Monks brawl at Jerusalem shrine

From the BBC World Service News Website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7718587.stm

Israeli police have had to restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City.

Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ's crucifixion.

Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.

Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the Cross.

Tapestries toppled

Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday's clash.

Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.

The Greeks blamed the Armenians for not recognising their rights inside the holy site, while the Armenians said the Greeks had violated one of their traditional ceremonies.

Clashes between Christian sects in the ancient church are not uncommon

An Armenian clergyman said the Greek clergy had tried to place one of their monks inside the Edicule, an ancient structure which is said to encase the tomb of Jesus.

"What is happening here is a violation of status quo. The Greeks have tried so many times to put their monk inside the tomb but they don't have the right to when the Armenians are celebrating the feast," he said.

The Armenians had been preparing to commemorate the 4th Century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

A Greek clergyman said: "We protested peacefully, we stood here in the middle and we claimed that we shall not leave the procession finished unless they leave our guardian be inside. This didn't happen and in that moment the police interfered."

Six Christian sects share control of the ancient church and the BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says confrontations between them are not uncommon, but rarely descend into violence.

Free the Gunpowder Plot One

FROM http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7688786.stm

Photo illustration of fictional protesters at the Houses of Parliament

By Sean Coughlan BBC News

Was one of the Gunpowder Plotters an innocent victim of circumstance? As effigies of Guy Fawkes again go up in flames, is it time to rectify a 400-year-old miscarriage of justice?

After the failed attempt to blow up Parliament in November 1605, Henry Garnet, a Jesuit priest, was hanged, drawn and quartered, and his parboiled head displayed on London Bridge.

This book sold in 2007 is claimed to be covered with Garnet's skin

A 17th Century book describing the execution of this "barbarous traitor" sold at auction last year, with the unique selling point that its cover was allegedly made from the executed man's skin. But was the subject of this text really guilty?

On the day when the UK marks the anniversary of its most famous attempted coup, a historian is asking some awkward questions about one of those executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot.

Glyn Redworth has been researching the letters of a Spanish aristocrat who lived in London during the years surrounding the plot - and he says these reveal evidence Garnet was wrongly condemned.

What brought Garnet to the scaffold in St Paul's Churchyard in 1606 was the claim that he knew about the plot but had failed to alert the authorities.

Exotic witness

Dr Redworth's findings have come from his book The She-Apostle, telling the story of Luisa de Carvajal, a Spanish woman who came to London in 1605, with the aim of supporting England's Catholics, who faced persecution under the Protestant King James.

GUNPOWDER PLOT Robert Catesby led plot to kill James I and leading nobles on 5 November 1605 It was conspiracy of disaffected Catholic gentry wanting to overthrow Protestant elite Gunpowder was concealed in cellar below Houses of Parliament Anonymous warning revealed plot

Her letters have some familiar complaints - the housing in London is over-priced and the locals get drunk and rowdy at the weekends.

This is also a London of religious intolerance, violence, plagues, public executions, torture and secret agents, plots and counter-terror.

The man who brought her to this dangerous place was Henry Garnet, and Dr Redworth says the timing of her arrival, in the months when the plotters were planning their attack, points away from the idea he was part of the conspiracy.

If he was desperate to avoid detection while planning to kill the king, he wouldn't have smuggled in a Spaniard who stood out like a sore thumb, says the University of Manchester historian.

"He wouldn't bring over this rare and exotic woman, who couldn't speak a word of English, who could so easily attract attention and lead people to the plot."

Luisa, familiar with the Catholic families in London and influenced by the opinions of Garnet, reveals in her letters a deep hostility to the plotters.

The historian believes that Luisa’s criticism of the "foolish and impudent" plotters was a direct reflection of Garnet's own views, and suggests that he was wrongly arrested as a sympathiser.

While Garnet was accused of secretly supporting the plotters, Luisa's letters show there was no appetite for terror in Garnet's private circle.

In front of a modern jury, he would have been seen not as a dangerous conspirator but a "naive bumbler", says Dr Redworth.

Political expediency

But there was no denying Garnet did know something. In the confession booth he had heard a second-hand account of plans for a rebellion – and he sought to dissuade radical Catholic gentry who might be involved.

Guy Fawkes caught in the act

But the jury at his trial were unconvinced. Why hadn't he passed on his suspicions to the authorities?

Dr Redworth says on a previous occasion Garnet had tipped off the government. But there were so many plots and rumours of plots swirling around, it was not unreasonable for Garnet to hesitate.

