Sandhurst Royal Military Academy has long trained the very cream of the British military. Princes William and Harry both trained at the prestigious training school, as too did Winston Churchill. So it perhaps should come as no surprise that it is the latest British establishment to come under the scrutiny of the forces of institutionalised liberalism.The Senior Chaplain at Sandhurst, Reverend Jonathan Gough, has decided that Christian services at the academy are far too, well, Christian and has dropped the Church of England Creed from all services so that other religious minorities will not be offended.
The Creed, which is found in the Book of Common Prayer, begins: “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.”
Such provocative advocacy of Christianity was clearly too much for Rev. Gough, who decided to drop the Creed when he took office earlier this month.
The dropping of the Creed has outraged Christian cadets and civilians who are angry that centuries of tradition have been sacrificed upon the altar of political correctness.
Rev. Gough’s move is all the more puzzling because attendance at the service is not compulsory for the Sandhurst cadets, so any offence suffered by non-Christians attendees would be purely self-inflicted.
Mr. Gough, who is nicknamed the “Right On Rev” by some of his congregation, ended his service abruptly last Sunday without the Creed being read. Although an official explanation for its exclusion has not been forthcoming, a fellow chaplain at Sandhurst has confirmed that is was dropped to “stop upsetting cadets who do not believe in God.”
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Creed has been withdrawn from services at the Royal Memorial Chapel to make the services more “inclusive.”
One senior members of the Chapel said: “It’s a disgrace. Nobody was told and everybody has been left shocked and angry. It’s an attempt to be ‘right on’.”
Patrick Mercer, a former cadet at Sandhurst who went on to become the Bishop of Exeter, called for the Creed to be reestablished: “If you go to an Anglican Church service, you expect to hear an Anglican service. I think the good reverend is being a little too precious.”
An Army spokesman gave the following advice to those angered at this latest attempt to diminish the role of Christianity in public life:
“The people who are angry should sit down with Reverend Gough for a cup of tea.”
BNP NEWS TEAM
0 comments:
Post a Comment