The Rival Pastors

As we approach the 2007 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, this short story by T.F. Powys (from 1927) is a wonderful tale of two rival country clergymen who come to see that they are, after all, able to come together in unity, although at a cost.

 

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The Rival Pastors

By TF Powys

 

IT IS ALWAYS a dangerous thing to allow churches to be built too near to each other, for, like old Devon bulls in the same field, they do not often agree. Whenever two churches are but a mile apart their bells are sure to clang angrily and their pastors are as prone to fight, and to be as jealous of one another, as two Dartmoor stags.

 

Everyone knows that, in political matters, those who hold nearly the same opinions quarrel over them the most, and though High and Low Church ministers are both Catholic Christians, yet either would address themselves more politely to an atheist or papist than to each other.

 

It is certainly fortunate for the quiet and peace of the modest layman that each church, however near, is set in its own parish, for if two churches—so near as Shelton and Maids Madder—had no legal boundary there would be sure to be murder.

 

The towers of these two churches were in full view of one another and looked resentful, and their respective ministers were certainly not behindhand in the battle of tongues.

 

Mr Hayhoe of Maids Madder belonged to the evangelical persuasion—a persuasion that was, alas! scarce enough in those moving times, when faith hid in the hollow trees and when so many had gone over to the scarlet lady of Rome. Mr Hayhoe was all the more bitter in heart for being left so lonely.

 

Mr Dirdoe of Shelton, though wearing the same kind of cloth—the deepest black that could be purchased for money —held views that Mr Hayhoe abhorred. Mr Dirdoe believed in ritualism, and held that any pastor who was too lazy to turn to the East when the creed was being said must be little less than a man of Belial.

 

Mr Hayhoe was at heart and in conversation a Calvinist, Mr Dirdoe a disciple of Dr Keble. Mr Hayhoe was married, Mr Dirdoe was a single man. Each gentleman kept to his own parish, and so terrified his people with threats of ever-lasting damnation if they entered the church of his rival that no one either in Shelton or Maids Madder ever thought of doing so—-except Lily Topp.

 

Whether it was the Devil's doing or no, it is not possible to tell, but unfortunately the parish boundary that divided Maids Madder from Shelton went through the middle of Daisy Cottage which was owned by John Topp, though his cottage was but a hundred yards from Maids Madder Church.

 

When John Topp sat down at his table for tea he took up the knife and cut the loaf of bread in Shelton, and Mrs Topp, when she filled his cup, was in Maids Madder, while Lily Topp more often than not had a foot in both the parishes.

 

'Maiden,' Mr Topp would observe with a great laugh, 'be in two places at once.'

 

When Mr Hayhoe came home from the evening service, Mrs Hayhoe would anxiously watch her husband, who was in the habit, because his own beard was so rough, of calling her a poor weak woman. If Mr Hayhoe looked sadly at the cold pork that his wife had provided for supper, Mrs Hayhoe knew that Lily Topp had not been in her pew beside her mother, and so must have committed the crime of visiting Shelton Church, where even incense was used for evensong.

 

Mr Hayhoe preached in a black gown—the year was 1880 —he was short and thick-set, but with the mildest eyes that any troubled sinner could wish to see. Though he used rough words in his sermons, his acts were the kindest; 'but with damnation knocking at one's door,' he would say, "tis best to speak plain.'

 

Mr Dirdoe, on the other hand, was thin and saintly and extremely nice in all that he did or said. His eyes were kind, too, though melancholy, his fingers were long, and his hands as white as a maid's. He, too, as well as Mr Hayhoe, would be sure to notice whether Lily Topp visited Shelton Church, where the child would sit in a pew in front of the boys, who would throw nuts at her.

 

As is often the case with men whose thoughts ever dwell in the imagination and seek both their delight and sorrow in religion, neither of the rival pastors ever paid much heed to the earthly or carnal affairs of their people. These pastors were only concerned with the souls of their flocks, and each believed that the soul of Lily Topp was in jeopardy.

 

No doctor is more courteous in matters of etiquette than a country minister, for to trespass upon another's preserves— even to hunt a soul—is considered a very dreadful crime. Mr Dirdoe dared not call at Daisy Cottage, neither dared Mr Hayhoe, for neither knew in which village they would find the occupants. But, alas for Mr Dirdoe! the manners and warmth of the church at Maids Madder and the fierce pulpit cries of Mr Hayhoe had captured John Topp and his wife, Alice, who remained safe in the evangelical fold. Only Lily was the sometime wanderer.

 

In both the reverend gentlemen's minds there was the awful thought—'What if Lily should be damned?'

 

Just as Daisy Cottage was in the two parishes so also were John Topp's fields, for though they were both very little fields one was in Maids Madder and one in Shelton. The fields were high up upon the down, and when John was at plough he could be easily seen from the Rectory windows at Maids Madder or from the Shelton Vicarage garden.

 

Though so separate in ideas that each believed the other's doctrine to be most damnable and capable of leading any who listened to it to perdition, yet, besides possessing the same loving-kindness in his eyes, each of the ministers had the same favourite hymn. And they never sang it without thinking of Lily Topp, for the hymn was—'There were Ninety and nine.' No pastors of religion could be more humble either than these two good men, though they never met one another for fear they might say too much. But neither, for one moment, would allow himself to think that the simple peasants under his charge were not quite as interested in matter of religion as he.

 

When two good men seek so lovingly to save a sinner, one can easily conceive that the same idea might come to both at the same moment.

 

Mr Dirdoe was an early riser, and so was Mr Hayhoe, and after breakfast each would walk in his parish, visit the sick, talk to any old hedger he might meet, and then return, to write his sermon. One summer morning, when all the fowls of the air were singing their matins, Mr Dirdoe took a turn in his garden. No one, unless it were Mr Hayhoe, had more honourable ideas than he. He would have thrust his right hand into the fire and burnt it to the stump sooner than have harmed any by word, thought, or deed. He believed as strongly as his rival in the soundness of family life, and would never think of addressing Lily Topp upon the subject of religion without asking her father's leave.

 

Mr Dirdoe, as it happened that morning, looked up at the hills and saw John Topp at plough. Mr Dirdoe knew every field in his parish, and John Topp was ploughing in Shelton.

 

Mr Dirdoe returned to his house. A tramp was resting upon the doorstep, and the pastor asked him politely if he would mind moving for one moment. The tramp moved sullenly, and Mr Dirdoe fetched his hat and began to climb the downs. As he climbed Mr Dirdoe sang his favourite hymn....

