Post 143—Prince Charles on Religious Freedom

It’s for almost 55 years that I have felt some sort of affinity with Britain’s Prince Charles. My wife and I are about to celebrate our 55^th wedding anniversary.

Now in most cases, the above two sentences might be found in different chapters of a book or in different articles. What could they possibly have to do with each other and be found in successive sentences like here?  Perhaps a bit far sought, but it so happens that my late father-in-law’s name was Charles Prins. It was not his birth name; that was a classic Frisian name “Tjalling,” but its closest English equivalent was considered “Charles.”  So, that’s the name he adopted upon immigration to the USA in 1948. I’m not sure anyone at the time thought about the similarity to that of the Prince. Perhaps it’s a mere sentimentality, but since I always was fond of my father-in-law, that somehow transferred to the Prince as well. 

So, I was very happy that my sentimental hero—“sentimental” referring to me, not the Prince!—gave such an interesting

speech on the BBC’s “Thought for the Day” programme. Part of it was politically correct to liberal ears, and part to conservative ears. Now, we don’t usually hear political incorrectness from the mouth of princes, but this time it was couched in a nearly politically correct framework. Leave it to British royalty to manage such a contradiction!                                      

The politically correct for the liberals was the need to protect and give freedom to all religions, but then religion as defined by them, not by the religions themselves, particularly the scope of religions. The Prince defended his position by referring to a speech by the queen back in 2012, in which she stated that the Church of England has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths. Charles himself at one time described his responsibility as “defender of faith” rather than “defender of the faith,” something that shocked traditionalists, who “were furious,” according to the writer of the article, Tim Stanley. To them this was totally politically incorrect, but it should be remembered that “a key part of British identity is religious freedom,” which is often the stated reason for Muslims to come to Britain.

I am an orthodox Christian of the type often described as “Reformational.” (If you want to know more about that, I encourage you to check out my website <  www.SocialTheology.com  >)  As a Reformational, I totally agree with a government that is neutral when it comes to religions; neutral, not secular, which is a different thing altogether. I am talking about a government that treats all religions equally, which is what Prince Charles is talking about. Correct as far as liberals are concerned; incorrect as far as most conservatives are concerned. 

But then he turns around and begins to explicate about religious persecution by Muslims of Christians and other religions, including even fellow Muslims. Now he’s politically correct for the conservatives, who are offended that such persecution gets so little public attention, but incorrect for the liberals, many of whom do not care about this or refuse to make it a special issue, as in the case of the Canadian Government.

Alas, British royals don’t seem to have much clout in the political sphere. If you keep up with British developments, you should be aware of the strong anti-Christian bias in the country’s political sector, a situation that hardly reflects the ideals of the Prince. One would almost get the impression that he is a “mere” member of the public whose only power is his voice, on BBC in his case.

The article in which I find this info is written by Tim Stanley, a fine article but one in which it is not clear where the Prince’s speech ends and Stanley’s report begins. Stanley describes his message as “grim.”  “Tolerance is evaporating; the wars of religion are back.”  “For millions ‘religious freedom is a daily, stark choice between life and death.’ As well as oppression of Christianity in Iraq, he referred to attacks on Yazidis, Jews, Ahmadis, Baha’is and other minority faiths in the Middle East, and the persecution in other countries that aims to wipe out religious diversity.”

Stanley adds a few more interesting comments that I am not sure whether they are his or the Prince’s. “It is religious literacy, not secularism, that will bring an increasingly diverse nation together.”  I would say there’s more than just something to be said for that!  The other, “How wonderful, what a testament to Christian civilization, that faithful Muslims now seek refuge in Britain.”  Indeed, so it is, but one seldom hears this declared as a Christian virtue. Liberals consider this as their achievement. Allegedly, they have overcome the intolerance of Christians and thus created an open door for Muslims to enter. Personally, I wager that liberalism would not even exist if it were not for the Christian soil in which it sprouted.