And there was a political need to prove he was at the centre of the plot and not just a bystander. "They couldn't give him the benefit of the doubt," he says.

The ring-leaders had died in a shoot-out; other conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, had been caught, tortured and executed.

What made Garnet different was his status as leader of the Jesuit priests secretly operating in England.

The Jesuits were associated with a threat from overseas - and by punishing a Jesuit, it made it easier for King James to avoid blaming all English Catholics. In propaganda terms, it turned an attempted English rebellion into a foreign-inspired plot.

"By getting rid of the chief Jesuit, it allowed him to draw a line under the Gunpowder Plot," says Dr Redworth.

Ring leader

Michael Lobban, professor of legal history at Queen Mary, University of London, says the prosecution was designed to present Garnet as the chief manipulator who "directed and commanded" the plotters.

This cautious, scholarly son of a Nottingham head teacher was cast as leader of the hot-headed gentry who stacked cellars full of explosives.

We have to accept that according to the law of the time, he was guilty of sedition and treason David Herber of the Gunpowder Plot Society

It was a successful tactic, supported by circumstance rather than any formal evidence. "The kind of evidence allowed at this time to convict people of treason was often very loose,” says Professor Lobban.

The jury only took 15 minutes to find Garnet guilty.

This remains one of the most famous crimes in British history - 5/11 in today's parlance - and Professor Lobban says there is still value in such re-evaluations.

"The more we can uncover about what Garnett did or did not do, the better. After all, we might have more evidence one way or another than contemporary prosecutors or jurors."

Such doubts do not persuade the Gunpowder Plot Society, which studies events surrounding the failed attack.

"We have to accept that according to the law of the time, he was guilty of sedition and treason and punished in accordance with that law," says the society's spokesman David Herber.

He also believes that far from being innocent, Garnet was "well aware of what was transpiring and chose to do nothing".

There was one more verdict on Garnet. The crowd who gathered to see the execution underwent a change of heart, turning against the executioners.

In one version of events the crowd pulled on his legs when he was hanging to save him from being disembowelled and ripped apart while still alive.

Garnet, says Dr Redworth, was “extremely unlucky” to have gone down in history as a Gunpowder Plotter.

"When The Saints Go Marching In"

Featured in The Fiji Times as
"Of the Wall - with Padre James Bhagwan" Wednesday, November 05, 2008, p7

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the region of Tuscany in Italy. The flight from London to Pisa took just a little bit longer than it would take to fly from Nadi to Taveuni. My hosts were kind enough to show me around two beautiful towns, Pisa and Lucca.

Lucca is famous for an ancient Roman wall which surrounds the old part of the town. There are many beautiful buildings and churches which attract locals and tourists alike. Pisa is home to the "Miracle Square" within which are a baptistery, cathedral, cemetery (where many prominent sons and daughters of Tuscany and Italy - such as Pope Gregory XIII and Cavour - are buried) and, of course, the world-famous "Leaning Tower".

The designs of the buildings and the artwork, both within and without - in paint, stone and wood, were the products of some of the most famous artists in history. However, this letter is not meant to be a lesson in history or art.

As I recovered from this slight overdose of beautiful art, I also realised that I was, for once, part of a Christian minority: a Protestant very near to the centre of the Catholic world. As I explained my vocation, what type of Protestant and the origins of Methodism, including the fact that both John and Charles Wesley were Anglican (Church of England) priests even unto death, to my hosts, I began to think about how we in Fiji view each other's religion and, for Christians, other denominations.

It is true that I am a member of the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma. It is the way through which I choose to express my spirituality and live my faith. My commitment to this "method" of spirituality has seen me enter the Ordained Ministry, albeit currently on probation.

Yet I am an ecumenical Christian; I am a person who is a firm believer in the whole Church as the Body of Christ. I am someone who celebrates the visible unity of the Body of Christ through the recognition of the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist (Holy Communion) and of the common Ministry of the worldwide Church. So much so that my sole academic and theological qualification is a Bachelor of Divinity in Ecumenical Studies and that my family live ecumenically with my wife a committed Catholic and my children baptised members of the Anglican Church. Rather than cause difficulties or conflicts, our diverse religious life has been enriched by experiencing and understanding the different traditions of the church and through that understanding our common bond in Christ.

Over the last weekend the Christian calendar has commemorated All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

It was interesting to read both articles and comments in the local news media in Fiji and how these events are perceived by the public as just a Roman Catholic feast day, rather than a tradition of the worldwide Church.

