Comments on: Archbishop of Cant calls for “cruel words” law?

By: Out of the loop | wongaBlog

Out of the loop | wongaBlog — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:18:58 +0000

[...] said that, the Archbishop’s ability to obfuscate his points to the point of abstraction is legendary – he’s good at making weasly statements that play to the faithful but give him an Out. I had [...]

By: Tim Atkinson

Tim Atkinson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:32:52 +0000

He’s frightened, pure and simple. This verbose, meandering over-diplomacy is fear. He is afraid to simply come out and say what he wants, quickly, clearly, bluntly. And that is the keynote with this man. He is afraid. He has been afraid since the very beginning, when he backtracked over the gay Canon. That was Rowan Williams sewn up once and for all right there and then at the very start. Nothing will change.

By: Tim Jackson

Tim Jackson — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:30:19 +0000

It really is absolute nonsense isn’t it? You have to ask what the point of him opening his mouth is if his meaning is so opaque. Is he trying to communicate or trying to avoid saying anything that he may have to justify? What a useless Archbish he is.

By: Ophelia Benson

Ophelia Benson — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:00:26 +0000

The speech is quite an impressive example of qualifying everything one says so heavily and at such orotund length that the meaning becomes (perhaps by design) hopelessly obscured. Sort of ‘It may possibly be not entirely beyond the scope of the ordinary or familiar forms of reasoned debate to suggest with all due caution and restraint and concern for the implications of the thought that conceivably it might under the right circumstances be not hopelessly futile to ask the question whether – ‘

He’s good at it, but what a thing to be good at.

Not surprising the Times wasn’t sure what the hell he was driving at.

By: Joe Otten

Joe Otten — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:34:30 +0000

Terrifying. It would be better to keep the blasphemy law than replace it with one that might actually get used.

By: martyn

martyn — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:47:33 +0000

Shame the can’t agree that their beliefs are a nonsense too.

By: Paul Tavener

Paul Tavener — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:39:32 +0000

We sort of agree that the blasphamy laws are a nonsense, but we want something in return when they are ditched…

By: Stuart H

Stuart H — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:45:00 +0000

‘what is just and good for individuals and groups in our society who hold religious beliefs’?
Since when were they either?
The average godbother doesn’t even seem capable of spelling words like ‘just’ or ‘good’ any more – never mind understanding that non-believers are capable of such qualities.
Unless they at least try and drag themselves up to the level of civility you’d expect from a small child how can they demand respect from the rest of us?

By: Stuart W

Stuart W — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:46:22 +0000

Translation – “Can we please make it illegal to say things that Christians don’t like, without calling it a ‘Blasphemy Law’, which implies special treatment?”