Dr George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has issued an empassioned rallying cry to Christians in Britain: beware, your heritage is under threat. In an eloquent and highly personal defense of Christianity today, Dr Carey in the Daily Mail warns against anti-Christian campaigns such as the one that overthrew the tradition of prayers opening council meetings (as I reported yesterday here).
While Dr Carey is careful not to claim Christians are persecuted in Britain, he points out that expressions of Christian faith today get a hostile reception, and members of the Christian community feel ever more marginalised:
Will the next step be scrapping the prayers which mark the start of each day in Parliament? The reading from Cranmer’s Book Of Common Prayer asks MPs to ‘never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind’ — a vital message for all members, regardless of their faith.
These legal rulings may also mean Army chaplains could no longer serve, and that the Coronation Oath, in which the King or Queen pledges to maintain the laws of God and the lessons contained in the Gospels, would need to be abolished. This is a truly terrifying prospect.
Dr Carey fears for the rich tradition of British tolerance unless the Government is prepared to take action — by amend ingLocal Authority legislation and protecting Christian tradition, . Amen to that — as I hope the present Archbishop of Canterbury will come out and say.
” While Dr Carey is careful not to claim Christians are persecuted in Britain, he points out that expressions of Christian faith today get a hostile reception, and members of the Christian community feel ever more marginalised”
Well isn’t that just inevitable given that we are now firmly in a post-christian era, and that people now have access to so much more information indicating how misguided religion is. Maybe Dr Carey thinks it was wrong to have allowed the translation of the Bible into English.
Peter
February 14, 2012 at 17:34
I have recently started attacking evangelicals not becasue I am anti-christian in any way but just becasue I think many of their views are so dangerous as to be a danger to society, especially children.
The belief that every word in the bible is literally true and that the story of creation ( the seven day miracle) is true would not strike a cord with most christians and yet it is what fundemental christians like evangleicals teach their children.
It’s not right in my view to support faith for faiths sake without any view towards criticism at all, it helps no one, least of the majority of perfectly decent people whose beliefs are not extreme and many of whom deliver huge value to their communities through their faith.
Jane
February 29, 2012 at 18:57
Response to Peter.
There is lots of screaming opinion by desperate “liberals” trying to prove how “misguided religion is”
There are one or two so called educated albeit stupid people who se themselves up as leaders.
There is absolutely nothing whatsoever that proves anything of the sort.
JamesR
February 17, 2012 at 19:34
Peter,
‘isn’t that just inevitable…’ : So it is acceptable to marginalise a people? As long as, in your opinion they are being marginalised correctly, it is a justifiable and good action? That doesn’t sound like a free thinking attitude to me, it sounds positively discrimatory.
You seem to want to treat religion as a crime as most militant atheists do. To describe us as being in a post-Christian era is also not really correct is it? Perhaps just wishful thinking on your own part.
Jane,
You are understandably frightened by this.
But discussion and lucid explanation of the bible is the ONLY way deal with misunderstandings. In order to help you will need to learn.
If you are going to ‘attack’ you will no doubt be met with animosity, and this helps no one. Even Hollywood recognises this
: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
sola
March 17, 2012 at 09:07