I found an interesting article in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal which I feel may put things into perspective:

"All Saints' Day traces its beginnings to the early Christian practice of honouring martyrs. On the anniversary of the martyr's death, a "hallowed eve", Christians kept night-time vigil over the tomb then celebrated Communion the following morning. The list of martyrs and their feast days grew so over the years that they began outstripping those dedicated to Christ.

"That's when reformers broke with the practice," said the Reverend Rick Brooks, pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church. He added, however, that in the 1980s some mainline Protestant churches began reconsidering the value of ancient, liturgical feasts.

"Perhaps we'd thrown out the baby with the bath water," said Brooks. In fact, he's recently discovered that All Saints' Day was a favourite of Methodism's founder, John Wesley.

"Wesley's journals indicate this," said Brooks, adding that Wesley retained that appreciation from his time spent as an Anglican minister during which he used the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

Today, most churches that follow the liturgical calendar, such as the Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist and some Presbyterian churches observe All Saints' Day in some manner."

The first tune that I ever learned to play on the harmonica was, "When the saints go marching in". I came in handy when I tried to impress my then-girlfriend-now-wife, who had attended St. Thomas High School where that was one of the school's songs.

A friend of mine recently sent me a message on Facebook (the virtual/internet version of sitting around the tanoa) to the effect that she didn't understand why my son, Francisco-Xavier was named after a Catholic saint. Another friend of mine seeing this message, almost worked himself into an electronic frenzy at the apparent ignorance of Christian saints by someone. As a member of the Christian community, I find myself bemused whenever I find references made to "Catholic Saints".

The Wikipedia on-line encyclopaedia (consulted as a matter of expediency rather than preference) has the following entry under the term "Saint":

"A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated) a high level of holiness and sanctity in an exemplary life of virtuous behaviour. A saint is therefore not simply a believer but one who has been transformed by virtue and presents an example (often providing guidance) to other human beings striving to conform their lives to God. Such a person is often (but not always) recognised after their death by other human beings as someone who lived a divine life and who is in the Divine presence even in death. Saints are sometimes formally honoured by fellow believers after their death being given the title of Saint before their name. Examples are the Apostles, martyrs, and doctors of the Church.

Saints are not exclusive to Christianity. In most religious cultures, there are people who have been recognised as having fulfiled the highest aspirations of religious teaching and have realised God's will in their actions. In the mystical traditions of the world's religions one who has reached the uppermost level of purity and wisdom are also referred to as a saint."

Obviously there is some difference in who qualifies to be an officially recognised saint and who we see as saints in our lives. A short time ago I watched the film, "A Guide to Recognising Your Saints", which stars Robert Downey Jr and Shia LaBeouf. In this movie, the central character Dito, played by both Downey Jr. and LaBeouf begins to believe that he has been saved from his friends' fate by his saints with the further realisation that his saints were his friends and family.

In our busy lives, with so many pressing personal issues to deal with, how often do we stop to look and see, to recognise and acknowledge the saints in our lives - parents, siblings, teachers, friends, colleagues, strangers - those whose advice, actions and support have helped us in our life's journey?

Regardless of our how we express our faith in the divine, we can all express our thanks for those who have had faith in us and those who have been there for us, whether we understood it at the time or not. Let us learn to recognise the saints in our lives. Perhaps in doing so, we can also recognise the unconditional divine love that is manifested through them.

May the rest of your week be blessed with love, light and peace.

* Reverend James Bhagwan is an award-winning radio and television producer and writer. He is currently on leave from the Methodist Davuilevu Theological College where he is a member of the Faculty. All opinions expressed in this article are personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinion and policies of the Methodist Church in Fiji or any organisation that Mr Bhagwan is affiliated with. Email: padrejamesgmail.com

VIOLENT REVOLUTION OR DEMOCRATIC EVOLUTION?

This makes for interesting reading.....

TAKEN FROM THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:

http://www.afn.org/~afn54735/revolution1.html

My assessment is that (1), there is more than a negligible chance this nation could be in a pre-revolutionary period and (2), every possible means should be explored to effect necessary social change other than through revolution. It is based for the most part on the following:

If we look to the past, of the last four major revolutions, only one resulted in a democratic form of government--ours --and all the rest resulted in anything but ideal worlds:

The 1789 French Revolution, considered by many as the great "stereotypical revolution", resulted in wars all over Europe for many years. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution resulted in a cruel and unsuccessful form of government, the effects of which are still being played out in Russian politics. 1933 Germany was not technically an armed revolution but it saw many of the same forces bringing democratic institutions into disrepute that we are witnessing today in America; and it brought 12 years of hardship and disaster for the German people as well as many others.

