Posted on 11/25/2007 4:41:18 AM PST by Huber
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the United States wields its power in a way that is worse than Britain during its imperial heyday.
Rowan Williams claimed that America’s attempt to intervene overseas by “clearing the decks” with a “quick burst of violent action” had led to “the worst of all worlds”.
In a wide-ranging interview with a British Muslim magazine, the Anglican leader linked criticism of the United States to one of his most pessimistic declarations about the state of western civilisation.
He said the crisis was caused not just by America’s actions but also by its misguided sense of its own mission. He poured scorn on the “chosen nation myth of America, meaning that what happens in America is very much at the heart of God’s purpose for humanity”.
Related Links Troops need our support, say clerics 'Realignment' of Anglican Communion underway Williams went beyond his previous critique of the conduct of the war on terror, saying the United States had lost the moral high ground since September 11. He urged it to launch a “generous and intelligent programme of aid directed to the societies that have been ravaged; a check on the economic exploitation of defeated territories; a demilitarisation of their presence”.
He went on to suggest that the West was fundamentally adrift: “Our modern western definition of humanity is clearly not working very well. There is something about western modernity which really does eat away at the soul.”
Williams suggested American leadership had broken down: “We have only one global hegemonic power. It is not accumulating territory: it is trying to accumulate influence and control. That’s not working.”
He contrasted it unfavourably with how the British Empire governed India. “It is one thing to take over a territory and then pour energy and resources into administering it and normalising it. Rightly or wrongly, that’s what the British Empire did — in India, for example.
“It is another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put it back together — Iraq, for example.”
In the interview in Emel, a Muslim lifestyle magazine, Williams makes only mild criticisms of the Islamic world. He said the Muslim world must acknowledge that its “political solutions were not the most impressive”.
He commends the Muslim practice of praying five times a day, which he says allows the remembrance of God to be “built in deeply in their daily rhythm”.
Ahh, go wax your eyebrows, Rowan.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
[This moral relativism is indicative of why the ABC is unable to discipline revisionists like TEC Presiding Bishop KJS --Huber]
...had better stick to tending to whatever souls are left in the UK rather than attempting moral judgements on war. After all, a bomb hasn't been dropped by the islamists on Canterbury or Westminster Cathedral as of yet.
Statistics indicate that church attendance has dropped by 80% or more.
“There is something about western modernity which really does eat away at the soul.”
Didn't the British in their imperial heyday, go to war twice against China, in an effort to force the Chinese to import British opium?
Annhh, Archie.
It’s not polite to criticize your neighbors. Christ said “Tend my sheep”, not “Get into political brou-ha-ha’s.”
We do vote with our feet, don’t we?
He sounds like "Ashley Wilkes" to Scarlet in "Gone With the Wind" ..."That was different...we didn't treat them like that".
He’s watching the liberalism eat away at his own church (divide it in two worldwide) while he’s aping the liberal-left line about America’s role in the world.
Williams senses that fighting terrorism in the UK is leading to “hate laws” that persecute Christians as he has written or spoken on previous occasions. I agree with those views in general.
He may have made other comments that I’m not aware of, but the gist of it is that he was very sympathetic to Islam and critical of the United States in this magazine.
Of course the mag may have chosen only to print certain parts of his comments, but maybe he should consult Cardinal Pell in Australia for some moral fortitude.
Liberal theology eats faith away until there is little or nothing left to have faith in. Rowan Williams should consider which side he is on. He seems to play the middle for now.
What a drama queen!
This creep blasts the US for defending itself while cozying up to Muslims. Go figure. This shows the twisted logic of liberals.
I just saw a “Get Carter” and “Children of Men”, both of which were filmed in England. “Get Carter was made in 1971, “Children of Men” came out last year. Every time I see a movie made in England, it looks like what I would picture the world would be after the Apocalypse. I am SO glad my ancestors left England.
Rowan Williams is an empty suit.
The Anglican Church today is nothing but a sham.
It cannot even bring itself to condemn homosexuality - much less save souls for Christ.
Foreign Policy?
Glass house & Stones when it comes to, “It is another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put it back together —”
The whole lot of his remarks are quite Freudian.
Archbishop of Canterbury should go to iran and preach the word of God on the streets
or Saudi Arabia
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