Category Archives: God

Evil spirits up your arsehole

Posted on July 12, 2003 by acb

Christian Life Books of Shreveport, Louisiana, has come through with Graham Dow’s little pamphlet on deliverance, which is the polite term for exorcism. Here is a partial list of the practices that the Bishop of Carlisle believes are caused by, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Journalism | 4 Comments

the horror

Posted on July 7, 2003 by acb

Last night I watched the Philip Larkin film, something on TV which could for once properly be described as horrifying. So much of the excellence of the poetry survived: it was wonderfully read, in such a natural tone that the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Literature | Comments Off on the horror

Not that sort of ring

Posted on June 24, 2003 by acb

The Nine Bishops who wrote an open letter protesting that it was wrong to appoint a celibate gay as bishop of Reading last week have got themselves a nickname. They are known to their opponents as the Nazgul. Continue reading →

Posted in God | 5 Comments

A truly reformed Social Security

Posted on June 16, 2003 by acb

One of the secret joys of a religious affairs correspondent’s life is The English Churchman, a fortnightly which calls itself “A Protestant family newspaper”. It has no web site, which makes it difficult to give the full flavour, but, when … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 1 Comment

bored now

Posted on June 15, 2003 by acb

.. as Willow would say; the business about gays in the church was really beginning to madden me. So I had a little rant about the whole nonsense, after warming up on a bunch of evangelical bigots on a mailing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 2 Comments

monotheism explained

Posted on June 11, 2003 by acb

All religions of brotherly love imply a circle of unbrotherly hate. They spread fastest in times of general war. What makes doctrines of universal love appealing is not that they’re actually universal, but that they can be expanded to include … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 2 Comments

res ipsa loquitur, buddy

Posted on May 19, 2003 by acb

I have somehow got onto the mailing list of the London School of Islamics, which appears to be a pressure group arguing for Muslim schools. Their latest spam contained the following passage: “The schools are there to anglicize the future … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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cognitive feudalism

Posted on May 12, 2003 by acb

I heven’t yet reread, with laptop to hand, Pascal Boyer, though I know that I will. It is one of those books that requires innocent (at least not guilty) contemplation; but the idea that has stuck with me as I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 3 Comments

Luck

Posted on May 7, 2003 by acb

About three years ago, my friend’s wife developed brain cancer, though we didn’t understand this. She stayed angry and resentful all that summer; when too weak for emotion, she was withdrawn, and chewed by headaches. She couldn’t find a job. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 2 Comments

living down

Posted on May 7, 2003 by acb

I’m working on a speech for the Oxford Union, one of the most ridiculous events of my life. There is an inherited penguin suit hanging on the door, which must be nearly fifty years old, to judge from my father’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 1 Comment