 

Although John Topp's horses were old, they were happy with their master, for John never hurried them, and when they had a mind to rest he permitted them. John liked the horses to stop when he was alone, but he never wished any one to notice that he was resting them, for he always affirmed at home that his horses worked as fast as the best and, if they rested at all, it was because they broke their traces with their vigorous motion.

 

John heard the hymn. He saw Mr Dirdoe approach him, and his horses stopped. John called out to them, but they remained still. He gave the reins a shake, but that did no good.

 

'Maybe 'e won't notice that they bain't moving,' said John, eyeing the approaching minister with much concern, 'but, all-same, 'tis best for I to give they horses their bait.'

 

John had provided a nosebag for each horse, though for him-self he had taken nothing. He now permitted them to eat.

 

Mr Dirdoe was not a man, as some are, who is afraid to name the master in whose employment he lived.

 

'I ask,' he said, 'in the name of God, to have a word with you, John.'

 

But John shook his head.

 

"Thik bain't a name to speak in these fields,' he said.

 

'And why?' asked Mr Dirdoe.

 

'Because they horses bain't churchgoers,' replied John.

'I wish to ask you,' said Mr Dirdoe, without heeding John's reply, 'if I may speak of the Eucharist, auricular confession, and the penitentiary to your daughter, Lily.'

 

John Topp laughed loudly.

 

'Oh!' he said, 'thee won't catch our Lil wi' they sprats!'

 

'You give me permission to try?' inquired Mr Dirdoe eagerly.

 

'Thee may try what thee like,' replied John, 'but our Lil bain't born yesterday, and that I do know.'

 

Mr Dirdoe strode down the hill. In his mind's eye he saw Lily Topp. A young creature, with round legs, running like a fawn, whose black eyes were merry, and whose cheeks might have been jealous of her lips that were like cherries, had not they themselves resembled rosy apples. That was but the carnal child of the flesh. Mr Dirdoe saw her soul, too—a white virgin pearl hidden in her heart. . . .

 

Mr John Topp had been ploughing the last furrow in his Shelton field when Mr Dirdoe visited him, and upon the very next day he commenced to plough his other field, that was situated in Maids Madder. He had not been there but half an hour—and had already rested his horses four times, and was driving away his own troubles with a whiff of tobacco, at one end of the field—when he saw Mr Hayhoe approaching from the direction of Maids Madder Rectory.

 

Mr Hayhoe, who regarded the field a little contemptuously because it was not a page of the Scriptures, at once began to speak of salvation by faith, how few were pre-destined to be saved and how many were to be damned. 'And if,' said Mr Hayhoe, raising his voice so that even one of John's horses raised its head, 'Lily continues to go to Shelton Church she will be damned too.'

 

'No one hain't damned,' said Mr Topp, 'for doing what they be minded, and she who do bide most times in two parishes do like to visit two churches.'

 

'But there is only one God,' replied Mr Hayhoe.

 

'So folk do say,' replied Mr Topp calmly.

 

'And Him only shalt thou serve,' said Mr Hayhoe.

 

"Twould insult our Lil to tell she so,' answered Mr Topp, 'for she do say she'll marry a squire, and do go to Shelton Church to see what folk do wear at weddings.'

 

'You must permit me to reason with her,' pleaded Mr Hayhoe. 'Would you allow your daughter to call at the Rectory every Saturday afternoon at four o'clock?'

 

'Which door be she to knock at?' inquired Mr Topp.

 

'The front door,' replied Mr Hayhoe, 'and I will open it myself.'

 

John Topp looked at the minister a little suspiciously.

 

'Our Lil bain't one who do fancy any nonsense,' he said.

 

'Then she cannot like sacerdotalism,' observed Mr Hayhoe gladly.

 

'No, she don't,' said Mr Topp, 'She don't like none of they matters, for she be a good maid.' . . .

 

If the poor weak woman, who had married Mr Hayhoe because he came as a missionary to her father's village, had one idea left of her own, it was about her sofa-covers. These she liked to keep clean. But when she heard that her husband had invited Lily Topp to have a talk with him on Saturday afternoons she was sure that he would invite Lily to sit upon the study sofa.

 

'And her clothes are so dirty,' Mrs Hayhoe said with a sigh.

 

'If she goes to Hell they will be dirtier,' remarked Mr Hayhoe.

 

Mrs Hayhoe had only just time to take away the cushion that she feared Lily might lean her head upon, when a quick knock came at the front door, and a young child with a skipping-rope in her hand and a merry look in her eyes was invited to enter by Mr Hayhoe and conducted to his study.

 

Had Lily regarded anything else but the furniture she might have been a little alarmed at the extreme deference shown to her by the pastor, who, indeed, treated every man, woman, and child, with the same polite consideration, for he saw them all—sinners though all of them were—as children of God. Mr Hayhoe handed Lily, with a bow, to the sofa.

 

'You must pardon me,' he said, 'for taking you from your pastimes, but my excuse and warrant is that you have a soul to be saved.'

 

'Oh, I wasn't doing nothing important,' replied Lily. 'I was only skipping alone. I weren't playing wi' Tommy.'

 

'Lily,' said Mr Hayhoe, 'I long to call you a child of grace and to keep you in our fold.'

 

"Tain't nor child of grace that our Daddy do call I, nor Tommy neither,' replied Lily, 'for 'tis little Devil wi' both one and t'other.'

 

'Lily,' said Mr Hayhoe, 'do not listen to vain talkers who set snares for your feet.'

 

'Why,' exclaimed Lily, jumping up with a laugh and skipping across the room, 'that's just what Mr Dirdoe do say!'

 

1 hope you do not listen to him,' said Mr Hayhoe, turning a little pale.

 

'Oh no,' replied Lily. 'I don't take no notice of they men.'

 

'But you will listen to me, Lily?'

 

If thee do talk nice,' answered Lily.

 

'Mr Dirdoe promised you Heaven, I suppose,' inquired Mr Hayhoe sadly, 'if you curtseyed to the Altar?'

 

'He promised I a packet of bull's-eyes,' laughed Lily.

 

'I will give you two packets if you stay with us,' said Mr Hayhoe.

