Good things and bad things have been happening to me lately. For example: we get all sorts of odd-looking people at our work. Just the other day, there was this bloke who looked just like "aristocratic" Stu M on the inside of FISHYCLAP, but with NHS glasses and a colonially-shaped helmet. You know what I mean; the hemispherical ones, with a big brim. This one was in tweed, however. In fact, all of his clothes were tweed. He looked as if he has never, ever said anything to anybody -- at least, not since Rhodesia declared independance. On Religion: All this talk about religion has made me think: one day, I'm going to start my own religion. Actually, I've been thinkinh about it for ages, but this is a Good Time to mention it. I haven't thought of a snappy name, so for now my cult shall be known merely as the Fundamental Agnostics. Our secret wisdom shall not be some magic words or a funny handshake; it will be the fact that we have no secret wisdom, and we are comfortable with that. We shan't tell you: when you die, you shall go to a Happy Place. We shall tell you: when you die, we don't know what will happen. Have fun finding out. We shall encourgae people not to believe everything that they read, or everything they are told. We shan't pretend that we know everything, either, or that we want you to go to heaven, or that we want you to send us your money. If you appreciate us, you are free to send your money, but we shall never solicit it. You see, the religious people I don't like are the ones who always say that they *know*. I was brought up an Anglican, and was always told that God will never answer tests; you have to have the strength to believe in him for yourself. Now, I see people saying "I can !PROVE! that Jesus existed", and I want to ask them: "So, you don't really believe in him?" I've studied archaeology, and find it quite amusing to read through some of these "Christian Archaeology" books spotting the obvious mistakes -- I don't mean factual errors in Middle Eastern archaeology, but places where the writers clearly don't understand what archaeology can and can't do. IMHO, those people persuade themselves that they can prove the truth of the Bible, because they don't have the personal strength or confidence to rely on belief alone. I, on the other hand, contend that your life will be better if you accept that you cannot prove what will happen after death (to take one example), and learn to live with that. Two related things happened to me in the last few days. One, I have received wisdom, in the form of graduating from university. A man in a richly-decorated gown tapped me on the head with a cap made from the trousers of a centuries-dead theologian, and therefore, I can now put some letters after my name. I *really* haven't seen the fuss; the "Yes! I've finished!" moment came a few months back when I finished my dissertation; before I'd even done any exams. Presumably, if it hadn't, I'd have got a better grade. Two days later, i found that my gf's mother has cancer. Sometime in the next year, she will probably die. Here's a reassuring thought for all those people who want proof that heaven is real. If there is no life after death, you're unlikely to discover it. By that point, there'll be no you. Of course, *I* don't know whether there is or not. I can't prove anything about the metaphysical world, and I want to tell everyone that nobody living ever can. Of course, I could always be wrong about that, too. -- Will S +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+