Clinton labor secretary panics after Trump asks the archangel Michael for help fighting evil



President Donald Trump posted a prayer to social media on Sunday, asking Saint Michael for help battling "the wickedness and snares of the Devil" — just days ahead of his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, where in July a Democratic donor shot him and killed the heroic patriarch of the Comperatore family.

The prayer and accompanying image of Saint Michael vanquishing Satan, reposted by the Trump campaign, were largely well received. Michael is recognized as an archangel in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and the prayer simply asks for help routing evil.

However, a number of leftists reflexively expressed shock and horror, in some cases showcasing cultural and historical ignorance — just as Ana Navarro of "The View" did when responding to Trump's happy birthday wishes to the Virgin Mary on the feast of her nativity earlier this month.

Former Clinton Labor Secretary and Harris booster Robert Reich led the pack in ignoring or at the very least overlooking the fact that the post coincided with Michaelmas, the feast day of the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, which is celebrated by Catholics — of which there are nearly 1.4 billion worldwide and at least 52 million stateside, including Trump's wife, Melania — as well as by Lutherans and Anglicans.

'By the power of God, cast into hell Satan.'

"Trump increasingly suggests that he is God's chosen instrument of wrath and that his opponents are 'evil spirits' to be 'cast into hell,'" tweeted Reich, whose fellow Democrats helped set the stage for two known assassination attempts with incendiary rhetoric. "If you don't find this terrifying, you're not paying attention."

Reich, now a public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, apparently found this prayer terrifying:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

The prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII following an Oct. 13, 1884, vision of demonic attacks on the church from within — and of the archangel tossing the offending demons back into the abyss.

It was long recited after Mass, though that obligation ended in 1965.

However, when discussing preparations for spiritual battle 13 years after he was wounded in an assassination attempt, Pope John Paul II said, "Even though today this prayer is no longer recited at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, I invite everyone not to forget it, but to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world."

According to the Diocese of Gary, Indiana, Pope Pius XI ordered the recitation of the prayer in 1929 for the conversion of Russia.

'But the sword / Of Michael from the Armorie of God / Was giv'n him temperd so, that neither keen / Nor solid might resist that edge.'

Saint Michael is one of the three angels mentioned by name in the scriptures and is regarded by multiple Christian denominations as the patron saint of the police, firemen, and members of the military. Michael is also the patron saint of numerous countries and cities, including Kyiv, Ukraine.

EWTN indicated that Michael is referred to in two chapters of the Old Testament (in Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1) and in at least two books of the New Testament (Jude 1:9 and Revelation 12:7).

Revelation 12:7-9 states:

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The prayer Reich found terrifying not only has religious significance but engages a key character in the Western literary canon.

In Book Six of John Milton's "Paradise Lost," Saint Michael introduces the proud and rebellious Lucifer to something called pain:

But the sword
Of Michael from the Armorie of God
Was giv'n him temperd so, that neither keen
Nor solid might resist that edge: it met
The sword of Satan with steep force to smite
Descending, and in half cut sheere, nor staid,
But with swift wheele reverse, deep entring shar'd
All his right side; then Satan first knew pain.

Robert Reich's concern-mongering post was not only slapped with a community note on X, highlighting some of this context, but ridiculed.

'You're totally delusional Robert.'

Auron MacIntyre, podcast host and columnist at Blaze Media, responded, "Any public expression of Christianity is now interpreted as a threat to our ruling order."

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles noted, "Today is Michaelmas, which Christians have celebrated for ~1,500 years. This specific prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, was recited after every Low Mass in the world for 86 years. Religious and historical ignorance among our 'elite' is reaching record highs."

Seamus Coughlin of FreedomToons wrote, "Leo XIII: I will compose a prayer to scare the devil away[.] Marxist Professor: This prayer is terrifying."

"This is one of the most popular prayers in the Catholic faith and in no way suggests that Trump is saying he's God's 'chosen instrument of wrath,'" tweeted conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck. "You're totally delusional Robert."

Reich admitted in March that the lead-up to the election would test the "individual and collective capacities." In the months since, he appears to have found his limits on his blog, where he blamed Trump for the two apparent Democratic assassination attempts against him.

'We will FEAR NOT.'

Reich was not alone in expressing displeasure about Trump's prayer post.

New Atheist author James Lindsay wrote that it's "a damn shame Trump has been pulled into this, probably on bad advice."

Claiming he grew up Catholic but had virtually no experience with Michaelmas, Lindsay suggested, "The Left will use it to characterize Trump as a religious warlord type, fitting the worst of the Operation Christian Nationalism motifs. Because of the Left/Right dialectic in play in the op, we'll all be forced to take a side or dip out into irrelevance."

Lindsay was similarly met with some notes indicating, again, projection might be at play.

While the posting of the prayer may have factored into a broader strategy to appeal to those American Catholics now cluing into Kamala Harris' antagonism for their faith and beliefs, Trump appears to have adopted a more prayerful outlook since his brush with death on July 13.

"It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness," he wrote on July 14.

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Blaze News original: Understanding hell — Part II



The leading polling outfits all indicate that the majority of American adults believe in hell. The trouble with that determination is that there is a wide range of views on what exactly the word "hell" means.

For existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, for instance, hell was apparently other people. As became clear in part one of "Understanding hell," the Jewish conception of hell, or Gehinnom, closely resembles the Roman Catholic conception of purgatory. Meanwhile, hell according to Catholics is an eternal place of torment effectively chosen over God and love by sinners.

Blaze News has endeavored to further explore the particularities of various views on hell.

In part two of "Understanding hell," a British Old Catholic priest, a professor of Jewish studies at the University of Toronto's Department for the Study of Religion, a Christian Universalist executive minister, and an Anglican bishop share their respective thoughts on and insights into the inferno.

Rev. Fr. Calvin Robinson

Rev. Fr. Robinson, formerly a deacon in the Free Church of England, was ordained a priest last year through the Nordic Catholic Church of the Old Catholic denomination of the high church Lutheran patrimony and concluded his service in an Anglican parish in Harlesden, England, last month.

Fr. Robinson has served as a radio presenter, a television presenter for GB News, and as a political adviser, and has worked ardently in various media to defend traditional values in and outside the church.

Blaze News put questions to Fr. Robinson over the phone while he was visiting the Lone Star State.

Eternally apart from God

Fr. Robinson said that belief in the existence of hell is one of the "fundamental pillars of our faith." After all, "Christ came to earth as God incarnate to offer us eternal salvation from eternal damnation."

While through His death and resurrection, Christ has gifted mankind salvation, some may nevertheless opt out. This comes down to a choice: "We get to choose to live forever in Christ or to be damned forever without Him," said Fr. Robinson.

'It is up to us to accept it.'

Hell is the place where those who freely willed themselves into damnation reside for eternity.

Fr. Robinson indicated that we have but our short time on earth to make that choice of infinite consequence, telling Blaze News that "our lives here are so important because we have the opportunity to repent of our sins, to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit, and to have faith in Christ — to accept the offer of eternal salvation that He gives us. It is up to us to accept it."

When pressed on whether human beings' eternal fates are sealed upon death, Fr. Robinson indicated, "That's what we don't know."

"We don't know what happens the instant we die," said Robinson. "We don't know when judgment takes place, which is why we pray for the souls of the faithful departed. It's why we pray that if they are in a purification process, if they are in some kind of limbo or purgatory, we pray that their journey is increased and they gain entry into heaven. That much is a little bit more vague."

Opposites in the hereafter

Fr. Robinson indicated that hell is the opposite of the Beatific Vision, which is the immediate knowledge of God.

'Hell is the absence of God.'

"If heaven is the Beatific Vision — if heaven is communion with God in ... praise and worship of Him, in an intimate relationship with Him — then hell is the opposite," said Robinson. "Hell is the absence of God. And fear and damnation is the opposite of love and hope."

While opposites in at least this respect, heaven and hell share this much in common: They are both places, said Fr. Robinson.

"[Hell is] absolutely a place. I mean, the words 'physical' or 'spiritual' lose relevance when we're talking about the afterlife," Fr. Robinson told Blaze News. "It's not a place as in like Texas versus Canada. It's not an earthly place. But it is a place that, well — Christ descended into hell to free souls before His resurrection."

