TONY ON POETIC, MARS, RELIGION

Including ReadWritePoem. Have you had a go yet?

Welcome to my daily Diary post. Cherie Blair, wife of ex-Brit Prime Minister Tony Blair, said last week that it was possible to be a good Catholic and use contraception. Now, I don’t often agree with Mrs Blair, but does she have a point?
Does a religion have to be cast in stone, or is there room for moving with the times? For instance, if we take Scripture, the reality is, it was written for a certain community at a certain time in history.

Does Scripture always have to be adhered to, word for word?

Or is there room for compromise as times move on. Of course, a fundamentalist will no doubt say no. It is the word of God, or whatever deity the religion involves. But not all religions are like this.
Hindu scripture is layered, covering a vast amount of time. And with each layer you can see how it was adapted to the times. In some ways, you can say the same about the Gospels changing much of the Old Testament. It seems to me that religion was meant to be adaptable. Do you agree?

Nasa has safely landed its Phoenix spacecraft on Mars.

The most significant exploration yet on the Red Planet, its brief is to search out signs that there may have been life. Of course, they won’t find the most obvious signs of life.
This is because the most obvious signs of life on Mars should be us. Phoenix is no doubt a brilliant piece of equipment, but does sending ‘intelligent’ toys into space qualify as exploration? I don’t think so.
I cannot say this enough: mankind is failing to continue the greatest story of our existence – our ability to be curious and explore. What Phoenix should have found was a well-established colony of human explorers of at least 20 years standing.
Mankind is currently suffering a bout of collective cowardice. Columbus will be turning in his grave.
Don’t forget to call by tomorrow.

© Anthony North, May 2008

AN AVERAGE DAY

Woke up happy, never sad,
kissed my wife, made me glad;
got up, washed, went to eat,
the kids were waiting for me to greet;
read the paper, knew the world,
current events as they unfurled;
Got in the car, drove to work,
it was a thing I’d never shirk;
Enjoyed my lunch, with my friends,
talked about the latest trends;
Finished work, went back home,
after dinner, read the latest tome;
After supper, said goodnight,
in bed I held my wife so tight;
Imagination I did display,
about my life, and my way;
Nothing else, can I say,
since I died yesterday

(c) Anthony North, May 2008

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Fiction Xtra – HE ISN’T THERE – A tale of persecution

The Techno-Lord looked once more into the eyes of the Heretic. ‘He isn’t there,’ he said. ‘Say it. Say it! He isn’t there.’
The Heretic sat within the force field. Immobile except for his head, his body was covered in probe holes, where the ‘treatment’ had been inserted. His eyes still held, within them, the after-shock of expression as he remembered the pain.
His head seemed to hang from his shoulders. But still he found the strength to raise himself. His eyes burned into the Techno-Lord with an intense heat. ‘He IS there!’ he declared, defiantly.
The Techno-Lord shook his head. So many of them, he thought. So many retain the delusion.
A gasp came from the audience. It had been his last chance. And now, the Techno-Lord pressed the button.
Slowly, the juice flowed down the tube. The audience watched it with a mesmeric intensity. Eventually, it entered the body of the Heretic and his eyes closed.
He seemed to float, then, for so long. Where he was traveling he had no idea, but knew that soon he’d know whether his death had been in vain.
Eventually, the floating stopped, and he opened his eyes …

© Anthony North, May 2008