2008-07-11 - Rider Down, NW11

deference in the sense of giving them a platform in the first place? I'm with you. Trust me, I've sat through hundreds of sermons given by tapped old buzzards (or "priests") which, while not necessarily containing any hate-mongering bile, did little to justify their free air time and their position as a figure of influence in other people's lives.

I know it's in the telegraph, but - the deference starts and stops with the reader / listener. You don't sound deferential, I'm not, and I get the impression those who are deferential just because it's a man of the cloth speaking are a dwindling minority in the older generation.

And you can be devoutly religious and still thunderously angry at one of these men for the cobblers they spout. Unthinking deference is a fairly old position.

It ain't as bad as you're worrying it is, tynan...

I thought I was going to have the last word today :(

;P (definitely going out after this one)

I agree with most of what you say above, but you might be limiting what you say to the UK (?).

I think things are bad enough for it to be a concern, to be honest I am not so bothered by the Anglican communion, if they want to tear themselves apart over the ordination of women or homosexual priests they can help themselves (I was more than pleased by the outcome of the recent Lambeth Conference - let there be schism!).

But things are much less benign elsewhere, the recent upsurge in evangelicalism in the US and Wahabism's continuing growth and power in the Middle East (and around the world) are far bigger concerns.

It is easy to sound overly dramatic in these kinds of conversations, but I think (and arguably so) that we are going to be very very lucky if we can squeeze ourselves past the approaching bottleneck (to partially paraphrase Sam harris) where empowered and vastly wealthy medieval belief systems cross paths with 20th century technology ( the proliferation of nuclear armaments ).

I am no cynic by default but I can't see us escaping this one, maybe not in my life time, maybe not in the next 50-100 years, but it seem so absolutely inevitable, if you doubt there are people actively seeking to acquire nuclear arms to bring their vision of god closer then you might be a more optimistic person than me.

?

That's it I am going to church tomorrow to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

I don't remember calling him a 'cock' ?

:)