Seizing upon Fr. Robinson's allusion to Christ's harrowing of hell, Blaze News revisited the question of whether the damned might have a shot, ultimately, at redemption.

Fr. Robinson clarified that Christ had not rescued the damned from hell after the crucifixion, but rather lost souls who previously had nowhere else to go.

"The word the Bible uses there for hell is 'hades,' right, rather than Gehenna. So, it seems as though that was a place of lost souls rather than damned souls because there was no entry into heaven after the fall — not in the way we have it now," said Robinson. "So basically, when Christ descended into hell, what He was doing was opening the gates of heaven for the lost souls and for the rest of us who have faith in Him."

In darkness, embodied

Blaze News asked Fr. Robinson whether the residents of hell would be conferred their bodies after the resurrection along with the saved in heaven.

"I don't think I've ever been asked that before," said Fr. Robinson, laughing.

Resuming a serious tone, the priest noted that "upon the resurrection, we know that Christ comes from heaven on a cloud and meets us, essentially, halfway, and we are resurrected for our glorified bodies and join Him. ... I think if we refer to Daniel, everyone gets a resurrected body. So, whether it's saved or not saved, everyone gets a resurrected body."

Guaranteed ticket to hell

Fr. Robinson indicated that all sin separates humans from God, but mortal sin poses the greatest threat to their salvation. Fortunately, "We have the sacraments so we can be realigned with the graces of God."

'We also know that the gravest sin is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as well, so we should always be wary of that.'

"So, for example, if we have mortal sin on our soul, then we should repent of our sins to be reassured of our salvation because we can lose our salvation," said Robinson.

While any mortal sin could drag a person down, the priest cautioned against one sin in particular.

"We also know that the gravest sin is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as well, so we should always be wary of that," said Robinson.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is regarded by some Christian theologians as an unpardonable sin, citing various gospel passages, including Matthew 12:30-32 where Christ says:

Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

This warning is repeated in Luke 12:8-10 and Mark 3:28-30, and echoed elsewhere in the New Testament.

Augustine of Hippo said that it is "being unrepentant that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will not be forgiven in this age, nor in the age to come."

Aquinas wrote that "in one way, to sin against the Holy Ghost is to sin through certain malice," specifically by "contemptuously rejecting the things whereby a man is withdrawn from sin." He noted further that it is unpardonable "by reason of its nature, in so far as it removes those things which are a means towards the pardon of sins."

"We should always avoid sin," reiterated Fr. Robinson, "but when we do sin, we should repent of our sins and realign ourselves with Christ."

When pressed on whether non-Christians — those who ostensibly never formally aligned with Christ — were hell-bound, Fr. Robinson responded, "It used to be said that there is no salvation outside of the church. However, we know that Jesus Christ died for all of us. So those who are ignorant of the faith, those who never had access to the faith — we can only hope and assume that God finds a way to reveal Himself to them."

While holding out hope for nonbelievers, Robinson added, "But we know the surest way to salvation is through the church, is through faith in Jesus Christ."

A chastening belief

Fr. Robinson indicated that fear of hell should help orient us toward heaven and God; that we should fear what separates us from God and the judgment that may make definitive that separation.

"We're going to stand there before Jesus Christ one day and atone for our sins. We're going to hope that we've repented of our sins enough and had faith in Him enough to be accepted into heaven," said Robinson. "We should be afraid of the alternative."

'Having fear of hell and having love of heaven go hand in hand.'

Fr. Robinson noted further that "we should be afraid of living out our lives focused towards hell because it's not somewhere we want to be. We want to be in heaven. Having fear of hell and having love of heaven go hand in hand. It's difficult to have one without the other."

A waning belief in hell may correspond with an increase in immorality because it takes consequence off the table, suggested Fr. Robinson.

"If there is no hell, you can do what you like — it doesn't matter. We center our lives on Christ and we do things out of love, of course, but we also have to do things out of fear of hell because if we don't, then we are passive. Then we have dead faith," said the priest.

Rev. Dr. Lance Haverkamp

Rev. Dr. Lance Haverkamp, executive minister of the Christian Universalist Association, studied at Denver Seminary and at the Wagner Leadership Institute, earning a master's degree and a doctorate in practical ministry.

The Christian Universalist Association is a "loose association of CU congregations, who provides needed coordination for things like military and hospital chaplaincy, globally recognized ordination."

Rev. Dr. Haverkamp shared some Christian Universalist insights into hell and salvation with Blaze News via email.

All are saved

In the first complete American translation of Italian poet Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy," Canto III opens with a description of the vestibule of hell:

Through me the way is to the city dolent;
Through me the way is to eternal dole;
Through me the way among the people lost. ...
Before me there were no created things,
Only eterne, and I eternal last.
"All hope abandon, ye who enter in!"

Those Christian Universalists who believe that this antechamber sees regular traffic apparently believe there is ample cause for hope.

Rev. Dr. Haverkamp told Blaze News that Christian Universalists generally believe that "through the saving work of Jesus Christ, all people will ultimately be reconciled to God."

Accordingly, hell, should it exist, is not a place of eternal torment but rather a place for correction, not wholly unlike Gehinnom as described by Rabbi Aron Moss.

Rev. Dr. Haverkamp noted that while Christian Universalists largely see eye-to-eye on the big picture, there is "diversity of thought" on the specifics. He identified three main branches of Christian Universalist thought:

  • "Patristic Universalists, following the teachings of many early church fathers, believe that those who reject God in this life will undergo temporary correction in the afterlife, but will eventually repent and be saved. They see this correction as real, but not eternal. This was the majority belief, for the first 500 years of the early church."
  • "Liberal Christian Universalists tend to downplay the idea of any correction. Many believe all are saved immediately upon death, without any corrective period. Opinions vary on whether correction is literal or metaphorical. They tend to take Christ's statement that 'It is finished' literally."
  • "Charismatic Universalists, coming from Pentecostal backgrounds, retain a more fundamentalist view of a correction, and of the end times. However, they still see correction as temporary, and believe all will ultimately be restored through the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ."

This belief — in the ultimate reconciliation of all — is based on a scriptural understanding "of God's boundless love, Christ's victory over sin and death, and God's desire for all to be saved," said Rev. Dr. Haverkamp.

While Haverkamp alluded to other scriptural passages, he specifically referenced 1 Timothy 2:4, 1 Corinthians 15:22, and John 3:17 as verses bolstering the belief in universal salvation.

The first passage notes that "God our Savior ... wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." The chapter goes on to note that Jesus "gave Himself as a ransom for all people."

The second passage, in 1 Corinthians, notes that "for as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."

The third passage states, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."

Blaze News staff writer Christopher Enloe highlighted several additional verses that hint at the salvation of all, including Romans 5:18-21, which states:

Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rev. Dr. Haverkamp said, "We understand biblical references to a correction for unbelievers as real warnings, but see them in light of larger themes of redemption and reconciliation."

Bishop Stephen Andrews

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Stephen Andrews is the principal of Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. The American-born Anglican served as the bishop of the Diocese of Algoma from 2009 to 2016.

A graduate of Cambridge University and Wycliffe College, Andrews has explored the Jewish biblical interpretation of the Second Temple period and taught courses on the prophets of Israel, the Pauline epistles, the development of Christian thought, St. Mark's Gospel, and Christian worship. He is also a father of two, a grandfather, and a woodworker.

Bishop Andrews responded to Blaze News' questions via email.

The gray town once visited by Christ

Bishop Andrews indicated that there is "no consistent doctrine of hell in Anglicanism, but to the extent that we affirm the Creeds."

The Anglican Church, which does not define its doctrine in a single confession, affirms in multiple creeds and in the church's 39 Articles of Religion that Christ descended into hell.

The hell referenced in Article III in reference to the divine descent is "widely interpreted as 'the place of departed spirits,'" said Bishop Andrews.

When asked whether hell could be conceived of as a place, Andrews replied, "Of course it is 'conceived of' as a place because of the imagery the Bible uses to describe it. But many understand these images metaphorically, and hold that hell is better thought of as a state of being."

The bishop added that C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce" is "quite evocative in this way."

Lewis' hell is a gray town devoid of joy and subject to constant rain. While only a bus-stop away from the periphery of heaven, the souls inhabiting the place are more often than not self-made captives to pride, vice, and/or delusion.

