Holy Men

I caught a bit of BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme this morning, which featured a piece on child abuse in the Church of England. One current reverend, who had been abused by the late disgraced Bishop Peter Ball thought the C of E’s response to the whole issue was shameful and shallow, a matter of continual reviews, inquiries and delay. His criticism of the church was utterly visceral. But isn’t this the norm for an organisation whose response to anything to do with sex is hand wringing and wriggling, if not squirming in embarrassment that such to-do-ments could possibly creep into their hallowed portals? It seems that much of the Sunday programme’s time is spent hearing religious squirming, where those blessed with access to revelatory truths discover a certain discord with reality. And we’re supposed to take them seriously?  As a fan of Saint Richard of Dawkins I can only marvel and despair at the credulousness of so many religious followers. Perhaps it’s time for a latter day Martin Luther to come along from within the cult and not merely nail 95 theses to the door but to knock it down entirely and suggest that from now on everyone should learn how to think for themselves. Obviously I come from a Judeo-Christian heritage whether I like it or not, but I apply the same critical approach to the alleged ‘holy’ fathers (all men) of the Muslim world, who love nothing more than slaughtering each other just because of a family split many centuries ago. Why exactly should that schism be our business now?