July 2021

(1) Leading article of the Burning Bush of January 1990 which dealt with the issue of the Bishop of Kilmore’s attack upon the gospel of Christ.

(2) A letter from Rev Ivan Foster which was sent to “The Impartial Reporter” the day after he preached his first sermon on the issue.

(3) An article which appeared in the ‘Burning Bush’ alongside the one dealing with the Bishop of Kilmore’s attack on the gospel.

(4) Rev Foster’s reply to the Bishop’s letter in response to his initial challenge.

Posted on 2021-07-26 a 6:12 pm

Kilskeery FPC was privileged to have retired FP minister, Rev David Creane preach at today’s services.

His morning message was, to my mind, wonderfully instructive and encouraging and an echo of the preaching of former years.

“Hearing the Word” was the subject upon which Rev David Creane preached. His text was Nehemiah 8:13.

“‭And on the second‭ day‭ were gathered together‭‭ the chief‭ of the fathers‭ of all the people‭, the priests‭, and the Levites‭, unto Ezra‭ the scribe‭‭, even to understand‭‭ the words‭ of the law‭.‭”

It is a most excellent message and most appropriate for today.

We commend it to all. 

Posted on 2021-07-26 a 3:26 am

This editorial from today’s ‘Belfast Newsletter’ is worth a read.

Collusion claims try to divert attention

In her interviews to the media given by the Ombudsman, Mrs Marie Anderson, gave expression to her Roman Catholic background (she states that she was educated in a Convent School – see Ombudsman Marie Anderson

in the tone of the voice she adopted at times as she alleged there was collusion between members of the RUC (the former name of the police force in Northern Ireland) and loyalist paramilitaries in the murder of 17-year-old Damien Walsh in 1993.

Her report has rightly been described as a “Catalogue of innuendo” by a former police officer.

Catalogue of innuendo in police ombudsman murder report

What is said in this ‘Belfast Newsletter’ editorial is worth considering for it highlights the almost forgotten, the buried, the ignored facts concerning the actions of the IRA which was supported by and large by the Roman Catholic community as is seen in the record of polling for Sinn Fein/IRA candidates in various elections over the 50 years and more.

COLLUSION CLAIMS TRY TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM STARK TROUBLES STATISTICS

The RUC has an exemplary Troubles record.

Smeared by consistent claims of collusion, which aim to divert attention from the fact that by far the worst killers were republican terrorists (2,100 dead out of 3,600), the RUC killed only 55 of those who died, yet saw 302 of its officers murdered. Collusion claims seek to divert attention from these stark statistics and try to implicate police officers in the 1,100 loyalist murders, when in fact loyalist intelligence was poor. Fewer than 50 of their murder victims were republican terrorists. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-23 a 7:26 pm

We continue with our extracts from Benjamin Wills Newton’s book, Prospects of the Ten Kingdoms, the chapter 14 —

“ORDER OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE APPEARING OF CHRIST AND HIS MILLENNIAL REIGN”

Part 4 which covers from half way down page 324 to page 328.

Click here to see the other articles about this book.

It is thus that the Day of the Lord commences in the earth. It will commence by signs in the created heavens (Luke xxi.); by the withdrawal of all natural sources of light; by the descent of the Lord, accompanied by the holy angels, into the air; by the trumpet being blown; by the dead saints rising from their graves in glory, and by the living saints being changed and glorified whilst yet in the earth; by the instantaneous severance, through the instrumentality of angels, of the changed saints “out of the midst” (ε’κ ek ek) of their professing brethren who remain unchanged (see Matt. xiii.); by the taking up of all the glorified saints into the air, to meet and to come with their Lord. For as soon as His saints have been gathered to Him and have fallen into their appointed place in the train of His glory, and as soon as “the tares,” (i.e. those who are found to be mere professors of His name), have been borne away by angels to their place of punishment, the Lord will instantly descend to the earth. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. * * * Jehovah, my God, shall come, and all the saints with thee.” Zech. xiv.