'There will be a new heaven and new earth. But these are also understood as realms of the spiritual.'

"Once again, because of the images Scripture uses, earth, heaven and hell are conceived of as spatial," said Bishop Andrews. "Heaven and earth are also described in temporal language, so there will be a new heaven and new earth. But these are also understood as realms of the spiritual. Lewis's 'gray town' is a literary image that invite[s] us to think of the spiritual (and psychological) aspects [of] eternity."

The traditional view is that the occupants of the heavenly and hellish spaces both "inhabit resurrected bodies (Matthew 25), though theologians since the time of Augustine have struggled to understand this," said Bishop Andrews. The embodied in the latter camp may not be long for existence, according to some Anglicans.

Despite the variability in Anglican beliefs on hell, Bishop Andrews indicated that "many do believe it is eternal, though many would adopt a conditionalist or annihilationist reading of the biblical text."

According to conditionalism, the damned, having rejected the gift of immortality conditional upon belief in Jesus Christ, will ultimately be erased from existence rather than suffering eternally in hell.

Salvation beyond the grave

When asked about the apparent insinuation in the Rainer fragment of the apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter that the damned could ultimately be saved, Bishop Andrews clarified that "there is a section in this fragment where those who are saved see the torment of the damned and pray for their salvation. There is no biblical warrant for this, though the practice of praying for the dead comes from the earliest centuries of the Christian church."

"In this case, the teaching of the Catholic Church is that those being prayed for exist in purgatory (i.e., the fate of the damned is unalterable)," said Bishop Andrews.

The Anglican Church, meanwhile, discounts the existence of purgatory, stating in Article XXII, "The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God."

Bishop Andrews noted, however, that those Anglicans "who pray for the dead may have some vague idea of an intermediary state the dead inhabit for a time."

Such prayers would apparently be wasted on those who deliberately reject God. Bishop Andrews indicated such rebels "will not be forced to live with God for eternity."

Judaic roots and divine justice

While Jesus' description of hell was taken from the Hebrew Bible, Bishop Andrews indicated that the concept metamorphized in Hellenistic cosmology, where Sheol and Gehenna became Hades and hell.

"In the Hellenistic period, hell becomes more straightforwardly understood as a place associated with punishment," said the bishop.

'A balance of perspective is required.'

The promise of hell as punishment, as an expression of divine justice, can be beneficial in this mortal realm. Bishop Andrews said that this understanding of hell "can guide moral behavior and be the basis of social cohesion."

However, the "prospect of heaven can also be a source of hope for those who live in discouragement and despair," said the bishop. "But a balance of perspective is required, lest someone think that salvation is a matter of living a virtuous life."

Dr. Kenneth Green

Dr. Kenneth Green is a professor at the University of Toronto's Department for the Study of Religion where he specializes in Jewish studies and the philosophy of religion. Green has written extensively on the thought of Leo Strauss, whom he figures for one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century.

Green, who earned his doctorate in Jewish philosophy at Brandeis University, is presently working on a book tentatively titled, "What Moses Saw: Maimonidean Meditations, or On the Torah as a Speculative Teaching." His latest book, "The Philosophy of Emil Fackenheim: From Revelation to the Holocaust," was published in 2020 by Cambridge University Press.

Green responded to Blaze News' questions via email.

Hell, depending on who you ask

Dr. Green indicated that "Jewish views on hell are a complicated matter" and that there is no "simple, single view of hell in Judaism." While there is certainly a concept of hell in Judaism, some faith groups give it more consideration than others.

The hell of the Jews, Gehinnom, derives its name from a valley surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem. Dr. Green noted that this particular valley, the Vale of Hinnom, was referred to in the Book of Jeremiah "as the location in which Jews who had succumbed to idolatry sacrificed their children (Jeremiah 7:31 and 19:2-6), which the prophet cursed as a horrifying deed."

While sharing the valley's name, Gehinnom is a spiritual locale, albeit possessing a "quasi-physical aspect," said Dr. Green.

"It is not precisely clear just how it stands 'geographically' in relation to heaven and earth, but it is clearly somehow 'beneath' the world, following the word 'Sheol' in the Book of Numbers, Job, and Samuel," continued Dr. Green. "It is unclear what happens in it, whether it is reward and punishment or only eternal sleep."

'Hitler and his Nazis would qualify for such a sentence.'

When pressed about Gehinnom's possible eternal nature, Dr. Green noted that "Hell is 'eternal' — for some. A theological debate has erupted at several points in Jewish history about whether it is 'eternal,' or only seemingly so, i.e., until the Messiah arrives = the redemption occurs, which will be a historical event."

Dr. Green indicated that some Jews believe that there are some sins "so great as to preclude a soul's ascent to heaven ever, hence guaranteeing one's permanent sentence of punishment in hell for eternity."

"In our era, Hitler and his Nazis would qualify for such a sentence, and probably some terrorists also," added Dr. Green.

Rabbi Moss, who spoke to Blaze News in Part One, and Rabbi Shana Goldstein Mackler, whose insights are featured in Part Three, have both expressed the alternative belief that wicked persons who have evidenced an unwavering commitment to evil may instead be annihilated for good.

Hell, under development

Dr. Green noted that the Jewish concept of hell has changed periodically over the ages.

"For the ancients, it was not as defined clearly or in detail," said Green. "Then it became defined clearly and in detail in the medieval era."

Now, the professor indicated it is "much vaguer" for most Jews, with some moderns even discounting the need for such a concept.

While the Christian concept of hell is rooted in the Jewish tradition, Dr. Green noted it still plays a much bigger role, "or at least in orthodox Christian belief."

Dr. Green noted that extra to having greater significance in some forms of Christianity, "It's also different in being defined in greater detail and pictured in Christian tradition almost from the beginning."

Another distinction is that whereas some Christians attest that entry to heaven is conditional on faith in Christ, "Heaven isn't believed to be reserved only for Jews," said Dr. Green.

"The most famous and authoritative statement on this point is that any Gentile who observes the basic religious laws (no idolatry allowed) and the basic moral laws ('the seven commandments of Noah') qualify for the reward of eternal life," added the professor.

The Noahide Laws prohibit the worship of idols, the cursing of God, the commission of murder, the commission of adultery or sexual immorality, stealing, and the consumption of flesh torn from a living animal. The seventh law requires the establishment of courts of justice.

In Part One, Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Thomas Collins details the Roman Catholic views on hell and mortal sin, and Rabbi Aron Moss discusses the "kindness" of hell and the nature of Gehinnom.

In Part Three, Rabbi Shana Goldstein Mackler provides some Reformed Jewish thoughts on the prospect of hell and the afterlife, and American conservative talk radio host and writer Erick Erickson goes deep on the Presbyterian Church in America's views on perdition.

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Blaze News original: Understanding hell — Part I



The Pew Research Center indicated in a December report that 71% of Americans believe in heaven, 61% believe in hell, and 60% believe in both. Gallup and AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveys conducted last year turned up similar results. American Christians appear to be keeping these numbers north of 50%.

A 2021 Pew survey revealed that 92% of American Christians signaled a belief in the existence of heaven and 79% said they believed in the existence of hell. By way of comparison, 37% of the unaffiliated camp — which included atheists, agnostics, and "nothing[s] in particular" — said they believe in heaven and 28% said they believed in hell.

A survey now 10 years old indicated that American Jews, meanwhile, are on the whole far more skeptical than even the unaffiliated camp concerning the existence of hell: 22% said they believed in hell, and 70% said they didn't subscribe to the notion.

While many Americans believe that the moral choices they make today could prove eternally consequential for their immortal souls, there are some resistant to the possibility that they might one day face judgment and be found wanting. There are others yet who have taken an active role in reassuring believers that they have nothing to worry about in the way of eternal damnation.

David Bentley Hart, the philosopher who penned "That All Shall Be Saved," is among those keen to discount the existence of hell and shame Bible-citing cautioners. Hart suggested in the New York Times that the corresponding belief is not only biblically unjustified but an anachronistic "instrument of social stability."

Derek Ryan Kublius, an ordained elder in the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, similarly figures the belief in hell to be a means of controlling people, blaming the belief largely on alleged biblical mistranslations.

While the likes of Kublius and Hart figure that when it comes to hell, it's more than just the gates that won't prevail, psychologists and bloggers working on eudemonistic presumptions about earthly priorities have warned that a belief in hell might adversely affect mental health and moods.