 

Lily laughed, kicked up her heels in the air and brought them down on the sofa-cover. The poor weak woman opened the study door…

 

Though Mr Dirdoe hadn't succeeded in catching Lily Topp when he spoke to her in the lane before she visited Mr Hayhoe, yet he did not despair of her. Every Saturday afternoon, as soon as she had eaten her dinner, Lily would skip along the Shelton road to meet him, and he would first explain and then condemn the evangelical dogma, while Lily waited patiently and watched the birds in the sky. Presently Mr Dirdoe would give her, as a reward for her patient

listening, a packet of sweets.

 

Never in his life before had Mr Dirdoe been so happy, and he secretly began to dread the day when Lily would no more divide her favours between Maids Madder Church and Shelton, but come entirely to Shelton, for then he would only think it proper to preach to her from the pulpit. But all means now appeared to be right in his eyes for so good an end, and soon it became a common thing to see Mr Dirdoe on Saturday afternoons skipping himself—his heels up, his coat-tails flying —or else holding one end of a rope while Tommy held the other as Lily skipped.

 

Sometimes Lily met Mr Dirdoe alone, for Tommy would often prefer to go with the other boys to stone the seagulls upon the cliffs, and then Mr Dirdoe would sit beside Lily upon a log of wood in the Shelton Lane, hold her hand in his and tell her a number of exciting stories all about what happened to him when he was a child. Now and again Lily, as well as Tommy, had occupations at Madder that amused her more than listening to Mr Dirdoe's stories, and then Mr Dirdoe would sit upon the log and wait for her in vain, looking so sad and melancholy that everyone who saw him there laughed loudly.

 

One Saturday Lily, who had taken a little longer than usual over her dinner—for she had the bones of a fresh herring to pick at with her fingers—found Mr Dirdoe with his face hidden in his hands, looking so disconsolate that she felt pity for him.

 

'Our Dad do say,' remarked Lily, 'that thee'd be happier if 'ee had a young girl to mind out to, an' 'tis a pity I bain't a little older to be thee's bride.'

 

'I am seeking you, Lily, as a bride for God,' replied Mr Dirdoe.

 

'Be God very old?' asked Lily.

 

'He is immortal,' answered Mr Dirdoe.

 

'Our Dad do say,' continued Lily, 'that thee mid kiss me if thee's mouth do itch, for 'tain't worth while to destroy thee-self for want of a kiss.'

 

Mr Dirdoe sat Lily beside him and stroked her hand.

 

'I am seeking your soul,' he said, 'so that I may give it, blameless, to the angels.'

'

Why, that's just what Mr Hayhoe do say,' laughed Lily.

 

After Lily Topp had been for an hour or two with Mr Dirdoe she would, as a rule, visit Mr Hayhoe at Madder Rectory, where he had been wont to condemn strongly all ceremonial. While he talked he permitted Lily to pull out the drawers of a cabinet that was in the study and lay their contents upon the sofa-cover. This Lily was pleased enough to do, for in each drawer there were a number of curious things—shells and coins, beads and amber charms—that had all been collected by Mr Hayhoe's great-grandmother.

 

Seeing her so happy with these toys, Mr Hayhoe would leave his talk and tell her the same tales that his grandmother had told him about all her travels. They would both be as happy as possible, until the poor weak woman would knock at the door and say that it was high time that Lily went home.

 

"Tis a pity old women be so interfering,' Lily would observe, as she helped Mr Hayhoe to put back the drawers, 'for when 'tain't their sofa-covers, 'tis their chairs they do think of—and 'tain't we two who be crabbed.' , . .

 

Since Ben Jonson wrote these pretty lines—

 

'Weep -with me, all you that. read

This little story

And know, for whom a tear you shed

Death's self is sorry. '

 

Some of those whose years have numbered scarce thirteen finish all too early their happy play in the day-time sun, and so a day arrived when Mr Dirdoe sat waiting sadly and no Lily came. A carriage, that he knew to be the doctor's, went by him towards Madder, though Mr Dirdoe did not heed it.

 

Mr Dirdoe had decided to make one final effort that afternoon to save Lily Topp from the error of her Madder ways. He would not meet her again, for the people of Shelton were already beginning to talk about him and to say untrue things.

 

Mr Dirdoe, upon one of his short holidays, had seen in a jeweller's window at Weyminster a golden chain with a crucifix attached. This he had purchased as a gift for Lily, hoping that with this little cross upon her bosom she would always wish to worship before the more splendid one upon the Shelton Altar.

 

Mr Dirdoe waited. The same carriage that had passed him, going to Madder, returned again. The doctor's bald head was inside.

 

Mr Dirdoe wondered what could have happened to Lily.

 

'Perhaps,' he thought, 'Mr Hayhoe has beguiled her earlier than usual to Madder Rectory, in order to read Spurgeon's Sermons.'

 

Mr Dirdoe jumped up excitedly; a sudden idea came to him. He would go and take the lamb out of the very jaws of the lion.

 

Madder was unusually silent, as if a cloud of gloom was fallen upon it, when Mr Dirdoe walked boldly through the village on his way to the Rectory, As he walked he overtook the Madder sexton, Mr Endor, whom he knew by sight. He walked with him, though neither of the two spoke one word, as far as the churchyard gates.

 

For all the righteous zeal that burned in Mr Dirdoe's heart, his hand trembled when he knocked at the Rectory door. The door was opened by the poor weak woman, who looked extremely surprised to see the visitor. Mrs Hayhoe held in her hand a new sofa-cover. She conducted Mr Dirdoe at once to the study.

 

During his walk Mr Dirdoe had prepared a torrent of words that he felt must totally destroy all that Martin Luther or Jack Calvin had ever put into Mr Hayhoe's head, and after refuting his rival he would offer his gift to Lily and lead her away to the right fold.

 

But all Mr Dirdoe's wonderful arguments were forgotten when he saw his rival, for Mr Hayhoe, with his arms thrown out before him and his head resting upon the great Bible, was weeping bitterly.

 

He recovered himself as Mr Dirdoe entered and, grasping the rival pastor's hand, nodded to a picture upon the wall that showed the lost lamb being carried to its fold in the loving arms of the Good Shepherd.

 

The church bell tolled.

 

The rival pastors, weeping together, embraced one another.

Women are given very high status in Sikhism

Came across this site. I've always had a very high opinion of Sikhs since (a) watching The Changes (BBC TV) in 1980, which took them extremely respectfully, (b) listening to the Radio 4 programme on Sikh humour.

