by Peter Mullen, TCW
THE relentless and now catastrophic decline of Christianity in Britain, which amounts to its virtual disappearance, has not been thrust upon the Church as some dreadful form of persecution. The Church has willed its own destruction; a final catalyst applied by our monarch who has formally abdicated his authority as Defender of the Faith. But the Church itself has been complicit in its own obliteration. It has co-operated enthusiastically with the forces which sought its destruction.
It is shocking to see that the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has been a significant contributor to this betrayal. Whereas as a leader – the leader – of the Church of England, he should have been vigilant and active in the promotion of Christian formation, he has instead denigrated, deplored and undermined the Church’s purpose. Williams said, notoriously, disgracefully and iconoclastically: ‘The Church has a lot of catching up to do with secular values.’
In so saying, Williams spoke for the whole leadership of today’s Church. He merely gave his archiepiscopal voice to the secularised orthodoxy over which he presided. The English Church, as traditionally understood, has for all practical purposes, resigned. Edward Norman, then Dean of York, wrote in his book Secularisation: ‘Christianity is not being rejected in modern society – what is causing the decline of public support for the Church is the insistence of Church leaders themselves in representing secular enthusiasm for humanity as core-Christianity.’
That’s it in a nutshell.