A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from the London Times Online, August 6, 2002, with a headline:Harps and Trumpets welcome new Druid.”The Archbishop designate of Canterbury became a Druid yesterday as the sun rose through Avalonian mists on the coastline of his native Wales, Dr. Williams was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards an historic order of Druids with pagan roots.The hour long ceremony was held in a circle of standing stones erected a year and a day ago and hewn from Pembrokeshire stone like those at Stonehenge.To receive the honor Dr Williams passed between to portal stones set in alignment with the passage of the sun on the summer and winter solstices.He was one of dozens of bards and druids who arrived for their initiation along an avenue of spectators.During the ceremony he laid his hands on a giant sword before being escorted by a Druid, Handel Morgan to the heart of a circle where he was awaited by the spiritual mouth cornhurlis or cornucopia, the horn of plenty.The Archdruid, Dr. Robin Lewis, a retired lawyer and circuit judge, opened the ceremony with a question: Is there peace?Everyone responded: peace.The Gorsedd of Bards takes its name from the high seat which was the mount on which the sacred kings were wedded to the female spirit of the land in ancient times.Afterwards, Dr. Lewis defended the Gorsedd against charges of paganism.“Three Archbishops of Wales have been members.This was not a pagan ceremony this morning.”During the ceremony two Welsh Christian hymns were sung including “We Praise You O God of Our Fathers,” as well as the Welsh national anthem “Land of Our Fathers.”
Tom:
Well Dave, I don’t think this is too confusing, or is it?Well first of all, he is initiated as a Druid, a Bard in druidism.There is ancient druidism and there’s modern druidism.One is just a mixture of New Age ideas and the later is a mixture of spiritism and Mother Earth and ecology and so on and so forth.The earlier ones, it was shamanism basically.These were the high priests of these cults.
Dave:
Well you have to ask, what is the purpose of this?Why become one of these; why be initiated into this; what’s the point?Well, I suppose it gives him some status.People will realize he is not one of them and he is not narrow-minded and dogmatic and so forth.You can imagine Paul being initiated into this, or Peter, or Jesus.The Bible is very clear on the fact that there is one God.God says, I am God, there is none else.He has rules, he has laws, he is holy.There is only one way to approach him and that is through a sacrifice.
Tom:
Yes.He tells us this way, it’s not something esoteric that you have to hear from spirit entities or make up as you go along.
Dave:
Exactly.These people are like Eve, they have listened to another voice.The voice of the serpent.They have been following this religion that has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.In fact, it is a denial of Jesus Christ.It is a denial that there is only one true God and he is a personal God.He is not nature and the only way we can know him is on his terms.He has given us those terms.He has given us those terms in our conscience.The conscience of every human being knows that these stones have nothing to do.You’ve probably visited Stonehenge; I’ve been there several times.There was a worship of stones; there was a power of force.And there are those that would say all across England these lay lines.You have these things lined up because they worship; basically, the Star Wars Force is the modern version of it.But that there is some kind of a force in nature.
Tom:
For example: druidism.The term means oak, wisdom, they worship the sacred oaks.Mistletoe is one of their sacred items.
Dave:
So we have the worship of nature; the worship of creation instead of the Creator.
Tom:
The communication of spirit entities.
Dave:
And this man is the Archbishop designate of Canterbury.That means he will be the spiritual—when does it happen?Do you know Tom?
Tom:
I think in about six months and he will be the head of the Anglican Church.
Dave:
Spiritual head.
Tom:
Spiritual head and the Episcopal Church.
Dave:
Right.The queen is the political or I don’t know what you would call the head of the church.The Queen takes an oath, or the King of England takes an oath to be the defender of THE faith.
Tom:
By the way, other articles that I noted on this story also mentioned that the Queen is also a Druid.She is one of the accepted ones because according to this program, according to this particular program, you have to be Welsh speaking and she’s not, but she’s a part of this.Dave, isn’t this like masonry?Some people would say look, it’s not really spiritual, it’s a social kind of thing.These are ceremonies that have no meaning and so on, but what are they doing?Aren’t they bringing all people, as many as they can into an idea that que sera, sera.Whatever you believe about God, just as long as you have an idea about God and you’re not offensive to anybody else.I mean this is just another thrust of ecumenism.
Dave:
Yes, and that’s the day in which we live.Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.The disciples said “Are there many that would be saved?”Jesus said, “Strive to enter in at the straight gate.Straight is the gate; narrow is the way that leads to life, few there be that find it.Broad is the road that leads to destruction, many there be that go in there after.”You could say well wait a minute now, come on let’s not be narrow minded.But narrow minded?Mathematics is narrow-minded.Chemistry is narrow-minded.Physics is narrow-minded.Trying to get to the moon in a rocket-ship is narrow-minded, but God is not allowed to have any rules?You can just come to him anyway that you want?We’re back to the Garden of Eden again.Oh, we’re just eating a bit of fruit.No, this is rebellion against God.This is following the lie of the serpent and it is an abomination to God and now we have the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, the Church of England, joining in with this.It’s incredible.Well, no it’s not incredible, it’s happening all the time.
Tom:
Yes, and Dave these are brilliant people.We talked earlier about thoughtfulness.We’ll they’re thinking and they’re thinking is directed in a way in which they want, not in a way that in which….