Why We Are So Divided

Daniel Greenfield has written one of the better explanations I’ve seen of why we are so divided as a country.  In short, the Left has taken over the Democrat Party and is refusing to submit to the Constitutional Rule of Law.  And that includes attacking the Constitutional freedoms of opponents, of which the violent attacks on Trump rallies and right-of-center speaking engagements are only the tip of the iceberg.  One can hardly be unified with those trying to attack and enslave you.

Some highlights of Greenfield’s piece:

Political conflicts become civil wars when one side refuses to accept the existing authority. The left has rejected all forms of authority that it doesn’t control.

The left has rejected the outcome of the last two presidential elections won by Republicans. It has rejected the judicial authority of the Supreme Court when it decisions don’t accord with its agenda. It rejects the legislative authority of Congress when it is not dominated by the left.

It rejected the Constitution so long ago that it hardly bears mentioning….

There is no form of legal authority that the left accepts as a permanent institution. It only utilizes forms of authority selectively when it controls them. But when government officials refuse the orders of the duly elected government because their allegiance is to an ideology whose agenda is in conflict with the President and Congress, that’s not activism, protest, politics or civil disobedience; it’s treason.

Exactly.  Today’s Left only submits to Constitutional democracy when they win.  And when they win, they work to tear down Constitutional democracy.  

We can have a system of government based around the Constitution with democratically elected representatives. Or we can have one based on the ideological principles of the left in which all laws and processes, including elections and the Constitution, are fig leaves for enforcing social justice.

But we cannot have both.

Now I do not think we are headed towards a shooting civil war.  But I do think the only good way in front of us to deal with our current divisions is the complete and virtually permanent defeat of the Left. (Another tolerable possibility is a national divorce as Ace has advocated from time to time.  But that appears unlikely.) For it is not just policy differences at stake.  Our Constitutional freedoms are at stake.  We must defend them and defeat their enemies.  Yes, today’s Democrat Party is among the enemies.

The left is a treasonous movement. The Democrats became a treasonous organization when they fell under the sway of a movement that rejects our system of government, its laws and its elections.

Multiculturalism Kills

Multiculturalism, the delusion that all cultures are more or less morally equivalent and are to be welcomed, has once again been proven a deadly delusion.

My prayers are with the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack and with their friends and families.

Gavin Ashenden on the Philip North Affair

Studies and other responsibilities continue to restrain my blogging.  But I must direct your attention to two excellent posts on the Philip North withdrawal and its aftermath from Rev. Dr. Gavin Ashenden, former Chaplain to the Queen.  The Ashes of Cranmer has graciously hosted both posts here and here.

A segment from the second post stands out.  I will excerpt it and run:

The three-card trick that Professor Percy [The Dean of Christ Church Oxford who led the attack on North] and his cultural fellow-travellers play is to refuse to exclude anyone except those who don’t agree with them. You only get to be included in the equality stakes once you have accepted their moral and political presuppositions. So, of course, they do actually discriminate between anyone who shares their basic world view and those who don’t.

They pretend they are relativists by claiming that all views are equally legitimate, but become absolutists if you challenge their relativism. In other words, their ideas of equality and relativism are actually practised by placing their value above those who disagree with them, and discriminating against anyone who has the audacity and moral turpitude to dissent.

Meanwhile, they claim the higher moral ground by pretending to be something that they are not – outlawing discrimination while practising it.

This is, of course, hypocrisy – that is, saying one thing while doing another.

What happens when the hypocrisy is challenged, as with the attempt to include a bishop who embodies an older more traditional view in an inclusive non-discriminatory Church?

Well, we just saw what happens, haven’t we?

And, yes, Justin Welby is still silent about it.

++York Decries Attacks on Philip North UPDATED

In the aftermath of Bishop Philip North’s decision to withdraw from consideration for the See of Sheffield, the Archbishop of York’s statement stands out.

He is frank, to say the least:

…What has happened to Bishop Philip clearly does not reflect the settlement under which, two and a half years ago, the Church of England joyfully and decisively opened up all orders of ministry to men and women. It also made a commitment to mutual flourishing: that those who ‘on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests, will continue to be within the spectrum of teaching and tradition of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England remains committed to enabling them to flourish within its life and structures; and pastoral and sacramental provision for the minority within the Church of England will be made without specifying a limit of time and in a way that maintains the highest possible degree of communion and contribute to mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England.’

There will be continuing debate in the coming days and weeks of lessons to be learned, how that learning might inform and inspire us to act as a Church in our dealings with one another and how, when we disagree, to disagree Christianly, remembering at all times that our identity is in Christ alone.