Given the stakes and the enduring controversy about hell, it is worthwhile reviewing what is meant by "hell" — is it a place, a state of being, or both? Is hell eternal or a temporary means to purification? What action could guarantee a man's placement "where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched"?

Blaze News put these and other questions to a Catholic cardinal; a British Old Catholic priest; a high-profile conservative member of the Presbyterian Church in America; an Anglican bishop; the executive minister of the Christian Universalist Association; a professor of Jewish studies; an Australian rabbi; and an American Reform rabbi.

In what follows, the accomplished constituents of this octet provide their respective views on the thing of nightmares that haunts the bottom of many a Renaissance painting and perhaps existence itself: Gehenna, the inferno, Hades – hell.

Archbishop Emeritus Cardinal Thomas Collins

After earning degrees in theology and English in 1973 and becoming a priest the same year, Cardinal Collins studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, specializing in sacred scripture and the Book of Revelation. He received his licentiate in sacred Scripture in 1978 and a doctorate in theology in 1986.

Cardinal Collins has held various academic appointments and leadership roles in the decades since. In addition to his appointment to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, Cardinal Collins ran Canada's largest archdiocese from 2007 until last year.

'Dogma takes its stand on solid ground when it speaks of the existence of Hell and of the eternity of its punishment.'

At the outset of his phone interview with Blaze News, Cardinal Collins referenced three writers with penetrating insights into hell whom he indicated were worth readers' consideration.

The first: St. Thomas Aquinas, whose supplements 97-99 to "The Summa Theologica" detail the nature and physicality of hell and its torments; the will and intellect of the damned; and the endlessness of hell.

The second: the late American Jesuit priest James V. Schall, who noted in "The Modern Age," "Hell, in its original teaching, was a final guarantee of justice. If rightly understood, it is rather a positive teaching, even a freeing one. Hell has too few defenders, not that we advise anyone to choose the place."

The third: Pope Benedict XVI's 1977 book, "Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life," wherein the late pope, then Joseph Ratzinger, noted, "No quibbling helps here: the idea of eternal damnation, which had taken ever clearer shape in the Judaism of the century or two before Christ, has a firm place in the teaching of Jesus, as well as in the apostolic writings. Dogma takes its stand on solid ground when it speaks of the existence of Hell and of the eternity of its punishment."

Hell exists and is eternal

'The second death is a death over which we have some choice by how we live, and we would call that hell.'

Cardinal Collins confirmed to Blaze News that the Catholic Church believes that hell exists, that it is a place, that it is "eternal punishment for those who are guilty of what we call deadly or mortal sin," and that this understanding is supported by the sacred scriptures.

The cardinal highlighted several biblical passages referencing hell, including:

  • Chapter 16 of Luke, where the poor man Lazarus dies, then goes to the bosom of Abraham, whereas the rich man dies and goes to hell;
  • Matthew 25:31-46, which notes that Christ the judge will separate all the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and will say to those at his left hand, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels"; and
  • Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation, which says "Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

Cardinal Collins noted that whereas we all experience the first death, which is unavoidable, "the second death is a death over which we have some choice by how we live, and we would call that hell."

Infernal physicality

When asked about the physicality of hell, Cardinal Collins said that most of the imagery in the scriptures is natural and "comes from something physical on earth like Gehenna."

"So the imagery is there. It is fire. But immediately after death, we're spirits. We know the body is not there. At the resurrection, however, it is," said Collins. "I think the imagery [of hell as a fiery, physical place] is like angels' wings. It expresses something profoundly true, but the imagery being used is natural, it's earthly. It speaks to a truth, but we don't know."

Cardinal Collins underscored that "when we're talking about the ultimate things, the resurrection of the body, we're talking about something we don't understand. Even the risen body. What is it? What do we mean? The only example we have is Jesus after the resurrection, which we have descriptions of. So our mind is really not quite prepared to figure out what it means."

Choosing hell

Cardinal Collins indicated that hell is chosen.

'The collateral side effect of having the freedom to love is, obviously, we also have the freedom not to, and that can lead us away from God.'

"[Life on earth] is a time where we are challenged to make choices. We have free will. That's at the heart of the Catholic teaching on the existence and reality of hell — is free will," said Collins. "If we are to be free to love God, we have to be free to the alternative. Freedom is a key point here."

"The collateral side effect of having the freedom to love is, obviously, we also have the freedom not to and that can lead us away from God," said Collins.

While God wants us to be with Him forever and gives us His grace, Collins indicated sinners can nevertheless "swim against the stream" of His grace and love toward hell.

The unholy trinity

The sinners' damning rejection of the holy Trinity often takes the form of self-worship.

'We get caught up in these little islands of autonomy. Ego.'

Reflecting back on 51 years of hearing confessions, Cardinal Collins said that one of the common penances he gives is, "Say one Our Father and think on the words: 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,' because most frequently we say, 'My kingdom come, my will be done.' We get caught up in these little islands of autonomy. Ego."

"Instead of worshiping the blessed Trinity in whose image we're made — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three persons, one God, joined together in love — we worship the unholy trinity of me, myself, and I. We implode into ourselves. And that moral spiritual black hole is hell. That's what leads to hell," said Collins.

Just as worship of this unholy trinity amounts to a pre-emptive descent into hell while still alive, Collins said heaven similarly begins on earth.

"It's not completed, but it begins on earth when we love other people with a generous love, when we live in the imitation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the way the second person of the Trinity showed us how to do it in the midst of this wicked world," said Collins.

Guaranteeing real estate in hell

Cardinal Collins told Blaze News that Catholics believe that sinners can secure their spots in hell by committing "what's called deadly, fatal, or mortal sin."

For an action to qualify as deadly sin, Collins noted three criteria must be satisfied: the action must be seriously evil; the actor must know that the act is wrong; and the actor must commit it freely.

'If any of those things are missing, we're not talking about mortal sin.'

Cardinal Collins referenced the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 and other such massacres as "unspeakably evil" acts fulfilling, at the very least, the first criterion. He noted that extra to non-defensive killing, other actions that would qualify as intrinsically evil would be adultery and abortion, adding that Pope John Paul II provides great clarity on this matter in his encyclical "Veritatis Splendor."

In terms of the second criterion, Cardinal Collins raised the hypothetical of a child who unwittingly kills a number of people after picking up a gun. While the act itself is evil, the absence of knowledge means it is not a mortal sin. After all, even with conscience present, the child had no idea what effect the weapon would have.

The third criteria, that the act must be executed freely, might not be satisfied in cases of mental and medical compromise or coercion.

"So mortal sin is serious evil, knowingly done with complete knowledge, and freely done. If any of those things are missing, we're not talking about mortal sin," said Collins.

The hell-bound society

Blaze News sidetracked the conversation to press Cardinal Collins about whether a society that regularly commits intrinsically evil acts, abortion in particular, would be hell-bound if its population was propagandized into thinking the acts amoral or even good, thereby putting a mortal sin criterion into question.

"Would somebody growing up with a society having their mind twisted by false teachings — swimming through a sea of lies — can they be held morally accountable as they should be for a mortal sin? I would say that's a very good point. I think that is a limitation on their freedom," said Collins.

'We have within us — everyone does, not just people of faith — a basic understanding of right and wrong.'

The cardinal said that on the one hand, "I think our society is so corrupt in its valuation that people can honestly, to some degree at least, they cannot know these things are wrong and/or they might have pressure to do them if they don't have the freedom."

On the other hand, Cardinal Collins emphasized that "there is still conscience."

"We have within us — everyone does, not just people of faith — a basic understanding of right and wrong," said the cardinal. "Now, it can be weakened and corrupted by society, but I think we can’t simply say, 'Oh well, society made me do it.'"

Heaven's antechamber

While Cardinal Collins said Catholics noted that while there are ultimately two destinations after death, there is also a purification process for heaven-bound souls.

"Purgatory is another part of Catholic teaching. It's not — some think of it as a temporary hell, you know, like fire and stuff like that, but just for a short time. That's not the way to look at it. It's not true," said Collins. "Purgatory, purification, is part of heaven. You might call it the antechamber to heaven, and it's a state of purification."

'There's no use praying for people in heaven because they don’t need it or in hell because they can't use it.'

