VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Steve|DATE|1362392455|CONTENT|Superb. Bravo. And what a wonderful contrast between religion’s only possible future and its despicable and discredited past.

On the O’Connor interview, he tried to continue with the “a few bad apples” line that has been so thoroughly torn apart. He said we are all sinners, priests and cardinals included, and then failed to see the contradiction between that and his demand that priests and cardinals are treated as the unique source of morals. He absolutely refused to accept that the church’s authority had been undermined, thus demonstrating he has no idea what authority actually is. The centuries of authority being derived entirely from a position or office have long gone. It cannot be demanded or claimed by anyone. Perhaps he missed The Enlightenment, but we’ve got rid of political authority being built in by birth, we’ve got rid of scientific authority being found in ancient texts, and we’re currently getting rid of moral authority coming from churches. Farcical aquatic ceremonies are no longer a basis for government. We grant authority to those we respect, and we remove it from those we don’t. He can preach and bluster as much as he wants – he is being ignored, nobody is listening. In the UK, maybe in wider Europe as well, the Catholic Church is an utterly spent force.

Giles Fraser, on the other hand, is worth listening to. That’s not to say that he is right, only that he is worth listening to. Not because he demands authority, not because his IMF gives him special powers over the molecular structure of bread, but because his arguments are properly thought out. A good argument makes a belief or otherwise in god irrelevant. If he wants to claim that his argument was inspired by reflection on the bible, OK, so what. Ultimately, in a society like ours, his is the only future for religion if it wants to survive.|IP-ADDRESS|10.0.119.228, 217.36.222.79, 10.37.46.203|MODERATIONFLAG|