Religious Interlude

I am not a religious person. I don't believe in God. I don't think there's something watching over us. I believe that this is it and when you die it stops. However I do recognise that many people do believe other things and while I don't share their beliefs I am interested in them and respect their right to believe.

Once in a while though, something happens that makes me want to spit. This happened this morning on radio 4. There is a big hoo ha from male churchmen in the CofE that women shouldn't be made Bishops. They want some amendment passed that they will be overseen by men and not by women.

I can distinctly remember when the decision was passed for women to become vicars. My step dad's brother's wife was a deacon and was very keen to be ...whatever it is they do to you to become a vicar. I actually had no idea that all that was being allowed at the time was that one step. I assumed that the decision was that the glass ceiling was being removed and women could now join men in the ranks. So when I heard about this latest idiocy I was genuinely suprised.

I hear arguments like "all the disciples were men so god only wants men to be in charge". Now as far as I know none of the disciples were kiddy fiddlers but the church seems to have managed to live with that one without spontaneously combusting. If God was this all caring all giving kind of person, would he really banish 50% of his herd from serving or communicating with him? Would he care at what distance they communicated with him from? Are prayers from women not heard by god, only prayers by men? Can women not hear what he says, only men?

Is God really a sexist? Are you seriously telling me that he might feel threatened by the presence of a woman? Or is this actually a bunch of weeds who currently have all the power not wanting to share? Numbers attending church are at rock bottom. Churches are shutting. They can't recruit enough vicars for the few churches they have. The church's reputation is bad enough without alienating the women and the enlightened men who can accept women in their lives without fearing castration.

There are many reasons why I don't believe in God. The kiddy fiddling is one of them. The idea that God would allow his believers to die in horrible ways in his name is another. His apparent intolerence of women, were another reason needed, would surely be the last nail in the coffin. If he did exist wouldn't he have had a word with the objectors and told them to get real? Terry Pratchett's book "Small Gods" talked about how God's thrived on belief and without belief they became weak and wispy. Maybe it's just that the Church has lost so many people now that he is saying that, it's just no one can hear him.

Here endeth the lesson.

I just want to add that I am not a feminist. I think everyone's equal. It's just a coincidence that in my experience women are generally better at everything.