CI News: 4 December 2020

Dec 4, 2020 by

CI News: 4 December 2020

from The Christian Institute: In the news this week: A CEO and a church sue a multimillion-pound trust over religious discrimination, the NHS suspends referrals for puberty blockers after a High Court ruling, and a pastor explains why keeping church buildings open for public worship is so vital. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories Church and former CEO sue charitable trust for religious discrimination High Court rules to protect children from ‘life changing’ trans drugs...

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COVID-19 pandemic is magnifying, multiplying suicide epidemic

Dec 4, 2020 by

COVID-19 pandemic is magnifying, multiplying suicide epidemic

by Jim Daly, Christian Post: There’s been no shortage of unintended consequences surrounding the numerous strategies employed to try and manage the onset and proliferation of COVID-19. From mandated lockdowns to forced remote learning, actions taken to “flatten the curve” and “defeat the virus” have cratered world economies, bankrupted small businesses, decimated family finances, isolated seniors and cancelled academic, arts and sports programs for students, to name just a few recent...

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Amnesty International UK and Liberty joint statement on puberty blockers

Dec 4, 2020 by

Amnesty International UK and Liberty joint statement on puberty blockers

Joint statement following High Court ruling that children under 16 are unlikely to be able to give informed consent to undergo treatment with puberty-blocking drug Amnesty International UK and Liberty are disappointed to see the High Court’s judgment on the use of puberty blockers. We are concerned not only for what this means for the health and well-being of trans young people, but the wider implications this will have on the rights of children and young people of all genders, particularly on...

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“We Really Really Tried.” A 2017 Letter from GIDS Clinicians Ignored by The Guardian

Dec 4, 2020 by

“We Really Really Tried.” A 2017 Letter from GIDS Clinicians Ignored by The Guardian

from Transgender Trend: In today’s Observer, sister paper to the Guardian, there is an article about the current controversies surrounding Tavistock GIDS, and the concerns expressed by current and former GIDS clinicians and senior members of staff over the past few months. It has been a great disappointment to many on the Left that the Guardian has been largely silent on this issue. But two former GIDS clinicians sent a letter to the Guardian back in 2017 to alert them to serious concerns...

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Truth and Tradition

Dec 4, 2020 by

Truth and Tradition

by Dr Philip Murray: Philip Murray considers his own sense of call to faith and to priesthood, and questions if the Church of England risks its own identity by its enthusiasm to seem relevant, asking questions about truth, tradition and seeking a younger more diverse church. On 29 April 2011 the most unexpected thing happened to me. A gently enthusiastic if not wholly uncritical monarchist, I’d gathered with a small group of friends to watch the broadcast of the wedding of Prince William and...

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Same old Assisted Dying plan, same old unresolved problem – that it would put the vulnerable at risk

Dec 4, 2020 by

Same old Assisted Dying plan, same old unresolved problem – that it would put the vulnerable at risk

by Desmond Swayne MP: The pressures are being ramped up yet again to legalise what’s being called ‘assisted dying’ for terminally ill people.  No one can doubt the sincerity of those concerned, but the idea just hasn’t been thought through. We are told not to worry, because there would be strict safeguards.  But when you look more closely at these, you see they are little more than vague phrases.  Let’s examine some of them. Doctors can diagnose terminal illness and offer a prognosis, but...

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In the Keira Bell case, the NHS trust had no answers

Dec 4, 2020 by

In the Keira Bell case, the NHS trust had no answers

by Dan Hitchens, UnHerd: Yesterday’s High Court judgement, which set strict limits on how far children can consent to puberty-blockers, was not meant to be a verdict on gender-identity treatment, let alone on the transgender movement. As Keira Bell, who brought the case, said: “This judgment is not political, it’s about protecting vulnerable children.” Nevertheless, the case has political implications. For years, anyone who raised concerns about gender-identity treatment was shouted down, and...

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If You Think We’re Exaggerating, Just Look to Norway

Dec 4, 2020 by

If You Think We’re Exaggerating, Just Look to Norway

by Michael Brown, The Stream: For more than 15 years, I have been saying that those who came out of the closet would want to put us in the closet, meaning that gay activists calling for “equality” and “tolerance” would want to silence dissenting voices. About 10 years ago, a Christian attorney said to me, “Mike, take that one step farther. Those who were once put in jail will want to put us in jail.” When I repeated his comment on Christian TV, I was widely ridiculed by the left. “No one wants...

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The Horrifying Origins Of Left-Wing Gender Ideology

Dec 4, 2020 by

The Horrifying Origins Of Left-Wing Gender Ideology

by Matt Walsh, The Daily Wire: It is now taken as self-evident that something called “gender” exists, and that it is distinct from biological sex, and that the former (and perhaps even the latter, they tell us now) is an artificial social construct. But these ideas were not always self-evident. In fact, they weren’t evident at all for the entire history of the human race up until about a century ago. Thousands of generations lived and died, engaging in art and science and philosophy and...

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Advent Meditations: Friday 4 December

Dec 4, 2020 by

Advent Meditations: Friday 4 December

. Fri Dec 4 am: 16, pm: 22 Isaiah 3:8-15 1 Thess 4:1-12 Luke 20:41-21:4   Feast of Nicholas Ferrer, Deacon, Spiritual Director, 1637 – Ordained as a deacon, he and his family and a few friends established Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire, England, to devote themselves to a life of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. They wrote books and stories dealing with various aspects of Christian faith and practice. They fasted with great rigor, and in other ways embraced voluntary poverty, so...

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