His object will be the rescue of Jerusalem, for the time of her forgiveness and glory will have come. Antichrist will have gathered all the strength of the Ten Kingdoms to Armageddon, not knowing, or not believing, that he will gather them there “for the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” See Rev. xvi. 14. Whilst encamped at Armageddon, he will assail and capture Jerusalem, which will have rebelled against him, will carry half of the people into captivity, (see Zech. xiv:1) and will destroy the two witnesses of God (Rev. xi. 7) when they shall have finished their sackcloth testimony. But not satisfied with this, he will further seek, in union with Moab, Ammon, and others of the ancient enemies of Israel, to crush Israel utterly, and to blot out their name from the earth. “They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a nation ; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” Ps. lxxxiii. 4. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-21 a 12:01 am

The developing situation in our world requires constant comment!

In every sphere of social activity, political, medical, sport, entertainment – there are those who send forth information and evaluation of what is going on in their field of ‘expertise’!

How much more important is a constant flow of observation and information on the eternally vital subject of the Providential dealings of God in this world!

We offer our limited and meagre attempts at monitoring and highlighting significant events in this world as this age draws closer to its conclusion.

May you find these reflections useful and profitable.

NATIONS IN REBELLION!!

“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds,” Revelation 16:8-11.

Monday 19th July was heralded as ‘Freedom Day’ throughout England for ‘About-Turn’ Boris Johnston and his government had set that date as the day there would be a lifting of many of the restrictions imposed upon the country, because of the Covid pandemic.

With the recent increasing rise in infections and the number of people in various professions being required to isolate (including the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary) due to their coming into contact with someone testing positive for Covid, many were calling it ‘FreeDumb Day”!!

In the United States, there are growing fears that a fourth wave of the virus had already started. The pandemic continues to rage in many countries, though such news is kept out of the headlines! The tourist industry is facing chaos as a result of those countries which were recently declared safe to travel to, now reporting a rise in the infection rates. Many travellers found themselves facing ‘isolation’ when they returned home as a result of this change of status of the holiday destinations they had eagerly travelled to.

The joy of a ‘sunny foreign holiday’ soon evaporated in the face of this turn of events. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-19 a 9:38 pm

The following article appeared in ‘The Burning Bush’ some eleven years ago. Given the betrayal of the Ulster people by successive political leaders in London with their constant yielding to the demands of Sinn Fein/IRA, the effective removal of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom by their ‘Brexit Protocol’, agreed with the EU, their enforcing of new and unacceptable abortion guidelines which entail the permitting of abortion up to the time of birth and their recently announced amnesty for terrorist murderers, gives this article an almost ‘prophetic’ significance!

Furthermore, this being the centenary of the founding of Northern Ireland, we have all been given a vivid picture of the bondage into which the Democratic Unionist Party sold us with their ‘power-sharing’ deal with Sinn Fein/IRA in that the supporters of murder refused to ‘grant’ approval for as much as a rose bush being planted to commemorate that wonderful event!

See the following articles.

Thorn in the side for Sinn Fein

Unionism needs to recalibrate

It surely indicates that the direction in which things were moving regarding the future of Ulster was not hidden to all in this Province for the article was read with approval by many believers and challenged by no one!

For this reason we are remounting the article on our website.

The Union with today’s Great Britain holds out no hope for the Ulster Protestant

By Rev Ivan Foster (Kilskeery)

Written at the request of the Belfast Newsletter and published in its edition of August 13th 2010.

Given that few unionists in Ulster would have believed at the beginning of 2006 that, before the year was out, the DUP would have embraced the murderous IRA’s front men as partners in government, to contemplate what the next eleven years might bring to our land is to look through a very dark glass indeed.

That which motivated the opposition of the majority of our forefathers to “Home Rule” in the 1880s was a love for the gospel and its mercies. They believed that it would entail the enthroning of Roman Catholicism and undermining of their civil and religious liberty. Their fears were summarised by the maxim – “Home Rule is Rome Rule!” and expounded in the “Ulster Covenant” of 1912. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-19 a 12:01 am

This article is the substance of a message preached at the Annual Easter Convention in Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church on 29th March, 1986. It was remounted on our website in 2010. Now 11 years later we remount it once more.

