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'Bishops' Betrayal': The Church of England Bishops' Pastoral/Political Letter
'Bishops' Betrayal': The Church of England Bishops' Pastoral/Political Letter
Rev. Dr. Gavin Ashenden
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
February 22, 2015
There are moments in a nation's political history when there might come a time for a College of bishops to make a stand against some political extremism of either the left or the right, in the name of a humanity that is made in God's image; a theological intervention as a matter of holy principle.
But that is not the case in England, now. There is an election coming with political power up for grabs, and the bishops have entered the electoral fray. The have however dressed their intervention up in a lofty way, suggesting they are helping along a conversation that they alone can facilitate.
They have based their 52-page letter on the supposition that they have an angle to bring to elections discussions that no one else can provide. But their presentation of neutrality is false. Behind a cosmetic front, crafted with care in the first few pages, their real political prejudices seep out.
In their haste to attack the present Government, they present figures that are false.
Seemingly unable to bear to tell the truth about the real fall in the numbers of the unemployed under this Government, they disguise the fact; they appear to want to believe that in-work poverty has fallen -- so they say, contrary to other facts that it has risen.
They choose to attack aspects of globalisation the Left typically decries, and are silent on the advantages the Right celebrates.
They have views on the complexity of nuclear deterrent. They choose to attack the Trident programme which the Left has always done, without any accompanying analysis of wider or compensating defence issues.
They claim the poor are being discarded as the Left always does, and ignore the claims of the Right to have defended the poor from a dysfunctional Welfare system, and to have made substantial improvements.
It was clumsy take such trouble attempting to present the appearance of an even handed and apolitical approach, only to allow the soft socialism which has been endemic amongst Anglican clergy and particularly Anglican bishops, to emerge without restraint as the text develops.
When they were taken to task for this surrender of their spiritual credentials in order to play party politics, two bishops, Norwich and Leicester, writing in The Times newspaper, claimed that the C of E's daily ministry in partnership with schools, universities, hospitals and mother and toddlers groups gave them a right to make comments. That sounds quite impressive. But it is a piece of self congratulation that sits awkwardly with the real truth, the facts on the ground.
There is scarcely a vestige of Christianity left in the Church of England Schools where Christian identity and the articulation of any element of the Gospel have been abdicated for decades.The universities accept chaplaincies on the condition the chaplains submit to the authority of secular multiculturalism; hospitals mainly put up more or less ungraciously with Christian chaplains -- just; and Mother and Toddlers groups tend to be grateful for cheap premises but are seldom presented with the Gospel in any direct way; there is no flood of Mothers and Toddlers seeking baptism and membership of the Electoral roll. This list of agencies with which the Church interacts for their mutual benefit does not provide a platform for dispensing sophisticated political guidance...
More at this link...
Seemingly unable to bear to tell the truth about the real fall in the numbers of the unemployed under this Government, they disguise the fact; they appear to want to believe that in-work poverty has fallen -- so they say, contrary to other facts that it has risen.
They choose to attack aspects of globalisation the Left typically decries, and are silent on the advantages the Right celebrates.
They have views on the complexity of nuclear deterrent. They choose to attack the Trident programme which the Left has always done, without any accompanying analysis of wider or compensating defence issues.
They claim the poor are being discarded as the Left always does, and ignore the claims of the Right to have defended the poor from a dysfunctional Welfare system, and to have made substantial improvements.
It was clumsy take such trouble attempting to present the appearance of an even handed and apolitical approach, only to allow the soft socialism which has been endemic amongst Anglican clergy and particularly Anglican bishops, to emerge without restraint as the text develops.
When they were taken to task for this surrender of their spiritual credentials in order to play party politics, two bishops, Norwich and Leicester, writing in The Times newspaper, claimed that the C of E's daily ministry in partnership with schools, universities, hospitals and mother and toddlers groups gave them a right to make comments. That sounds quite impressive. But it is a piece of self congratulation that sits awkwardly with the real truth, the facts on the ground.
There is scarcely a vestige of Christianity left in the Church of England Schools where Christian identity and the articulation of any element of the Gospel have been abdicated for decades.The universities accept chaplaincies on the condition the chaplains submit to the authority of secular multiculturalism; hospitals mainly put up more or less ungraciously with Christian chaplains -- just; and Mother and Toddlers groups tend to be grateful for cheap premises but are seldom presented with the Gospel in any direct way; there is no flood of Mothers and Toddlers seeking baptism and membership of the Electoral roll. This list of agencies with which the Church interacts for their mutual benefit does not provide a platform for dispensing sophisticated political guidance...
More at this link...
