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