Shadows

Out of the deep chill, snow and freezing fog emerged today a stunning blue sky. Running across a road bridge I cast a long dark shadow which I chased down the pavement. How reminiscent of life chasing shadows, what Plato called forms, when beating on your back is the warmth of the light. All you have do is rest in its warmth knowing that even when you can't see it it's there. Of course one day the sun will be no more. The one who placed it there will let it die and like the stars we see dying in the night sky so our world will be no more. Even the most vehement atheist scientists accept that Biblical prophesy.

Sometimes it takes a while to answer a request. Days ago a friend asked for prayers for the school that thought it a good idea to have a St Trinian's fancy dress for young teenagers. I got to thinking what a great opportunity to examine culture. We have to see that there is nothing extraordinary about this in a culture that happily dresses prepubescent girls in adult style clothes designed to show off the body. Girls who would in previous generations been in jumpers and run around clothes are dressing to impress. This tells us that paganism, where youth and the body are prominent and preeminent in value, is strengthening. This is an understandable result of a generation schooled in equality, tolerance a diversity. When men heard that women wanted to be equal many thought fantastic let's get it on. Whoever thinks this is a good thing really doesn't know men very well. Youth, beauty, status and the body is worshipped. Look at how much of our time, treasure, talent and energy are infested in this. We even value the opinion of the young when most of them really do need to learn to shut up and listen. However, if most adults they listen to have no other source of wisdom than their jaundiced opinion and limited experiential knowledge what self respecting youth is going to not see that for the nonsense it is! If these adults are telling them that for the sake of equality, tolerance and diversity they value their opinion then of course they are going to work out that person is an imbecile! I bet even Oscar Wilde would be castigated patronizing for saying youth is wasted on the young, he was simply pointing out that when we are young we are naive and dumb! And I submit to you that if you haven't yet worked out that when you were young you would have reached a degree of credible maturity far sooner had you spent more time listening then you probably still have some way to go.

I have heard the liberal arguments, I was one of its fiercest proponents. Are you that determined to cling to the age of enlightenment as a good thing? We are seeing the ripe fruits of a 300 year experiment and I am unimpressed. The idea that we should challenge all authority and science and technology will cure us of mankind's ills is proving a shaky hypothesis. Walk down the street, speak to a social worker, talk to an abandoned mother, divorced wife, embittered and abused woman. It's fine saying medical science has prolonged our lives but to what end. Living to ninety is no good if you have never been loved well. The only good thing I can imagine to living to old age in misery, frustration and gnawing depression is that it might give you some preparation for the conscience eternal torments of hell.