The Shofar is the ancient trumpet which called the people of God to prayer, repentance, sacrifice and war.

THE WESTMINSTER DECLARATION

http://www.westminster2010.org.uk/declaration/

The was much said about the Westminster Declaration in Christian circles during the election. It attracted over 60,000 signatures, but drew fire from Protestant circles by being ecumenical. Leading signatories were Lord Carey (Former Archbishop of Canterbury ), Cardinal O'Brien (Catholic Church in Scotland ), Michael Nazir-Ali (Former Bishop of Rochester ), Steve Clifford (General Director, Evangelical Alliance) and Lyndon Bowring (Executive Chairman, CARE).

This is what it said:

THE DECLARATION
Protecting human life, protecting marriage, and protecting freedom of conscience are foundational for creating and maintaining strong families, caring communities and a just society. Our Christian faith compels us to speak and act in defence of all these.

OUR BELIEFS AND VALUES
As Christians we reaffirm historic belief in God the Father (who created us and gave us the blueprint for our lives together); in God the Son Jesus Christ our Saviour (accepting his incarnation, teaching, claims, miracles, death, resurrection and return in judgment); and in God the Holy Spirit (who lives within us, guides us and gives us strength). We commit ourselves to worship, honour and obey God.

As UK citizens we affirm our Christian commitment both to exercise social responsibility in working for the common good and also to be subject to all governing authorities and obey them except when they require us to act unjustly.

HUMAN LIFE
We believe that being made in the image of God, all human life has intrinsic and equal dignity and worth and that it is the duty of the state to protect the vulnerable. We will support, protect, and be advocates for such people û including children born and unborn, and all those who are sick, disabled, addicted, elderly, in single parent families, poor, exploited, trafficked, appropriately seeking asylum, threatened by environmental change, or exploited by unjust trade, aid or debt policies. We pledge to work to protect the life of every human being from conception to its natural end and we refuse to comply with any directive that compels us to participate in or facilitate abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that involves intentionally taking innocent human life. We will support those who take the same stand.

MARRIAGE
We pledge to support marriage û the lifelong covenantal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife. We believe it is divinely ordained, the only context for sexual intercourse, and the most important unit for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. We call on government to honour, promote and protect marriage and we refuse to submit to any edict forcing us to equate any other form of sexual partnership with marriage. We commit ourselves to continue affirming what we believe as Christians about sexual morality, marriage, and the family.

CONSCIENCE
We count it a special privilege to live in a democratic society where all citizens have the right to participate in the political process. We pledge to do what we can to ensure our laws are just and fair, particularly in protecting vulnerable people. We will seek to ensure that religious liberty and freedom of conscience are unequivocally protected against interference by the state and other threats, not only to individuals but also to institutions including families, charities, schools and religious communities. We will not be intimidated by any cultural or political power into silence or acquiescence and we will reject measures that seek to over-rule our Christian consciences or to restrict our freedoms to express Christian beliefs, or to worship and obey God.

COMMITMENT
We call upon all those in UK positions of leadership, responsibility and influence to pledge to respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold these beliefs and to act according to Christian conscience.

CANDIDATES HAD WESTMINSTER-LITE
General Election candidates were sent a slimmed-down version of the Declaration, isolating Christian liberties. Most Christian lobby groups working in Parliament have now retreated into defending this last piece of land as the tide of unrighteousness has flooded in.

The Westminster 2010 organisers say: 'We did not ask candidates to sign the Westminster declaration itself, but only to make the pledge to "respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express Christian beliefs and act according to Christian conscience". '

Their website lists those candidates who made that pledge. Christian Voice has extracted the successful candidates who signed, and also those who refused. It is shocking that so few MP's - just 57 - could bring themselves to promise to maintain Christian liberties, and that 16 - real enemies of the Gospel - went out of their way to refuse to sign.

These 57 candidates, returned as MP's, signed the Westminster 2010 Pledge:

