Christian Council of Britain
The Christian Council of Britain (CCoB) was founded in 2006 by Robert West and is closely linked to the British National Party. The CCoB website states that it is "intimately involved in the preservation of freedom of speech, person, property and religion; and will continue to be so. If you are a Christian, and especially if you are a British Christian or a pro-British Christian, we heartily invite you to join the Christian Council."[1]
Contents
Links to the BNP
The Rev. Robert West's name appeared in a BNP membership list which was leaked in 2008 and it has also been reported that he's the party's vicar[2] and in religious affairs spokesman.[3]
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Statement
In 2006 Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) (of which the Church of England is a member) stated that there was no connection between themselves and the CCoB. The statement read:
- A body calling itself the Christian Council of Britain and apparently associated with the BNP recently started joining protests against Jerry Springer: The Opera. Anthea Cox, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social justice, said, “I am outraged that the BNP and its allies are using Christianity to further their agenda of segregation and division. I think most Christians will be deeply affronted by this and want to speak out against such misguided extremism. We reaffirm our earlier statements that Christian belief is incompatible with any political party or philosophy that is based on hatred or treats people as inferior because of their race, beliefs or for any other reason. We are deeply concerned that some people are now appropriating Christian language and symbols for policies that are the very opposite of Christian values.”
- The CCB has claimed that the Bible justifies its support for the BNP’s repatriation policy. But the Revd Ken Howcroft, Coordinating Secretary for Conference and Communication, said “this was a way of interpreting scripture that was used to justify apartheid in South Africa, the banning of mixed-race marriages and the setting up of homelands. The South African Council of Churches condemned this interpretation, and some of the churches that did support this interpretation later formally repented. In Galatians, Paul writes ‘In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile,’ and this makes it clear that there is no Christian basis for racial discrimination or separation.”
People
- Rev. Robert West
- Mikal Greenberg - Membership Undersecretary
Contact
http://christiancouncilofbritain.co.uk
Notes
- ↑ Robert West, Introducing the Christian Council of Britain, CCoB website, 28 October 2010.
- ↑ Anna van Praagh and Patrick Sawer, Who would be part of the BNP?, The Telegraph, 22 November 2008.
- ↑ Church debates BNP ban for clergy, BBC, 8 February 2011.