It contains information and Biblical instruction which is even more relevant today. I challenge any minister to openly refute the principle that the Bible teaches the need for Christian schools. The moral and spiritual climate of our Province and the United Kingdom has sunk further down over the intervening years and the children of Christians have suffered as a result.

There is a mention of the opening of Clogher Valley Christian school at the end of the article. Sadly, I understand that its school management committee has just taken a decision to close the school.”

Ivan Foster.
15th July 2021.

A MESSAGE FROM A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO…WHICH SHEDS LIGHT ON OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES. 

Foreword

In 1978, the Presbytery of Ulster of the Free Presbyterian Church heard a request from Rev Ivan Foster to consider the need for Christian schools. Following a discussion, a delegation of ministers and elders met officials of the Department of Education. The outcome of that meeting was a recommendation to Presbytery that permission be granted to any church that wished to start a school. The Presbytery agreed in principle and appointed a Presbytery Education Board, chaired by Rev Foster, to supervise the new missionary enterprise. In September of the next year, Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church started the first Free Presbyterian school. Mrs Ann Foster B.A. was its Principal and only teacher. It had 13 pupils. Today, the Free Presbyterian Church has schools attached to its churches in Newtownabbey, Ballymoney and Bangor as well as Kilskeery with a total enrolment of 125 pupils. These schools are served by 8 full-time teachers and 6 part-time staff. In the case of Kilskeery school, it provides a full range of primary and secondary subjects. Last year a number of pupils sat CSE and GCE ‘O’ level examinations, obtaining marks above the national average. Two pupils sat and passed, with very good marks, 11 ‘O’ level subjects each. The other schools are also moving into secondary education with Newtownabbey and Bangor already providing first form and first, second and third form tuition respectively. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-15 a 7:54 pm

We continue with our extracts from Benjamin Wills Newton’s book, Prospects of the Ten Kingdoms, the chapter 14 —

“ORDER OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE APPEARING OF CHRIST AND HIS MILLENNIAL REIGN”

We come to part 3 which covers page 318 to a suitable place to end this extract, half way down page 324.

Click here to see the other articles about this book.

The condition of the earth at the period of the Lord’s descent into the air is to be regarded in four aspects.

First, there will be the Jews partly in their own Land, as at the time of the Crucifixion, partly scattered throughout the nations, and many of them in captivity.

Secondly, there will be the Ten Nations of the Roman World — all owning Antichrist — all apostate from God — their armies gathered around Antichrist at Armageddon, and advancing upon Jerusalem. (Rev. xvi. 16; Joel iii.).

Thirdly, there will be many countries still sunk in the darkness of heathenism — countries, of which it is said, that up to that moment they have not heard the fame of Jehovah, nor seen His glory. (Isaiah lxvi. 19.) Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-14 a 12:01 am

“And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and [my] fatlings [are] killed, and all things [are] ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of [it], and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took his servants, and entreated [them] spitefully, and slew [them]. But when the king heard [thereof], he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests,”

Matthew 22:1-10.

The little phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like unto . . . .” appears many times in the gospels. It highlights just how illustrative of the gospel are the common events of life taking place around us and the flora and fauna visible to every eye  in the fields of this world!

Yet how man fails to understand the simple principles of the gospel so wonderful set forth by Christ and exemplified all around. It is plain that the God of Creation brought the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars into existence to provide men with graphic pictures of the truth of the revelation in His Word.  The whole process of sowing, birth, life, growth, ripening and harvest to be seen yearly in the fields, the garden, aye, even the window boxes of the city dwellings, endorse and ratify what is written in our Bibles.

