So
the sneerers have come out in full force; war on religion! Boring
news, indeed! So what? Judging by what one reads about the unthinkable thinking thought-thinkers of ‘Thought for the Day’ the BBC is far more biased than
it should be [‘A culture of sniggering contempt towards religion is
endemic within the BBC’, so Giles
Fraser], but no one is surprised any more, though perhaps a bit
bored – if that is not too an offensive an admission to make.
It
is well-known, of course, that many so-called Christian speakers do
not necessarily believe their own holy book, the Bible. Their Jesus I
do not recognise at all! I find such folks the most infuriating of
the lot! I have little patience with pious claptrap. I wish the BBC
would ban them! Blame my outburst on my Lutheran ancestors! I doubt
if the founder of Christianity itself would be allowed on air! He
certainly upset a lot of people!
It seems to be that religious adherents need something far more
substantial and meaty than can be uttered in such a time, and the
thought for the day usually vanishes into thin air, at any rate, which may be just as well! The
whole thing reminds me of what happened in ancient Athens: “All the
Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing
nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” (Acts
17:21) With due respect to the Humph and his belligerent his cohort, they are hardly
original!
‘Thought
for the day’ is chasing after ‘anythingism.’ Speakers are
expected to be balanced, inoffensive, tolerant, and nice, which
pluralists find so reassuring and enriching! Who wants to be upset
first thing in the morning?! And who wants their backbone to be
stiffened into active resolve when one might as well wobble along
with hoi polloi on religious crutches?
Having
listened to ‘Thought For The Day’ from time to time I have
invariably found it to be the perfect cure for low blood pressure; it may
also help insomniacs, or infuriate the God-hating atheists! It certainly unmasks the
cultured despisers of religion! I have just stumbled on a cheap
panacea (my own thought for the day) for all the ills of our nation! May be for that reason alone
‘Thought for the Day’ should not be scrapped! And if the program
provides a powerful platform that threatens modern civilisation (as
the new atheism may have put it) then it ought to be kept!
I
guess I have just talked myself out of ever being invited to speak! I
can live with that, and the BBC will thank me for it, I hope!
