In a boneheaded speech to narrow-minded believers, UK Prime minister Cameron had the following to say:
“Many people tell me it is easier to be Jewish or Muslim in Britain than in a secular country precisely because the tolerance that Christianity demands of our society provides greater space for other religious faiths, too.”
Ah. Many people, eh? Well, many people tell me that it is perfectly normal to kill homosexuals. Assertions, even if made by the majority, do not make facts. The history of Christianity easily belies every word of what Cameron said. It’s secular (humanist-enforced) rules that coerced England to stop persecuting other beliefs. So it’s actually against Christian tradition to be tolerant of other beliefs. Just how shallow is Cameron’s historical education? Doesn’t ‘Edict of Expulsion’ or ‘William Tyndale’ ring a bell? You know, people who don’t know their history and all that…
“People who, instead, advocate some sort of secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a moral code. Of course, faith is neither necessary nor sufficient for morality.”
It’s inconceivable that a thinking listener would let that direct contradiction slip by. Indeed, Morality has nothing to do with faith. If you are moral that’s good. If you also happen to have faith, that is coincidence. There is no role that faith has on morals except downgrading it. So it’s Cameron who doesn’t grasp the simple fact that secular neutrality makes it more likely to have a good moral code.
“Many atheists and agnostics live by a moral code – and there are Christians who don’t. But for people who do have a faith, that faith can be a guide or a helpful prod in the right direction – and, whether inspired by faith or not, that direction or moral code matters.”
It would be much better if people just were moral, regardless of their faith. Fact is, though, that more often than not, faith retards morals. All that Cameron is saying is that ‘people can be moral, and they can have faith’. There is no causality between faith and being morals, as Cameron said himself. Why is he still pretending that there is?
“THIRD, greater confidence in our Christianity can also inspire a stronger belief that we can get out there and actually change people’s lives, and improve both the spiritual, physical, and moral state of our country, and even the world.”
No. Goodness, no! Cameron obviously doesn’t realize that if he replaced ‘Christianity’ with ‘Islam’, he’d be saying exactly what the Taliban are saying. Doesn’t he get it that changing people’s lives based on faith is a terrible idea? Ask any woman in Pakistan. Not everyone shares your notion of what constitutes an improvement. And when we talk about ‘improvements’ based on religion, we almost always talk about restrictions: no gay marriages, no abortions, no women’s education, no blaspheming, no work on the holy day, etc. The more confidence you have in your religion, the more likely you are to impose your worldview on others.
It’s a bit frightening that the UK is currently led by a moral lightweight.
