Rowan Williams flags up the utter irrelevance of the C of E

More religion than politics, but when a member of the House of Lords proposes changing the law, it comes within the remit of this blog, I think.

I know he thought he was being reasonable but he certainly wasn't. This country is already awash with 'honour' killings and other less violent oppression of women in the name of religion. And Dr. Williams thinks that's ok, does he? Because he's lending legitimacy to just such behaviour, indeed he's wanting to give it the full backing of the law. It's as if he's never heard of the Enlightenment.

We live in a country where people are allowed to choose their religion, or maybe none, their partner, their job, their home and all the other life choices that don't interfere with the same rights for others. And they're allowed to change their minds, to divorce, switch religions, and enjoy the freedoms of living in a liberal society.

Has there been a rush of Moslems praising Dr Williams proposal? No there hasn't, just voices raised against it. Moslem women who don't want to live in the sort of society espoused so foolishly by Dr Williams.

Even the odious George Carey has taken the opportunity to put the boot in. Odious and then some. I bumped into George Carey once, during the interval at the National Theatre. Well actually it was him who bumped into me. Rather heavily. It was the queue for the bar. Perhaps he thought that being Archbishop of Canterbury gave him prior rights to get at the alcohol; or perhaps he just needed it badly. He certainly looked as though he did.

No sooner have I written this than I find there's another one of them at it (no, not the drink this time, just sharing his political opinions). The portly Graham Dow has spoken out in his role as Bishop of Carlisle to tell us that he's taken a look at Gordon Brown's government and saw "a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy."

"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat and great authority."

"Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

Sometimes you wonder where they find them; and what on earth did Carlisle do to have a deranged lunatic like Graham Dow inflicted on them. With bishops like these, who needs enemies?

The sooner the C of E is disestablished and the bishopric fades into oblivion the better as far as I'm concerned.