Twelve Weeks in Four Pictures: An Atheist Enquires? Written prior to, but with thoughts reinforced by, the events of 19 / 07!
Few tragedies of almost biblical proportions appear to have been omitted from those which have visited the UK in the last three months.
As one who does not share the faith of regular readers of the StOM, indeed one who has no theological beliefs of any description, I can only marvel at those who can cling to their belief in a merciful and caring deity.
That marvel, I should stress, is one of respect, since I struggle to conceive of the depth of faith which can survive such testing.
We have seen, from the merciful distance of our TV sets, atrocities carried out in the name of the most perverted interpretation of any faith and it brought to mind a folk song penned by the irreligious Hamish Imlach( anyone old enough to remember him will know what I mean).
In a little ditty about fighting between Rangers and Celtic fans, he wrote:
The Cumbie boys are Roman Catholics To chapel they’ ve been once or twice, But Parkhead is their new Jerusalem, And Jock Stein their Latter-Day Christ.
The Derry boys are devout Christians, That’ s plain both to hear and to see,
Their language is very religious, Jesus Christ, Oh My God, FTP
When you ask what they think of religion, They say Och Religion’ s alright But these boys are only religious, When they want an excuse for a fight!
The terrorist attacks in Manchester, and in London, epitomise the irony and hypocrisy exemplified in the final verse quoted above.
The deaths of the innocents and of innocence were not at the behest of Allah, nor the actions of any true follower of Islam. They were a corruption of an honourable faith and an abomination to all who witnessed them.
But what of the latest tragedy?
Even at this early stage it seems likely that at least part of the responsibility for the horrendous fire in Kensington will be found to be the consequences of cost-cutting and of the low priority given to social housing.
It is the ultimate irony, perhaps the ultimate blasphemy that people in a highrise development, deprived of some of the fundamental elements of health and safety provision – apparently on the grounds of economy- should perish within sight of the most expensive real estate in the entire country.
For this latter tragedy, we cannot blame others.
We cannot blame the considered and determined actions of any individual regardless of how deluded they might be!
We can only blame the society of which we are all part.
StOM Page 19