The Archbishop of Canterbury has surprisingly reignited the row today over the separation of church and state by saying it is “not the end of the world” if the established church were to disappear.
Rowan Williams, the most senior figure in the Church of England, argues that there is a “certain integrity” to a church that was free from state sanctions.
His endorsement of disestablishment comes in an interview published today in this week’s New Statesman.
I’m at a loss to even understand what and why he thinks this way!
#1 – Plenty of people enjoy the Muppets!
Reading the article, it’s not clear he does think that way. Not having the whole text, it’s hard to say, but what they do quote from him doesn’t add up to an endorsement. It seems more to me to be an acceptance of the inevitability of disestablishment– which I think he’s quite right about– and an attempt to try to say, “look, if this has to happen, we want some input into how it happens.”
I have to say, though, that the Muppets and Andrei Rublev in the same mind together is more than mine can handle. (Though I’ve only seen the 180 minute version of the latter; perhaps the 204 minute version makes more sense.)
Riazat Butt’s article is misleading in its content, title and subtitle, [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/18/rowan-williams-anglican-disestablishment-muppets]’Archbishop backs disestablishment (and the Muppets)'[/url], The Guardian, 18 December 2008.
Stephen Bates, corrects this impression given by the religion correspondent of the Guardian, in the same edition of The Guardian (…) in his article [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/18/rowan-williams-disestablishment-new-statesman]’How Williams changed views on splitting church from state’.[/url] He makes it clear that the view change was in fact towards keeping the establishment of the Church of England.
There was a very fine [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7789000/7789222.stm]15 minute interview[/url] of Rowan Williams by John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4 Today programme yesterday morning, Thursday.
The perceptive New Statesman article, quoted by Riazat Butt, is by James Macintyre, [url=http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2008/12/williams-archbishop-lambeth]’Interview: Rowan Williams'[/url], 18 December 2008. The subtitle explains the context:
[blockquote]Over the course of a turbulent year the Archbishop of Canterbury had a series of meetings with James Macintyre during which he spoke about sharia law, capitalism, the disestablishment of the Church, and his love of The West Wing.[/blockquote]
I love the Muppet Christmas carol. I thought using Statler and Waldorf as the Brothers Marley was an absolute riot.
Perhaps the ABC really meant to echo Kermit’s “It’s hard being green” and was mis-heard to say “It’s hard being in-between”?