"Blind Samson, his hairy growth returning, commits an act of suicidal terrorism as he destroys the pillars of the pagan temple.

"The people of Israel sing their song of triumph - which we echo in the Easter vigil - as the bodies of the Egyptians float in the Red Sea."

The chaplain added: "We cannot simply ignore the violent passion of Jesus cleansing the temple with whips. We are never told of the collateral damage possibly resulting from his actions.

"In the Christian tradition we rejoice over the passionate commitment and bloody deaths of numerous martyrs. We need to consider the same religious passion and spiritual single mindedness lies at the heart of a London bomber and a Christian crusader."

The Church of England distanced itself from the comments by Canon Gray, chaplain to Bishop Nicholas Reade. A spokesman said: "These were the canon's personal views.

"It is fairly clear that most occurrences of terror have been linked to a form of religious expression, but this is a twisting of faith." A spokesman for the Catholic evangelical group CASE said: "In their time, everyone believed in a Holy War.

"It was justified at the time because of the climate. The Crusades were supported by popes.

"There is no way Christians could justify something like the 7/7 attacks these days. The comments are unhelpful, inflammatory and foolish."

John Taylor, 57, whose 24-year-old daughter Carrie died in the Aldgate station bomb, said: "The Crusades took place 1,000 years ago and you can't compare them to these times.

"It almost sounds like he is justifying the bombings. There can be no justification."

Yesterday Canon Gray stuck by his article. He said: "There is a profound religious motivation in the action of a London bomber. Most people of faith would say that's profoundly erroneous. And, of course, I would echo that."

The bombings were carried out by Mohammad Siddique Khan, Hasib Hussain, 18, Shezad Tanweer, 22, and Germaine Lindsay, 19, on July 7 last year. They brought horror to London's transport network by explosions on three Tube trains and a bus.

The bloody Crusades, launched between the 11th and 15th centuries, were originally carried out by European armies, to capture the Holy Land from Muslim rulers.

http://www.express.co.uk/news_detail.html?sku=362

MY RESPONSE

By Dr. Irene Lancaster

Dear Friends

Although I am now in Israel, I am still following events in England with increasing disbelief. An example is this item of news which has just been sent to me.

May I point out that Biblical figures from the Hebrew Bible (i.e. the Old Testament) do not play the same role in Jewish thought as do Jesus and the disciples for Christians. Jewish Biblical characters are deliberately portrayed as flawed like any other human being. Moses is not Jesus and neither is he Mohammad.

It is therefore sick in the extreme to take Samson as a prototype of correct Jewish behaviour. Even the actions of suicide at Masada were frowned on by the rabbis of the Talmud. Jews believe passionately in life, which is something our enemies understand very well. Samson is regarded as very flawed - a sad figure - especially as he allowed himself to be taken in by a woman. This has the ring of truth about it. There are, however, no sermons given in synagogues in which Samson's behaviour is ever justified.

As for the Red Sea episode, it is absolutely untrue that we sing songs of triumph at Passover. On the contrary, we say half Hallel, i.e. we are partly glad that we escaped death from the Egyptians who were going to murder us, but half of us also grieves for the loss of Egyptian life at the time. How many other ancient middle eastern peoples grieved for their enemies in this way?

I do wish that Christians would stop taking our Bible literally. This is not how we take it ourselves. For a start, the Bible does not tell us much about how to keep festivals and doesn't even mention Purim and Chanukah. Moreover, the more Orthodox read the Bible through the light of the Talmud, which is in Aramaic, and very difficult.

I am not at all surprised that this Canon is based in Blackburn, near Clitheroe, where I myself was barracked before leaving for Israel, when I pointed out mistakes in a lecture given in the Church Hall on the history of Israel, sponsored by the local strategic partnership in cahoots with the local Muslim group. Seriously scary. I was accused by the three males involved of harassing the speaker and worse, no-one came to my support.

Pathetic.

On the eve of the visit of the Chief Rabbis of Israel to Lambeth Palace, may I respectfully suggest that there be some impetus towards teaching Judaism through Jewish eyes in Anglican seminaries and elsewhere. Because the ignorance of this Canon is truly shocking and his misrepresentations will only encourage anti-Semitism among Muslims and others.

Best wishes

Irene

Dr. Irene Lancaster FRSA
Trustee: Foundation for Reconciliation in the Middle East http://irenelancaster.typepad.com/