VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Ashdev|DATE|1377341483|CONTENT|Hi Tim,

After I posted I realised that I had committed the cardinal sin of omitting the reference to inter faith buffets.

So, the new improved check-list looks like this;

1. Speakers who are flogging those Johnny Foreigner religions must exchange their real names for really silly sounding ones that convey an air of mystique and intrigue.

2. Oblique reference to something in the news. It is important that the news item should not be one that casts the speaker&#039;s religion in a poor light. If there is a contemporaneous big news story that really warrants a theological perspective then it should be fastidiously avoided.

3. Pointlessly facile observation that would embarrass a 5 year old

4. A learned quotation preferably from St Paul or St Thomas Aquinas (Shakespeare in the case of AAA).

5. A reference to show that the speaker is humble enough to mix with ordinary mortals even poor ones e.g. &#039;in my role as pastor to the homeless of London&#039;

6. A reference to the willingness to see the point of view of other faith systems (even the misguided ones) e.g. &#039;at a recent inter-faith buffet I was talking to...&#039;

7. Smug tone - if you can speak in a really irritating voice then even better. When you are speaking you need to imagine yourself stood at a solid gold pulpit with the masses congregated in front of you.

8. Lactation (You all know who I&#039;m referring to!)

9. We, and by &quot;we&quot; I of course mean &quot;you&quot;

10. A final sentence that tries to give the impression that I&#039;m leaving you with a profound conundrum that you need to struggle with for the rest of the day, but is in fact just a pile of guff.

I bet a really tech-y person could actually build an automated POTD generator - anyone up for the challenge? It could be sold to the BBC just in case they need a contributor in an emergency.

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