We can also identify a number of elements that have characterized various past revolutions:

1. They have been generally unpredictable as to when they occur but slightly less unpredictable that they are in the making.

2. In the pre-revolutionary period, government is abandoned by the intellectuals.

3. In the pre-revolutionary period, the seriousness of affairs is not generally recognized until the forces of revolution are irreversible and peaceful change is no longer an option.

4. Those who control state and police powers tend to rely too heavily on those powers and are too slow to effect the social changes necessary to defuse revolutionary fervor.

5. Revolutions tend to be initiated by small tightly knit organizations not necessarily representative of the political or social perspectives of the majority.

6. Government's response to the first and successive armed confrontations is bungling.

7. Government military and revolutionary fighting elements come out of the same class of people so that government forces defect, refuse to enter combat, half-hartedly carry out orders, etc., seriously crippling government's response.

8. As revolutionary psychology gains strength and government becomes increasingly vulnerable, previously suppressed abuses by government surface at an accelerating pace increasing the inertia of the revolutionary cause.

9. During the course of the revolution, power shifts from one group to another making it impossible to determine the resulting character of any subsequent government that may emerge from it until it is over.

Terrorist or revolutionary activity and sentiment is of course by its nature difficult to track or know the extent of. The following articles give an overview of current militia, terrorist and revolutionary activity as presented in the media. As the most recent article states, the problem is growing increasingly serious.

1. December 29, 1997, U.S. News and World Report. Terrorism Threats at Home

2. Link to an overview of the U.S. militia movement.

3. Link to an overview of the U.S. militia movement.

4. Link to an overview of U.S. terrorist activity.

5. Link to an article on the militia movement in Florida.

6. Link to the kind of incident that could touch off a revolution.

A good reference on the common elements precipitating revolution is The Anatomy of Revolution by Crane Brinton.

---

This is a page in the Web site entitled Legal Reform Through Transforming the Discipline of Law into a Science.

Sarah Palin duped by prank call

Mrs Palin discussed politics, Carla Bruni and a possible joint hunting trip

(So sad...but funny when you look back..)

US vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin has become the victim of a prank phone call by a Canadian comedian posing as the French president.

Marc Antoine Audette convinced Alaska's governor she was speaking to Nicolas Sarkozy during a six-minute chat aired on a Montreal radio programme.

Topics discussed ranged from the beauty of Mr Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni, to the prospect of a joint hunting trip.

A spokesperson for Mrs Palin said she was "mildly amused" by the prank.

At one point during the phone call, aired three days before the US election, Mr Audette told Mrs Palin he could see her as president one day.

Laughingly, the Republican candidate replied: "Maybe in eight years."

Masked Avengers

Mr Audette said he would be keen to join her on a helicopter hunting trip.

"I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun," he said in an exaggerated French accent.

"I'd really love to go, so long as we don't bring along Vice-President [Dick] Cheney."

In 2006, Mr Cheney infamously shot and injured a hunting partner while quail-hunting in Texas.

Mrs Palin responded: "I'll be a careful shot."

Mr Audette told the BBC he had wanted to see whether Mrs Palin was right when she talked about being "treated unfairly by a lot of principal medias" in the US.

"We tried to speak with her a little bit about foreign affairs, and well, it gave the result that you can air," he said.

Mr Audette and fellow comedian Sebastien Trudel present a programme on the radio station CKOI Montreal.

Calling themselves the Masked Avengers, the duo have in the past duped Nicolas Sarkozy himself, former French President Jacques Chirac, and the music star Britney Spears with prank phone calls.

from BBC World Service Website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/7704666.stm

Jesus Saves

Another great illustration from the mind of Albert Rolls, my ne-phew... his blog is
http://www.awesomecake.blogspot.com/

“Let Your Light Shine”

Published in the Fiji Times as, "OFF THE WALL with Padre James Bhagwan," 29^th October, 2008, page 7

Happy Day-after Diwali!

The smoke has cleared from the sparklers, rockets and other legal firecrackers from last night. The last sweet is digested or leftovers shared for morning tea this morning.

For many of our Fijian brothers and sisters that are Hindu, yesterday was especially significant. For the rest of us, the sweets, lights, and the fireworks were are bonus to the public holiday.

For me, with a heritage that includes relatives who are Hindu, Muslim and of many other religious backgrounds as well as Christian denominations, the fact that Fiji recognises the special days of all its people is one of the positive features of our country.

