All entries by this author

Archbishop Still Clueless About Secularism *

Feb 11th, 2008 | Filed by

Wants ‘Christians and people of other faiths’ to reflect on the putative relationship between law and religion.… Read the rest



The postmodernist archbishop

Feb 11th, 2008 10:51 am | By

I read the whole archepiscopal speech a couple of days ago; that makes two of the archbishop’s speeches I’ve read in their entirety in the last couple of weeks. That’s a lot of waffly Williamsese to get through. I would love to do a really thorough line-by-line fisking, because every line deserves it – but it would take forever, and would be a baroque kind of luxury, because no one is convinced by the archbishop anyway. So I’m not going to do a line-by-line job, but I could give you a few highlights. Would you like that? Okay then.

One item is that it takes him until the bottom of page 3 (of very closely-printed pages) to acknowledge the elephant … Read the rest



He’s just making it worse

Feb 11th, 2008 9:38 am | By

He just doesn’t get it.

Part of the “burden and the privilege of being the Church” in the UK meant, Dr Williams said, the clergy needed “some coherent voice on behalf of all the faith communities living here”…The relationship between law and religion was a subject on which “Christians and people of other faiths ought to be doing some reflecting together”, he added.

No it isn’t, because there shouldn’t be any such relationship, for reasons which the Archbish himself mentions in the speech – without, of course, perceiving them as reasons.

[A]s any Muslim commentator will insist, what is in view is the eternal and absolute will of God for the universe and for its human inhabitants in particular…[S]haria

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There is nothing woolly-liberal about communitarianism

Feb 10th, 2008 1:59 pm | By

Matthew Parris considers the archbishop dangerous.

It is not useful, it is not even interesting, to begin an argument on whether Sharia should be given some kind of status within British law, unless you think there are otherwise potential conflicts…Unless, therefore, Dr Williams is proposing that elements of Sharia should be tolerated even though they appear to conflict with the general law, he is saying nothing interesting. They do conflict. And what happens when they do? The moment a private law appears to defy the general law, one question, and one alone, becomes central. It is the question of consent…Of group members, of course – and first – we must ask: is consent real, unanimous, complete? Is there duress?

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Matthew Parris Says the Archbish is Dangerous *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

Is consent real, unanimous, complete? Is there duress? Is there undue influence?… Read the rest



The Archbishop Clarifies *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

Christians cannot claim exceptions from a secular unitary system if they are not willing to accommodate other religious consciences.… Read the rest



Blogging Darwin *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

Every single week, we at Nature publish new research that reinforces and further enlightens the Origin. … Read the rest



Nick Cohen on Silencing With Libel Laws *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

Rich organisations and people can use British courts to suppress the freedom democratic societies rely on.… Read the rest



Catherine Bennett on the Archbishop’s Miracle *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

His challenge to equality under the law was so comically extreme that it clarified the issues handily.… Read the rest



Ruth Gledhill on What the Archbish Wants *

Feb 10th, 2008 | Filed by

Be sure to read the para just below the YouTube links. Then tear your hair.… Read the rest



BBC Explains: Sharia is Not So Bad *

Feb 9th, 2008 | Filed by

Some people have concerns, but it’s all a mistake really. Sharia is quite nice. Cheer up.… Read the rest



Archbishop Under Pressure to Quit *

Feb 9th, 2008 | Filed by

He is said to be shocked and hurt by the hostility his comments have provoked.… Read the rest



Riazat Butt on Settling Marital Disputes *

Feb 9th, 2008 | Filed by

A woman wanting divorce usually needs the consent of her husband. Men have the right of unilateral divorce. … Read the rest



Andrew Brown on Unwilling Martyrs *

Feb 9th, 2008 | Filed by

There are people at Lambeth Palace who could have told Williams; some did, but he thought he knew better.… Read the rest



Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on Archy’s Idea *

Feb 9th, 2008 | Filed by

He is naive to the point of folly if he imagines it is possible to pick and choose the bits that are relatively nice to the girls.… Read the rest



When Yasmin met Archy

Feb 9th, 2008 11:46 am | By

Yasmin A-B explains what Archy doesn’t get. Too bad he didn’t ask her before he jotted down the speech.

What Rowan Williams wishes upon us is an abomination…He would not want his own girls and women, I am sure, to “choose” to be governed by these laws he breezily endorses. And he is naive to the point of folly if he imagines it is possible to pick and choose the bits that are relatively nice to the girls…Look around the Islamic world where sharia rules and, in every single country, these ordinances reduce our human value to less than half that is accorded a male; homosexuals are imprisoned or killed, children have no free voice or autonomy, authoritarianism rules

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Andrew Brown is Optimistic *

Feb 8th, 2008 | Filed by

He likes ‘the archbishop’s vision of a kinder, more feminist, sharia.’ Meanwhile, back on planet earth…… Read the rest



Sharia in Ontario, Almost *

Feb 8th, 2008 | Filed by

Homa Arjomand argued that the recommendations would push back Canadian law by 1,400 years.… Read the rest



BBC Claims ‘Mixed Reaction’ to Archbishop *

Feb 8th, 2008 | Filed by

Then scrapes bottom of barrel to find enough people in favour to justify claim.… Read the rest



The Archbishop’s Lecture in full *

Feb 8th, 2008 | Filed by

Dr Williams has been reading Tariq Ramadan.… Read the rest