HO HO HO

HE MAKES YOU LAUGH...

In his Christmas message to the world, Cameron, the UK's unbeloved prime minister, reminds us that the United Kingdom is a Christian country.

Probably, like every year, his boss will do the same tomorrow.

That's good of them, because it would be easy to forget it.

I've never understood how a country can have a religion. I thought religion was belief and it has never been clear to me how a country can believe in a particular philosophy. A government may have a philosophy which might be, in some way, related to a particular religion, but, when that government is elected by 37% of those who voted, it's not really a yardstick for how the country feels about faith.

So what Cameron presumable means is that the government is Christian. 

News to me.

So what exactly is Christian about it? As a schoolboy I was forced, at school, into Religious Education, which was basically Bible Study, and despite my lack of real interest in it, over the years quite a bit sank in. Frankly I find it difficult to reconcile my memories of the Bible with any of the government's policies. 

And it's not just me. It would be hard to recall the number of time recently that we have seen headlines about bishops of the Church of England criticising the policies of austerity followed by the UK government. 

Christianity Personified

Iain Duncan Smith even mocked them for it. Mr Duncan Smith feels free to do that, but his own sect of Christianity seems to be more in line with the C of E than it does with him.

Recently the Baptists, United Reformers, Church of Scotland and Methodists wrote to Smith asking him to look again at the social security system.

There are more examples here.

Still, what would bishops and popes know about religion compared to the likes of IDS and Cameron, huh?

Image that at your Christmas party

Tomorrow the head of state will undoubtedly tell us, yet again, that her whole life has been dictated by the teachings of Christ, which is probably why she gave her grandson an £8 a year helicopter so he could get home to see his son to bed, at the same time as allowing HER government to get the health service into such a state that, the bulk of hospitals in England are seriously understaffed by nurses, sick people die after being found fit to work by nurses or paramedics working to government targets to get the social security bill down, and dependency on food banks is rising by the day.

Perhaps today's story that mothers about to give birth are being turned away from maternity units across England is supposed to reflect the story of Mary and Joseph being turned away from the inn. Get like Jesus, be born in a stable.

That these people use Christianity at this time of the year is insulting to the religion. Someone needs to say that out loud.
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On a far more cheerful note, our long term reader and contributor, Arbroath, tweeted last night that, after a 5 year battle, her oncologist has just pronounced her cancer free. (She's never mentioned in all her comment on here that she was battling illness so we didn't know till now.)

Now as Christmas present go, you really couldn't ask for more. We're over the moon for you, Arbroath. Munguin is toasting you in his customary vintage champagne. I've got a small Irn Bru!!! (Well, I am quite junior in the organisation.)

Now you have the best Christmas you've ever had.