Oliver Essame, Gospel Hill Cottage, Chapel Lane, Whitfield, Brackley NN13 5TF oliver@essame.clara.net sof 74 November 2005 Mayday Notes Mr Danger ‘I am driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, “George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan”. And I did. And then God would tell me, “George go and end the tyranny in Iraq.” And I did. And now again I feel God’s words coming to me...’ President Bush was reported as saying this during the 2003 Israeli-Palestinian summit by the then Palestinian foreign minister, Nabil Shaath (Guardian 7.10.05). George Bush was born again as an evangelical Christian in 1985 with the help of Billy Graham and since then has had a strong sense of divine mission. ‘The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world,’ he said, ‘it is God’s gift to humanity.’ On the train down to St Deiniol’s in Wales, where SoF Steering Committee have their annual residential weekend, I travelled opposite an academic from the Department of War Studies in King’s College London.
He told me he had sat in on some of the US planning meetings for the war in Afghanistan. He said they always began with prayers and then a general would say: ‘Let’s go do God’s work!’ President Bush is the most powerful ruler in the world; his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq alone have killed countless civilians and destroyed priceless treasures of ancient civilisations. It is hardly surprising that President Chávez of Venezuela calls Bush Mr Danger.
Criticised for demanding that US Special Forces should ‘take out’ Chávez (whose democratic credentials are far solider than Bush’s), US televangelist Pat Robertson replied: ‘There are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war...We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator.’ Chávez’ regime has promoted measures to benefit the poor of Venezuela and he further infuriated the US government by offering cheap oil to the poor in the US and substantial help after Hurricane Katrina. (Venezuela’s ally Cuba offered 1100 doctors to the US immediately after the Hurricane, as well as sending doctors to Central America).
SoF regards religion as a human creation. As President Bush’s God reflects the President himself, this God can justly be called Mr Danger too. We can only hope this divine Mr Danger does not now tell Bush to invade Iran, kill and maim more innocents and destroy more priceless treasures. The British Museum’s fabulous exhibition: Forgotten Empire. The World of Ancient Persia is on until January 6th 2006 and strongly recommended.
Ethical Society Debate On Tuesday 18th October I attended the Ethical Society’s debate in the Conway Hall on the motion: ‘This House believes the Christian God to be a Myth’.
The proposers of the motion were novelist, broadcaster and National Secular Society member Joan Smith, and NSS Councillor and editor of the Ethical Record Norman Bacrac. The opposers were both from the Alpha Course and Holy Trinity Brompton: Rev. Sandy Miller and Rev. Paul Cowley.
The Chair was a jovial Unitarian, courteous to all.
The most striking difference between the two sides, both the main speakers and contributors from the floor, was that the Humanists offered arguments and the Alpha Christians offered mainly personal testimony. Both the platform opposers of the motion called up individuals to give a personal testimony, rather as one imagines an AA meeting. One was an ex-prisoner and I felt rather sorry for the other one, a somewhat weedy little man who said he had been in the army and lived it up, having as many women as he wanted (says you, I thought), but since he had had a personal encounter with Jesus, he had led a good and faithful life.
Many of the Secularists passionately loathed religion and dwelt exclusively on the harm it has done. Others were prepared to consider that yes, God is a myth, but myths and stories belong to humanity’s cultural and imaginative treasury and it would be a pity if this were lost to our children.
A vote was taken before and after the debate.
Beforehand there were 150 in favour, 68 against and 15 abstentions. After the debate there were 138 in favour, 74 against and 15 abstentions. Only one person was prepared to own up that she had changed her mind. The debate, as promised, was vigorous, lively and entertaining, the latter mainly because it was such a bizarre clash of cultures in contemporary Britain.
This column comprises two items under the regular 'Mayday Notes' heading: 'Mr Danger' (on President Bush's professed sense of religious mission) and a report on an Ethical Society debate at Conway Hall.