Thanking a tyrant-bully for his crimes is not in the best interest of a nation.

The 15 who were captured were unbelievably weak, and should have been discharged the moment they were back on British soil. Also, every officer up their entire chain of command should be reprimanded for failure to oversee the proper training of those under their authority. Yes, it’s that big a disgrace, for military people to end up being such tools for an enemy’s use, and without a fight.

And if “the church” cares about society, it should say so as well.

One Christian’s opinion.

This doesn’t agree with Christian theology whatsoever. We’re called to be separate, a “holy nation,” regardless of how society acts.

You are also called to be a leaven within society. Regardless, it is impractical to believe that the clergy is somehow extra-sociological or super-sociological even if that is the ideal.

Although I would agree with you on a practical level, I remember a couple of years ago when Sen Rick Santorum said that the priest scandal in Boston was “no surprise” because it happened in a liberal city. Priests are recruited from the local populace for the most part. They reflect the politics and ideologies of their communities.

This doesn’t agree with Christian theology whatsoever. We’re called to be separate, a “holy nation,” regardless of how society acts.

Not really. It’s the Church by far.

PRCalDude on April 9, 2007 at 1:26 PM

Although I would agree with you on a practical level, I remember a couple of years ago when Sen Rick Santorum said that the priest scandal in Boston was “no surprise” because it happened in a liberal city. Priests are recruited from the local populace for the most part. They reflect the politics and ideologies of their communities.

All of the UK (as well as Europe) are a bit touched in the head. They think their self-loathing is introspection. Yes, the Catholic Church is weak in the UK and Europe (this is not an all inclusive list). And the Anglican Church seems to be in a freefall. Tony Blair looked pathetic during this crisis as did the Defense Ministry. But these are not isolated cases. This is the UK. This is Europe.

I hope she is shamed for the rest of her life for rolling over like….nevermind.

What am I saying? Even Austin Powers wouldn’t have given the Islamonuts the time of day…

It would seem that Iran played the Dhimmi game. Take away their uniforms as a symbol that if they come back again they will kill them next time. These idiots were spouting Iranian phrases for the camera which just shows how far they bent over to submit. What are the chances they renounced or claimed that they were not Christians? I’m betting none were Jewish.

Iran took them out of their military and sent them home as civilians. They should all be tossed out of the UK military since they surrendered, submitted and allowed themselves to be used as powerful propaganda against the very mission their countrymen and allies are fighting. Wonder if there were Korans in their gift bags?

Good job Europe! Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to announce on Monday the installation of 3,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment in the Natanz nuclear facility, the official Iranian news agency reported. 15 hostages captured and le…

Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: “We will never know whether the Iranian president’s decision to release the hostages was motivated by his religion or, most probably, by a desire to ensure that his best interests were served.

Yeah it’s quite a mystery isn’t it?
Did Ahmedinejad release the hostages distinguished guests out of the goodness of his Muslim heart?
Or…
Did he just decide that he had humiliated Great Britain enough?
It’s a real headscratcher.

- The Cat

“Cool Britannia” indeed.

What a sad joke.

They are offering to release the sailors and marines, not just as the result of diplomacy, but also as an act of mercy in accordance with their religion.

An utterly arbitrary and self-serving act of “mercy.” I wonder if Bishop Burns would now be condemning Iran had the hostages been executed. I doubt it. For the Burns of the world, our enemies always have the best motives, whereas we in the West always have the worst motives.

…if there were any values on the British side they were free-floating and not anchored in a spiritual and moral tradition.

If there were any values on the British side? The Bishop is implying that there aren’t. There’s nothing they value, nothing worth fighting or suffering for, nothing eternal, nothing transcendent. What values there might be are transient ones that no longer sustain a nation.

Modern Europe is rhetorically and philosophically incapable of explaining why any of this matters. Iran is. I think it’s a fair point the Bishop made.

Near as I can tell from the press, the British sailors were mistreated because they didn’t get fresh towels everyday…

On Monday, in one of the first accounts, Faye Turney, the sole woman in the detained crew, said that she “felt like a traitor” for agreeing to her captors’ demands to appear on Iranian TV and that she believed they had measured her for a coffin.

Another exercise in spin has backfired, making the MOD look indecisive yet again.

I have little respect for not-so Great Britain anyone after seeing the behavior of their marines. This is what liberalism will do to a culture. I was expecting them to submit to Islam while they were in captivity.

Conservative British (if there are any left): please feel free to emigrate to America.