world is God’s world. Even if someone doesn’t believe in God, they are living in His world. This is reality. The division breaks down into those who live in reality, recognition that this world functions according to laws according to which everyone must live, even if they reject the God of the Bible, and then those who don’t live in reality.
The ones not living in reality, which are one side of the division in the United States, see the top story, values, how they want to see them. It’s one reason they are called “values,” and not “morals” or “moral laws.” Using “values” is using language with power. Incidentally, part of critical theory is perfecting this language for use in reconstructing reality.
Looking at the world like two sides of the campus, religion, art, etc. on one side and then science, math, and engineering on the other, the blue part of the country thinks they can assign their own meaning on one side of the campus. They ultimately don’t want God in charge. They don’t want objective values that clash with what they want, so they make up their own and dismiss God or make up their own god that approves of their values. This is the basis for the Democrat party booing God when voting on their political platform in 2012. This is also how they justify killing babies.
The truth is that the blue states, people, etc. now assign their own meaning to science as well. They call it science like hanging out a shingle, pulling science out of a Cracker Jack box. Their subjectivity on the upper story, think of it as bad plumbing, has burst through into the lower story like a broken pipe. That side can’t tell you that a girl is a girl. This is one reason why many don’t want to go to college in this country anymore. They know it’s a racket that is not living in reality.
One side of the division in the country wants the nation to be called like it really is. Borders are representative of this. You can’t be a nation when you don’t protect, not just protect — how about acknowledge that you have a border. Whatever one thinks about the virus and masks and the vaccination, it’s understandable why a big chunk of the country doesn’t trust authority on this. I’m not going to even get into what Fauci has said. He doesn’t speak science and this is demonstrative on multiple occasions.
The government, the media that supports it, and now even corporations are all in on the lies. They allot whatever meaning they want and they expect you to receive it. If you don’t, now they’ll even prosecute you. They’ll fire you. If you don’t put on their particular pin, which supports whatever lie that they deem correct, you might lose your job.
I believe most churches too have succumbed to the two stories I’ve described. They put beauty, music, dress in the personal, the subjective, the top story. They capitulate on basic doctrine and practice to accommodate for popularity and numbers. Their targets see the world according to the lie of these two stories. They know it and they concede to it. This does not bode well for the country. Even if the nation does split into two parts, what will happen to the red side when the churches have taken the same basic approach to truth? This is the most fundamental aspect of worldliness in churches today.
Another metaphor to demonstrate what the division of truth, the two story view, does to the country is a rudderless ship. The country has no certain belief to hold it together or to give it direction. It moves according to whatever current or wind produced by the world, like a float or a bob on an aimless sea. The force of popularity, what scripture would call lust, the combined desires of the population, decides what is it’s truth, it’s goodness, and it’s beauty, whatever each of these is in their own eyes.
Everything above explains the division in the country. Maybe the next question is, what is the solution to this division? That, my friend, is much more difficult.’https://kentbrandenburg.com/2021/10/10/what-is-the-primary-cause-of-division-in-the-united-states/
During this China Leftist “pandemic” we have almost forgotten the enemy of Islam. Well, there is a wwoman in the UK who converted from Islam to Christ and continues her fight for truth in spite of opposition from Islam and the police.
‘Hatun Tash is a well-known Christian preacher who regularly debates Islam and the Qur’an at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park. She has faced threats to her life on multiple occasions for speaking, and was attacked and stabbed on 25 July 2021 for preaching at Speakers’ Corner, suffering wounds to her face and hand. Police have repeatedly failed to protect Hatun or make any arrests following her being assaulted and threatened. Instead, she herself has been arrested and detained overnight in a police cell for challenging Islam at Speakers’ Corner.
Hatun, an ex-Muslim and convert to Christianity, is director of the ministry Defend Christ Critique Islam, and has witnessed many Muslims turn from faith to Christianity. She is now being supported by the Christian Legal Centre and counter-terrorism are also investigating the case. Her case raises the question of whether the UK is implementing sharia law through the back door.
Hatun commented: “I am upset and disturbed by what has happened to me. I am asking myself if I have done anything wrong. I am convinced I have not broken any law or incited hate. All I did was question Islam and I wanted to debate, discuss and to tell people about Jesus Christ.
“Police inaction has led to what happened to me. My attacker was not even afraid of the police as he did it right in front of them. It is heart-breaking that we live in a society where police do not want to arrest a Muslim for fear of being called ‘Islamophobic’.”‘https://christianconcern.com/cccases/hatun-tash/?utm_source=Christian+Concern&utm_campaign=a600659492-BN-20210728-Hatun&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9e164371ca-a600659492-127681039
Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
What does it say about a man or an organization that MUST cheat to win? Does it instill trust? One wonders how that person and those associated with that person can continue to be so arrogant, forward and confident! How can they continue to declare they are the winner when they know how they arrived at the position through dishonesty, deceit, delusion, falsehood, lies and distortion.