As the form and system of life repeatedly enacted all around us from the planting of the flower seeds, the building of nests, the gambolling of the delightful lambs each spring, all shout aloud the message of the gospel – “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN”!! Man who by nature is “dead in trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1) as a result of mankind’s fall in Adam’s transgression, must be infused with new life before he can ever enter heaven. So said the Lord Jesus. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God . . . . .  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God . . . .  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again,” John 3:3, 5, 7.

Here is this passage the Lord Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to an event which few adults will fail to have some experience and understanding of — preparations for a wedding! The reference to it being the son of a king who is getting married serves only to remind us of the exalted character of the One at the centre of the story of the gospel. It is the God of Heaven Who is here set forth as the One issuing invitations to an event He has prepared for all to come and enjoy. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-13 a 12:01 am

“I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light,” Jeremiah 4:23.

The word translated ‘earth’ (ץרא ‘erets eh’– rets) is translated as ‘land’ twice as many times as it is ‘earth’ in the Old Testament.

I believe that here it is not a reference to the global earth but the land of Israel. It is possible the Authorised Version translators were influenced to use the word ‘earth’ rather than ‘land’ because of the similarity to the words of Genesis 1:2. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,” Genesis 1:2.

I believe the context would confirm that the Lord is talking about the ‘global earth’ in Genesis 1:2 whereas, in Jeremiah 4, it is the land that is spoken of. In chapter 4, the Hebrew word, ץרא, is translated as land in verses 5, 7, 20, 23, 27. The context clearly indicates that it is the land of Israel that is spoken of.

Therefore, understanding that our text is referring to Israel, we see the consequences which follow the Lord’s withdrawal of His presence and power from a people.

In Genesis 1:3, the formlessness of the earth ended when the Spirit of God began to move and His voice was heard.

I. From this we may conclude that a withdrawal of the moving of God by His Word and His Spirit results in formlessness, voidness.

As Matthew Henry says: “In a graceless soul, one that is not born again, there is disorder, confusion, and every evil work: it is empty of all good, for it is without God; it is dark, it is darkness itself: this is our condition by nature, until Almighty grace works a change in us.”

This explains the spiritual and moral barrenness that rules in the lives of those into whose hearts the gospel light has not shined. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-08 a 11:34 pm

4th July Message by Pastor Ralph Ovadal, Pilgrims Covenant Church, Monroe, Wisconsin, USA.

The only hope for liberty in America

Posted on 2021-07-07 a 5:56 pm

The local BBC news site had this story on its main page.

Andrew Rawding: Minister quits ‘homophobic’ Church of Ireland

The Reverend Andrew Rawding has been a Church of Ireland minister for a decade

IN THE BBC REPORT WHICH I REFER TO THERE ARE THREE VERY BLATANT LIES!

First lie: Rawding calls the Church of Ireland – “structurally, culturally and socially homophobic”.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This apostate denomination, has long been in fellowship and cooperation with the ‘Church’ of Rome, a religious body which the traditional Anglican ‘39 Articles’ condemns in the strongest of terms. We need only quote from Article 31, which says of that central doctrine of Romanism, The Mass “Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.”

Despite this declaration of faith, Anglicanism, of which the Church of Ireland is a part, has for over 100 years been in open and close fellowship with Rome as a denomination. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-06 a 6:48 pm

As we continue with our extracts from Benjamin Wills Newton’s book, Prospects of the Ten Kingdoms, the chapter 14 —

“ORDER OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE APPEARING OF CHRIST AND HIS MILLENNIAL REIGN”,

we come to pages 317-320.

Click here to see the other articles about this book.

Mr Newton frequently had notes and comments attached to the bottom of many of the pages of his book. These comments are linked to some statement he had made in the main text. The notes often spread over the bottom portion of a number of pages while the main text continued at the top of the pages.

That is the case with this week’s extract. He makes some remarks on a sentence found on page 317, which continues on the bottom of pages 317- 320.

What I have done is copied this comment  and left out the ongoing main text of the book that is found on pages 317-320.

I will return to the main text found on those pages in our next extract.

He also has Greek words in his quotations. What I have done is to use Greek words, the transliteration and the phonics version of the Greek words as they are found in the ‘Online Bible Greek Lexicon’.

