GrandmasterP

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100206311/justin-welby-v-david-cameron-the-anglican-church-is-now-the-labour-party-at-prayer/ The CofE is now, allegedly- " The Labour Party at Prayer" according to this ( admittedly Tory) newspaper.

Absolutely and in doing so re-imagine 'Buddhism' into something quite other. In exactly the same way as our Dzogchen ( for one example) boosters do on here. Buddhism as Southern Baptist-style preaching ( bellowing). Oops... Some of my reply is in the grey 'quote' box and some outside.

Interesting point and post. Why do you think that belief matters at all? It has struck me time and again over on DW and sometimes on here too that some posters seem to hold on to an entirely evangelical protestant world view of religion and seek to apply that to whatever faith path they join or see fit to discuss. As if 'belief' mattered and somehow had to be either defended or promulgated. That's for converts, those are always the most zealous. I find it as puzzling as do my Tibetan chums when discussing some of the excesses of their non Tibetan heritage converts. ( For example, ethnic Tibetan Buddhists are deeply suspicious of and puzzled by vegetarians). If one is born into a religion and culture that is one thing, and it will tend to define one's worldview. Someone opting into one's religion and culture 'from outside' will of necessity bring with them some baggage or mindset that is quite alien. Hence on DW all the time and on here sometimes we find argumentative or proselytising ' Buddhists' when both those activities are entirely alien to any ethnic Buddhism anywhere in the world. Similarly we have non English posters who seem to believe that the Archbishop of Canterbury must somehow have to believe in their version of 'God' and/or ecclesiastical polity. The issues such as those might be are not with the 'host' community be that Buddhism or the Church of England, the issues reside north of the neck of the posters airing said issues online. It's their way of saying.... " I am thus hence SO SHOULD THIS BE THUS." Quite frankly, that's just silly. But it keeps them busy posting and arguing and that's what they seem to enjoy.

The Church of England is a very English institution and, in order to fully understand how it 'works' one really needs to be either English or at least resident in an English parish and in contact with the church. Whilst very few of us attend church regularly all of us in England live in a CofE Parish and, apart from in cities and a few very big towns; our local representative council and contact with local authority is the ( statutory and entirely secular) ' Parish Council' on which the incumbent ( parish priest) may or may not be an elected member. The CofE is our 'State' church, bishops sit by right in the House of Lords and the Church has its own courts of 'ecclesiastical law'. As such it is very different to any other 'denomination'. Belief seldom comes into it, it s far more about 'being' than it is about belief. Nine people out of every ten in the village by us , if asked; would say... " I am Church of England." And point to 'their' parish church. Ask them when last they attended it and , depending on season; nine out of ten will say Easter or Christmas or mention a recent family baptism, wedding or funeral. Our parish church here is 10th century Saxon and built on earlier foundations. The parish we are moving to has a relatively younger Norman church. That's how deep our roots and connections to the parish system are in England. It's part of who we are if we are English.

The only constant is change. There are young people who shun new experiences by following the herd. Imagining that what they are doing is rad and new ( it is to them obviously) whilst, in fact; they could as well be on rails. I suspect that we have more 'new' experiences as we get older. Parenthood, Travel, Grandparenthood. Career progressions or changes. Changing friendships, affiliations and associations. House moves, decor and design changes and 'new-ness'. New hobbies via increased leisure. The list goes on. Young people have less free time by and large as they make their way in the world.

Deep concern I'd say. Panic only set in last weekend when a Sunday Times poll indicated that Yes might win by a narrow margin. Prior to that everyone correctly predicted, as did I; the eventual result.

Booze is Satan's buttermilk and the curse of the labouring classes. "Temperance may be defined as: moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful." ( Xenophon)

Dandelion Tea has been going for years. When tea was on ration in WW2 Dandelion and Raspberry Leaf tea were very popular and many kept a taste for them when the tea came back off ration. Only down side of Dandelion Tea IMO is that it makes you pee more than ordinary tea does. Raspberry Leaf tea is delicious.

