Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali (former Bishop of Rochester), Pastor Ade Omooba (founder and Director of Christian Concern) and other church leaders have had a letter published in the Sunday Telegraph, giving a Christian perspective on the riots.
The full text of the letter is reproduced below:
The new barbarism
SIR – We write as senior church leaders whose congregations have been affected by the recent violence on our streets.
What made Britain great was a sense of responsibility, of accountability to one another and, ultimately, to God. It is the loss of this moral framework that has led to the plunge into the new barbarism. We must take steps immediately to strengthen the family as a place for moral and spiritual formation where our children first learn about boundaries.
The churches are also committed to the task of supporting schools in their work of instilling the young with values derived from the timeless life-enhancing principles of the Bible.
What we instil in children today will determine in the future how they govern a nation, influence our policies and ultimately determine the quality of life in our communities.
We each make choices and decisions based on our value systems. Godlessness has only produced selfishness and greed. The well-tried Christian faith has given us hope in the past and can do so again now.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
Former Bishop of Rochester and President of Oxtrad
Pastor Ade Omooba
Co-Founder, Christian Concern/Christian Legal Centre
Pastor Kofi Banful
Senior Pastor, Praise Chapel, Edgware, Middlesex
Rev Celia Apeagyei-Collins
Rehoboth Foundation, London E16
Rev Wale Hudson-Roberts
Founder African Development Forum, London
Pastor Lanre Sholola
Co-Founder, Christian Victory Group, London SW9
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