I trust that does not prove confusing.

The first visible intimation which the earth receives of “the Day of the Lord” having commenced in heaven is conveyed by the signs in the heavens, mentioned in the gospels. “There shall be signs in the sun and moon and stars.” “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.” These signs will be the immediate precursor of the descent of the Lord Jesus into the air. All the holy angels will attend Him when he descends from heaven into the air; but His saints will not be with Him, because it is said, they shall be taken up “to meet Him in the air.” (1 Thess. iv. 17.) There His descent will be for a short period stayed. Thence He will send forth His angels to gather together all His believing people — “all who are Christ’s at His coming.” They shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, before He has reached the earth — and when He descends from the air to the earth, they come with Him, and surround Him when His feet stand on the mount of Olives. That is the moment of which it is said in Zechariah “The Lord my God shall come, and all the Saints with Thee.” * Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-05 a 11:08 pm

“22 THINGS EVERY PERSON IN NI SHOULD DO BEFORE THEY DIE”
(“Belfast Newsletter” article, 3rd July 2021)

First on the list is a visit to Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the home of one of the world’s oldest sources of that which cursed and blighted the lives of millions and brought them down to hell!

This “Belfast Newsletter” article shows how times have changed in old Ulster! Such a headline or article would never have appeared in a newspaper when I was a boy. It would have been seen instinctively as bordering on blasphemy and in utter denial of the words of the Lord Jesus and His gospel!

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” Matt 6:33.

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come,” 1 Timothy 4:8.

Christians should understand just what such a headline means in what is considered the ‘Protestant and Unionist newspaper’ in our Province! Denoting as it does an ignorance and a spirit of careless indifference to the Word of God, it is in truth a fulfillment of the revelation of the final days of this age, as given to Christians by the Lord through His inspired writers.

“That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation,” 2 Peter 3:2-4.

Surely, the spirit of this headline is depicted here! It presents a spirit of ‘scoffing’ at eternity and the need of all to seek God for His mercy and salvation, rather a tour of places of very questionable interest, which will in a coming day, be reduced to ashes under the fire of God’s judgment! Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-04 a 12:48 am

Following the appearance last night of reports in the media of Paula Bradley’s outrageous apology for the DUP ‘treatment of the LGBT community in the past’, I sent the following letter to the ‘Belfast Newsletter.’

See UPDATE below letter.

Sir,

Under the headline — “DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley apologises for party’s past treatment of LGBT community” there has appeared in the press a report of how the DUP deputy leader, “apologised for the ‘absolutely atrocious’ comments made in the past by some in her party against the LGBT community.”

It would be interesting to know if this apology has the support of all members of the DUP, especially their leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson!

When Paula Bradley says: “I am not going to defend some of the things that have been said over the years because they have been absolutely atrocious, they’ve been shocking,” she said. . . .

She added: “I think that the vast majority of those people who made those comments are no longer there and the ones that are there have said that they have learnt their lessons that their language at times has not been right.”

Does this mean that those like Ian Paisley Jr and West Tyrone MLA, Thomas Buchanan, who are on record as strongly condemning the LGBT lifestyle, have changed their opinions and now associate themselves with this apology by their deputy leader?

May the two gentlemen in question please bear in mind that ‘silence gives consent’!!

Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Kilskeery, Co. Tyrone.
1st July 2021.

Update: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has come out in support of Paula Bradley’s apology to the ‘LGBT community’ – DUP Leader backs apology

Posted on 2021-07-02 a 9:09 pm

Methodists who speak with a different voice from the apostate English Methodist Church and the ‘mealy-mouthed’ response of the Irish Methodists, who say they ‘continue to deliberate’ the issue of ‘same-sex marriage’.

This suggests that defiance of God’s Word is still an option for Irish Methodists!

The following links to Asian and African Methodists’ response (there are some 243,000 members in these denominations) to English Methodism’s decision to sanction ‘same-sex marriage’ was sent to me by Dr Paul Ferguson, pastor of Cornerstone Church, Singapore. Paul is the son of Rev Gordon Ferguson.