Cardinal Collins indicated that purification can begin long before stepping foot in heaven's antechamber and can take the form of "the struggles of this earth."

Regarding the post-death variety of purification, Collins indicated Catholics pray for the souls of the dead who may not have been fully purified.

"There's no use praying for people in heaven because they don’t need it or in hell because they can't use it. We pray for people who have died and that's found in the Old Testament, in Maccabees," said Collins. "It's a good and noble thing to pray for the dead. That’s what we do at our funerals."

"That's why I don't like it, it's so wrong — I mean, it's understandable, but it's so inadequate — when our funerals are canonizations of people. ... We pray for people that if they are not fully in communion with God yet, they will be purified and they will be with the Lord," added the cardinal.

Hell's relevance

"Hell is part of our faith, but it's not the heart of our faith," Collins told Blaze News. "It's sort of an obvious corollary to freedom, and it's all over the scriptures. It's there in the faith of the church. Yeah, there it is."

In terms of his ministry, Cardinal Collins indicated that hell comes up quite frequently, as he regularly saysLeo XIII's prayer to St. Michael and asks Christ to "save us from the fires of hell" when praying the Rosary. However, he insisted that the Catholic faith is not centered on fear of hell but rather on the love of God.

"If we're dwelling on hell all the time, I think that's not spiritually healthy. But if we ignore it, I think we're naïve, and that’s also not spiritually healthy. The focus of our life is the love of God and living that way," said Collins.

Cardinal Collins summarized the matter thusly:

I would simply say that freely loving God is what God makes us for. If we're going to freely love God, the alternative has to be there that we don't. I think history and simple common sense reveal to us that that happens in life — that people totally go against the love of God.

Look at the horrible things — just look at the last century, at reality, at the horrible things done. And that reality to have the freedom to say no to God is the foundation for the fact, the reality of hell. But hell is not the main thing. We focus on the love of God.

Rabbi Aron Moss

Rabbi Aron Moss is the rabbi at Nefesh Center in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of "Can I Name My Dog Israel: Life Questions That Aren't So Black & White" and a prolific writer whose insights into a broad range of topics, including Jewish mysticism, frequently appear on Chabad.org as well as on his podcast entitled, "Two Jews, Three Opinions."

Rabbi Moss spoke to Blaze News over the phone about the Jewish beliefs regarding the afterlife and the idea of hell, specifically Gehinnom — alternatively pronounced "Gehenna" — as a "great kindness."

Hell exists by another name — but it's neither physical nor eternal

'To be able to get there you need to cleanse yourself of any negative residue that you accumulated during your lifetime.'

Rabbi Moss indicated that he and his congregation "certainly do believe in hell" but noted that hell is an English word with its own connotations. When responding to questions about hell, Rabbi Moss specifically referred to Gehinnom.

Unlike the hell described by Cardinal Collins, Rabbi Moss indicated that Gehinnom is a temporary state that prepares souls for heaven.

"So almost every human being leaves this world with some residue of negativity from their sins, the things they've done wrong in this lifetime," Rabbi Moss told Blaze News. "In order to be able to reach the afterlife, which we call the Garden of Eden, paradise — a place where we enjoy the closeness to God — to be able to get there you need to cleanse yourself of any negative residue that you accumulated during your lifetime."

Bodiless and on the go

Gehinnom serves as a "spiritual washing machine to rid the soul of the residue of negativity that accumulated while in the body," said Moss.

Despite its physical description in sacred texts, Gehinnom is completely spiritual, as is the rest of the Jewish afterlife.

'It's a good exchange rate that we have: A bit of suffering in this world is worth a lot in the next world.'

"The body turns to the dust where it came from, the soul returns to God and on the way to its return to God may go through that cleansing, and it's a purely spiritual state," said Moss. "Any physical terminology we use, like, you know, the fires of Gehinnom or anything like that, are purely metaphorical to understand what that cleansing is."

What is described as fire may instead reflect the feeling that results from a soul's confrontation with its earthly past.

"One depiction of Gehinnom is that the soul has to face its behavior that it's done over its lifetime and by looking back at your behavior from the perspective of truth, when you're in the world of truth," said Rabbi Moss. "So just the shame and the embarrassment of looking back at our misdemeanors and our wrongdoings — that shame itself is like the fire of Gehennim, the heat that we feel in the embarrassment. The soul feels that embarrassment, and that itself is the cleansing."

Like Collins, Rabbi Moss indicated that purification can also take place on earth.

"If we go through pain and suffering in this world, then that is a cleansing of our soul, and a small amount of suffering in this world will exempt us from a large amount of suffering in the next world," said Moss. "It's a good exchange rate that we have: A bit of suffering in this world is worth a lot in the next world."

Some souls too dirty to launder

Rabbi Moss indicated that there are some souls too wicked to be allowed into Gehinnom.

'Once you've studied in Kabbalah, you can see it in the Hebrew Bible.'

"They may be sent back down in a form of reincarnation to fix things on earth. There may be unfinished business that rather than being cleansed, you maybe need to go back down and reverse it in another lifetime," said Moss.

When pressed about the nature of that reincarnation, Rabbi Moss noted that the Hebrew Bible does not go into great detail about what happens to the soul or discuss Gehinnom at length but does, however, provide hints.

"These ideas are much more found in the Kabbalah, the mystical side of Judaism," said Moss. "But once you've studied in Kabbalah, you can see it in the Hebrew Bible."

Rabbi Moss noted that the story of Jonah and the whale serves as a prime example.

"So the Kabbalists understand that as talking about the process of reincarnation. The soul that has a mission to fulfill in this world, and if you don't fulfill that mission, so you can be reincarnated in non-human form," said Moss. "You might find yourself in the belly of a fish. Eventually, you'll be spat up on dry land to be reincarnated in human form and to fulfill the mission that you didn't do last time."

While some souls too wicked initially for Gehinnom may be afforded the opportunity to settle their earthly affairs and try again, Rabbi Moss indicated there are other cases of people whose "evil is so entrenched, so connected to them, that Gehinnom — the sort of external cleansing is not enough."

"The [person's] soul would have to be completely destroyed," said Moss. "And that's a very extreme thing. We're not talking about the garden-variety person who may have done wrong. We've all done wrong. We're talking about somebody who is evil incarnate. I guess Hitler is the one we always use as the example. So someone of that level of evil: It's not enough for them to go through some time of cleansing. That's a different story.

Hell as a great kindness

Blaze News asked Rabbi Moss why hell was a "great kindness," which he has previously suggested elsewhere. He underscored that unlike the hell of eternal torment, Gehinnom is a short route to paradise.

Rabbi Moss noted that "ultimately, the journey of the soul is to reunite with God and to connect deeply and profoundly with our Divine source. That's really where the soul is headed to. In order to get there, we have to get rid of all of the blockages that would prevent us from joining that union with God."

Gehinnom is a kindness for aiding souls in that regard.

"It's not an idea of eternal damnation, and it's [in] order to get to a higher place," said Moss.

More prayers for the dead

Just as Catholics pray for the souls of the dead, so too do Jews. But instead of praying for souls believed to be in purgatory, they pray for the souls transitioning through Gehinnom.

"Jewish tradition believes that the average wicked person has twelve months of cleansing. So in our Jewish tradition, if somebody passes away, their friends will pray for the departed, and we actually say those prayers called Kaddish. It's a prayer that allows the soul to be elevated," said Rabbi Moss.

The rabbi noted that it is customary to pray for the departed for 11 months and not 12, to signal an understanding the decedent was not wholly wicked.

Gehinnom's relevance

While Jews generally believe in the afterlife, Rabbi Moss indicated they don't place great emphasis on heaven or hell.

"We do see it as an important element of faith, but it's not central to our belief system, meaning we do good because it's good, not because we're going to get rewarded," said Rabbi Moss. "We avoid evil because it's wrong, not because we're going to get punished."

Rabbi Moss acknowledged that the prospect of eternal punishment or reward can serve as an incentive and is "necessary for our moral structure" but, again, is not central — especially not a great deal more focus assigned to the here and now.

"We believe that being good and doing good is much more about this world — making this world into heaven rather than going to heaven, and also that the bad that we do makes a hell down here and creates suffering down here," said Moss. "That's much more our purpose — is the here and now."

In "Blaze Originals: Understanding hell – Part II," Rev. Fr. Calvin Robinson discusses the reality of hell from a British Old Catholic perspective; Rev. Dr. Lance Haverkamp discusses the Christian Universalist belief that all souls will ultimately be saved, possibly negating the need for hell; Bishop Stephen Andrews provides an Anglican perspective on the darker side of the afterlife; and Dr. Kenneth Green provides historical insights into Jewish views on Gehenna.

In Part III, Rabbi Shana Goldshein provides some Reformed Jewish thoughts on the prospect of hell and the afterlife; and American conservative talk radio host and writer Erick Erickson goes deep on the Presbyerian Church in America's views on perdition.

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Church of England investigating vicar for calling a transvestite deacon a 'bloke'



The Church of England is investigating a vicar who dared to criticize LGBT activism among the clergy and point out that a transvestite archdeacon is in fact a man.

Rev. Brett Murphy, 38, released a 32-minute YouTube video on June 16, wherein he touched on various concerns pertaining to LGBT activism among Christians. While his criticism in the video of the Roman Catholic pontiff was likely palatable to the Anglican leadership, his criticism of Rev. R. Mann, a male transvestite who has called himself in past years a "lesbian," apparently crossed the line.

Mann characterized himself on his personal website as a "feminist and queer writer" who produces "liturgy that seeks to be critical of patriarchy and liberative for both men and women." He also told the Telegraph in 2020, "I'm self-evidently a woman – but I'm glad I was once a man."

Mann has made waves stating, "I was only able to find God after I had transitioned."

The bishop of Manchester, David Walker, announced Mann's promotion to archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, England, in June, stating, "Her personal gifts, including as a writer, poet, liturgist and broadcaster, will combine with her new responsibilities, to help the people of this generation know and love Jesus Christ."

"Now you might wonder, 'Is that really newsworthy, Brett?' If you're a complementarian, you might roll your eyes at yet another feminist getting a high-ranking position in the C of E, but this is worse than that," Murphy noted in his video. "The Reverend Rachel Mann is in fact biologically a bloke who identifies and lives as a woman."

Murphy underscored that the appointment is significant because "it points towards the continued snowballing of the C of E, backsliding down ... from heterodoxy and apostasy into outright heresy."

Murphy speculated that Mann's promotion might amount to the church leadership "positioning for him to become a bishop in the Church of England — the first transsexual bishop in the C of E."

"So what you are seeing here is someone who is a radical rainbow activist being put in a position of high authority in a diocese," added Murphy.

Extra to expressing contempt over the ostensible effort to fast-track the transvestite to a bishropic, Murphy suggested remaining orthodox Anglicans in the Manchester diocese may be justified in expecting discrimination.

According to the evangelical advocacy group Christian Concern, Murphy was hit with multiple complaints, some of which were anonymous, while he was still running St. David's Church in Coalville, Leicestershire. The complaints concerned his "misgendering" of Mann; his criticism of Mann's referral in prayer to Christ as "our sister"; his tradition-affirming sermons; and his alleged failure to visit a stranger outside his parish.

Murphy faced four corresponding clergy disciplinary measures that if upheld by the presiding bishop would likely mean he would be barred from ever again ministering or working with the Church of England. The Christian Legal Center helped him battle the four clergy disciplinary measures.

The Bishop of Loughborough, Rev. Saju Muthalay, ultimately determined no disciplinary action was necessary since Murphy had announced in July he was leaving the Church of England and instead joining the Free Church of England.

Though gone, Murphy was apparently not forgotten by LGBT activists in the Anglican church.

The complaint against the vicar was resurrected by the tribunal arm of the Church of England this year at the urging of Canon Carolyn Lewis. Muthalay's decision will now be reviewed and his case likely re-litigated.

Muthalay told Murphy in a recent letter that his language was "intentionally derogatory and disrespectful" and "not appropriate as a Clerk in Holy Orders, irrespective of the right you have to hold and express views," reported the Telegraph.

Murphy said in a statement, "As a Christian minister it is my duty to proclaim the gospel whenever I can. I make no apology for that."

"The decisions by the CofE to investigate and pursue me for stating biological truth has reinforced and vindicated all the concerns that I raised in the original vlog," he continued. "The re-opening of the complaint especially exposes the drive within the CofE to censor and banish any dissenting voice that does not agree or celebrate extreme LGBT ideology."

Murphy noted that punitive measures appear to be effective and used only against orthodox Christians in the church.

"Many other Orthodox priests in the CofE are telling me that they are being pushed out and bullied if they do not go along with the same-sex marriage agenda. They are being harassed, pushed to the margins, are having false complaints made about them, and, shall we say, are encouraged to be silent or leave," added Murphy.

The Telegraph indicated Mann did not respond for comment.

The investigation and Rev. Brett Murphy's forthcoming formal censure come amidst schism and turmoil in the Anglican church over Canterbury's various capitulations to LGBT activists.

Blaze News reported earlier this year that the heads of numerous Anglican member churches announced they would no longer recognize the archbishop of Canterbury as the "first among equals."

The relatively more orthodox Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches confirmed in a statement that the Church of England's decision to "legitimise and incorporate into the Church's liturgy the blessing of same sex unions" marked a departure "from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles by this innovation in the liturgies of the Church and her pastoral practice."

They further indicated that the church's apparent appeasement to LGBT activists had disqualified it from "leading the Communion as the historic 'Mother' Church."

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Leading Church of England archbishop draws ire after concern-mongering about the 'oppressively patriarchal' terms used in the Lord's Prayer



A top official in the Church of England has raised concerns about the wording of the prayer gifted to Christians by Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. In both accounts, he began the prescribed prayer with "Our Father."

Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York and the Anglican church's second-highest ranking prelate, suggested in his address to the CE's general synod Friday that references to God as "Father" can be "problematic," particularly for those who've had less-than-stellar parents during their tenure here on earth, reported the Times.

Cottrell, who previously underscored the need to "celebrate and affirm same-sex relationships," emphasized the fraternity of man, noting that all "sisters and brothers" are ultimately part of the same family with God as its head.

The archbishop then turned to the matter of the Lord's Prayer, saying, "If this God to whom we pray is 'father' — and yes, I know the word 'father' is problematic for those whose experience of earthly fathers has been destructive and abusive and for all of us who have labored rather too much from an oppressively patriarchal grip on life."

Cottrell proceeded to suggest that divisions between Christians were hazardous, adding, "At our peril do we underestimate the terrible damage our visible disunity does to our proclamation of the Gospel."

Cottrell's progressive critique of the Lord's Prayer was not well received by some fellow Anglicans who reckon Christ got it right the first time, reported the Guardian.

Canon Dr. Chris Sugden, a CE minister and chair of the conservative Anglican Mainstream group, said, "Is the archbishop of York saying Jesus was wrong, or that Jesus was not pastorally aware? It seems to be emblematic of the approach of some church leaders to take their cues from culture rather than scripture."

"If people have had a difficult relationship with their human fathers then the option open to them is to say you can rediscover the true nature of fatherhood through Christ," added Sugden.

Cottrell managed to strike a chord with revolutionaries inside the Anglican church.

Christina Rees, a minister and former synod member who advocated for female bishops, sided with Cottrell, noting that calling God "father" was "hugely problematic."

"There are multiple layers why the term 'father' is really difficult for people in the church. It's the way it's been set for so long and so we're stuck," said Rees. "Because Jesus called God 'daddy', we think we have to call God 'daddy'. And the big question is, do we really believe God believes that male human beings bear the image of God more fully and accurately than women? The answer is absolutely not."

Reuters reported earlier this year that the CE has been looking into whether to use gender-neutral terms to refer to God in prayers such as the "Our Father," ostensibly presuming an oversight on the part of Christ.

Fox News Digital indicated that Joanna Stobart, a CE vicar in Surrey, was among those who had pushed for "an update on the steps being taken to develop more inclusive language in our authorized liturgy and to provide more options for those who wish to use authorized liturgy and speak of God in a non-gendered way, particularly in authorized absolutions where many of the prayers offered for use refer to God using male pronouns?"

The Edina Community Lutheran Church in Minneapolis recently demonstrated how far the CE could go in terms of conforming Christian faith to modern designs with its "Sparkle Creed," wherein parishioners stake their belief "in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural."