Rev. Don Cupitt a CofE priest and founder of the 'Sea of Faith' network is perhaps one of the most prominent atheist priests in the Church of England. Don's a (retired) philosopher too. More from Don here... http://www.sofn.org.uk/sofia/110cupitt.pdf I see no contradiction whatsoever with being a member or priest in the CofE within anything that the CoE atheists and agnostics claim. If more clerics were as honest it could be a slightly happier world.

I suspect that you are not overly familiar with the Church of England. It's a very broad and inclusive church. There are atheist and agnostic clerics alongside very high Anglo- Catholics, extremely low Evangelical Protestants and all shades of belief and none in between. They'll have women Bishops soon too and not before time. Being a State church anyone born in England is, by right; entitled to membership should they so decide. Hence the CofE has always included the " High and Dry, Broad and Hazy and Low and Lazy." One of my QiGong sessions meets in the Parish Church Hall, the vicar's a personal friend and his wife is a former work colleague. The Archbishop's comments are typically Church of England. Anyone wanting something less amorphous had best look elsewhere to other denominations.

That's Canada. Commonwealth but NOT a part of the union. You could not begin to imagine the furore that 'seal cull' caused over here when those photographs appeared in our newspapers some years ago.

Scotland isn't 'deeply divided' at all anymore than England or Wales ( but not Northern Ireland) are deeply divided. There are divisive pockets mainly in and around Glasgow and on the social housing estates ( projects) in a very few large towns. As there are in similar areas, and in greater numbers, in England ( but not in Wales). Poverty plus booze and worse fuels sporadic unrest in our least desirable areas but those areas are small and, in proportion to the general populace, insignificant. The vast majority of people in all three nations share identical hopes, aspirations and very similar lifestyles. We join the same armed services and serve together. There are as many English soldiers in Scottish ( or Welsh) regiments as there are Scots and far more Scottish ( and Welsh, Northern Irish and republic of Ireland )soldiers in English regiments and general Corps than in all the Scottish regiments combined. Our Air Force and Navy are unitary. We are a property owning, irregular-if-ever church-going, employed, reasonably educated and usually hard working middle to lower middle class peoples. We enjoy peace, dogs, the countryside and coast ( aspirational retirement areas) and we are far more clubbable than the rest of Europe. From the Women's Institute through a myriad of voluntary social-hobby type groups the Scots, Welsh and English are great 'joiners'. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( RSPB) has well over one million members ( Mrs GMP and self included) across the Union. Beyond the 'Yes' hot heads no one anywhere in the Union was in favour of breaking up the Union. It would be both a tragedy and a travesty were that ever to happen. We are British, we don't 'do' secession.

YES! Contracts successfully exchanged at 4pm GMT today. We move on Tuesday 7th October.

Yay... He shoots. He scores. GOAL!!! Scotland voted 'No' by a narrow margin. Very wise.

It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine." ( P.G. Wodehouse).

Well there's a whole new take on the term 'ballroom dancing'. Thanks for sharing Mike.

THE EMPTY CHURCH They laid this stone trap for him, enticing him with candles, as though he would come like some huge moth out of the darkness to beat there. Ah, he had burned himself before in the human flame and escaped, leaving the reason torn. He will not come any more to our lure. Why, then, do I kneel still striking my prayers on a stone heart? Is it in hope one of them will ignite yet and throw on its illumined walls the shadow of someone greater than I can understand? R.S. Thomas

Polls have closed now so we'll know eventually. My call... No by a narrow margin. However it pans out they'll still have a bunch of politicians running the show.

That needs an edit buddy. Maybe in the morning eh?

Yep. I imagine there are some as think that.

"In space no one can hear you scream ." ( Advertising tagline from the first 'Alien' movie).

Malcolm's about as far up himself as anyone could get without disappearing. He keeps more off DW than ever he attracts to it.

Once I really came to understand working for a living, I retired.

Deeply. "There was no point freezing your nadgers off on top of some mountain while communing with the Infinite unless you could rely on a lot of impressionable young women to come along occasionally and say ‘Gosh’." ( Terry Pratchett : Maskerade).

They do make their money for sure do country solicitors. This firm is almost as old as God. The senior partner is umpteenth generation in that same office we've some really old covenants for the land here and those were ( hand) written by that same firm. I suspect the solicitors themselves do next to sod all and it's that solicitor's lass who sorts everything out. She's the only one I ever get to see.