Six minutes of sanity

The NSS are atheist bigots!

See Daily Telegraph article by Anglican Ed West.

Oh no they're not! Quedula has left a short comment.

It is good to see that feathers are being ruffled.

Apologists for Evil

The End of Faith

A noble piece of prose (I think) from Sam Harris. The last paragraph from "The End of Faith":-

"Man is manifestly not the measure of all things. This universe is shot through with mystery. The very fact of its being, and of our own, is a mystery absolute, and the only miracle worthy of the name. The consciousness that animates us is central to this mystery and the ground for any experience we might wish to call "spiritual". No myths need be embraced for us to commune with the profundity of our circumstance. No personal God need be worshipped for us to live in awe at the beauty and immensity of creation. No tribal fictions need to be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do, in fact, love our neighbours, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people everywhere be given the opportunity to flourish. The days of our religious identities are clearly numbered. Whether the days of civilization itself are numbered would seem to depend, rather too much, on how soon we realize this."

The Alpha Course

I have just passed the time of day with the local vicar, a very pleasant chap, who was in the process of hanging a banner outside the vicarage announcing; "The Alpha Course. Explore the Meaning of Life". I thought Monty Python had already covered this subject quite satisfactorily but, assuming the intention is to take it a tad more seriously, haven't they jumped the gun a bit? I would have thought at least 2 introductory courses are required. Firstly to establish what is the meaning of "Meaning" in this context. Secondly to determine if life has to have any meaning over and above the vague waffle usually aimed at providing comfort to the intellectually challenged.

I am very tempted to enroll.