Concerning the CE's contemplation of more gender-neutral phrasings, a spokesman for the church said, "Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female. ... Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship."

Conservative Anglicans stressed that "male and female imagery is not interchangeable," reported the Telegraph.

While the archbishop of York did not explicitly recommend a change to the Lord's Prayer in his remarks Friday, his provocative critique nevertheless comes at a time of great instability for the Anglican church.

In February, the conservative heads of numerous Anglican member churches renounced the primacy of the archbishop of Canterbury, citing the "recent decision of the Church of England's General Synod to legitimise and incorporate into the Church's liturgy the blessing of same sex unions" as cause.

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches said in a statement that the "Church of England has departed from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles by this innovation in the liturgies of the Church and her pastoral practice (contravening her own Canon A5), she has disqualified herself from leading the Communion as the historic 'Mother' Church,'" and "has chosen to break communion with those provinces who remain faithful to the historic biblical faith expressed in the Anglican formularies."

Despite the GSFA's renunciation earlier this year, Cottrell said in his remarks that the Anglican church was "not splitting" but does "face enormous challenges."

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Anglican church facing schism over Church of England's capitulations to LGBT activists — conservative archbishops have rejected primacy of Canterbury en masse



The Church of England renounced papal authority in 1534. Now, amid internal strife over whether to hold true to long-standing church teaching about the sacrament of marriage or to capitulate to LGBT activists, a host of conservative Anglican archbishops, including the head of the Anglican Church in North America, have renounced the primacy of the archbishop of Canterbury.

The Monday announcement by the heads of numerous Anglican member churches to cease recognition of the archbishop of Canterbury as the "first among equals" heralds a schism in the Anglican Communion, which the Wall Street Journal indicated could "threaten the very survival" of one of the world's biggest Christian denominations.

Marriage at the center of another schism

The Anglican Communion comprises tens of millions of believers in 42 autonomous provinces, each of which makes its own decisions. However, these decisions are informed by recommendations from the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates' Meeting, and the archbishop of Canterbury.

According to the Anglican Communion, the archbishop of Canterbury "is the Focus for Unity for the three other Instruments of Communion" for the coalition "and is therefore a unique focus for Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of Primates, and is President of the Anglican Consultative Council."

Extra to these responsibilities, Justin Welby, the 105th archbishop of Canterbury — who has been in the role since March 2013 — was long regarded by the Anglican Communion as the "primus inter pares" or "first among equals."

The relatively more orthodox Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches confirmed in a statement Monday that it has rejected Welby as the first among equals.

"With great sorrow at the recent decision of the Church of England’s General Synod to legitimise and incorporate into the Church’s liturgy the blessing of same sex unions, ten Primates of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) met virtually on 13 Feb 2023 under the chairmanship of Archbishop Justin Badi (Chairman of GSFA & Primate of South Sudan) to discuss our response," said the statement.

The GSFA primates claimed that the "Church of England has departed from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles by this innovation in the liturgies of the Church and her pastoral practice (contravening her own Canon A5), she has disqualified herself from leading the Communion as the historic 'Mother' Church" and added that "the Church of England has chosen to break communion with those provinces who remain faithful to the historic biblical faith expressed in the Anglican formularies ... and applied to the matter of marriage and sexuality in Lambeth Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference."

Marriage is evidently a divisive issue near and dear to Anglicans. After all, it was the very issue that first parted the CE from the Roman Catholic Church, which has maintained the orthodox view on marriage that the breakaway Anglicans have recognized on their own to be critical.

The GSFA primates, who indicated they spoke for 75% of the Anglicans around the world, noted they cannot recognize Welby as he "has sadly led his House of Bishops to make the recommendations that undergirded the General Synod Motion on 'Living in Love & Faith,' knowing that they run contrary to the faith & order of the orthodox provinces in the Communion whose people constitute the majority in the global flock recommendations."

The GFSA primates noted that this turn of events "breaks our hearts and we pray for the revisionist provinces to return to 'the faith once delivered' (Jude 3) and to us."

The statement was endorsed by 12 GFSA primates, hailing from various countries including the United States, Chile, Congo, and Brazil.

Following this seismic shift in the Anglican Communion, the GFSA plans to convene "other orthodox Primates in the Anglican Church across nations to re-set the Communion on its biblical foundation."

The Telegraph reported that this announcement came just weeks after the CE voted to allow blessings for gay and lesbian couples who have already been "married" or bound in secular civil partnerships.

TheBlaze previously reported that the blessings were something of a half-measure after CE bishops decided not to recommend that gays partake in the sacrament of marriage, "a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses."

Despite recommending against performing gay "marriages," the bishops resolved to offer gays "the fullest possible pastoral provision": "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or for God’s blessing on the couple in church following a civil marriage or partnership."

Additionally, the CE resolved to produce a new pastoral guidance in relation to the discernment of vocation to which all clergy would have to assent, replacing the December 1991 "Issues in Human Sexuality" statement from the CE general synod, which claims, among other things: "There is ... in Scripture an evolving convergence on the ideal of lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual union as the setting intended by God for the proper development of men and women as sexual beings. Sexual activity of any kind outside marriage comes to be seen as sinful, and homosexual practice as especially dishonourable."

The Wall Street Journal reported that conservatives in the Anglican Communion who prioritized tradition over fashion have grown increasingly critical of the infiltration of Western churches by leftist thinking, particularly in Africa, which accounts for nearly half of the world's 100 million or so Anglicans.

It is presently unclear how many of the 42 national Anglican churches will ultimately follow suit in rejecting Canterbury and the "innovation" it has embraced. The greater the number, the more significant this rebuke of the CE's apparent capitulation to LGBT activists.

Rev. Lee Gatiss, director of the pro-tradition Church Society, told the Journal, "It would very difficult for Archbishop Welby to restore his position — and that of the Church of England — after this, unless, perhaps, he were to get the English bishops to row back from their recent proposals to bless same-sex sexual relationships."

Leftists in England may find cause for celebration, however, granted this may enable them to more brazenly pursue heterodox ends in the CE.

Rev. Andrew Foreshew-Cain, a chaplain at the University of Oxford, indicated that CE bishops would do well to conform to the zeitgeist and "move toward full affirmation and welcome for LGBTI people."

A spokesman for Welby stated, "The deep disagreements that exist across the Anglican Communion on sexuality and marriage are not new. ... It is a fundamental principle of the Anglican Communion that no province can bind another province."

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Church of England won't support gay 'marriage' in its churches



Church of England bishops will not recommend that gays partake in the sacrament of marriage, "a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses."

The BBC reported that Anglican bishops finalized their recommendations after several years of debate on the CE's stance on sexuality. These recommendations will be factored in at the CE's general synod in February, where the decision will be formalized.

What are the details?

After a "six-year period of listening, learning and discernment known as Living in Love and Faith," CE bishops noted in a statement Wednesday that they are resolved to preserve the "Church's doctrine of Holy Matrimony."

Rhys Laverty, managing editor at the Davenant Institute, noted that "an organisation concluding that Holy Matrimony is between one man and one woman should not, in fact, be surprising," granted "'matrimony' literally means 'state of motherhood' (from Latin mater).

Notwithstanding the church's stance on this issue — the very issue that first distinguished the CE — the bishops nevertheless resolved to offer gays "the fullest possible pastoral provision": "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or for God’s blessing on the couple in church following a civil marriage or partnership."

Extra to making these concessions, new pastoral guidance in relation to the discernment of vocation will eventually be produced, "to which all clergy currently are asked to assent."

This prospective document would replace the December 1991 "Issues in Human Sexuality" statement from the CE general synod, which claims, among other things: "There is ... in Scripture an evolving convergence on the ideal of lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual union as the setting intended by God for the proper development of men and women as sexual beings. Sexual activity of any kind outside marriage comes to be seen as sinful, and homosexual practice as especially dishonourable."

The document also states that there is a "mismatch between [gays'] sexuality and their physical and often also their emotional capacity for parenthood. There may be for some a mismatch between their bodies and the ways in which they wish to express their mutual self-giving. Their sexuality can be a barrier rather than a help toward full man-woman complementarity."

