UK: Bishop Nazir-Ali Boycotting Archdimmi Williams, Quietly Building his Power Base Inside CoE......
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali is one of my favorite Christian leaders, he is the only hope the Church of England has, if it isn't already too late.......
The news that Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, is boycotting the Lambeth Conference is a seriously important story. Bigger than anything happening at Gafcon.
Nazir-Ali is building a creeping power base inside the Church of England among ordinary churchgoers. That makes his absence from Lambeth a really high-profile setback for the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Rochester says he is staying away from Lambeth in protest at the presence of pro-gay bishops; other evangelical bishops may follow suit (and I reckon the numbers would be even larger if Nazir-Ali didn't annoy his colleagues so much with his self-importance).
But - and this is the crucial point - Nazir-Ali's popularity in England has very little to do with anti-gay sentiment. It's almost entirely the result of his brave stance against the creation of islands of Sharia law in Britain.
To me, by far the most shocking episode in the Church this year has been Dr Williams’s call for the extension of watered-down Sharia, and his slippery attempt to extricate himself from the controversy. The Pakistani-born Nazir-Ali has caught the mood of the nation as no other bishop has; his boycott of Lambeth will remind us all that the C of E has utterly failed to grapple with the challenge of radical Islam.
ZIP
H/T:OMVI
He needs to team up with the Pope...you know, a united front against barbarism, errr, Islam.
Posted by: UberInfidel67 | June 25, 2008 at 01:22 PM
Maybe Rowan will excommunicate him and he can convert to Rome! :)
Posted by: atheling | June 25, 2008 at 01:24 PM
I thought that too at first, but I think we need all religions to stand united against islam. But as a Catholic, I would still welcome him into the fold : )
Posted by: UberInfidel67 | June 25, 2008 at 02:58 PM
UI,
Thats right. Every major religion that has had contact with Islam has come up on the short end of the stick.
Posted by: Elric66 | June 25, 2008 at 03:09 PM