Anglican View on Contentious Religious Matters.

:: By Elle Moore ::

I appreciate that Americans are obsessed with the "American Secularism",

so what I am about to write here may be surprising to you Americans.

Although Britain is a very open and tolerant country, regarding religion,

we are still basically a Christian country and proud to be so identified.

Although religion does not play a direct part in the Governance of the

country, all our state ceremonies, rituals, crowning, conventions of Head

of State and the Church relationships, we are an anglican country,

a Christian nation, and proud of it. With that introduction, I would

like to give you Americans an insight into the role of the Church

in British Politics, which is not imminent in America as you are a

Secular Nation. As you know, the Islamization of European nations is

of great and serious concern for some (most) of us and it is express-

ed well in reading this article about the Bishop of Rochester, an

Anglican Bishop but of Pakistani origins. (Interesting origins, and

because of it he sees more clearly the true problems and unclothes

the dressings of political politeness and calls a spade a spade.)

I would like to highlight the Bishop of Rochester's bold stance

on his Anglican Beliefs:
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who received death threats

for airing his views on Islamic issues, has vowed that he will

continue to speak out. His claim that Islamic extremism has

turned some parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims

led to fierce rows between political and religious leaders over the

impact of multiculturalism on this country. Threats were made

warning that he would not "live long" and would be "sorted out"

if he continued to criticise Islam. "If you disagree, that must be

met by counter-arguments, not by trying to silence people. It

was a threat not just to me, but to my family. I took it seriously,

so did the police. It gave me sleepless nights." However, it's

not the first time that his life has been endangered.
Shortly after being made a bishop in Pakistan - at 35 he was

the youngest in the Anglican Church - he was forced to flee to

Britain to seek refuge from Muslims who wanted to kill him.
He says that he never expected to suffer the same treatment in

Britain and expresses concerns over recent social developments.

"The real danger to Britain today is the spiritual and moral

vacuum that has occurred for the last 40 or 50 years. When

you have such a vacuum something will fill it. "If people are

not given a fresh way of understanding what it means to be a

Christian and what it means to be a Christian-based society

then something else may well take the place of all that we're

used to and that could be Islam." A highly-respected acad-

emic, he studied at Cambridge and Oxford - he speaks calmly

and with a measured deliberation. While the archbishop

received widespread support from within the Church,

Dr Nazir-Ali found himself isolated from his colleagues.

"I don't court popularity. If I say something it's because I

think it's important enough to say it. What I said was based

on evidence, and that has been strengthened as a result

of overwhelming correspondence." He wishes the Church

would be more vocal on issues of multiculturalism and

sharia law, but refuses to criticise his colleagues, although it

is clear he is baffled by their silence. "I can't guess why they

haven't talked on the issue. I'm not responsible for other

people's consciences." Is it due to cowardice?

"You'd have to ask them."
Finally I add: In quotes - "We all know that in virtually every

big city there are places where different kinds of people feel

uncomfortable. The Bishop of Rochester was right to raise this.

" Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights

Commission "I don't believe in multiculturalism. When people

come to this country they have to obey the laws of the land."

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the (Roman)

Catholic Church in England and Wales "There's a place for finding

what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects

of Muslim law." Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury
"In the name of multiculturalism, we have created

monocultural ghettoes." Ed Husain, author of The Islamist and

a former activist in the extremist Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir
[The above summary is to highlight how one Bishop is able

to express the anxieties of all Britons on issues that

have been swept under the carpet for Political Correctness.

It is time the Church of England spoke out for the Anglicans

of this country as well as for all loyal citizens of Britain.]

http://groups.google.com/group/politicalforum-2/browse_thread/thread/307d96989a44e0e/dabf2af2f1ffbe9e?lnk=st&q=anglican#dabf2af2f1ffbe9e

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The lead caption photo of The Cross, I took inside

St. Andrew's Anglican Church at London's High

Holborn. And while there, I also encountered the

three bishops shown here from left to right:

His Excellency, Most Rev'd Bernard

Longley, Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of

Westminster; His Grace, Right Rev'd

Christopher Chessun, Anglican Bishop of

Woolwich, and His Eminence, Bishop Basil

of the Russian Orthodox Church.

It was a golden opportunity for me to photo-

graph the three bishops of three faiths together

and to meet once again Bishops Longley and

Chessun from other personal encounteres with

them elsewhere. And to also meet for the first

time Bishop Basil, who is one of many other

Orthodox Patriarchs and Archbishops that

I have encountered and photographed in

different parts of the world over the past

30 years ... We were all at St. Andrew's for

the Centenary Celebrations of Christian

Unity Week (CCCUW).

Faithfully, Uncle Monty. +St. Chad, 2oo8.