The Bishop’s Visit

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A neighbour walking his dog alerted us to the news that the county town’s bishop is coming to our village hall to answer questions.  The question I immediately thought of asking – that is, if I were to go to the meeting – would be “Do you believe in God?”   I imagine the audience would gasp, reel backwards, blench, go beetroot, with a host of different horrified responses to such a question coming from their midst.  The audience is likely to be drawn from the local church-goers, for one thing.  They must all believe in God.  They surely trust that their bishop also believes in God.   How could a fellow member of the audience ask such a stupid question?

Yet I think it is a valid question to ask of a religious leader.  It would surely elicit an answer that would go some way to explaining why anyone who has risen to a position of leadership in his chosen career in the 21st century can promulgate the thought patterns of a particular band of people from the extremely distant past.  It’s the question that tortured Darwin when he kept asking it of himself.  And that was more than 100 years ago.

I shall go on with these thoughts when I have the time.

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