A Thinking Man

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There are strong reasons in favour of releasing Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of killing 270 people when Pan AM Flight 103 exploded over the skies of Lockerbie on 21 December 1988.  However, to my mind, there are more compelling reasons for keeping him in prison.
The two strongest arguments for releasing him have [...]

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As David Aaronovitch remarked in the Times:
If polo is the most expensive sport in which to participate, then archbishop-baiting must be the cheapest. You don’t even need your own archbishop, but can share one with millions of others. No saddle is required, only a pen. The man in the biretta simply has to offer an [...]

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Matthew Parris on his death:
When I die, and if I have to arrange it myself, I will consult nobody, and do it unassisted if I can. I entertain not a flicker of moral or practical doubt on the subject, and never have. Speaking only for myself — in such matters one should never judge for [...]

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Despite what the (American) religious right may teach, just saying “No” to yourself doesn’t always work.
Many of us already knew that, but it’s now official. The truth is out at last – abstinence-only programmes make the situation worse. To the surprise of few, it has recently emerged that George W. Bush’s “abstinence only” [...]

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The Church of England’s liturgical committee (what a way to kill the opening of a blog!) has recently devised a new service which will enable clergy to offer couples who wish to get married in church the chance to get their children baptised at the same time - all for the modest fee of £272.
This [...]

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I went to see Anne, a family member last week. She is now living in a Care Home.  She has been there for just over 6 months and in many ways is reasonably happy.  At times she was able to be philosophical about it, accepting that there were no other realistic alternatives.  She seemed relaxed [...]

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I caught part of BBC’s Songs of Praise last night. Well, it was on the TV, and I have spent enough years in my former life as an active Christian to have a strong cultural resonance with some of the music, and there was nothing else in particular to do, so I watched.
In the [...]

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There was a pile of dog poo on the pavement.
As they walked to work, four men trod in it and messed up their shoes.
The first man felt very sad. He looked at the mess and smelled the smell and said to himself: “You know, this just about sums me up. This always happens [...]

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As any Roman Catholic priest or nun will tell you, extra-marital sex is clearly a sin and should be punished, severely.  I am grateful to the National Secular Society for the following:
Catholic school that unfairly dismissed an unmarried mother loses appeal
A Catholic school that sacked an unmarried teaching assistant after she became pregnant has lost [...]

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