Wednesday 19 August 2009

West rebuked by Church of England - again

From There's Nothing British About the BNP:

BNP “Christian Council” uses God to justify racism

The “Christian Council of Britain” is a pseudo-religious organisation run by the racist “Reverand” Robert West the BNP’s vicar.

The BNP quote from the bible to justify their politics:
It is the will of God that the one race of mankind be divided into nations or descent groups with each having its own homeland where its interests, identity and values can be protected, upheld and promoted (Genesis 10: 5, 32; Acts 17: 26-27) . This right is claimed by all nations of the world who have used this right to promote their own independence in their own countries. In the British people now claiming this right for themselves they would appear not to be out of step with both the Word of God (the Holy Bible) and all the other ethnic groups that, by the Will of God, make up the world.
Rev. West then goes on to claim that calling the BNP racist
“… is misconceived in that the British National Party has no racist foundation, or ambition to displace or replace any nation, or ethnic group, from their own historic and national homeland; indeed the British National Party is striving for the integrity of the British people in their own homeland.”
The Christian Council of Britain – Christian Council’s answer – By Rev Robert West BNP.

However (t)he Church of England rejects BNP understanding of the Bible:

The Church of England (spoke) to Nothing British about the BNP’s The Christian Council of Britain.

A spokesman for the C of E said: ” The Church of England does not share what appears in this case to be a very particular interpretation of the scriptures.”

“As the Archbishops of Canterbury and York said on 24 May,

Christians have been deeply disturbed by the conscious adoption by the BNP of the language of our faith when the effect of those policies is not to promote those values but to foster fear and division within communities, especially between people of different faiths or racial background.”

HOPE not hate, Norfolk remembers that just before the by election in Norwich, church leaders were united in a statement which commented:
the British National Party candidate styles himself as ‘Revd’ and is often to be seen dressed as a clergyman. He belongs to no known denomination and voters should not be misled by his adoption of clerical dress. The policies he promotes are not shared by any of the Churches we serve and are contrary to the teaching of the New Testament. There we read that in Christ ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female’ (Galatians 3.28).
Christians in Norfolk and Norwich have had a long tradition of welcoming the stranger. We pray that this generous instinct may continue to be celebrated here.
The joint statement, which devastated Robert West's campaign in Norwich, was signed as follows:

The Rt. Revd. Graham James, Bishop of Norwich (Church of England)
The Rt. Revd. Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia (Roman Catholic)
The Revd. Graham Thompson, East Anglia District (Methodist Church)
The Revd. Richard Lewis, Regional Minister, Norfolk (Baptist Union)
The Revd. Paul Whittle, Moderator Eastern Province (United Reformed Church)
John Myhill (Society of Friends)

This would seem to place Robert West and his Christian Council of Britain (CCB) well outside mainstream Christian religion in Britain today.

It is difficult to see how the self-styled 'Reverend' West and his vanity parish, the CCB, can survive such humiliating and devastating comments from the established churches.

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