PATRIOTIC HYMN INCORRECT

When a Church of England Bishop thinks patriotism is "Nazi", it shows how far that church has lapsed into intellectual and moral decreptitude

"A Church of England bishop has called on churches to ban the singing of I Vow to Thee, My Country, one of the best known hymns, because he says it is heretical and has racist overtones. The Bishop of Hulme, the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, said the hymn's popularity was a symptom of a "dangerous" increase in English nationalism which had parallels with the rise of Nazism. Its associations with the British empire were also questionable in a multi-faith, multi-cultural society.

The patriotic hymn, which is set to music from Gustav Holst's The Planets, is a popular choice for Remembrance Day services and other national occasions. It was sung at the wedding of the Princess of Wales, who said it had been a favourite of hers since her schooldays. It was also sung at her funeral in 1997. A version was adapted as the anthem for the Rugby World Cup.

The bishop said the words, written by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice in 1918, were "totally heretical" because they suggested that people should pledge their allegiance to their country before God...

Bishop Lowe criticised the hymn in Crux, the Manchester diocesan newsletter. "I quoted it as one example of my concerns about growing nationalism," he told the Telegraph. "While I am proud to be English, it is dangerous for a nation to suggest that our culture is somehow superior to others.""

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CONSERVATIVE PREACHING INCORRECT

But Leftist preaching in old-line churches OK

"A fight is erupting this election season between conservative churches and liberal watchdog groups that are going to the IRS and accusing ministers of violating the law if they speak out about political issues and candidates. 'Right now, it's very one-sided,' said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a conservative legal-action group. He said the liberal Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) -- led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn -- has been 'very aggressive' in going after churches 'that are conservative in their leanings.' But AU has 'looked the other way,' with a few exceptions, when it comes to more liberal-leaning churches, Sekulow said. The Rev. Jerry Falwell calls it a 'scare tactic' designed to prevent evangelical ministers from mobilizing millions of Christians behind President Bush."

More here. See here on the Leftist religion of the old mainstream churches.



SOME LONG-OVERDUE GOOD SENSE FROM THE LEADER OF BRITAIN'S CONSERVATIVE PARTY

"There are many factors that have contributed to the breakdown of law and order in Britain today. The police, the courts and the prison service are simply picking up the pieces of other people's failures. As a society, we are in danger of being overrun by values that eat away at people's respect for themselves, each other, their homes and their neighbourhood.

Most damaging of all has been the dramatic decline in personal responsibility. Many people now believe that they are no longer wholly responsible for their actions. It's someone else's, or something else's fault - the environment, society, the Government. And while responsibility has declined, rights have proliferated. "I've got my rights" is the verbal equivalent of two-fingers to authority.

There is now a palpable sense of outrage that a cult of human rights has tipped the balance of justice in favour of the criminal and the wrong-doer - rather than the victim and the law-abider. Conservatives will stand up for the silent, law-abiding majority who play by the rules and pay their dues. We will put their rights first.

Political correctness and paperwork are undermining our police. The police can do their job properly only if they are able to intervene, to confront and to take action against crime and anti-social behaviour. They cannot police our streets if they have one hand tied behind their back, or if paperwork keeps them chained to their desks. So great is the deluge of paperwork that, for every extra police officer Labour has recruited, almost one extra bureaucrat has had to be employed. So great is the number of pen-pushers that they will not fit into the new Home Office that Labour is building."

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