I’ve heard of the vicar of Dibly, but today I wish I hadn’t heard of Vicar Tilby! She was providing the “Thought for the Day” contribution on the BBC Today this morning and what a pro-Islamic troll she was! At one point she had the temerity to refer to a press release from Muslim clerics last year as being akin to hearing “the voice of God.” Allah be praised. Naturally she had a go at President Bush before concluding her segment with the wise words that we need to listen to Islam a lot more than we do. She has a point in one way – if we listen carefully then we might all realise it is more a pathology and less of a religion – though I doubt this is what the vicar was getting at. My point here is that this “Thought for the Day” section is most frequently given over left-wing pseudo-clerics who then use it as just one more front to propagandise for the leftist chic so beloved of Al Beeb. Religion is culture war by other means when it comes to the BBC.
Useful fools and all that!
It is people like her, only too willing to appease Islam, that Islam relies on for spreading without conflict.
Mailman
She’s right. Up until a few years ago, I was of the impression that Islam was one of the three Abrahamic religions which, through no fault of its own, had a ‘small minority of unrepresentative extremists’ carrying out atrocities in its name which normal Muslims were absolutely against and were quick to condemn. Basically the message the BBC and the rest of the Main-Stream Media trot out with much gusto.
After closer inspection, I began to realise what a big load of bollocks that was.
Didn’t hear Thought for the Day, but I’ve read the transcript online. Generally, I think I prefer Angela Tilby’s optimistic, if simplistic, sentiment over David Vance’s blinkered, reactionary falsehoods.
How do you put blinkers on a falsehood?
Scott – pls post a link to the transcript. Thx.
Here is the transcript:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/thought/documents/t20080612.shtml
It reads like a Guardian editorial sprinkled with holy water.
Interestingly she mentions the word “Bush” twice, “President” 3 times, “God” twice and “Christ” only once.
She exhorts to us to listen to these muslims – but gives no hint at all what on earth they had to say. Did she listen to them herself ?
The vicar in question seems to manifest symptoms of the Stockholm syndrome…there seems to be plenty like her at the beeb who if not using islam as a weapon against the west support it out of fear.
Here is the last sentence:
“If President Bush wants to be remembered as a man of peace perhaps our best response to him would be to listen receptively to those who speak for Islam as a religion of peace.”
Lets have a look at this. We can respond to Bush by listening to someone else.
But only if Bush wants to be remembered blah blah.
The woman has lost the plot. Maybe its all that cheap communion wine?
The odd thing with these vapid simpering islamophiles is that they haven’t the guts to convert.
They really do think that muslims are just like themselves but with funny hats and better suntans.
Its somewhere between Stockholm Syndrome and Pollyanna Syndrome with a bit of schizophrenia mixed in.
She doesn’t seem to remember Muslim reaction when the Holy Father made one or two observations about Islam at Regensburg.
Googling her, she seeme to be more of an all-purpose, eclesiastical media chick than any vicar I’ve ever heard of.
I particularly enjoyed her ratings on “Platitude for The Day”.
A site that definitely deserves a bookmark.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Angela+Tilby&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
Piers Paul Read had a different take on it:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/269411/the-muslims-letter-to-the-pope-is-not-all-it-seems.thtml
Hugh – I don’t think the dippy vicar has actually read what the muslims wrote.
She just liked the idea of a jolly letter and her chums at the Guardian tell her that Bush is bad. So that’s that.
Strange that she doesn’t tell us to pray for peace or any of that christian stuff.
“…this “Thought for the Day” section is most frequently given over left-wing pseudo-clerics who then use it as just one more front to propagandise for the leftist chic so beloved of Al Beeb.”
A little diversity on TftD would be refreshing. I’d suggest one of the ‘One World One Ummah’ types that preach around E London in beard & night-dress. With translation. Should make riveting listening for the drive to work…..
“…and now it’s time for Thought For The Day, which this morning comes from Osama bin Laden.
The BBC wishes to point out that the views expressed in this talk do not necessarily reflect the views of the BBC.
Why is it the West that always has to listen to the concerns of muslims and be sensitive to their culture, and never the other way around?
How does the BBC choose speakers for ‘Thought of the Day’? Is there a pool of potential contributors provided by religious groups? Does the BBC send out scouts to hear them in advance to ensure the best religious ‘experience’? Does the BBC have a database to allocate speakers by percentage of followers in Britain? The World? Number of active Church goers? Attitude to the British Government or World affairs? How?
Is there any vetting of the Thought before broadcast or censorship afterwards?
While it is easy to criticise her I’m not so sure how easy it is to use her inanities as a stick to beat the Beeb. Unless, of course, someone has been taking statistics on ‘Thought of the Day’.
Unfortunately, the Vicar of Tilby sounds to me, like a fairly mainstream representative of the Church of England. Unable to find Jesus relevant for today but is at the same time unable to leave the Church to people who do still find God, Jesus and the traditions something to proclaim on the airways.
Her patter may not be BBC bias. I’m beginning to think that there are few opposition voices to political correctness in the Church even if the BBC went actively looking for them.
“How does the BBC choose speakers for ‘Thought of the Day’? Is there a pool of potential contributors provided by religious groups?”
There is a sort of revolving glee club of ‘BBC friendly’ souls who all know each other from university, dinner parties, single sex wedding receptions,etc etc etc. It isn’t just religious programs. It’s pretty well any program that uses guests. Choose a subject at random & there’s always a number in the Blackberry to mail & get the benefit of a few hundred quid appearance fee. Socialise with BBC people & you’d be surprised what a small world they live in
I googled Rev Tilby, too. Here’s the most telling thing I found, delivered by her in a sermon: “In the last years of my former wicked life as a TELEVISION PRODUCER…” Says it all, doesn’t it? A case of gamekeeper turned poacher.
