Anglican Church Lacks Leadership, Say Bishops
THE TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to provide leadership in the Anglican Church's war over homosexuality, according to two of his bishops.

In a speech to conservative evangelicals, who debated proposals for a new "church within a church", the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali said that there has been a lack of discipline.

Traditionalists have been upset that the Episcopal Church escaped punishment despite consecrating Gene Robinson as Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop.

The Bishop of Rochester told clergy that the new movement was equivalent to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, which led to the establishment of the Church of England.

He said that the Church has become too "wishy-washy" and urged evangelicals to stand against the liberal agenda.

"No Church can be effective without discipline," said Dr Nazir-Ali.

"That is what this situation is about. We are warned in the Bible about false teaching and persistent immorality.

"We are living at a time when the Church must be counter-cultural and strong. If we're not clear what we're about we haven't got a hope."

He added: "Whenever the Church has become worldly or faithless, it has been reformed.

"Now we need another movement to keep the Church faithful. I want to keep orthodox Anglicans together."

While the bishop did not name Dr Rowan Williams, delegates at the conference said that his message was a clear criticism on the archbishop's handling of the crisis. >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | November 15, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

Hallelujah! From the Man Who Should Be the Archbishop of Canterbury: Convert Those of Other Faiths to Christianity!
It is heartening indeed to hear this message coming from Dr Nazir-Ali. It is what I have been saying for so many years. This website is testimony to that; and so is my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age. And people who know me know very well that my message has been the same for about twenty-five years now. But people have been slow to wake up. Now it looks as if there’s at least some hope, though, that the West will wake up before it is too late. It is already five to midnight. But then, it has to grow a backbone too. And that’s going to be difficult with the politicians we have leading us today.

Dr Nazir-Ali has also called on the Church to start spreading the Gospel again. This is also something that I have stated many, many times before. No Church can survive for long without calling people to it, and underscoring the importance and superiority of the message is vital. No more than a car corporation can stay in business if its CEO doesn’t sing the praises of the company’s models. Who’d want to buy them? Similarly, who wants to attend a Church whose leadership isn’t clear of what the Church stands for; and believes in the pc dogma that all religions are equally valid, to boot? - ©Mark

"Let us pray that we are able to recover our Christian nerve in the west and make sure the Gospel is not lost, and that all that is valuable in western culture – much of which comes from its Judeo-Christian background – will survive as a way to enhance cultures in the west and renew them once again." - Dr Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester

Photo of Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The western world is losing its Christian values at a time when it needs them most, a leading bishop in the Church of England has warned.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed the declining importance of the church was creating a "double jeopardy" situation where faith was being challenged at a time when society would most benefit.

He said believers needed to "recover their nerve" and spread the Gospel again.

The outspoken bishop, who earlier this week told those who tolerate homosexuality in the clergy to repent, also said he was "frustrated" that decisions which had been made in the church had not been stuck to.

Dr Nazir-Ali was greeted with a standing ovation as he gave a speech to a breakaway summit in Jerusalem of more than 1,000 traditionalists from across the Anglican Communion who oppose gay priests and the blessing of same-sex unions.

He did not say that divisions over sexuality would lead to a schism in Anglicanism, and referred to unity being a "very precious thing".

Instead he called on those in the church to concentrate on mission – trying to convert those of other faiths and with no faith to Christianity. Western World Is Losing Christian Values, Says Leading Bishop >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent in Jerusalem | June 25, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers

Radical Islam Is Filling Void Left by Collapse of Christianity in the UK, Says Bishop of Rochester
I stated in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, that Islam would fill the vacuum in the UK and the West that a decline in Christianity would bring forth. It is gratifying, but very disturbing of course, that the very able, forthright and insightful Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, says the same thing.

I have called for strong leadership in the Church for quite some time now. Leadership in the Church of England is woefully weak. None is weaker than the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. The Bishop of Rochester would make a far better choice for Archbishop of Canterbury; indeed, he would be the right choice for the times.

Islam is now the greatest threat facing the West. We need strong political leadership and strong Church leadership if we are to stand any hope of winning this war. And make no mistake: War it is! There is a great deal at stake, too. Think liberty, think democracy, think humanity, think truth! - ©Mark

Photo of Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph

THE TELEGRAPH: The decline of Christian values is destroying Britishness and has created a "moral vacuum" which radical Islam is filling, one of the Church of England's leading bishops has warned.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, claimed the "social and sexual" revolution of the 1960s had led to a steep decline in the influence of Christianity over society which church leaders had failed to resist.

He said that in its place, Britain had become gripped by the doctrine of "endless self-indulgence" which had led to the destruction of family life, rising levels of drug abuse and drunkenness and mindless violence on the streets.

The bishop warns that the modern politicians' catchphrases of respect and tolerance will not be strong enough to prevent this collapse of traditional virtues, and said radical Islam is now moving in to fill the void created by the decline of Christianity.

His claims, in an article published in the new political magazine Standpoint, come just days after he accused the Church of England of failing in its duty to convert British Muslims to Christianity.

Dr Nazir-Ali claims in the new article that Britain, previously a "rabble of mutually hostile tribes", would never have become a global empire without the arrival of Christianity.

But he said the Church's influence began to wane during the 1960s, and quotes an academic who blames the loss of "faith and piety among women" for the steep decline in Christian worship.

He says Marxist students encouraged a "social and sexual revolution" to which liberal theologians and Church leaders "all but capitulated".

"It is this situation that has created the moral and spiritual vacuum in which we now find ourselves. While the Christian consensus was dissolved, nothing else, except perhaps endless self-indulgence, was put in its place." Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali: Radical Islam Is Filling Void Left by Collapse of Christianity in UK >>> By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | May 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

From the Man Who Should Be Archbishop: Church of England Not Doing Enough to Convert Muslims
Photo of Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph
MAIL ON SUNDAY: The Church of England was accused by one of its most senior bishops yesterday of failing in its duty to convert British Muslims to Christianity.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, said Church leaders had rightly shown sensitivity towards Muslims as part of efforts to welcome minority faiths.

But he said: ‘I think it may have gone too far and what we need now is to recover our nerve.’

Dr Nazir-Ali, who faced death threats earlier this year after saying that some parts of the country had become ‘no-go areas’ for non-Muslims, said that it was important for faiths to talk to one another without diluting their core beliefs.

‘Our nation is rooted in the Christian faith, and that is the basis for welcoming people of other faiths,’ he said. ‘You cannot have an honest conversation on the basis of fudge.’

The Pakistani-born bishop, who in 2002 was tipped to become Archbishop of Canterbury before Dr Rowan Williams took over from Dr George Carey, was echoing concerns that many Church leaders are abandoning attempts to spread Christianity among Muslims out of fear of a backlash.

Members of the Church’s ‘parliament’ have now forced the highly sensitive issue on to the agenda of this summer’s General Synod – despite the efforts of liberal bishops to warn them off. Church Is Not Doing Enough to Convert UK Muslims, Says Bishop >>> By Jonathan Petre | May 25, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)

Bishop of Rochester Reasserts 'No-Go' Claim
The man who should be made Archbishop of Canterbury!
Photo of Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, courtesy of The Sunday Telegraph
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: In his first interview since his controversial comments, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali vows not to be forced into silence

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who received death threats for airing his views on Islamic issues, has vowed that he will continue to speak out.

His claim that Islamic extremism has turned some parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims led to fierce rows between political and religious leaders over the impact of multiculturalism on this country.

Those comments were followed soon after by the Archbishop of Canterbury's suggestion that the adoption of aspects of sharia law in Britain was "unavoidable".

The bishops' views in The Sunday Telegraph sparked a storm of criticism and raised questions over the role of the Church in society but, most seriously for Dr Nazir-Ali, led to threats that he and his family would be harmed.

Yet, in his first interview since the sinister calls were made to his home, the Bishop of Rochester remains steadfastly defiant. He will not be silenced. "I believe people should not be prevented from speaking out," he says. "The issue had to be raised. There are times when Christian leaders have to speak out."

He arrived in Britain in the 1980s and seems to have taken up the mantle for defending the country's values he fears are being threatened by a loss of its Christian heritage.

Dressed casually in a roll-neck jumper and sports jacket, he seems relaxed now as he walks around his study in Bishopscourt, but it has clearly been a stressful time.

Threats were made warning that he would not "live long" and would be "sorted out" if he continued to criticise Islam.

"If you disagree, that must be met by counter-arguments, not by trying to silence people. It was a threat not just to me, but to my family. I took it seriously, so did the police. It gave me sleepless nights."

However, it's not the first time that his life has been endangered.

Shortly after being made a bishop in Pakistan - at 35 he was the youngest in the Anglican Church - he was forced to flee to Britain to seek refuge from Muslims who wanted to kill him.

He says that he never expected to suffer the same treatment in Britain and expresses concerns over recent social developments.

"The real danger to Britain today is the spiritual and moral vacuum that has occurred for the last 40 or 50 years. When you have such a vacuum something will fill it.

"If people are not given a fresh way of understanding what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a Christian-based society then something else may well take the place of all that we're used to and that could be Islam." Bishop of Rochester reasserts 'no-go' claim >>> By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent

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