  1. Nigel Adams, Selby and Ainsty (Con)
  2. Peter Aldous, Waveney (Con)
  3. Harriett Baldwin, West Worcestershire (Con)
  4. Sir Alan Beith, Berwick-upon-Tweed (LibDem)
  5. Henry Bellingham , North West Norfolk (Con)
  6. Bob Blackman, Harrow East (Con)
  7. Peter Bone, Wellingborough (Con)
  8. Graham Brady, Altrincham and Sale West (Con)
  9. Steve Brine, Winchester (Con)
  10. Fiona Bruce, Congleton (Con)
  11. Neil Carmichael, Stroud (Con)
  12. Jenny Chapman, Darlington (Lab)
  13. Alex Cunningham, Stockton North (Lab)
  14. Philip Davies, Shipley (Con)
  15. Jim Dobbin, Heywood and Middleton (Lab)
  16. Nigel Dodds, Belfast North (DUP)
  17. Jeffrey Donaldson, Lagan Valley (DUP)
  18. Charlie Elphicke, Dover (Con)
  19. Bill Esterson, Sefton Central (Lab)
  20. Michael Fallon, Sevenoaks (Con)
  21. Tim Farron, Westmorland and Lonsdale (LibDem)
  22. Mary Glindon, North Tyneside (Lab)
  23. Robert Goodwill, Scarborough and Whitby (Con)
  24. Richard Graham, Gloucester (Con)
  25. James Gray, North Wiltshire (Con)
  26. Robert Halfon, Harlow (Con)
  27. Richard Harrington, Watford (Con)
  28. Rebecca Harris, Castle Point (Con)
  29. Oliver Heald, North East Hertfordshire (Con)
  30. Nick Hurd, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Con)
  31. Margot James, Stourbridge (Con)
  32. David Jones, Clwyd West (Con)
  33. Liz Kendall, Leicester West (Lab)
  34. Andrea Leadsom, South Northamptonshire (Con)
  35. Jeremy Lefroy, Stafford (Con)
  36. Stephen Lloyd, Eastbourne (LibDem)
  37. Jonathan Lord, Woking (Con)
  38. Tim Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham (Con)
  39. Peter Luff, Mid Worcestershire (Con)
  40. Mary MacLeod, Brentford and Isleworth (Con)
  41. Catherine McKinnell, Newcastle upon Tyne North (Lab)
  42. Graeme Morrice, Livingston (Lab)
  43. Stephen Mosley, City of Chester (Con)
  44. David Mowat, Warrington South (Con)
  45. Ian Murray, Edinburgh South (Lab)
  46. Caroline Nokes, Romsey and Southampton North (Con)
  47. Ian Paisley Jnr, North Antrim (DUP)
  48. John Redwood, Wokingham (Con)
  49. Andrew Selous, South West Bedfordshire (Con)
  50. Jim Shannon, Strangford (DUP)
  51. Nicholas Soames, Mid Sussex (Con)
  52. Bob Stewart, Beckenham (Con)
  53. David Ward, Bradford East (LibDem)
  54. Steve Webb, Thornbury and Yate (LibDem)
  55. John Whittingdale, Maldon (Con)
  56. Sammy Wilson, East Antrim (DUP)
  57. Nadhim Zahawi, Stratford-on-Avon (Con)

These 16 candidates, returned as MP's, refused to sign the Westminster 2010 Pledge:

  1. James Arbuthnot, North East Hampshire (Con)
  2. Norman Baker, Lewes (LibDem)
  3. Nick Clegg, Sheffield , Hallam (LibDem)
  4. Ian Davidson, Glasgow South West (Lab)
  5. Tom Harris, Glasgow South (Lab)
  6. Mark Hendrick, Preston (Lab)
  7. Eric Joyce, Falkirk (Lab)
  8. Caroline Lucas, Brighton , Pavilion (Green Party)
  9. Kerry McCarthy, Bristol East (Lab)
  10. Meg Munn, Sheffield , Heeley (Lab)
  11. Pamela Nash, Airdrie and Shotts (Lab)
  12. Stephen Phillips, Sleaford and North Hykeham (Con)
  13. Andrew Smith, Oxford East (Lab)
  14. Jo Swinson, East Dunbartonshire (LibDem)
  15. Alan Whitehead, Southampton, Test (Lab)
  16. Jenny Willott, Cardiff Central (LibDem)

WRITE: If you live in the Constituency of any of these MP's, write to congratulate them or take them to task as appropriate. If your MP is not on the list, write to him/her and ask why he.she did not sign the Westminster Pledge.

THERESA MAY WILL NOT SUPPORT CHRISTIANS
One MP who did not sign the Westminster2010 Pledge was the new Home Secretary, Theresa May. Amongst her constituents are Mike and Susanne Wilkinson, who are now threatened with legal action by a pair of homosexuals who were turned away from their guest house in Cookham. We understand that Theresa May sent them a letter telling them that as they broke the law (the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2007), they must face the consequencies.

In a move reminiscient of the Vicar of Bray, who had a living a few miles downstream of Cookham on the River Thames, after voting against sodomy at 16, voting against adoption by gays, abstaining on the Sexual Orientation Regulations and voting for freedom of speech to criticise sodomy, she has refused to support her constituents. She will not even argue for a change in the law to protect Christian conscience.

PRAY: For Mike and Susanne Wilkinson. May they use every weapon the good Lord sends in resisting the claim against them. May they expose Theresa May for the opportunistic turn-coat she is. May they build a Christian alliance in Maidenhead for the whole Gospel.