DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - The Cross has been banned in school, a sign of the times?

**DF9sLGSU** · 10-17-2006, 11:17 PM

I thought they already did that? Certainly seemed that way when I attended Secondary School here in the UK; and R.E. was treated as a pretty insignificant part of the syllabus.
In XC,
Kris

Dear Kris,

Yes, you accurately describe the very sad state of affairs to which we have reduced ourselves in the UK.

George Orwell got it right when he wrote that you could not express ideas if you did not have the words to formulate the concept first, and here in the UK secularists have done a very good job in this respect.

Despite having by law an Established Church, we have allowed religion to become entirely privatised. The Bishops in the Lords pronounce on everything except those things we might expect from men of religion; and even when talking about moral issues, they are careful to frame their discourse within the prevailing secular fashions; none of this moral absolutism - anyone might think that something could be defined as 'wrong'.

I don't think the Bishops would accept this as a fair description, but that is because they are so acculturated that I doubt they would understand the perspective from which this critique is being made.

Peter's description of the interview is, alas, all too accurate. Only one dogma is to be tolerated, which is that almost everything is relative.

Peter asks:
How much of the anti-Christian mood is down to our own failures? If Christian discourse is denied a place in the public domain then is that because much Christian discourse is not very Christian and not very filled with the life of Christ? How much are we to blame for that? I fear that the answer to this has to be that Christians must, indeed, shoulder much of the blame. Our witness has clearly been inadequate. Too many people I know associate Christianity with either a fundamentalist literalism which is closed to thought and intellect, or a clinging to tradition which has the same features; either way, we are not coming across as people who have anything to say that is worth listening to.

At the same time, the young people amongst whom I spend so much time, would be interested if they thought we were approachable, and I see great work being done by men and women of all denominations. There is no doubt that the plethora of denominations gets in the way of effective mission.

In Christ,

John

10-17-2006, 11:17 PM	#48
DF9sLGSU Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 438 Senior Member	I thought they already did that? Certainly seemed that way when I attended Secondary School here in the UK; and R.E. was treated as a pretty insignificant part of the syllabus. In XC, Kris Dear Kris, Yes, you accurately describe the very sad state of affairs to which we have reduced ourselves in the UK. George Orwell got it right when he wrote that you could not express ideas if you did not have the words to formulate the concept first, and here in the UK secularists have done a very good job in this respect. Despite having by law an Established Church, we have allowed religion to become entirely privatised. The Bishops in the Lords pronounce on everything except those things we might expect from men of religion; and even when talking about moral issues, they are careful to frame their discourse within the prevailing secular fashions; none of this moral absolutism - anyone might think that something could be defined as 'wrong'. I don't think the Bishops would accept this as a fair description, but that is because they are so acculturated that I doubt they would understand the perspective from which this critique is being made. Peter's description of the interview is, alas, all too accurate. Only one dogma is to be tolerated, which is that almost everything is relative. Peter asks: How much of the anti-Christian mood is down to our own failures? If Christian discourse is denied a place in the public domain then is that because much Christian discourse is not very Christian and not very filled with the life of Christ? How much are we to blame for that? I fear that the answer to this has to be that Christians must, indeed, shoulder much of the blame. Our witness has clearly been inadequate. Too many people I know associate Christianity with either a fundamentalist literalism which is closed to thought and intellect, or a clinging to tradition which has the same features; either way, we are not coming across as people who have anything to say that is worth listening to. At the same time, the young people amongst whom I spend so much time, would be interested if they thought we were approachable, and I see great work being done by men and women of all denominations. There is no doubt that the plethora of denominations gets in the way of effective mission. In Christ, John
	Quote