No protest from religious elites.

john | 17.04.2002 11:06

Where are the protests to Blairs planned genocide of Iraq.There appears to be no response to this planned violation of internaional law from either the established Church,or any other religiouse elites.

There appears to be no official protest by religious elites to the comming slaughter of innoucent Iraqi men, women and children.Tony Blair , we are led to bielieve, attends Church every Sunday, i wonder if any Priest or Church of England official as challenged him over his planned genocide of the Iraqi people.I find it quite amazing that a practising Christian could even contemplate the illegal atrocities that Blair is planning.
Perhaps as a confirmed atheist i have completely misunderstood the true meaning of the christian message, particularly the alleged sermon on the mount.It appears to me that this message of compassion and forgivness, today as throughout history,should really be interperated as one of vengence and murder.However ,leaving aside Blair and the Church elites, what of the practising Christians who attend Church every Sunday.I see nor hear any massed protest by these christians of the planned genocide.Moreover the head of the Christian church in England is completely silent on this matter as always.Can someone please inform me of any radical official protest by the Church establishment of the murderous intentions of our Christian Prime Minister.

john

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Churches condemn talk of military strikes

17.04.2002 11:32

The World Council of Churches has, since 1998, opposed military action on Iraq, arguing it would worsen the plight of Iraqi civilians. The Church of England and the Catholic Church have long condemned sanctions on Iraq for killing thousands of children. Last month, the Church of England warned against overthrowing the Iraqi regime, stating that 'no explicit UN Security Council resolution currently exists that would legitimate military action and it is difficult given the lack of international consensus to see how this could be achieved. Instead, the arguments put forward in favour of action reflect the priorities of American foreign policy.'

This year, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, warned that military action against Iraq was 'a dangerous step to take' and added that 'anything that doesn't lead to greater stability in the Middle East, anything that doesn't lead to long term peace in the Middle East should not be done'.

Daniel Brett
mail e-mail: dan@danielbrett.co.uk

Legitimate military action

17.04.2002 13:38

So the Christian leadership only wishes to legitimise the slaughter of the Iraqi people.Why? are they not leading the protest on the streets and how does Tony Blair equate his Christian values with homicidal genocide.Furthermore why? doesnt the Church of England disentangle itself from the criminal policies followed the state.Ihave yet to see any radical protest from canterbury ,or from the so called defender of the faith.Where is all the Christian protest when our homicidal Prime minister attends church.Surely just seeking to ligitimise this commming atrocity is no Christian answer to Blair and his Christian Brother George W.When are we going to see the Christian leadership on the streets protesting,after all given their christian morals they should be leading from the front.What we should be witnesing is outright condemnation of blairs new imperialist agenda,and a fundamental protest of all his domestic and foriegn policy.

John

Dear John

17.04.2002 14:12

Perhaps you have to learn to accept that not everyone shares your opinions. The fact that the 'religious elite' is prepared to criticise the sanctions on Iraq and proposals for war is as radical as you are going to get from any part of the establishment. It's a lot more than you'd get from much of the 'non-religious elite', such as the trade union leadership. One would not assume that the trade union bureaucracy represents the working class any more than one can assume George Carey or the Synod represents all Christians. Religious leaders don't necessarily reflect the views of the religious. There are some Christians hankering for war and some who resolutely oppose it, according to their individual interpretation of their faiths. The Campaign Against the Arms Trade has a sizeable Christian element who are very active pacifists.

Daniel Brett
mail e-mail: dan@danielbrett.co.uk

PS,from John.

17.04.2002 14:16

As a footnote to last comment,will we see anything of the religious elites on mayday this year.The Archbishop should be leading the protest.WHERE ARE THEY?

John

Liberation theology

17.04.2002 16:57

There has been a politicisation of Christianity by Christian socialists, most notably in the form of liberation theology. Go to

http://www.sabeel.org/ to read about liberation theology in Palestine, how it supports the peace movement and works in solidarity with the Palestinian people. There is a good exposition on Latin American liberation theology at

http://www.socinian.org/liberty.html At

http://www.landreform.org/ you can read about how liberation theology prompted the rise of peasant movements in Latin America. I hope this helps open your mind to the diversity of the Christian community. There are similar movements within Judaism, Islam and Hinduism which challenge orthodoxy and the establishment.

I'm not saying I support all this, because, as an atheist, I don't. But you must learn to respect the fact that those who have a religion can often use their faith for revolutionary ends and, conversely, many non-religious people can be politically apathetic.

Daniel Brett
mail e-mail: dan@danielbrett.co.uk

Liberation theology?

17.04.2002 17:57

Liberation theology, the indigenous inhabitants of Latin America were enslaved by the Roman Catholic Church at the hands of the Spanish Crusaders better known as the Conquistadores.I fail to see how the Christian religion can offer any true freedom to the present inhabitants.Adherance to any form of religious authority subjects society to omnipotent and arbitary power.True freedom can only be achieved when all the shackles of superstition have been thrown aside,and all religious authority desolved.Liberation cannot be found within the very institution that enslaves people in the first place.I repeat my original question.WHERE IS THE PROTEST OF THE RELIGIOUS ELITES OF THIS COUNTRY!

John.

Personally

18.04.2002 18:21

I blame the Quaker conspiracy

Gonzo