The CE's "Issues in Human Sexuality," which declares clergy cannot enter into active gay relationships, further condemns as "bogus" the "philosophies of erotic freedom which have ... marked twentieth century European culture, and which have sought to justify every excess or deviation," for having advanced "chaos and misery, disease and death."

It is clear from the CE bishops' latest statement that much of the language and argumentation in this church document will be abrogated – no doubt favorable news for the church's "non-binary" Anglican priest and those clergymen driven to LGBT activism.

Apologies and 'breadcrumbs'

The church will reportedly be issuing an apology later this week to "LGBTQI+ people for the 'rejection, exclusion and hostility' they have faced in churches and the impact this has had on their lives."

Furthermore, the church will call on all congregations to welcome gay couples "unreservedly and joyfully" as they reaffirm their commitment to a "radical new Christian inclusion founded in scripture, in reason, in tradition, in theology and the Christian faith as the Church of England has received it — based on good, healthy, flourishing relationships, and in a proper 21st Century understanding of being human and of being sexual."

Various CE bishops commented on the proposals and the apparent balancing act between a prohibition on gay "marriages" and gay blessings.

Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, said, "I know that this has been costly and painful for many on all sides of the debate and has touched on deeply personal matters and strongly held beliefs."

Stephen Cottrell of York said, "This is not the end of that journey but we have reached a milestone and I hope that these prayers of love and faith can provide a way for us all to celebrate and affirm same-sex relationship."

Justin Welby, the bishop of Canterbury, stated, "I am under no illusions that what we are proposing today will appear to go too far for some and not nearly far enough for others, but it is my hope that what we have agreed will be received in a spirit of generosity, seeking the common good."

Peter Tatchell, an LGBT activist, did not appear to receive the news in a "spirit of generosity."

Tatchell tweeted that the CE's decision is "like the southern US churches that refused inter-racial marriages 60+ years ago. Anglican leaders are the ENEMY of human rights & LGBT+ equality!"

The Times noted that Jayne Ozanne, an LGBT activist on the synod, similarly denounced the bishops for not accommodating the zeitgeist, saying the proposals were "breadcrumbs from bishops."

"Therefore we are still second class and discriminated against, even with this really small concession," Ozanne added.

Penny Mordaunt, a senior Tory minister who failed in her recent bid to become prime minister, wrote to the bishop of Portsmouth, suggesting that the CE's refusal to marry gays has left many "feeling that they are treated as second-class citizens within our society."

NBC News noted that the CE is at the heart of the Anglican communion, accounting for over 85 million people in over 165 countries.

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'Non-binary' Anglican priest, 'making a huge difference in normalising it for children,' accused of 'grooming'



The Church of England's first so-called non-binary priest has gone beyond accepting his newly manufactured identity by "going into schools, doing assemblies and making a huge difference in normalising it for children."

A black conservative who was reportedly barred from the priesthood has suggested that this LGBT evangelization is tantamount to "grooming."

What are the details?

Bingo Allison is a 36-year-old father of three and a priest ordained in the Church of England.

Allison told the Liverpool Echo that God guided him away from the two sexes delineated in the Book of Genesis, resulting in a schism between the "strongly religious" and conservative tradition he was raised in — which, he suggested, "Some might call ... bigoted" — and a new "gender-queer" lifestyle.

Allison suggested that after encountering the term "gender-queer" seven years ago while completing his vicar training, "Everything suddenly clicked."

"I didn't know any trans people, and I think I probably met two gay people in my life," said Allison. "So it was like another planet almost to me. There were a few times when I really questioned things. But because I didn't really have the vocabulary to describe my experience, it just kind of didn't go anywhere."

With a newfound handle on the latest LGBT activist terminology, Allison claims to have revisited Genesis 1:27, in which the King James Bible and the English Standard Version both state, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Allison said the language of "male and female" contra "men and women" struck a chord.

"It was a deepening spiritual experience, I properly felt God was guiding me into this new truth about myself," he said.

Since mentally severing gender from sex, Allison has become an activist in his own right.

The Telegraph reported that Allison uses social media to spread the word of the LGBT movement.

In February 2020, Allison posted an image to Instagram in which he was wearing a purple hairband, eyeshadow, and make-up. The caption read, "Going to church because Jesus loves sparkly eyeshadow. #girlslikeus #transisbeautiful #nonbinary #eyeshadow."

The Anglican priest's LGBT evangelization is not limited to online engagements.

"When I'm wearing my collar it lets children know that is okay and that there is a place in church and the outside world for people like me," he said.

Allison claims he has been involved with local secular LGBT youth groups, in which he seeks to "normalise" his identity.

Calvin Robinson, an Anglican trainee vicar who was reportedly barred from becoming a Church of England priest on account of his traditional views, has publicly taken issue with Allison's LGBT ministry.

In response to the Liverpool Echo article about Allison, Robinson tweeted, "'Gender-queer' seems counter-Scriptural. 'the first openly non-binary priest to be ordained in the CofE' seems like vainglory. 'The 36-year-old attends schools and assemblies ... in the hope they can inspire others who find themselves in a similar situation' seems like grooming."

\u201c@LivEchoLive \u201cgender-queer\u201d seems counter-Scriptural.\n\n\u201cthe first openly non-binary priest to be ordained in the CofE\u201d seems like vainglory.\n\n\u201cThe 36-year-old attend schools and assemblies \u2026 in the hope they can inspire others who find themselves in a similar situation\u201d seems like grooming.\u201d
— Liverpool Live (@Liverpool Live) 1672575499

Robinson's intimation that the promotion of highly-sexual concepts to school children might amount to grooming is not his only reservation about Allison's approach.

Robinson, a black conservative who has expressed antipathy for identitarian leftist groups like BLM and suggested that women should not be ordained, appears to have voiced traditional and conservative Anglicans' reservation about the ostensible co-option of the faith by LGBT activists.

According to the Telegraph, Robinson trained to be a priest for years at the University of Oxford. He was set to begin a curacy at a parish in Holborn, London. However, Bishop Jonathan Baker of Fulham turned him down for the role in February 2022.

Beside Robinson's fidelity to tradition, an email exchange between Church of England bosses indicated that his claims that Britain was not a racist country disqualified him.

Sarah Mullally, the white, female bishop of London, reportedly told Robinson, a black man, to "listen to the lived experiences of ethnic minorities."

Bishop Baker cautioned in another message: "He is very active on Twitter and has a huge following (100,000 followers!). His political agenda is I guess what you would call libertarian anti-woke, anti-identity politics, Covid-skeptical etc."

Were racial politics not a pressing matter in the church, Robinson's rejection of LGBT activist conventions and beliefs would likely have been.

Extra to internalizing critical race theory precepts, senior members of the Anglican church have similarly embraced LGBT activism, terminology, and agendas.

Steven Croft, the bishop of Oxford and senior Anglican cleric, backed same-sex "marriage" and instructed clergy that they were not only to conduct gay "marriages" for their congregation, but were also themselves able to wed a same-sex partner.

This decision runs contrary to Anglican canon law, which prohibits the blessing or marrying of gay couples.

The Church of England has also issued pastoral guidance, adopted at General Synod in 2018, delineating how to approach and accommodate transsexuals.

For Anglicans already baptized who have become transsexuals, "the House of Bishops commends the rite of Affirmation of Baptismal Faith as the central feature of any service to recognize liturgically a person's gender transition."

The guide further recommends identifying "the preference of a transgender person in respect of their name and gendered (or other) pronouns."

Extra to baptism, at least one Anglican church has transmogrified its hymns to keep up with LGBT activists' preferences.

TheBlaze reported that All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough updated the words to "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." Instead of referencing Satan as well as Christ the Savior, the church substituted in "queer and questioning" "women, who by men have been erased."

It's not only transsexual parishioners for whom the Church of England has made accommodations.

In Wales resides the church's first transsexual priest, Reverend Canon "Sarah" Jones, who suggested to ITV that God is "non-binary."

Jones said, "Look, there are different sorts of churches with different sorts of views on all sorts of things. But there are a lot more inclusive churches than you might think."

For Robinson, inclusivity in the Church of England meant his exclusion. He recently left the church to join the breakaway group Global Anglican Future Conference.

\u201cThis is Reverend Bingo Allison a trans "priest"\n\nI guess he missed the part in the Bible where God created Man & Woman.\u201d
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@Sebastian Gorka DrG) 1672689093

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