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Brown gives Kirk assembly speech Brown calls for 'moral society'
(about 10 hours later)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to address the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh later. Gordon Brown has been setting out his vision for a society governed by a shared "moral sense".
It is 20 years since the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher addressed the gathering of the Kirk's ruling body and set out her personal vision. The prime minister was addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The speech - dubbed the Sermon on the Mound - tried to set out a theological basis for her free market thinking. It is 20 years since Margaret Thatcher gave her "Sermon on the Mound" at the Assembly, arguing a theological basis for her free market thinking.
A spokesman for Mr Brown, whose father was a Kirk minister, said he was unlikely to discuss religious views. Mr Brown, whose father was a Kirk minister, said he shared the church's "enduring vision of the good society".
The prime minister said he had never forgotten the lessons he learned in the Kirkcaldy parish manse he grew up in.
We are not moral strangers but there is a shared moral sense common to us all Gordon BrownPrime Minister
He added: "Like so many here today, my father lived on a ministerial stipend.
"But he also brought us up to believe that the size of your wealth mattered less than the strength of your character; that a life of joy and fulfilment could be lived in the service of others; and that to be tested by adversity is not a fate to be feared but a challenge to be overcome.
"We find that from the timeless wisdom of all the great religions - from which billions across the world derive daily inspiration - there is a consistent ethical core that propels us to act encapsulated in the golden rule that informs not just Christianity and Judaism but also Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam - showing that we are not moral strangers but there is a shared moral sense common to us all."
Mr Brown argued that the joining together of the information revolution and the human urge to co-operate for justice made it possible for the first time in history for the dream of a truly global society to be realised.
He called for people everywhere to discover their shared values, communicate with each other and join together with people in other countries in a "single moral universe to bring about change".
'Mighty stream'
"This is the irrepressible revolution of our time - a billion voices for change. And I'd like to think that acting together we can become the generation to address climate change," he said.
"Acting together, the first generation in the history of mankind to abolish illiteracy and give every child the right to education; acting together, the first generation to eradicate tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, malaria on the way to eradicating HIV/Aids.
"And to honour the dream of the scriptures: that justice will roll like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."
Mrs Thatcher won few converts in Scotland when, at a time when industry was being hard hit, she quoted St Paul saying: "If a man will not work he shall not eat."Mrs Thatcher won few converts in Scotland when, at a time when industry was being hard hit, she quoted St Paul saying: "If a man will not work he shall not eat."
When she had finished the then moderator presented her with Kirk reports on housing and poverty, interpreted by many as a polite rebuke. When she had finished, the then moderator presented her with Kirk reports on housing and poverty, interpreted by many as a polite rebuke.
Mr Brown's spokesman said that nothing should be read into the fact that the prime minister's speech comes 20 years after Lady Thatcher's famous address. Mr Brown's spokesman said that nothing should be read into the fact that the prime minister's speech came 20 years after Lady Thatcher's famous address.
He declined to reveal details of the contents of the speech but said it would not focus particularly on Scottish issues.
Asked if Mr Brown, like Lady Thatcher, would use the occasion to discuss his own moral beliefs, the spokesman said: "When speaking to a Church of Scotland audience, it would be surprising if he didn't talk about his own upbringing but it has not been the prime minister's habit to talk about his own individual religious views."
The General Assembly runs until 21 May.The General Assembly runs until 21 May.