Chris Street comments are in bright green;
highlights in yellow blockquotes.
Tony Blair: Mention God and you're a 'nutter'
by Telegraph
Reposted from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=INRTTT5I1400ZQFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/11/25/nblair125.xml
Tony blair has sparked controversy by claiming that people who speak about their religious faith can be viewed by society as "nutters".
- Your view: Can politics and religion mix?
- Cardinal urged Blair not to reveal conversion at Vatican
The former prime minister's comments came as he admitted for the first time that his faith was "hugely important" in influencing his decisions during his decade in power at Number 10, including going to war with Iraq in 2003.
"It's difficult if you talk about religious faith in our political system," Mr Blair said. "If you are in the American political system or others then you can talk about religious faith and people say 'yes, that's fair enough' and it is something they respond to quite naturally.
Even Alastair Campbell - his former communications director who once said, "We don't do God" - has conceded that Mr Blair's Christian faith played a central role in shaping "what he felt was important".
Peter Mandelson, one of Mr Blair's confidants, claimed that the former premier "takes a Bible with him wherever he goes" and habitually reads it last thing at night.
His comments, which will be broadcast next Sunday in a BBC1 television documentary, The Blair Years, have been welcomed by
The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev John Sentamu, said: "Mr Blair's comments highlight the need for greater recognition to be given to the role faith has played in shaping our country.
However, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, has been attacked by commentators who say that religion should be separated from politics and by those who feel that many of his decisions betrayed the Christian community.
In the interview, Mr Blair, who was highly reluctant ever to discuss his faith during his time in office, admitted:
Mr Blair is a regular churchgoer who was confirmed as an Anglican while at Oxford University, but has since attended Mass with his Roman Catholic wife, Cherie, and is expected to convert within the next few months.
He continued: "To do the prime minister's job properly you need to be able to separate yourself from the magnitude of the consequences of the decisions you are taking the whole time. Which doesn't mean to say … that you're insensitive to the magnitude of those consequences or that you don't feel them deeply.
"If you don't have that strength it's difficult to do the job, which is why the job is as much about character and temperament as it is about anything else. But for me having faith was an important part of being able to do that… Ultimately I think you've got to do what you think is right."
The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said last night that Mr Blair's comments echoed the feelings of religious leaders.
Mr Campbell, in the same TV programme as Mr Blair, said
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=INRTTT5I1400ZQFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/11/25/nblair125.xml
Tony blair has sparked controversy by claiming that people who speak about their religious faith can be viewed by society as "nutters".
- Your view: Can politics and religion mix?
- Cardinal urged Blair not to reveal conversion at Vatican
The former prime minister's comments came as he admitted for the first time that his faith was "hugely important" in influencing his decisions during his decade in power at Number 10, including going to war with Iraq in 2003.
Mr Blair complained that he had been unable to follow the example of US politicians, such as President George W. Bush, in being open about his faith because people in Britain regarded religion with suspicion.
"It's difficult if you talk about religious faith in our political system," Mr Blair said. "If you are in the American political system or others then you can talk about religious faith and people say 'yes, that's fair enough' and it is something they respond to quite naturally.
"You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter.I mean … you may go off and sit in the corner and … commune with the man upstairs and then come back and say 'right, I've been told the answer and that's it'."
Even Alastair Campbell - his former communications director who once said, "We don't do God" - has conceded that Mr Blair's Christian faith played a central role in shaping "what he felt was important".
Peter Mandelson, one of Mr Blair's confidants, claimed that the former premier "takes a Bible with him wherever he goes" and habitually reads it last thing at night.
His comments, which will be broadcast next Sunday in a BBC1 television documentary, The Blair Years, have been welcomed by
leading Church figures, who fear that the rise of secularism is pushing religion to the margins of society.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev John Sentamu, said: "Mr Blair's comments highlight the need for greater recognition to be given to the role faith has played in shaping our country.
Those secularists who would dismiss faith as nothing more than a private affair are profoundly mistaken in their understanding of faith."
However, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, has been attacked by commentators who say that religion should be separated from politics and by those who feel that many of his decisions betrayed the Christian community.
In the interview, Mr Blair, who was highly reluctant ever to discuss his faith during his time in office, admitted:
"If I am honest about it, of course it was hugely important. You know you can't have a religious faith and it be an insignificant aspect because it's profound about you and about you as a human being.
"There is no point in me denying it. I happen to have religious conviction. I don't actually think there is anything wrong in having religious conviction - on the contrary, I think it is a strength for people."
Mr Blair is a regular churchgoer who was confirmed as an Anglican while at Oxford University, but has since attended Mass with his Roman Catholic wife, Cherie, and is expected to convert within the next few months.