 

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http://www.muslim2sikh.tk/

 

Women are given very high status in Sikhism by the Sikh Gurus. Women are given not only equality but they are also given rights to do everything that men can. For example, women can participate and lead the congregation. Women can go to Sikh temple and worship there. Women can play a role of priest, lecturer, singer and whatever there may be. The third Guru, Guru Amardaas Ji, appointed many missionary priests that were sent all over India to preach Sikhism and fifty two of them were women. Read the following points:

Sikhism says this:

"We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman" (Guru Nanak Dev, Var Asa, Ang 473)

"Woman is one half the complete personality of man, and is entitled to share
secular and spiritual knowledge equally." (Bhai Gurdas Ji, Var 5, Pauri 16:59)

 

 

What kind of Wiccan are you?

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=23503&first=yes

You scored as True Wiccan.

True Wiccan
100%
New Age
38%
Fluffy Bunny
25%

Party Games

I heard on the radio today from a local supplier of party materials (hats, poppers, costumes, helium balloons etc) that parents were trying to outdo each other with children's parties and the aim was to impress other parents rather than children. This was presented as a news item as if it was something new!

 

Oneupmanship has been rife probably for as long as there have been parents and children, in one form or another, and I can remember from my own children's youth how a parent would hire a conjurer or some act or have a mini-disco or anything special to make it better than other parties.

 

They didn;t mention the academic or sporting competition, where there is again "my child is brighter / more sporty than yours" is also there, and also "my children goes to snobs academy, where does your's go?".

 

As my eldest is severely autistic, and goes to Mont A L'Abbe special needs school, I usually mention that at this point in the conversation, which kills of that ridiculous game at once. How can a parent boast about their child's achievements over yours when yours is handicapped? It throws into sharp light all the foolish values which are being pushed, all the "better than" goes out of the window.

 

Wordly games often take the form of this kind of competition, but Christianity says that God is found in weakness, not power:

 

Let your mind dwell upon Bethlehem , and your Christmas festivity can include every bereaved and suffering family in our land. And in every third world country, every country traumatized by war, the only kind of God who makes sense is the one who is never on the side of the big battalions and knows nothing of that sort of power, but can say with literal age-long truth, I was hungry, I was naked, I was in prison. There is no contradiction between this Christmas message and the people's agonized and invincible hope.

Let your mind dwell upon Bethlehem , and the weakness of God will command your worship more than the images of his omnipotence ever did. I recall a wistful Muslim from Pakistan who said: 'I did not want to change my religion. I did not want to join the church. I am a Christian for one reason only. Having seen Christ, I can worship no one else. And if ever someone proved to me that, after all, God is not like what I see in Jesus, I should turn atheist. I had rather kneel down and worship the next little child that offered me its stick of candy out of love.'

From "The True Image of God" in The Incarnate God by John V. Taylor (Continuum, 2003).

Yo, Legacy

George W Bush, under fire from all sides of the political spectrum for his decision to send 21,500 extra troops to Iraq, has denied having a stubborn character. The president insisted that he is actually "flexible" and "open-minded", in a lengthy and candid interview with CBS, the American televison channel. He also told the 60 Minutes programme that he has a "thick hide", and denied that his spirits had suffered because of setbacks during the Iraq war. "I really am not the kind of guy that sits here and says, 'Oh, gosh, I'm worried about my legacy.' I'm more worried about making the right decisions to protect the United States of America," he said, according to a transcript of the interview released on Sunday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/15/wbush115.xml

Fingers on buzzers for the correct answer:

Which politician in 2006 / 2007 is clearly totally obsessed by his "legacy"?

Evolution and Christianity

Came across interesting quote by John V Taylor which takes evolution seriously, and puts it into a Christian framework very firmly rather than on the margins - "For the hope that is set before him he endures the cross of all the waste and accident of the long unfolding." This is something I've been looking for some time; a theological and Christian (rather than deistic) picture of the cosmos, with the cross at the heart of it. Brilliant!

Let your mind dwell upon the scene of Christ's nativity, and you will find there is no need for any controversy between a slow evolution and a divine creation. When this kind of God sets about creating consciousness and freedom in all the persevering weakness of love, it will not be done quickly. This God is present and involved in each part of the process. His strength is the strength of the hills which slowly crumble and bleed their dust to make the fertile soil in which the grass can grow. Take any blade of grass between your fingers and gently stroke its frail silky ribbon. There is such delicate sensitiveness in that green tissue. It has taken millions and millions of years to make. So insignificant and so easily destroyed, yet without its invincible perseverance we and our kind could never survive. Stroke it gently, then, with wondering reverence and you will be very near to worshipping the God of Bethlehem. This God goes the way of every seed that falls into the ground and dies that new life may arise. This God suffers with every tingling nerve and no small bird falls but he falls with it. For the hope that is set before him he endures the cross of all the waste and accident of the long unfolding.

From "The True Image of God" in The Incarnate God by John V. Taylor (Continuum, 2003).

Womanist Theology

I'd never heard of the term before listing to a "Beyond Belief" on Black Theology.

It was developed by author Alice Walker, and applies to all women, but against feminism, sees also race AND feminism as important issues for women. Interesting quote from her:

"A Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. A Womanist desires healing and wholeness for entire communities, male and female. A Womanist is not heterosexist but loves men and women sexually and non-sexually. Appreciates and prefers women's culture, women's emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women's strength. She loves food, the moon and roundness. She loves the spirit. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally universalist... Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womanist

Here is another interesting quote from Toinette M. Eugene (in Feminist Theological Ethics: A Reader). Note that the womanist way of thinking is plurarist. Eugene is a Christian thinker, so draws upon inspiration from the idea of dreaming as encountering truth in myth, but the narratives she considers are also dreams - like those of Martin Luther King - which apply to the real world as well, and call for a changed society; she also clearly does not exclude non-Christians, because fundamentally, the important matters transcend labels, and we need to follow the dreams, rather than bicker over whether we are right.

I subscribe to the verse in Genesis that invites us all to mirror the prophetic lifestyle and serve as change agents in religion and society. I am ultimately one who is willing to walk and to work with a dream announced of old in the words of Genesis, and brought to bear in the poetry and prose of people of color the world over: "Behold, the Dreamer cometh" ( Gn. 37:19). I have a dream that womanists, mujeristas, and feminists can appropriate one another's work with integrity, and with true reciprocity. I do not believe that the dream needs to be deferred or that it need explode or dry up in the days to come.