I remember co-producing a short documentary on Diwali during my days with the Ministry of Information's Film and Television Unit a decade ago. We filmed the preparations and rituals in the days leading up to Diwali and the actual day and night of Diwali. During this period I met and filmed people from many different ethnicities and even religions celebrating and commemorating this day and what it means from their respective points of view.

In particular, I remember filming a special Mass in the Hindi language at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, in which Indian cultural adaptations were used. That service and many others that I have attended and participated in during this particular time of the year in the Methodist Church's Indian Division focus on the Christian perspective of celebrating light, particularly Christ as the Light of the World. Incidentally, the Indian Division often uses the diya (a small earthenware lamp) as its symbol to symbolise the Christ-light.

For those of us who are not Hindu and have enjoyed the revelry and delicacies of this festival, it would do us some good to reflect on the need for light in our lives and in the life of our nation.

During a sermon I preached at Dudley Church in Suva, some time ago, I said to the congregation that while we like to have light to help us see, to illuminate our path or work, sometimes we find light uncomfortable. One of the reasons why we find light uncomfortable is when we have been in the dark for so long that we are no longer used to the light and when it is given to us, it hurts our eyes. Even though we have been stumbling around in the dark we cover our eyes when the light is turned on or shined on us. It takes time for those who have been in the dark to get used to the light.

Another reason why we can find the light uncomfortable is that the light sometimes illuminates that which we would prefer be kept in the dark. Things, actions and thoughts which we wish to hide from others, and sometimes even from ourselves.

If feel that this is a reflection that can take place on a number of different levels: personally, in one's relationships with others and also, given our country's political and social crisis, what this means at a national level.

Perhaps, Monday's Political Forum was a start of the political leaders of Fiji to get used to seeing the light together. However, the light is a gift to all and as such must be shared with all. That means that our leaders – elected, appointed, ordained and those who have taken the reins of leadership or had leadership thrust upon them must not let those whom they lead be left in the dark. That is one of the responsibilities of the person who bears the torch. They must hold it high enough to be seen and so that others can see.

For Hindu's, special prayers offered to the Goddess Lakshmi last night were for wealth and prosperity. On another level, as the world reels from the global economic crisis, Diwali is just as significant for it give us an opportunity to shine the light on what we value.

A friend of mine recently shared his thoughts on the economic crisis. His view was that while everyone will be affected by the crisis, those hit the hardest or to put it in his words, “those with the most to lose” were those whose investment was in 'virtual' wealth as opposed to 'physical' wealth. I am not a economist, in fact matters of finance are often well beyond me. But what I gathered from his statement was that a lot of people had based their future on a finances that were only on paper. Those whose wealth is in the land, livestock – physical stocks will be deeply affected but not as much as those who placed all their bets on speculated stock increases.

I'm not sure if I understood him correctly, or if he was a hundred percent right on his analysis, but he did make a point for me. Or rather he made me ask myself, what is it we value? The Anglican priest at my nearest church said, this Sunday, that those who valued themselves only by their monetary value were now founding out just how poor they were.

This global economic recession will only add to our national and personal financial struggles. Many people who work for multi-national or trans-national companies may find their wages cut, or worse find themselves out of a job. The spin-off this crisis will go all the way down the line as people have less money to spend on essentials, let alone luxuries.

But of Fiji and the Pacific are rich. Not just because we have, natural resources or small cottage industries which often flourish during these financially trying times as we have seen in the past. We are rich because we value so much more. We value relationships – our extended family, our community, our friends, our neighbours. We value goodwill, something often undervalued by economists, in other parts of the world at least. We understand and practice reciprocity. We value human dignity, despite our weaknesses which often lead us into discrimination.

The light has the potential to shine through the shadows of ignorance which keep us apart, shining its beams on our commonalities. Our common humanity, our common struggles, and our common future.

So despite the dark clouds; despite the shadows; despite the night – the light prevails, shining through, to give us hope. Hope for a brighter day. Hope for the truth to be revealed. Hope for better tomorrow. Hope for us to see the future together.

Perhaps this is a Diwali message for all of us, regardless of our religious, cultural or social background.

May the rest of your week be bless with peace, love, hope and light!

Reverend James Bhagwan is an award-winning radio and television producer and writer. He is currently on leave from the Methodist Davuilevu Theological College where he is a member of the Faculty. All opinions expressed in this article are personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinion and policies of the Methodist Church in Fiji or any organization that Rev. Bhagwan is affiliated with. Email: padrejames@gmail.com