Wow, what a bunch of gibberish. Did the Archbeard of Canterbury have any hand in this? No, he dithers but does not make U-turns.
First, though, I must say that I do not appreciate David Vance’s calling Islam a pathology rather than a religion. I know it’s fun to bash the caveman version (quite popular in this manor, squire), but please. Islam has a problem, yes, but the solution is the same that removed violence – mostly – from Christianity: A Reformation and Enlightenment, along with the removal of religious figures as heads of state (the C of E doesn’t count, as the Queen has no real state power). But since one can easily make the case that all religious behavior is pathological, saying that about Islam isn’t appropriate.
Having said that, I have to ask, how does one go from Jesus saying that there are no secrets from God to lamenting that there is no privacy anymore? Is she for real? More gibberish:
The words of leaders used to be judged by history, now they are judged right now and by those they were not intended for.
The words of leaders used to be judged by history? Nobody ever made contemporary judgments before? History no longer makes judgments? Where do they find these people?
And she started with this sick thought about Bush’s promise to take on Islamo-fascism after 9/11:
Yet his words acquired a life of their own; they sped round the globe producing outrage and fear and division. We’re still reeling from all that.
Yeah, that’s what produced outrage fear and division. The Islamo-nutters didn’t cause any of it. And then she ends by saying that Bush ought to be rebuked by listening to those who say Islam is a religion of peace.
I guess she means the BBC. If she’s talking about actual Muslims, they’ll have to start speaking a lot louder, because I sure as hell can’t hear them.
Nice job combining hatred with spirituality, BBC.
Bosworth: You’ve hit on it… Angela Tilby is, in fact, ex BBC:
“I have worked in television for twelve years. I have made twenty-seven documentary films and various worship and music programmes. Before that I was a producer of religious programmes for BBC radio, working mostly for Radios 3 and 4.”
http://www.gospel-culture.org.uk/tilby.htm
I think we may have in part solved the question of how the Beeb chooses speakers for ‘Thought of the Day’.
Hugh,
Great work – I think we have the Vicar sussed. One of their own…
This Danish tv series sounds entertaining. Will the BBC buy the tv rights?:
“Denmark: Terrorists, the sitcom”
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/06/denmark-terrorists-sitcom.html
I’m all for for it.
Listening to Islam I mean.
What could be a more delightful sight than the public stoning to death of Margaret Hodge, Patricia Hewitt and Harriat Harman.
(before the hysterical wrath starts – it’s tongue in cheek)
I mean what on earth does this bogus chimpanzee religion have to offer me.
I have a three year old daughter.
Do I want the enforced mutilation of her genitalia when she’s at whatever age that these barbaric animals conduct such things?
I think you all know the answer.
Shame on the BBC for allowing this clown on the airwaves.
lifted fom wikipedia – another analysis of that letter not featured on radio 4
An analysis of the letter by Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund, an evangelical Protestant Christian missionary organisation, points out some significant issues which he feels are not addressed. His analysis claims that while the letter implies that there is a global war on Islam by Christianity, it gives no indication of sorrow for current or historical wrongs inflicted on Christians by Islam. Nor does it acknowledge that Muslim actions may have contributed in any alienation between Christians and Muslims. There is no acknowledgement that in many areas, such as parts of Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan, rather than Christianity fighting a war to destroy or displace Muslims, the reverse is the case.
deegee – you are right to say that it would be easier to find people like Tilby in the CofE instead of people who take a more christian line of thinking.
But ultimately the BBC chose her – knowing the kind of stuff she would dish up. They must take the blame.
Seems like she was one of their own, anyway.
Angela Tilby is from what I call the ‘Sobbing Abbess’ school of Christianity.
TPO
Actually, FGM is not universally practised in Islam and is a controversial topic within the religion over which there is much dispute.
Of course it is, in any case, utterly barbaric wherever it is carried out.
Actually, FGM is not universally practised in Islam and is a controversial topic within the religion over which there is much dispute.
Andrew Cramb | 12.06.08 – 10:36 pm |
In the 70s I worked in Muslim countries in the Middle East and Far East and what you say is correct in as much that the practice seemed to be very limited in Malaysia and Indonesia whereas in Saudi and the Oman it was prevalent.
Having said that, when I was in the Oman it was just coming out of its ‘dark ages’ following the overthrow of th old Sultan. Quaboos the new Sultan (who I have met) was altogether more enlightened. I suspect that he would have stamped out the practice.
“This was a letter to the Pope, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Orthodox Churches and the leaders of the various Protestant denominations, and through them to all who have inherited a Christian culture.”
Angela Tilby obviously didn’t bother to read the letter. Or Melanie Phillips
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/archive/2007/October/page_3/
“Conspicuously, the letter does not rule out all justification for Islam waging war on Christians. Indeed, by saying that Muslims won’t attack Christians unless Christians attack them, it threatens that if it will indeed attack Christians if it thinks it is justified in doing so:
As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them—so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes, (in accordance with the verse of the Holy Qur’an [Al-Mumtahinah, 60:8] quoted above).”
That letter was more of a threat than a promise. Silly old Rev.
“I think I prefer Angela Tilby’s optimistic, if simplistic, sentiment over David Vance’s blinkered, reactionary falsehoods”
LOL. And YOU talk about simplistic and blinkered?