I cherish the dream work that allows shamans and heroes and sisters of every race and class and culture to sit down with one another around the table of professionalism in the world of academe and around the table of solidarity with all the oppressed. I have a dream that the tables can overlap, that they must overlap--that the table of professionalism and the nourishment of academe must serve and become a table of solidarity and community for all those who are oppressed through lack of knowledge, or lack of empowerment in mind and in body.

In dealing honestly with the problem of difference and the dream of pluralist feminism, I trust that we can be together where the Holy Spirit, our Divine Wisdom, our Sancta Sophia is both Hostess and Guest. With this hope I advocate the vision and the perspective which encompasses our "coming to believe in the possibility of a variety of experiences, a variety of ways of understanding the world, a variety of frameworks of operation, without imposing consciously or unconsciously a notion of the norm."

Another from Hispanic writer Ada María Isasi-Díaz, again on the subject of difference, and how we need to be able to recognise difference, not just as a matter of respect, but engaging with people who are different:

To recognize difference not as a problem but as something good we have to be very intentional about how we relate to others. For difference to be positive we must allow the person who is different to be herself, and not require or demand that she be or act or present herself in a way that is intelligible to us. We need to enter into each other's world view as much as we can and help others open up to new perspectives. Unless we are willing to do this, the self we present to people who are different from us is a "pretend self." We will hide our real selves in order to protect ourselves from others' projections of us

Respectful engagement and interaction require honesty, a willingness to see ourselves for who we are instead of who we would like to be and try to project. It also requires that we recognize and embrace difference but not because we want to avoid guilt or accusations of being noninclusive or of being falsely inclusive. In other words, true engagement and interaction are not matters of being politically correct but of accepting that "self requires self-conscious interaction."

Engagement is a matter of realizing that those who are different

are mirrors in which you can see yourselves as no other mirror shows you. . . . It is not that we are the only faithful mirrors, but I think we are faithful mirrors. Not that we show you as you really are; we just show you as one of the people who you are. What we reveal to you is that you are many--something that may in itself be frightening to you. But the self we reveal to you is also one that you are not eager to know for reasons that one may conjecture.

Damned Estate Agents

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/1996/11/19/were-all-damned/#more-685

Reading interesting article by Monbiot somewhat tongue in cheek. I rather like the idea of estate agents going to hell, though! And some of the food people, especially of GM food, or pre-packaged high-antibiotic junk are certainly ready to go to the same bin as their foodstuffs.

Clearly, I'm in a cranky mood today!

Really it just shows how pick-n-mix fundamentalists are about homosexuality.

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The Bible says homosexuality's an abomination. But estate agents and food manufacturers are in even bigger trouble.
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 19th November 1996.

Leviticus is pretty clear about homosexuality. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination". Like those who defile themselves with beasts, such sinners will be, the Bible tells us, vomited out by the land itself. If evidence of this hideous destiny were ever required, one need look no further than the eructations which greeted the 20th anniversary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, celebrated on Saturday in Southwark Cathedral.

Never having lain with a man as with a woman, or with a beast to defile myself therewith, I was, until this weekend, fairly complacent about my chances of being vomited. Then, however, hoping to discover what the fuss was all about, I made the mistake of taking a look at Leviticus. It's odd that no one else seems to have noticed it, but the news is much worse than we thought: terrestrial regurgitation awaits those who commit any one of the "abominable customs" listed in the book. All of us habitually defile ourselves before the Lord, but, as if to prove that He is a just God, food manufacturers and estate agents would seem to have the most to fear, as they lead all the rest of us into temptation. If anyone should be looking out for a cosmic spew, it should surely be them.`

Leviticus leaves little room for doubt. Thou shalt not eat animal fat, or the fruit of a tree you've owned for less than five years. .. Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind (which does for anyone parking on the pavement). Thou shalt not trade in freehold: after 50 years, all property must revert to the people it was bought from.

While God doubtless appreciates the fuss about gays being accepted into the priesthood, He surely can't be very pleased that the rest of His injunctions in this regard have been so manifestly flouted. Leviticus prohibits from officiating in church anyone that hath a blemish, be he lame, crookbackt, with a flat nose, "or any thing superfluous". Quite what this means is anyone's guess, but it must certainly cover deaf aids, spectacles, dentures and toupees, thus barring the greater part of the priesthood from its duties.

More Sense about science?

http://www.lobbywatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=151

The UK lobby group Sense About Science says it is 'A Trust to encourage a rational, evidence-based approach to scientific and technological developments'. Its exact launch date is unknown but the domain name was registered in March 2002.

Within months it had begun to promote its point of view on GM crops to parliamentarians and the media, and had raised funding from 'corporations and learned societies'. An item on the Sense About Science website also refers to a 'Sense About Science network of scientists and NGOs'. Clues to the network's constituent members would seem to be provided by the organisation's officers, staff, trustees, advisors, funders and project particpants.

This confirms my suspicions, also pointed out in the Mail on Sunday by Zac Goldsmith, that Sense about Science is more about Big Business than Science. George Monbiot, Honorary Professor at the Department of Politics in Keele and Visiting Professor at the Department of Environmental Science at the University of East London, notes on his blogspot:

Are we looking at a group which wants power for its own sake, or one following a political design, of which this is an intermediate step? What I can say is that the scientific establishment, always politically naive, appears unwittingly to have permitted its interests to be represented to the public by the members of a bizarre and cultish political network. Far from rebuilding public trust in science and medicine, this group's repugnant philosophy could finally destroy it.

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles9/Monbiot_Entryists.htm

Islamophobia

http://www.michellemalkin.com/archives/004413.htm

Looking back over the past year, I am reminded about the joke about the paranoid individual who thought they were all out to get him, but it was all a delusion, which was why the men in white coats turned up to take him to a mental institution!

We are repeatly told that we live in a society where Islamophobia is becoming rife, and it is only a vocal minority who engage in acts of violence, flag burning, or chanting and waving placards about beheading or otherwise removing infidels on a permanent basis.

Maybe so, perhaps it is extremes. But - apart from the lunatic posturing of George Bush and some Americans and their talk of "axis of evil", we do not have Christians out issuing death threats against anyone who mocks Christianity, in such a visible and vocal manner.

Perhaps it is because Jesus notably spoke of not returning violence with violence, of turning the other cheek, of not giving persecutors the satisfaction of triggering anger. Christian martyrdom has been seen not with killing others for your faith and dying yourself, but with refusing to give up faith, and suffering persecution and death as a result. It is true there have been bloody eras of violence - as with the crusaders -

The cry of the Popes was:

"All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins"


This is pretty appalling, and shows the depths of degradation which the Church had decended.