He continued: "To do the prime minister's job properly you need to be able to separate yourself from the magnitude of the consequences of the decisions you are taking the whole time. Which doesn't mean to say … that you're insensitive to the magnitude of those consequences or that you don't feel them deeply.
"If you don't have that strength it's difficult to do the job, which is why the job is as much about character and temperament as it is about anything else. But for me having faith was an important part of being able to do that… Ultimately I think you've got to do what you think is right."
Mr Blair's opponents say his religious zeal blinded him to the consequences of his actions, and point to his belief that his decision to go to war would be judged by God.
The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said last night that Mr Blair's comments echoed the feelings of religious leaders.
Mr Campbell, in the same TV programme as Mr Blair, said
the British public were "a bit wary of politicians who go on about God".
+++++++++++++++
Comments @ RichardDawkins.net
Those two statements are why faith should be viewed with such distain in politics. If you're making decisions that effect entire countries and the world, then you do indeed need to separate yourself from the weight of it all and simply make the most logical, rational decision based on the evidence given. Faith of the other hand is belief based on non existent proof.
So to say that your ability to make rational, evidence based decisions is aided by your ability to irrationally believe without evidence, is simply nuts. To then complain that it's unfair when people point this out is even more nutty.
Did god really tell Tony Blair to invade Iraq? If so, the nasty little invisible friend's judgement is as poor as his creature's.
This article presents us with a challenge. Tony Blair is quite right: in the UK it would be considered unseemly for a politician to bang on about his or her faith. However, as this article makes abundantly clear, this in no way prevents our politicians from basing their decisions on their faith anyway.
There is something hugely anti-democratic in this: a potential Prime Minister who campaigned on the basis that they would legislate according to their religious beliefs could almost certainly not get elected; but once elected, there is nothing to stop them doing just that.
So it strikes me that the challenge really isn't JUST to achieve the separation of church and State that we still don't have in the UK (though that would be a good start); but to continue to persuade individuals everywhere (potential politicians included!) that religion is irrational and not something that grown-ups should be basing their lives on. Until INDIVIDUALS wake up to this fact, there will always be individuals in positions of power who use their religion when making decisions that affect the rest of us, whether they declare this fact publicly or not.
For once, I agree wholeheartedly with the Archbishop of York:
Religion DOES play a larger role in shaping our country than many of us realise, and faith IS clearly more than a private affair. This is why faith, even when held privately, must be challenged at every opportunity.
Comments @ RichardDawkins.net
3. Comment #90380 by Conrad on November 25, 2007 at 12:31 am
"To do the prime minister's job properly you need to be able to separate yourself from the magnitude of the consequences of the decisions you are taking the whole time...But for me having faith was an important part of being able to do that"Those two statements are why faith should be viewed with such distain in politics. If you're making decisions that effect entire countries and the world, then you do indeed need to separate yourself from the weight of it all and simply make the most logical, rational decision based on the evidence given. Faith of the other hand is belief based on non existent proof.
So to say that your ability to make rational, evidence based decisions is aided by your ability to irrationally believe without evidence, is simply nuts. To then complain that it's unfair when people point this out is even more nutty.
6. Comment #90384 by Flagellant on November 25, 2007 at 1:18 am
Did god really tell Tony Blair to invade Iraq? If so, the nasty little invisible friend's judgement is as poor as his creature's.Comment #90400 by Northern Bright on November 25, 2007 at 2:45 am
This article presents us with a challenge. Tony Blair is quite right: in the UK it would be considered unseemly for a politician to bang on about his or her faith. However, as this article makes abundantly clear, this in no way prevents our politicians from basing their decisions on their faith anyway.There is something hugely anti-democratic in this: a potential Prime Minister who campaigned on the basis that they would legislate according to their religious beliefs could almost certainly not get elected; but once elected, there is nothing to stop them doing just that.
So it strikes me that the challenge really isn't JUST to achieve the separation of church and State that we still don't have in the UK (though that would be a good start); but to continue to persuade individuals everywhere (potential politicians included!) that religion is irrational and not something that grown-ups should be basing their lives on. Until INDIVIDUALS wake up to this fact, there will always be individuals in positions of power who use their religion when making decisions that affect the rest of us, whether they declare this fact publicly or not.
For once, I agree wholeheartedly with the Archbishop of York:
The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev John Sentamu, said: "Mr Blair's comments highlight the need for greater recognition to be given to the role faith has played in shaping our country. Those secularists who would dismiss faith as nothing more than a private affair are profoundly mistaken in their understanding of faith."
Religion DOES play a larger role in shaping our country than many of us realise, and faith IS clearly more than a private affair. This is why faith, even when held privately, must be challenged at every opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment