Who Is The Chosen One?
Who is hearing voices of God? Tony certainly is, passing on part of the responsibility of the Iraq war to His judgement:
Funny that, according to the Pope, God was saying something very different to him:
John Paul has strongly argued that military action would be a "defeat for humanity"
The Archbishop of Cantabury has also been opening his lughole to the Almighty, who in a moment of ecumenical harmony, appears to be telling him exactly the same thing:
"It is deplorable that the world's most powerful nations continue to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, in violation of both the United Nations and Christian moral teaching."
The only explanation is that either God has stopped speaking to the leaders of the Christian church and now favours of the occupant of Ten Downing Street...
Or that Tony is hearing voices in his head. - Meanwhile Here's a message for all the Blair apologists in the party (mp3)
In the meantime let's just listen to the words of three people who have lost their sons in Iraq:
Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed in Basra in 2004, said "How can he say he is a Christian? A Christian would never put people out there to be killed.
"A good Christian wouldn't be for this war. I'm actually quite disgusted by the comments. It's a joke."
Reg Keys, Mr Keys' son, Lance Corporal Tom Keys, was one of six Red Caps killed by an Iraqi mob in Majar Al-Kabir in June 2003.
"War should be the final option that a prime minister takes when all avenues have failed. In my view those other avenues hadn't failed," said Mr Keys, the founder of campaign group Military Families Against The War.
"God doesn't come into this at all. We want to believe that our... loved ones... died for a justified cause, not some delusional religious cause."
"Are we really seeing over 100 coffins coming back because God told him to go to war?"
Well, he's gone completely
Well, he's gone completely bonkers now. Unbelievable.
Tony's Prayer:
Tony's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I know you're, like, on the record as being a bit opposed to violence. "Thou shalt not kill", "Turn the other cheek" and other old-fashioned stuff like that. But what you've got to realise God is that the world has moved on. In modern Britain you need to be a bit more flexible about these things now and its time to draw a line under these outdated practices.
So I was sort of wondering God if I could just start a couple of wars. Nothing too major, just a few thousand dead on a flimsy pretext that won't stand up to any real scrutiny. And that UN resolution? No need to worry about that? Great! Thanks then God. I'll just get on to George and tell him you said to make the bastards suffer.
Oh and one more thing God. It's that thing about it being hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. My friend Tessa wants to know if it applies to women as well. Thanks alot God. I'll talk to you soon when I'm running short of self justification again.
Amen
Martin, thanks for inspiring
Martin,
thanks for inspiring our Tony's Prayer Competition
You're welcome. It was the
You're welcome. It was the only way I could write anything without getting furiously angry.
Martin
Ah yes, but... We have an
Ah yes, but... We have an "established" church in this country. The church and government are inextricably linked. The monarch has been head of the anglican church since Henry VIII. As the monarch has become effectively a figurehead only in our "constitutional monarchy", the prime minister has all the power. Therefore, the prime minister out-ranks the Archbishop of Canterbury. Tony Blair is, effectively, God's representative in the United Kingdom. (The pope, of course, is irrelevant since he and Henry VIII fell out.)
Rather than getting angry about this, why not join the National Secular Society?
It'll be hard beating
It'll be hard beating Martin's prayer - it's just perfect!
“Oh for shame, how the
“Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame upon us
gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather
who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given,
as now lately...â€Â
Homer – The Odyssey - Book 1 lines 32-35 (Translation by Richmond Lattimore)
Excellent.
Excellent.
Only one comment. He also said 'I just wanted to mention God, we should both remember that the important thing we must all do is the Right Thing'.
(You bet! i.e. Right Wing, extremist loopiness) Blair needs prolonged therapeutic treatment and, above all, complete rest from the day to day stresses of running the Crusade.