It is now time – during this season of Lent - that the Church spends time in penitence, repentance and reflection. If we are serious about our commitment to loving one another and to mutual flourishing within the Body of Christ, there must now be time for us all to reflect and recognise in Bishop Philip’s own words ‘The highly individualised nature of the attacks upon me have been hard. If as Christians we cannot relate to each other within the bounds of love, how can we possibly presume to transform a nation in the name of Christ?  I hope though that this conversation can continue in future without it being hung upon the shoulders of one individual.’ I agree with him entirely.

I think this is about as close as an Anglican archbishop gets to being angry in an official statement. 

Although he does not use the term, what ++ York is decrying is the con game of Bait-and-Switch libchurchers play oh so well.  They promise tolerance, space, and “mutual flourishing” to those who disagree with their innovations.  But once they lie to get their way and have enough power, libchurchers throttle the orthodox faithful.  Oh, those mossback orthodox laity are fine as long as they keep the money coming.  But if one of those bigots try to become a diocesan bishop…. 

And, of course, the day will come when traditionalists won’t be able to become any kind of bishop.  Then they won’t be able to become priests.  We’ve seen this sort of thing in the Episcopal Church already.

So far, there is no statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Where’s the “radical inclusion,” Your Grace?

MORE:
Susie Leafe, Director of Reform has issued a brilliant statement that also calls out Bait-and-Switch:

I have lost count of the number of times conservatives have been asked to trust that we can flourish in the Church of England, but without solid evidence that there is an equal future for conservatives in the Church of England (beyond that of dhimmitude) it becomes harder and harder to convince talented young men and women to offer themselves to serve in this denomination or to persuade congregations to continue to finance the work.

And still no statement from Justin Welby.

@JustinWelby Your Grace, your silence on the Philip North withdrawal is getting well nigh deafening. Where's your "radical inclusion" now?

— WannabeAnglican (@WannabeAnglican) March 10, 2017

The Diocese of Sheffield – Traditionalists Need Not Apply

I make a point to calm down when genuinely angry before posting.  So you should have seen the first draft of this post.   The main change I make now is I do not invite certain people and jurisdictions to suffer perdition.

I am beyond disgusted with the Church of England after hearing the sad news that the good Rt. Rev. Philip North is withdrawing under pressure from consideration for the bishopric of the Diocese of Sheffield.

Rev. North is an excellent priest well thought of by a wide spectrum of Anglicans.  Without divulging private communications, I know of UK Anglicans of decidedly more liberal bent than this blogger who are very upset today.

North’s crime?  Although making very clear his willingness to respect and fully work with women clergy, he had a traditional viewpoint on that question.  For that, the “Modern Church” and feminazi crowd among others blackballed him.  And that although a number of women clergy supported him.

The Dean of Christ Church Oxford led the charge against him.  But now he’s written a letter to Rev. North. How nice.

I’ve let the Dean know what I think of that.

@MartynPercy If +Phillip didn't tell you to go to hell, he's a better man than I am. I hope you're pleased with yourself, you prat.

— WannabeAnglican (@WannabeAnglican) March 9, 2017

Christ Church is a place in which I heard Hiroshima equated with Auschwitz in a Remembrance Sunday sermon.  But its Dean has scruples and lectures about a traditionalist becoming a diocesan bishop.  Even Satan doesn’t deserve to put with a prat like that.

Looking beyond a good man done wrong by villains, the Church of England is more and more becoming a jurisdiction in which traditionalists need not apply.  That became that much more clear today.  Those libchurchers cheerleading that should be made aware that this situation makes a church split more likely and more massive.  But perhaps they would secretly like that.  For all their talk through the years of “inclusion,” they actually hate real inclusion.

They should also be aware that two can play this game.  Traditionalists have done their reasonable best to go along to get along.  The reasons to continue so doing have just become fewer.

Democrat Coup Continued

The real story behind the attacks on Jeff Sessions is the continued Democrat coup attempt, which began well before the Inauguration.  And Obama and his lackeys are behind this coup.

Mark Levin is on this.  As is Ace.  For one thing:

Obama, on his way out the door, radically changed NSA rules to allow them to share unredacted surveillance information while preserving the names of people (US citizens) it's illegal for the US to spy on without a warrant. This is a change of practice-- the NSA used to have to scrub out the names of US personnel it's not permitted to eavesdrop on.

This running roughshod over privacy in order to get political opponents is something that should concern people across the political spectrum.  But Leftists and DemocRATS are silent.

I wish I could say more and this, about Obama setting up his shadow White House in D. C. and more.  But the study of the 39 Articles controls me.  Nonetheless Levin and Ace will get you off to a very good start on what is going on.  The Democrat Coup is ongoing for all to see who want to see.

And also remember: DemocRATS lie.