I encourage you to read Stanley’s article at: https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=grim%2C+yes%2C+but+Charles+got+it+right.  (Vancouver Sun, Dec. 26, 2016, p. NP5)

Post 107--Beards--The Whys and Wherefores

I had another topic in mind for this post, but then I chanced upon an article about beards in a Dutch digital newspaper. Why, the question was, do men sport beards?  Since I have had a beard for decades and have had to endure that question time and again, let me clear the air once and for all.  And although I have a long list of subjects literally screaming at me for attention, I’m going to self-indulge today and talk about myself. However, before I get to my own personal reasons, let’s see or hear the explanations of some “authorities.”

The subject is such an earth-shaking one that no one less than the BBC entered the fray. Here’s the reference:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160418-the-real-reason-men-grow-beards

So, now you can get the real truth on the topic from the highest authority!  On this website you will meet British psychologist Tamsin Saxton who, according to Trouw, that Dutch paper, begins by nixing what is probably the greatest myth, namely that men expect women to be more attracted to bearded men than to the clean shaven type. It does not appear to be true. Instead, beards allegedly play more of a role in competition between males. Both men and women think of the bearded among us as the more dominant and aggressive. Also beards apparently elevate the status of their bearers. Instead of a charmer, we bearded ones consider ourselves more of a dominant fighter, something we allegedly relish

The article mentioned a number of other British researchers of beards. I don’t feel the need to mention them all, but one name strikes me as very humorous, if not hilarious. One who researched British beard fashions between 1842 and 1971 was called—no, I don’t think you guessed it—Nigel Barber! How appropriate is that!

I am utterly surprised that simple personal preference has not been accorded a role in all this discussion. Well, these experts should have called on me. I sport a beard because I happen to like the looks of a beard. Well, not just any beard. A cultured beard, one that is taken care of. The wild kind from your sideburns to your navel I abhor and think ugly, tasteless, whether combed or not. But I have wide tolerance for cultured and looked-after beards, especially when they’re black, which, unfortunately, mine is not. So, that is my main reason for having a beard: I just like the bearded look and dislike the totally clean shaven look.

Closely related to my liking a beard is my theory that God created us with hair both on top of our heads as well as our cheeks and chins to give us a chance to be creative with it. Not merely tolerate your hair and just comb it just to get it out of the way, but to use it as a personal expression of yourself; a statement, if you like. Let it bring out your individual self in a creative way. Be a hairy artist!

I have a healthy self-image, but I have never liked my hair, that is, my top hair, for it is straight and a dull blond. It does not allow me to do anything creative with it. So I had a perm for some years, but that apparently reduced my status among my peers as a “wild guy,” not respectable.  That’s when I discovered that status is important to me, in terms of respect more than pride. Then, when the price kept increasing, I decided to give it up, but I still kind of mourn its loss. As a result, my beard has become more precious to me. My hair just sits there on top, firmly restrained in its rebellious nature by tons of gel and  mouse.

I have three additional reasons for my beard, none of which seem to have surfaced in the research reports. The first is a genuinely pious reason. As a child I used to sit on my mother’s lap as she read from a children’s Bible full of pictures of bearded men—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the rest of them all sported beards. As a child I decided that I would grow a beard when I grew up to look like these holy venerables and get used to the beard world that I would undoubtedly meet in the next life, in Heaven. So, partially to identify with these saints, to honour them; partially to get myself in psychological shape for the next life.

Secondly, I have an underchin. Underchins don’t look very nice. So, I hide mine behind a beard!  Very simple. No one would know about that situation if my dear wife would cease telling people about it! But as she relishes telling people about my underchin, all my friends are aware of it. All my pleas to her to stop that story are of no avail with her!  She just keeps embarrassing me with that story.  By the way, do you recognize any humour in my telling you this underchin story?  I myself originally came up with this story just to be funny, but her many repetitions have taken the fun out of it for me! But for the rest, I love her.

There is a third and last reason for my beard, particularly its shape: a handlebar and a pointed chintuft. It apparently gives me a distinguished look not only but also humorous.  Here the twain meet: status and humour. I have a wild sense of humour and love to make people smile—and that’s what my beard does to people on the street. So many people on the street have negative facial expressions or just none at all, just blank, but my constellation of facial hair brings out the smiles and I love that. 

Never thought I could write 1000 words just on the topic of beards!  Today, I did it!  And I’m not even finished. Could tell you a couple of humorous stories on the subject. Alas, a 1000+ is enough for one day. Hope you enjoyed reading it.  Have a beardy day!