There were Crusader saints, such as Gerard Mecatti of Villamagna. But he is rare for having a church dedicated to him, with a statue of him in armour.

There were none classed as Crusader martyrs; how could there be? A martyr dies for his faith; he doesn't kill for it.

Paul speaks of "put on the armour of God", and we have a hymn (among several) drawing on that "onward Christian soldiers". But the whole point of Paul's imagery was to state in visual terms what that armour was, and how it was so completely different from the armour of the Roman soldiers.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...."


This uses military imagery - easily seen in towns and villages in the Empire - and subverts it to great effect.

1066 and All That

I don't know if the book is as good as when on Radio. I heard the radio series with my girlfriend; we've still a little way to go. They are just repeating it. Fantastic with Joss Ackland, Eleanor Bron, Rory Bremner, John Humphrys, Ewan Bailey and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. As good as 1066 and All That!

Radio (and listen again) at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/1966/pip/archive/

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The Radio 4 series was in 4 parts. Here are the trailers / blurbs:

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain begins with the 1920s and 1930s, when King George utters some unmemorable last words; DH Lawrence of Arabia writes Lady Chatterbox's Llama; and John Yogi Bear discovers the BBC, but finds there's not much on...

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1940s. The French Resistance struggles to victory under General de Girl; Hitler gets stuck in a bunker with his Gerbil and John Humphrys interviews Winston Churchill...

Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1960s. Albert Einstein discovers The Beatles, while for the first time, the nation discovers sex. We take a look at the era of Flour Power; the World Cup is won by a team of men all called Bobby; and the Royal Family attempts to stay with-it by barbecuing ...


Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1960s. Neil Knock-Knock, an after-dinner joke, becomes leader of the Labour Party; Jeffrey Archer reveals he's won the Nobel Prize; Lloads of London goes pear-shaped; and John Minor stands against himself, and loses...

---

Here is the book link and a few comments:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1966-All-That-Craig-Brown/dp/0340897112

Grandhi walking round India "stirring up inaction"; Jesse Matthews, unexpected victor of the 1936 Olympics; the coronation in black and white, "as colour was still strictly rationed"; British World War 2 pow's, permitted nothing but "a selection of ropes, false passports, fancy moustaches, German phrase books, a selection of pantomine costumes, a wooden horse and a couple of gliders".

My favourite characters: Alexander Gissa Bell, and, for some reason, my biggest personal laugh: "the Webbs, Donald and Daffy" (bit of an historians' in-joke, that one); most obscure pun, Admiral Duncan Donitz; and Most Memorable event: the end of Mrs Thatcherism; her "loyal ministers" have individually "told her she was absolutely marvellous, but that she'd possibly be even that a little bit more marvellous if she left and never came back. She took the hint, opting to make a dignified exit from Downing Street, howling in tears, hammering on the windows and waving a blue hankie through the back windscreen of her locked car".

Here is a quote regarding 80s music:

"...dominated by groups such as Droan Droan, Spandau Ballsup, Adam Aunt and Depressive Mode. They all danced with great difficulty and thus became known as the New Rheumatics

Unicorns

Traveller's Tales

In his travels, Marco Polo notes in Sumatra:


"They have wild elephants and plenty of unicorns, which are scarcely smaller than elephants. They have the hair of a buffalo and feet like an elephant's. They have a single large, black horn in the middle of the forehead. They do not attack with their horn, but only with their tongue and their knees; for their tongues are furnished with long, sharp spines, so that when they want to do any harm to anyone they first crush him by kneeling upon him and then lacerate him with their tongues."

Clearly a rhino!

The question which a number of sites ask is how the mythological representation came to be. It could be:

1) derived from a misunderstanding of Mesopotamian art and some cave paintings, which often showed creatures and people in profile (so only one horn showing in a horned beast).
2) an extinct species.
3) a garbled rhino or other creature (which is what Marco Polo latches on to to make sense of the unicorn). - the traveller's tales (or Chinese whispers) explanation
4) a creature of fantasy, revealing mythological truths.

Do I believe in Unicorns?

I think that misunderstanding of profile perspective may have played a part (1), as did (3), but that did only because people already had some idea of what a unicorn was in order to make sense of what they were seeing. This is much as archaeologists have been prone to see the "goddess" or "venus" figure in female statuettes, bringing their own interpretation to what they see. I think the idea of a unicorn predates that, although some aspects of unicorn behaviour, especially in the Middle East, may derive from that.

Yet some aspects of a unicorn seem to derive from (3) quite clearly.

"Powdered rhino horn is regarded as an aphrodisiac by many people from Africa and the Orient. The rhino's prolonged sex act, which may last for more than half an hour, probably gave rise to this strange belief."(http://www.mpumalangahappenings.co.za/kruger_national_park.htm)

And powdered unicorn horn was also supposed to have similar properties, which is a coincidence so close as to suggest some derivation from tales of a rhino.

It is noteworthy that the elephant carved on a seat in Exeter Cathedral has tusks, a trunk, but also hooves, which shows that misrepresentation could certainly take place.

There is no clear evidence for (2) in the archeological record, although it is unclear how much would survive. As noted (http://www.archaeology.eu.com/weblog/2005_11_01_archaeologyeu_archive.html), regarding decay:

"Very few ancient Roman ivory objects have survived to the present day because ivory is a biodegradable material. Those that have not withered away over the last 2,000 years are mostly tomb decorations and small plaques."

But is clear that whatever their derivation, unicorns gathered a cluster of mythological features.

Of those, the astronomical link is certainly interesting, especially as a number of myths seem to have astronomical and religious features. Recently Mithras has been re-evaluation as again providing (http://www.well.com/~davidu/sciam.html) an

"astronomical code with strong religious implications....In addition to Mithras and the bull, the tauroctony contains a number of other figures: a dog, a snake, a raven, a scorpion and sometimes a lion and a cup. It cannot be coincidence that each has a parallel among the constellations: Canis Minor, Hydra, Corvus, Scorpio, Leo and Crater; the bull is paralleled by Taurus." (see also http://www.well.com/~davidu/mithras.html)

I think that part of the reason for the unicorn acting as a "mythological attractor" is the fact that there is no physical unicorn to be seen (apart from 3), and so the imagination can find its own paths. What happens here (as with other mythology) is a form of story telling that tells us how people understood the world; it is a mirror of their psyche, revealing what might not otherwise appear, rather like a mirror.

