I have so many issues with faith, religion, indoctrination of small minds, indoctrination of so-called grown up minds, lying bastard Christians who use their faith as an excuse to get away with shitting on people for their own ends. SO many issues that I could enter into such a tirade against faith that my imaginary emotiboard would end up setting fire to my iPad.

BASTARDS!

But anyway, I shall instead gather myself, maybe, I don’t know.

The reason for my current emotional state is the, on the surface of it, absolutely charming and delightful concert I attended at my local church where my niece’s school was performing “iSingPop”.

I ended up taking her because her mum was working late and couldn’t join us until later.

But it was great. The church was packed and the kids were led in their singing by an lovely young American chap called Chip. He was so enthusiastic, getting the kids to wave their arms and do all the actions to the songs as they sang along. The kids absolutely loved it, I mean absolutely loved it. My niece loved Chip, she’d been going on about him all week and you could tell that he’s the type of guy who has an instantaneous effect on people, not just young kids.

Then it dawned on me, he’s like, or is, one of these charismatic church leaders that my ex always went on about. The music was the sort of thing she always seemed to be looking for in the numerous churches she visited. This is what she meant, I think. An epiphany!

This is exactly how they draw people in. Normal, sort of open-minded people who want to join a church come across something that seems friendly enough in a general sort of setting. The music is great, people seem friendly enough, so they keep going and become part of the social network of the church. In time they become more interested, a little more than interested and end up going to some Christian summer camp where they’re surrounded by people like them, all wanting to feel “the spirit” that is talked about so much. The leaders and music and the collective atmosphere of yearning to feel Jesus within them induces a profound psychological effect and WHAM mass hysteria takes over and all of a sudden, The Lord himself comes to them.

My argument is, why does Jesus come to people when a) they are looking for him, b) they are amongst other people who are also looking for him, or who claim to have found him, c) they are the in the presence of charismatic and powerful church leaders, and d) isolated from rational reference points and people????

Let’s face it, Jesus never seems to come to people when they’re in the cheeses (get it?) aisle at the supermarket. You never get people falling to the ground, rolling in the floor and speaking in tongues there ether, only in church, in the presence of others like them… and not forgetting the powerful and charismatic church leader.

My niece and her schoolmates had such a great time with the iSingPop team and it was lovely. She’s also learning about the amazing story of the Nativity and enjoying learning her carols for the service on Friday. At her age, I think I was the same: I loved the Bible stories, the hymns, the carols, the true wonder of the Nativity. I wouldn’t have thanked anybody for taking any of that away from me, much in the same way as I’d have been hurt for somebody to tell me that Father Christmas was a lie when I was five. Kids need a bit of magic in their lives, all too soon, the years pass and they start to realise what’s real and what isn’t, so these are precious years in which the innocence and gullibility is to be cherished and maintained for as long as possible.

On the other hand, if she’s still talking about Jesus and God when she’s fourteen, I’ll give her a severe talking to and send her on a British Humanist Association youth camp. A week with a bunch of junior Richard Dawkinses, that’ll teach her!