Stephen Fry; The God Factor

Stephen Fry: The God Factor.

I was reminded of when we were  regularly visited by Mormon Missionaries. I did question why it appeared that it was our family and our family alone that was being specifically and ruthlessly targeted, I thought only primitive tribes were their victims not someone living in a rural, God fearing  area,  Maybe the sale of the Watchtower magazine improved the lives of these primitive tribes to whom I refer. They have now stopped coming…..the primitive tribes, not the Mormons.

They usually appear with a young person in tow maybe a work experience person, impeccably dressed, clean, God fearing, likeable people. I always had doubts about a supreme being though as did Mr Fry, and with a huge industry backing them with many franchises catering for different Gods and religions there must be something going for it so I chose to have two bob each way. 

Not a good idea said the Mormons it will not assure one of automatic entry into heaven, nevertheless if I were Mr Fry I would spread my money evenly on an each way bet hoping to avoid “Frying” in hell for crimes against………. ‘er well the natural order of things.

HEAVENS! Now this was a subject I always wanted to discuss and they unwittingly chose it. I asked in my innocence where the Kingdom of Heaven might be located. For heaven’s sake these people are professionals there must be a ‘reference’ for its location if not in the Old Testament then maybe in the New Testament as it is mentioned many times in the bible. I lightly tapped with my pencil on the assistant’s bible and pointed out that Revelations might be a good place to start.

The work experience assistant opened his bible looking for a ‘reference’. At last I was going to find out. I could not contain my excitement any longer and like an excited school-girl who was about to tell her parents she had been asked out on a date for the very first time I gushed “is it beyond Pluto or near Epsilon Bootis, maybe near Orion’ belt, perhaps the Horsehead Nebulae? The man said “look we need to get back to you on that one”. I had caught the man’s attention not realising they were intent on not coming back.

As they picked up their bibles to leave I inquired of them can they also do a couple of more ‘location’ checks at the same time for Hades, Hell and the Gates of Wrath? I must admit I was somewhat nonplussed why these religious visitors could not give me an immediate answer to any of these places as they are all well documented in the bible.

An Emma Barnet a religious columnist for the Telegraph headed her article on a video of Stephen Fry denouncing ‘God, should he exist, as “utterly evil, capricious and monstrous’

She said “Thirty years ago to the day, my mother received her confirmation that God exists: ME”

Emma dear, I do not want to appear capricious, but it was not necessarily God who was responsible for your mother's delicate  condition I suggest it was your father, her husband.  But she was right when she wrote, “talking and writing about belief in God is considered such a difficult subject that one relative warned me off it entirely: “Emma, just leave God alone and write about something else this week – like the Magna Carta anniversary.” or the Crusades, oops sorry that is me being capricious.

They say one should not discuss sex, politics or religion. So why am I on a loyal, Patriotic website discussing religion well I thought it would make a change from Politics? Sex is a definite no-no; everything relating to sex is becoming blurred. A man’s wife could be another man, a girls husband can be another lady recognised by the church and in a court of law, both satisfying sexually I imagine but not producing offspring, our primary purpose on this earth. 

In my youth sex was never a problem one either liked it or one did not.

In another interview Mr Fry referred to his partner as his ‘Husband’. Very wise move, these things need to be sorted well before the wedding night as it determines who gets to do what to whom and how during the consummation that cements the celebrating of their ‘wedding’.

What was being discussed on forums was the age difference between the Bride and the Bridegroom. Did it matter? There is little danger of an unwanted pregnancy.

Same sex marriages, same sex weddings, same sex engagements, it is still tricky today. Perhaps Emma’s mother did not live long enough to see the future or she would have advised her daughter differently. She would have advised “Emma, just leave Sex AND religion alone and write about something else this week like politics or Magna Carta anniversary” That is probably why I feel comfortable writing about politics.

Stephen Fry may feel that “the moment you banish him [God], life becomes simpler, purer, cleaner, more worth living” – Emma disagrees, but for millions of silent others the polar opposite is true. The question being asked is does he exist at all? Many of the true believers who died on the poppy fields of Flanders or in the withering machine gun fire at Dunkirk will know, and I pray to God any God, there was a heaven waiting to accept them and mend their young broken bodies.