I find the same thing with Tarot cards. A "good reading" is one which mirrors and reflects back fears and hopes; it does not preduct the future, but it does open up perceptions that might not be so easily accessible.

Peter Berger's masterpiece "The Last Unicorn" is a fantasy about a Unicorn which shows how even today the idea of the unicorn can cast a spell; it is a many-leveled work, and so deep and complex is its mythology that it is hard to put into words; the main plot arc has only a tangential relationship to the impact of the story on readers.

So to say that "unicorns do not exist" is to some extent reductionist, but also fails to understand the way in which they do exist. They are creatures of the imagination, and they do exist there, and the materialist ideology that privileges the material world over the world of the imagination is a barren desert that assumes imagination means imaginary. Rather, they allow us to speak of what cannot otherwise be said.

Confucius is supposed to have written:

In the age of Tang and Yu the Unicorn
and the Phoenix walked abroad.
Now when it is not their time they come
And what do they seek?
The Unicorn, the Unicorn, my heart is sad.


Richard Dawkins does not believe in Unicorns. I think he is missing a lot. I don't think they exist in the same way as a horse, for instance. But they have been around people for a very long time, and I think will be there for a long time to come. We are impoverished if we just dismiss the Unicorn as a fiction.

If I was asked to say where we would find them, I could do no better than to use the phrase made so memorable by Rod Serling, and say they do exist - in the Twilight Zone:

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone".

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Different Unicorns around the World

The site http://www.allaboutunicorns.com/legends.php has a fascinating amount of detail. One of the most interesting things is how unicorns and unicorn myths differ from around the world. The basic form (a unitary horn) is the same, but within that, descriptions vary widely, as do features of the creatures alleged behaviour. Here I list some of the types shown here, and classify them by the above.

China: - Type 4

"A miraculous creature called the Ch'i lin (or K'i lin), a "great unicorn," that radiated exquisite colors, had a voice like a thousand wind chimes, avoided fighting at all costs, lived for a thousand years, and had a horn twelve feet long. It was said that Ch'i lin walked so softly its hooves made no sound. Some believed this was because it was so soft-hearted it did not want to crush the blades of grass beneath its feet.... Huang Ti was also known as the Yellow Emperor or the August Sovereign. He became one of the most revered of all Chinese rulers. There is a record in the Bamboo Books of the appearance of a Ch'i lin at his palace in 2697 BC, shortly before his death. The Ch'i lin walked silently, majestically into the palace, roamed its halls and vanished. The unicorn carried in the middle of its forehead a long, straight, tapered and helically grooved ivory horn."

What is remarkable about the Chinese unicorn is the way it enters both mythology (Chinese letters are a gift from a unicorn), but also enters into their historical narratives. Even by the time of Confucius, they are still dotted around, and Confucius sees a dead one and comments on it.

East Africa - Type 3

"When sailors aboard the Chinese Emperor's jewel ship arrived in East Africa in 1415, they were told stories about the horned creature they knew as the Ch'i lin. They were very surprised since Africa and China are totally different and they did not expect this animal to be known there. The Africans described the animal as having the body of a deer, a long neck and a single horn. It was gentle, graceful, rarely spoke or made noises and was said to be 18 feet tall. According to the reports, it would hide among the mimosa. The Chinese crew was able to capture one of these creatures and returned with it to China. There was much excitement in the Emperor's Court when it was reported they were bringing home a Ch'i lin. As it turned out, the Somali word for the animal was girin, which had confused the expedition's leader. In fact, the African "unicorn" turned out to be the giraffe!"

It is interesting that the pecular nature of the giraffe meant its "horns" were seen as being of one piece. We see it clearly as having two horns, but either through misunderstandings, or an idea that the prongs came from one root, the Africans saw it differently. Perhaps the tufts of hair on the female's head made it difficult to see quite was up there.

Middle East - Type 3 (with some of 4)

"In Persia and Arabia, the unicorn was called Karkadann, a beast so ferocious it could attack and kill an elephant. It was a violent, warlike unicorn, born in blood and vehement in battle. It had the body of a rhino and a tail like a lion. Each leg had three hooves, one in front and two in back. From its forehead rose a single black horn, curved like a crescent. Unlike the western unicorn, it was dreaded by all living creatures and left alone... It could be mild and tender hearted though, drinking the morning dew from green plants. And when it put its head in water, the water would become pure and fruitful, opposites would unite, and all female creatures in the water would become pregnant. Any evil within the water would die and be cast out upon the shore. As in western unicorn lore, the Karkadann was extremely fond of women, who were used as lures to capture the beast. However, in the eastern tradition, the women did not have to be virgins."

Here is something akin to a rhino, but the idea of purity - strong in the Western depiction - comes here. The idea of the savage beast being tamed by women would give Freud a field day! The Unicorn brings blessings when tamed.
Japan - Type 4

Japan's version of the unicorn, the Kirin or Sin-you was depicted with sinews more like those of a lion. Although the Kirin was normally a shy creature, taking large detours to avoid confrontations, the Sin-you unicorn was not so timid. It was known for its ability to know right from wrong and was often called upon to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals. If an individual was determined to be guilty, the Sin-you would fix its eyes upon him and pierce the guilty person with its horn.

Here a Unicorn is an augury, a kind of prophetic creature.

Western - Type 4

In Western unicorn lore, the Lion and the Unicorn have traditionally been considered rivals and natural enemies destined to fight. But in all of the tales of this rivalry, there is no suggestion that they represent good and evil. At best they are complimentary, at worst they are incompatible. At times both have been called the lord of all beasts, but their styles of sovereignty are totally different. The extrovert and the introvert, one fiery and one cool, they represent opposite principles which are fine in and of them so long as they are not in competition.... The Lion is a well established solar symbol in astrology. The Unicorn is not quite as widely accepted as a symbol for the moon. However, the association has been there and was commonly accepted by the time of England's James I.... [Here is] a drama we witness in the heavens every month: the new moon chases the sun across the sky, falling ever further behind but waxing as it does so, until finally it is charging towards the sun from the opposite direction, its crescent horn growing ever more slender and sharp. Then the sun devours it and for a few days and nights the moon disappears from the sky--to await rebirth. On the occasion of a solar eclipse, the tables are turned and it is the sun that briefly dies in the sky.

This links the Unicorn to the Astrological speculation of the Middle ages, and one part of the myth to a story about the heavenly chase.