Now, of whom are we speaking? Well, there are many in and out of politics that these words describe but in this article we are speaking of Joe Biden and the Democrat Party. One would have to be a dead Democrat voter not to know that the Republicans are not pure either. However, in the 2020 election the dishonesty and cheating was so apparent for all to see who would see!
How far does this desire to win and control the masses go? Has this lying cheating dishonest attitude permeated most if not all of those working in and for the Federal government? This disease has taken hold of so many in authority that it will be hard to stop. It is a cancer that will invade the minds of those who are willing to follow and this will take place in the schools of assumed learning where telling lies and untruths will get you into high office and the prestige of moving among the presumed elite of this world.
Now, I am speaking concerning those who just ‘won’ the 2020 election and if all goes as planned will take over the Government of the United States in a couple of days. They will implement their devious hell thought out plans. They will be praised by those who are like them. Nevertheless, this is a description of these people in Psalm 73:6-8 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
The GOOD NEWS is also found in the Psalms and that is Psalm 37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Everything comes to pass. John the Revelator was given insight into the future by the Creator Himself and John wrote in Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away….
Oh, and how will Biden, Harris and all the others who got to their place of influence by cheating be remembered? You fill in the blank ______________________________!
“And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
‘The key New Testament doctrine of imputed righteousness, received through saving faith in the Word of God, is foreshadowed beautifully in the life of Abraham. Because of his strong faith, demonstrated again and again in difficult acts of obedience, Abraham has been called “the father of all them that believe” (Romans 4:11). Our text verse is quoted four times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, 22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) and is made the basis of the great gospel theme of salvation and righteousness. This is obtained not by one’s good works but by imputation, and is received through faith in the gracious promises of God through Jesus Christ. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
“Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure…to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). Just as “Jerusalem which is above…is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26), so faithful Abraham is “the father of us all.” Spiritual Jerusalem speaks of salvation by grace rather than by law, and Abraham testifies of righteousness through faith rather than by works. And yet, 12 of the 40 verses of Hebrews 11, the great “faith chapter,” deal with the outward evidences of Abraham’s inner faith.
There is still another reference to Abraham’s spiritual seed: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). As Abraham’s spiritual children, therefore, we also ought to believe God’s Word at whatever cost, demonstrating the reality of our faith to the world—as did father Abraham—by obeying God.’https://www.icr.org/article/12546/?utm_source=phplist9228&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=January+16+-+Father+of+Believers
Islam as a tool of Satan is at war with Christianity! Unfortunately, the UK authority’s seem to be on the side of Islam! ‘Christian prison chaplain and former detective, Pastor Paul Song, has been suspended for 10 years from all prisons for telling a Sunday newspaper about Islamic extremism dominating HMP Brixton. Pastor Song, 50, is set to have a permission hearing for judicial review at the High Court tomorrow, Tuesday 12 January.
Exposing Islamic radicalisation in prison
Pastor Paul Song spoke to the Mail on Sunday in September 2018 after news broke about his experiences at the hands of radical Islam in the London prison. His experiences have included having his mainstream evangelical courses hijacked by Islamic extremists, and inmates taking over the prison’s Christian chapel and proclaiming support for the killers of Lee Rigby.
The pastor also spoke of fearing for his own safety and of being assaulted and racially abused by Islamic inmates.
Pastor Song, who had given nearly 20 years of exemplary service to the prison, also revealed how Muslim gangs were being allowed to act with impunity and were intimidating inmates to convert to Islam.
Imam appointed head chaplain
In 2015, the serving Anglican chaplain had left the prison, leaving a void that was filled by head ‘chaplain’ Imam Mohammed Yusuf Ahmed.
Imam Mohammed was the former General Secretary of the Islamic Party of Britain, which had advocated for Britain to be transformed into an Islamic State.
Upon his appointment, Imam Mohammed vowed to dismantle what he saw as Christian ‘domination’ in the prison and began to scrutinise Pastor Song’s activities. Pastor Song was subsequently told by Imam Mohammed that his mainstream evangelical courses, taught and recognised all over the world (which included the Alpha course), were ‘too extreme’ and that he was a ‘radical’ Christian.
Pastor Song reluctantly stopped teaching the courses, was forced out of the chapel, and left with no option but to meet with inmates in their cells.
Troubling lack of transparency
Following a visit to the jail in January 2017, prisons inspector Peter Clarke found high levels of violence and reported that ‘”a third of prisoners felt unsafe.” It was also noted that the jail had been without a full-time Anglican chaplain for 18 months. Mr Clarke said one should be recruited “without delay.”
