Government like 'demonic beast'

Bishop Dow was speaking at a fringe meeting

The Bishop of Carlisle has compared Gordon Brown's government with a "demonic beast" from the Bible.

The Rt Rev Graham Dow accused the government of behaving like a seven-headed beast in "imposing its morality" on the nation.

He made reference to the Book of Revelation creature while speaking at a fringe meeting of the General Synod.

Last year, he reportedly said the flooding in the UK was partly God's judgment on society's moral decadence.

Bishop Dow, speaking at Wednesday's meeting of Church of England traditionalists, said the government had moved away from a "positive" biblical comparison, such as the evaluation of the Roman Empire in Romans 13 of the New Testament.

He said: "I happen to believe that our government is moving into the realm of imposing its morality and it is therefore becoming a Revelation 13 government rather than a Romans 13 government."

A section of Revelation 13 says: "The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads.

"No one could buy or sell without having this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name."

Bishop Dow's remarks were made at a meeting to launch a new book challenging liberal views on homosexuality.