Sense in science

This seems to be yet another pressure group, providing as a "charity", a seemingless value-free and neutral scientific comment on issues. Why do I distrust groups like this?

Look at the letter on:
http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/49

"Scientists' responses to Farm Scale Evaluations of GM crops:A letter to the Prime Minister"


"In October 2003, scientists announced the findings of the Farm Scale Evaluations of three GM crops being considered for commercial growing in the UK. These were widely reported as heralding "the end of GM in the UK." In fact, the FSEs did not assess the effects of genetically modifying the crops, but rather the impact of different types of weed control. They had little to do with genetic modification, its processes or potential. Sense About Science discovered that many scientists felt frustrated by the reporting, and by the Government's failure to correct the misinterpretation of the studies it had commissioned. Even scientists working in unrelated areas found it demoralising and unreasonable to see new technologies condemned with little reference to the evidence. Sense About Science worked with Professor Derek Burke, a member of the Advisory Council, to turn these frustrations into a constructive appeal to the British Prime Minister. A copy of the resulting letter and signatories is available here (pdf). The Government responded to the letter by reaffirming its commitment to evidence. While it was helpful for the scientists and the Government to clarify their views in public, the UK's role in this area of science and technology was already damaged beyond recovery. "

The linked letter contains 114 individuals, who it is stated "signed it in a personal capacity and not on behalf of their institutions or funding bodies".

All very well, but is a scientist going to come out and take a stance that will lead to a loss of funding And if scientists are working in unrelated areas are allowed a say, how many of these are in the 114, and what makes their comments more significant than the educated layman? "Many scientists" and the figure of 114 seems good, but what proportion of the total scientists in the UK is this? How many of those would lend their name to this letter?

When we look at autism, for instance, this is part of a comment on Paul Shattock:

"A similar attitude to scientific expertise was displayed in claims about the MMR vaccine and autism
by Mr Paul Shattock, a pharmacist who set up the Autism Research Unit at the University of
Sunderland, which advocates the view that autism is a metabolic disorder. In June 2002, he claimed
to have identified a group of children whose autism resulted from the MMR vaccine. The research,
based on the claim that children with bowel disease have abnormal levels of indolyl acryloyl
glycine in their urine, was not published in a scientific journal but made headlines and Shattock was
cited 41 times in 2002 in newspaper articles about the safety of the MMR vaccine."

You would never know from this that Paul Shattock set up the ARU following his retirement in 1998 from teaching Pharmacy for over 20 years at the University of Sunderland; it makes him sound like a high-street behind the counter chemist, rather than a University teacher. The letters after his name M.R.Pharm.S. also mean he is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Medline gives 7 citations (see below) of Shattocks work (as a co-author) in peer reviewed medical related publications. Medline is a central database reference source for finding references and it doesn't go in for non-scientific mickey mouse publications. So again, I wonder what the sense in science people are playing at? It certainly seems very like an ad hominem attack on Mr Shattock, probably because Sense in Science is committed to the MMR and Paul Shattock is critical of it.

I think Arrogance in Science might be a better name for this pressure group, which does the same disservice to science that Mary Whitehouse did with her so-called "national" listeners and viewers group. It is perhaps no surprise that Peter Atkins is one of the team. From the Trouble with Atheism by Rod Liddle, he came across as an extremely arrogant man, convinced that he is right and anyone who disagrees with him is wrong. That, clearly, is how we should view Sense in Science!

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed

Whiteley P, Waring R, Williams L, Klovrza L, Nolan F, Smith S, Farrow M, Dodou K, Lough WJ, Shattock P. Related Articles, Links
Spot urinary creatinine excretion in pervasive developmental disorders.
Pediatr Int. 2006 Jun;48(3):292-7.
PMID: 16732798 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2: Whiteley P, Dodou K, Todd L, Shattock P. Related Articles, Links
Body mass index of children from the United Kingdom diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders.
Pediatr Int. 2004 Oct;46(5):531-3.
PMID: 15491378 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3: Shattock P, Hooper M, Waring R. Related Articles, Links
Opioid peptides and dipeptidyl peptidase in autism.
Dev Med Child Neurol. 2004 May;46(5):357; author reply 357-8. No abstract available.
PMID: 15132268 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
4: Waltz M, Shattock P. Related Articles, Links
Autistic disorder in nineteenth-century London: three case reports.
Autism. 2004 Mar;8(1):7-20.
PMID: 15070544 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5: Bull G, Shattock P, Whiteley P, Anderson R, Groundwater PW, Lough JW, Lees G. Related Articles, Links
Indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) is a putative diagnostic urinary marker for autism spectrum disorders.
Med Sci Monit. 2003 Oct;9(10):CR422-5.
PMID: 14523330 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6: Shattock P, Whiteley P. Related Articles, Links
Biochemical aspects in autism spectrum disorders: updating the opioid-excess theory and presenting new opportunities for biomedical intervention.
Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2002 Apr;6(2):175-83. Review.
PMID: 12223079 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7: Anderson RJ, Bendell DJ, Garnett I, Groundwater PW, Lough WJ, Mills MJ, Savery D, Shattock PE. Related Articles, Links
Identification of indolyl-3-acryloylglycine in the urine of people with autism.
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2002 Feb;54(2):295-8.
PMID: 11858215 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

New Year Extinction one Year On

Before Al Gore, Stephen Jay Gould looked at extinction from a paleonontologist point of view, and concluded that we had no cuase to be triumphant, as the history of life showed many mass extinctions, and mankind had only been around for a fraction of the time that species like the dinosaurs had been dominant on the planet.

Al Gore's recent film and DVD promotion shows one politician who takes the environment seriously, and sees how fragile our existence is, how dependent we are upon ranges of temperature, the kind of air we breath, and the living bio-systems with which we co-exist.

What is there to make theologically of this?

If human life becomes extinct, what can be seen of any purpose in mankind? Where is any religious explanation of the sheer waste?

Glib, apocalyptic fundamentalism always has a ready answer in the "end of the world" scenario, variously tailored to culture and history. But if there is a God, I cannot accept that he could work like that.

The free-will defence says we have the freedom to destroy ourselves. That is certainly true. But is it all that can be said? Passive acceptance of a painful truth? And it is so rational, so calm in the face of catastrophe.

There is one other religious response that is acceptable and legitimate: to rage against God, against the misery and suffering and waste. Perhaps we need to be more like Job, if we are to find an answer that is closer to the truth?