In August 2017, after Pastor Song had an exchange with an inmate about Islam and Christianity, he received an email from Imam Mohammed, which said:
“You do not have permission to enter the wings, nor do you have the permission to speak to any prisoners here at HMP Brixton. If you do turn up here without my prior permission, your keys will be confiscated, and you will be walked to the gate.”
After unsubstantiated allegations, that he had called the inmate a ‘terrorist’ and threatened Imam Mohammed, which Pastor Song vehemently denies, he was permanently banned.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Pastor Song took the Ministry of Justice to the High Court, to challenge the ban and to clear his name.
Ian Acheson, author of a Government review into Islamic extremism in UK prisons, said at the time of Pastor Song’s case that: “There seems to be a very troubling Jack of transparency and due process around the decision to expel this chaplaincy volunteer.”
In May 2018, Pastor Song agreed to stay the proceedings after an independent investigation was promised by the Ministry of Justice.
MP Theresa Villiers had submitted a written question to the Secretary of State for Justice, asking if he had discussed the matter with the prison governor and if he would “take steps to press for that pastor’s reinstatement.”
Furthermore, 43,000 people signed a petition calling for his reinstatement.
Carried out by Sara Pennington, a governor from another prison, the subsequent review concluded that his exclusion was “not reasonable” and recommended an immediate reinstatement.
Banned once again
Pastor Song met Brixton’s governor, David Bamford, on 16 August 2018, who assured him that he would now be allowed back into the prison with full privileges. He was also told that Imam Mohammed had been suspended, pending an investigation into an unrelated matter.
On 15 September 2018, the Mail on Sunday published a front-page article covering Pastor Song’s experiences in the prison and how he had been vindicated.
However, as soon as Pastor Song formally agreed to drop his High Court case on 20 September 2018, the same day Mr Bamford notified him in an email that he would now be suspended because of the interview he had given to the Mail on Sunday.
Mr Bamford told Pastor Song that there would be an investigation of what he had said in the interview, including his “compromising of the safety of staff and prisoners by disclosing information to the press without permission” as well as “any breach of confidentiality” and “possible anti-Muslim comments.”
On 3 May 2019, following an investigation, London’s Prison Group Director banned Pastor Song, not only from HMP Brixton, but from all prisons for 10 years for “failure to adhere to the expected requirements of a chaplaincy volunteer.”
Left with no alternative but to pursue a judicial review of this decision, Pastor Song is now bringing a claim to the High Court on nine grounds, including victimization, breach of public sector equality duty and for breach of his rights under Articles 9 and 10 of the European Court of Human Rights.
Pastor Song’s lawyers will argue that he has been victimized for exposing the reality of Islamic extremism at the prison to the media, and that ‘there was nothing new (post-dating the settlement) which justified the prison taking fresh action against him.’
His case includes witness statements from former prison inmates, whose lives Pastor Song helped to transform during his time at HMP Brixton.
One statement from former prisoner and drug addict, Nigel Williams, states: “I cannot speak highly enough of Pastor Song. He is a brilliant man of God with a loving and compassionate heart and I have never heard anyone say a bad word about him. Paul helped me a lot in my own Christian faith, and I know there are hundreds of ex-prisoners who have the highest respect and admiration for Paul and would say that his actions changed their lives for the better.”
‘I have been severely punished’
Ahead of the hearing, Pastor Song said: “I was deeply shocked and hurt when I received the letter telling me that I would be banned for 10 years from doing what I have been called to do through my Christian faith.
“After 20 years of service supporting vulnerable inmates at HMP Brixton, I have been severely punished for exposing the truth.
“What has happened to me has set a dangerous precedent for anyone else who dares to tell the public about the growing domination of Islamic extremism in our prisons. I am determined to fight for justice.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, commented: “The decision to ban Pastor Song from all prisons for 10 years has sent a chilling message to anyone prepared to expose wrong-doing and corruption in our public institutions.
“Removing him immediately after the prison authorities had confirmation that he would drop the high court legal case against his original removal, was cruel, underhand and unlawful.
“This is a case that exposes the disturbing rise and influence of Islamic extremism and intimidation of Christians in our prisons. The public must know the truth, and those being impacted by it must be free to tell it without fear.
“While Pastor Song has been victimized by HMP Brixton, he is no victim – he is the real deal. A Christian minister who has dedicated his life to his faith and transforming people’s lives through Jesus, not just in the UK, but across the world.
“Christian ministry in prisons has a long history, and its presence is essential for the rehabilitation and transformation of lives. Paul’s work has led to many prisoners in Brixton turning their lives around, and so it is shocking that prisoners who are desperate for a new way of life should now be prevented from being supported by him.”‘https://christianconcern.com/news/chaplain-banned-from-prison-work-for-exposing-islamic-extremism-in-prisons/
1John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
whatyareckon 