Monday, April 6, 2009

Nazir-Ali speaks out against 'values vacuum'


Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, who announced his resignation as Bishop of Rochester last week, has spoken out against a “values vacuum” in the UK,and called on the nation to rediscover its Christian heritage.

The bishop, who steps down in September, said that the UK had left behind the moral framework provided by the Bible in favour of diversity.

Writing in The Telegraph, he said that there had been a “gradual loss of identity and cohesiveness” in society due to the abandonment of biblical values, which had long been held in the country.

In particular, he said that societies ideas about the sanctity of life, equality, natural rights and freedom all arose from a tradition rooted in the Bible.

He added that other faiths may have values which coincide with Bible-based values of the past, but said they would inevitably emphasise other aspects of life more than others, for example social solidarity over personal freedom.

Bishop Nazir-Ali claimed that there was a “values vacuum” caused by “historical amnesia” and which prompted the nation to remember and repent things like its involvement in the slave trade, exploitative colonialism and religious and ethnic persecution, but forget about things it should celebrate, such as the abolition of slavery, the Magna Carta, universal education and improving workers', women’s and children’s rights.

He said that whilst the church was concerned about this, it had also sometimes been complicit in watching “the erosion of Christian tradition”, for example in liberalising abortion laws and the erosion of marriage and Christianity in public institutions.

More here-

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/nazirali.speaks.out.against.values.vacuum/22989.htm

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