AIBU to think the King’s speech was completely irrelevant to most of us

[CoastalGrey]

I know he’s head of the church but he’s also head of the country in general and religion is not a top priority for the vast majority of the people he supposedly represents. If the RF want to stay relevant it’s about time they used their positions for something more useful than spouting a bunch of fairy stories that cause many of the world’s biggest problems.

Loads of things in the UK are influenced by Christianity, for example, all social policy has to get pas the block vote of the Bishops in the HofL, which has a real impact on end of life care and abortion policy. Christianity is influential in Education, with Christians having a choice of 30% more schools and Christian worship being a statutory requirement in all schools. Many schools ignore this requirement, but they remain in statutory breach if they do. I could go on!

As Head of the Church of England, the King isn’t standing there as a morally superior individual, but as someone speaking from within a Christian moral tradition that explicitly teaches human fallenness. The Bible is full of deeply imperfect figures who were still used to speak truth — David after adultery, Peter after denying Jesus, even pagan kings like Cyrus.

That doesn’t excuse sin or remove the need for repentance and accountability — those matter deeply. But Christian moral teaching doesn’t say “listen because I’m better than you”; it says “there is a moral order beyond all of us, and we are all accountable to it.”

If only the morally unblemished were allowed to speak about values — in church or in public life — none of us ever could.

Exactly.

Yes, i can talk about stealing being wrong. The fact that I did steal once doesn't prevent me from recognising that it is wrong, and that i was wrong.

And that others who steal are also wrong.

Perhaps if you've heard this lots of times, it's for a reason.

Well obviously everyone can say whatever they want. But if you decided to make a show of preaching about stealing being wrong to the masses, having a history of being a thief yourself, many of us would tell you that we didn't appreciate that message coming from you and that we thought you were a hypocrite. I think that's fairly easy to understand.

Ok in that case he should preface his speech by saying he cheated on his wife and doesn't pay the taxes that the rest of us have to and he will continue dodging taxes but nevertheless he feels it's his right to preach to us because he happened to be born into a particular family.

Often the people preaching about something being wrong are people who have been through it themselves... dating right back to Biblical times.

Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times
James and John asked Jesus if they could be the most important people in Heaven after Jesus
Matthew was a tax collector - known for dishonesty
etc
And the Apostle Paul, who wrote many of the letters making up the new testament, with a lot of instructions about love and forgiveness etc had dedicated his time to persecuting and killing Christians before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

God clearly forgave these people enough to have them set up the church for him, and used them to instruct the early church. Why is what KC3 done so much worse in your eyes?

YANBU, but I always thought the Queen's speeches were irrelevant too, which is why I've not watched any of them for a few decades.

Christianity and religion as a whole is just a way of letting people behave badly and feel ok about it. It’s why so many serious criminals ‘find god’. Written by a lot of bad people to manipulate control and take advantage, used by people throughout time and still today for the same reasons. It’s all bollocks to excuse bad behaviour.

If Jesus had waited for his 12 helpers to become perfect he'd have had to wait for ever. He chose sinners to help him because there weren't any other kinds to choose from, which he understood perfectly well.

What was written by a lot of bad people? Did they write any good advice in there as well?

If imperfect people cannot talk about the best in human behaviour, then it follows that nobody can.

We must all stay silent about the good things in our world, for none of us are entitled to speak of them by the measure of some here.

I thought the Judeo-Christian values he talked about are more important than ever. And I’m not Christian.

If you’re still living by different morals to what you’re preaching, then expect to be called a hypocrite.

No, everyone does and should talk about the behaviour to aspire to even when we haven't achieved it.

We must all keep the best in our sights for encouragement of ourselves and others.

I hear your frustration — history shows that people have often misused religion for power or personal gain, and the Bible doesn’t condone that. In fact, Scripture repeatedly warns against hypocrisy, greed, and exploiting others in God’s name (Matthew 23:27–28, Ezekiel 22:26).

Christianity, properly understood, isn’t about excusing bad behaviour. On the contrary, it calls people to repentance, humility, and love (Romans 6:1–2, Micah 6:8). The heart of the Gospel is that God doesn’t ignore wrongdoing, but offers forgiveness and transformation through Jesus (1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17) — not so people can continue sinning, but so they can truly live in the freedom and goodness God designed us for.

So literally you have no idea about the content. 🙄

That's interesting but I would contend that surely the Bishops "say so" is positive and most people would agree with their attitudes.
As to your other point no one is forced to attend Christian worship in any UK school.
I have lived in several countries though where there are controls imposed on you by the state religion and it was not Christianity . I am not Anglican and don't feel there is any adverse affect to my life currently in the Uk - if anything it is not Christianity which is the problem ( but that's a whole different thread).

Repentance allows people to think that bad behaviour is ok, as long as they repent, because God forgives. What a load of shite. Some things like trafficking and raping girls and women shouldn’t be forgiven. Covering those things and turning a blind eye for a family member shouldn’t be forgiven. And anyone who has done that, then preaching about respecting and caring about everyone can go fuck themselves. 😉

The whole institution is completely irrelevant.

What you’re describing is evil. Christianity does not say trafficking, rape, or covering up abuse are “okay as long as you repent.” That idea is a distortion, and it’s one the Bible itself condemns.

Biblical repentance isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. It means owning the wrong without excuses, turning away from it, and submitting to justice — including earthly justice. Scripture is clear that God hates violence and exploitation, especially against the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:16–17, Proverbs 6:16–19). Jesus himself says it would be better to be drowned than to harm a child (Luke 17:2). That’s not permissive language.

Forgiveness in Christianity doesn’t mean pretending harm didn’t happen, silencing victims, or shielding perpetrators. Cover-ups, abuse of power, and preaching virtue while doing the opposite are explicitly called hypocrisy — and Jesus reserves his harshest words for exactly those people (Matthew 23).

You’re right that someone who abuses others or protects abusers while claiming moral authority has no credibility. Christianity doesn’t disagree with you there. Where it differs is this: it says even the worst evil will ultimately face justice — either through repentance that submits to truth and consequence, or through judgment. What it never says is that evil is acceptable, forgettable, or cost-free.

If anything, the anger you’re expressing lines up far more closely with the Bible’s moral seriousness than with the caricature of “forgive and forget” that people often blame on it.

I liked it. It was spot on.

We are all on a pilgrimage in life.

As his speech didn't cover marriage or tax paying, why would that be relevant?

And, although i stole a lipstick once as a teenager, why shouldn't I say stealing is wrong? I haven't continued that behaviour, because I recognised it was wrong. And some of the most effective and committed people trying to address gang violence are ex-gang members. Surely that's a good thing?

Charles doesn't seem to have made a habit of cheating on his wife.

The tax - well, i agree the tax framework we have doesn't adequately hold the wealthy to their moral obligations, but politicians need to deal with that. I use whatever tax avoidance mechanisms are open to me (ISAs, salary sacrifice etc) so it would be hypocritical to say other people shouldn't.

Unfortunately as god doesn’t exist and it’s all a load of bollocks, it’s likely
Andrew and his family will never face any consequences. Wealth protects from a lot and that’s the way the world works. No god to sort it all out unfortunately.

Yes, I think you’re right.