The BNP is turning to religion to justify its extreme policies.
The
passage most commonly cited by the Reverend in his attempts to do so is that
from Genesis 10: 5, 32, which according to the party upholds the notion that
the races should not mix through the 'teaching of nations':
Genesis
10:5, 32 (New International Version)
"5
From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their
clans within their nations, each with its own language.
32
These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within
their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the
flood."
According
to Nothing British, the BNP state
on the basis of these passages that:
'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.'
It
is interesting to note, however, that the very same passage is used by many
denominations of the Church to promote the idea that God made the world one big
family and that the different 'nations' were all derived from the children of
Noah and his wife. Indeed, the very next chapter of Genesis continues with 'And
the whole earth was of one language and of one speech,' which flies in the
face, along with most other Christian teaching, of what the BNP are offering
their supporters. God's decision to divide humankind into different tongues
only comes later, as a result of the building of the tower of Babel as a means
of reaching the heavens. Therefore it should surely be argued that true
believers should strive for unity, in line with God's intention to separate the
wrongdoers and bring together the righteous.
The
issue, then, is not whether there is any coherence in the Christian Council of
Britain's Biblical interpretation but, importantly, what effect the BNP's
recent affiliation with Christianity may be having on its levels of support. Stephen
Tomkins, writing for the Guardian,
expressed surprise in his article of Sunday 5 April 2009
that the 'Biblisation of marketing' has not
been more prolific, considering the potential of the text for supporting more
or less anything. No doubt the Anglican Church foresaw the potential power of
the BNP poster featuring Jesus quoted out of context (John 15:20) saying 'if
they have persecuted me they will also persecute you'. The Methodists, Baptists
and United Reformed Church all put out a statement condemning the adverts. Rowan
Williams and John Sentamu promptly attempted to counteract the message with the
denunciation of the party's policies and the urging of voters to deny support to
the BNP. The Church's clear efforts to distance itself from the BNP is not a
recent phenomenon, as Bishops holding a rally in 2004 in West Yorkshire declared to their followers that a vote for
the nationalists would be 'like spitting in the face of God'.
On 7
March this year the Chelmsford Diocesan Synod passed a resolution stating that
they called 'upon the parishes and people of the diocese to respond to God's
call to love our neighbour, to serve all His people and to build His Kingdom.
As we live this out, we urge that all take an active part in responding to the
challenge posed by the BNP and similar racist political parties.' This
declaration of war on xenophobia couldn't have come too soon to counteract the
work of what is according to the Synod 'a political party whose racist
foundation is incompatible with Christian discipleship'.
The
perceived rise in support for the BNP amongst voters is mirrored or reflected
in the growing number of Christian members of the BNP. The religious news
service, Ekklesia, reported a leaked
BNP membership list which included five Reverends, a number of individuals who
were listed as having associations with Churches, and those who attended Bible
studies regularly or were lay researchers in churches. It is therefore
increasingly evident through the stepped up religious rhetoric, that the party
is keen to present itself as faithful to the early doctrine of the Church and as
the modern defenders of Christianity in England. It is certainly disturbing that the party
continues to adopt the language of faith while pushing its agenda of hate,
separation and segregation, borrowed perhaps from other extreme interpretations
of religion, though never a trademark of mainstream Christianity, disseminating
further feelings of fear and division between communities and racial
backgrounds.
why dont you also publish the true meanings of the Koran. Let the ordinary British folk know exactly what the Koran teach; about the Jews, about non muslims.
All religions are complete rubbish and proven to be nothing more than stories passed down.
The social cohesion will come from when the hatred you are growing spills over and brings the people together.
Not from the mis information and dis information that this worthless scribble you publish as a blog.
Happy days! are coming just around the corner!!!
More drivel. I hope nobody gets paid for writing this nonsense.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Good piece, though a little soft on the history of Christianity. ('..hate, separation and segregation, borrowed perhaps from other extreme interpretations of religion, though never a trademark of mainstream Christianity..'. Hmmmm..'Never'? Really?) Christians, if they feel so inclined, ought to disown bigotry publicly and vocally.
However as you say yourself, 'the potential of the text for supporting more or less anything.', and the truth is if fascists and racists want to find something in holy texts to justify their bigotry they will be (and always have been) able to.
Frankly I think they're making it easy for us, and I'm grateful for them making sure the lines in the sand are clear: theological fascism on one side, and secularism and religious pluralism on the other.
Good to keep an eye on those neo-fascists in the BNP.
They will try to exploit anything to advance their nauseating agenda.
The fake vicar Robert West was sent packing by the good people of Norwich North in its recent by-election, and the BNP lost its deposit.
This routing of the BNP was undoubtedly helped by the unprecedented joint statement released by local churchmen that explained why they distanced themselves from West:
“It is important for us to do so since the British National Party candidate styles himself as 'Revd' and is often to be seen dressed as a clergyman,” they said.
“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 statement is signed by 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); and John Myhill (Society of Friends).
What makes you think the BNP is racist?
Racism is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as the belief that one race is superior to another, or hatred or discrimination based on the latter belief. Now why on earth does the desire by Red Indians to keep European immigrants out of North America 300 years ago or the desire by BNP members to keep out immigrants prove anything about a belief that one race is superior to another? You might as well argue that there is a man on the moon because carrots are coloured orange.
Moreover, what is wrong with the belief that one race is superior to another? If I point out that Negros win all the sprint events at the Olympics, presumably I get locked up for pointing to an obvious truth. I also believe that Australian Aboriginees have achieved next to nothing: another obvious truth.
John Piggot,
The fact that this is where your mind wanders when discussing issues of racism reveals all we need to know.
Also, the term 'Negros' is not really considered acceptable any more, and your usage of it is yet more revealing.
The Christian Council of Britain accepts, and welcomes, the Biblical teaching on race and nation and questions both the wisdom, and the morality, of the divide-and-rule society that the self-styled "liberals" have sought to impose upon both the British, and the other ethnic groups, now living cheek-by-jowel with us, somewhat uneasily, on this very small and over-crowded island. I have put our case, for this, on our CCoB website, in the articles' section; and would welcome any commentator's interaction, with our arguements, on this, so that the cause of truth may be advanced. Do, please, try to be specific in your comments so that precise answers can be given do dispel misunderstanding and provide genuine advances in knowledge and clarity of thought.