NO.10 BAN ON PRAYING (Bush-Blair)

Mirror ^ | Mirror.co.uk | Paul Gilfeather

[TonyBanks]

NO.10 BAN ON PRAYING

Nov 18 2003

By Paul Gilfeather, Whitehall Editor

TONY Blair has been banned from praying with George Bush.

The US president wanted the PM to join him in prayer at Durham Cathedral on Thursday.

But the official request from the White House was turned down amid fears that such an event would leave Mr Blair open to ridicule.

Both men prayed together at the president's Camp David retreat after making the final preparations for war with Iraq.

A Whitehall source said: "Durham Cathedral was mentioned to the White House as a possible place to visit and President Bush was very keen. He thought it would give them the perfect opportunity to pray together.

"But given all the negative publicity after their last prayer session together, Downing Street thought it would be wise to decline."

No.10 aides try to downplay Mr Blair's strong Christian beliefs.

Alastair Campbell once told him: "We don't do God" when he wanted to finish a TV broadcast with: "God bless you."

[CanisMajor2002]

Would it help if Blair prayed from his knees, facing East?

[isthisnickcool]

What's the big deal? It's not like they wanted to get in a room with a bunch of other guys (women excluded), kneel down, then pray to a rock while sniffing each other butts.

[beaversmom]

Ewwww, they actually wanted to pray together. What a couple of sickos!

[quack]

Matthew 18-Verse 20

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them

[RippinGood]

Slightly off-topic:

Durham Cathedral is one of the most beautiful in the UK. I tend to be in NE England about once a year for business and I have made it a habit to stop off in Durham for a short visit. The view from the train station is breathtaking – especially at sunbset on a clear day (o.k., so it doesn’t always work out that way…) and Durham is a great small town.

Couldn’t say it better than Bill Bryson:
"I couldn't believe that not once in twenty years had anyone said to me, 'You've never been to Durham? Good God, man, you must go at once! Please -- take my car.' ...So let me say it now: if you have never been to Durham, go at once. Take my car. It's wonderful" --Bill Bryson, Notes From A Small Island

[JohnnyZ]

Durham Cathedral is one of the most beautiful in the UK.

I skipped Durham in favor of York Minster. Bad move.

[Kirkwood]

Huh?! So many Britons don't pray? Or are they just emabarrassed to be seen in prayer? No wonder some of them are so weak-willed - they believe in nothing but their own miserable existence. Fortunately not all of the British are like that (I hope and pray).

[bernie_g]

I don't think it's embarassment exactly. More that many Britons tend to consider an interest in religion as sinister evidence of a tendency towards irrationality, so we really don't like seeing it in our politicians. We've all seen far too much evidence of what mixing religion and politics can do in Northern Ireland and when Britons think of religion in politics, they associate it with that sort of sectarian violence and Ulster's vast zoo of bigoted and hate-filled politicians. Religious politics has a bad rep here for what many of us consider to be excellent reasons.