Methodist Churches in Singapore Affirm that Marriage can only be between one man and one woman

Methodist Church in Malaysia holds to stance of marriage between man and woman

Nigerian Methodists part ways with British counterpart over “Gay Marriage”

Methodist College Grammar School, Belfast – a partaker in the sodomite corruption!

One of the Governors of the school is the author of the ‘mealy-mouthed’ response of the Irish Methodists to the decision on sodomite marriage by English Methodists, Revd Dr Heather Morris’!!

Methodist Board of Governors

Posted on 2021-07-02 a 6:38 pm

Today, we begin to mount on our site a series of extracts from a wonderful book on prophecy by Benjamin Wills Newton (1807 – 1899).

The book in question is entitled: “PROSPECTS OF THE TEN KINGDOMS”.

Click here to see the other articles about this book.

I wish to reprint chapter 14 of that book. The chapter is entitled:

“ORDER OF EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE APPEARING OF CHRIST AND HIS MILLENNIAL REIGN.”

The chapter covers some 52 pages of the most informative and interestingly instructive teaching on this vital of topics.

Mr Newton was converted at the age of 20. He was one of the leaders of the Plymouth Brethren. He adhered strongly to the cardinal doctrines of the Bible. In 1847 he left the Brethren movement and the city of Plymouth. He had differed with J N Darby and his system of prophetic interpretation and his ‘Dispensationalism’.

He continued his labours of preaching, lecturing and above all writing for nearly 50 years.

Many of his works are available on the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony website.

It is to be noted that though he dealt with every aspect of prophecy and that in a most detailed and scholarly fashion, he was never challenged openly nor were any of his Bible-based predictions proved wrong by the passage of time! Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-01 a 1:01 am

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE DUP’S REJECTION OF ITS FORMER BELIEFS!

A most telling and sad headline appeared in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ of 30th June 2021!

The headline read: DUP MLAs hail major relaxation of NI booze laws.

The article goes on to state: “A bill which has been dubbed the biggest change to Northern Ireland’s alcohol laws in a generation has passed its final hurdle, with the DUP among those hailing its passage. . . . The changes will extend the opening hours for venues, allow people to buy booze in cinemas, and remove restrictions around Easter trading. Early opposition to the bill was voiced by groups as different as the PSNI, Unite the Union, and the Presbyterian Church.

It must be stated that the Free Presbyterian Church did voice its opposition to the plan.

The report continues: “Among those hailing the new relaxed laws yesterday were Pam Cameron and Paula Bradley of the DUP a party which had historically been seen as inseparable from Protestant traditionalism (particularly under Rev Ian Paisley, who famously dubbed alcohol “the devil’s buttermilk”).

It is hardly surprising that Paula Bradley, DUP deputy leader, voted in favour, given the recent report on the ‘BelfastLive’ news site: ‘DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley to take part in LGBT event’.

Endorsing an extension to pub hours is a lesser wickedness than supporting the perversion represented by the the LGBT movement. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-01 a 1:00 am

Note: this post was originally published on the Brephos site here. It was written by Mr. Dave Brennan.

I have been involved with a couple of debates in which I presented the ethical case against vaccines which use the cell line HEK-293 derived from the kidney of an “aborted” baby.

As it happens, this includes all the currently available Covid-19 vaccines in the UK.

Here, basically unedited, is the opening speech I gave in both debates:

I wish to make the case that how we respond to fetal cell line vaccines, is how we respond to the practice that produces them: namely, the harvesting of vital organs from human babies – which continues today.

In making this case I thought it’d be helpful to take three of the most common justifications for taking the vaccine, and show where I think they fall down.

The first, is this idea that in the case of this particular cell line, HEK-293…, we’re talking about only a very “remote” connection with evil – it was just one abortion many decades ago. The connection is so slight now as to be insignificant: the vaccine is permissible. Click to read more…

Posted on 2021-07-01 a 12:02 am