Yes, Virginia, Britain IS a Christian country

That's the official word from British Prime Minister David Cameron. In a speech commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Mr. Cameron said "We are a Christian country, and we should not be afraid to say so." The PM refrained from taking a swipe at other heads of government, such as Canada's Steve Harpoon and US President Al O'Bama, who either do not believe their countries are Christian or are afraid to say so.

"What I am saying," Cameron went on, "is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today. Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend. The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing. Because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything."

What Britain is today is hardly a shining example of Christian morality, but Walt agrees with the point. Indeed, you can't fight something with nothing. That is what Mark Steyn says in America Alone, mentioned here twice in November. Nature abhors a vacuum, as the physicists tell us, and the reason the Muslims are taking over the west without firing a shot [Errr, not exactly... Ed.] is that we are creating a vacuum where there ought to be faith and morality.

Here's the way Cameron put it. "Those who oppose this usually make the case for secular neutrality. They argue that by saying we are a Christian country and standing up for Christian values we are somehow doing down other faiths. And that the only way not to offend people is not to pass judgment on their behavior. I think these arguments are profoundly wrong. And being clear on this is absolutely fundamental to who we are as a people, what we stand for, and the kind of society we want to build."

Footnote: Mr. Cameron says he is a "vaguely practising Church of England Christian" -- "vaguely" being a very appropriate term for the C of E. The Anglicans generally regard the King James Bible as the first (or almost) and best version of the Bible. Traditional Catholics prefer the Douay-Rheims version, still available from certain Catholic bookstores and, of course, on Amazon.