All Hallows' Eve
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“The fact remains that evidence of God is everywhere and we need him in our hearts. It’s no coincidence that as the immoral nature of society increases, belief in God diminishes.” interjected Bambridge. The priest smiled at her once again; as a spectacle it was beginning to look rather creepy.
“So you are admitting that people are losing faith in faith?” Oxley-Smythe was like a wolf scenting blood. The excitement was apparent on his face. Reverend Walton sat up and leant towards the microphone and sat back again.
“No, you are twisting her words. What Susanne meant was that people lack guidance. Without God in their hearts they don’t see the difference between right and wrong. If more people believed in God there would be a great deal less evil in the world. Isn’t that right?” Susanne beamed a smile back to him and nodded.
“What absolute nonsense.” barked Professor Tomlinson as he tugged at his shirt sleeves. He was glad he had elected against wearing a jacket. “A large proportion of the evil in this world is done in the name of God. Our moral compass is designed by our parents. It isn’t related to our religious beliefs.”
“Didn’t you cover this in one chapter of ‘The Futility of Sheep’?” asked Oxley-Smythe.
“Indeed I did. The fact is that when you introduce religion into a child’s life and allow an early association towards normality, the child’s moral code often becomes more twisted. In a survey I organised with a thousand 5 to 8 year old children I tried to identify common links between morality and religion.”
“And did you discover anything eye-opening?” enquired Oxley-Smythe overenthusiastically.
“The most surprising result was the answer to ‘Who goes to hell?’ Non religious kids answered with I don’t know. The most common answers from religious kids were criminals, murderers and gays…”
“Is there something wrong with you? Are you sick? How can you justify asking children about homosexuality?” barked Bainbridge angrily. Her face was bright red; she had death in her eyes.
“I didn’t.” growled Tomlinson defensively. Suddenly there was a stirring beside the Professor.
“Don’t you think it’s wrong that these kids learn to associate homosexuality as a crime from an early age? That’s sick!” The comedian had woke up. As his arms flailed wildly the stage descending into raised voices, pointed fingers and baseless accusations. Professor Tomlinson had an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu.