I have at last seen the documentary “The real King Arthur”. It has been on the government TV channel half a dozen times but I have either missed it or, settling down to watch, found it replaced by something else, usually political. This happens on Greek TV, particular on the government channel if there is an important debate going on. Anyway, as I said, I have finally managed to see it and quite interesting it was too although still totally false. The conclusion as to the real identity of this king, getting away from Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Middle Ages, was to make him a warlord(!) in the fifth century. At least the Romans were still in Britain, just, but in my book that theory is four centuries too late. “The story (or was it tales?) spread from Britain to the continent.” Wrong. The tales spread from the continent to Britain. But I think I’ve already been into all this after the Real Merlin programme so apologies for repeating myself.
Three interesting religious stories from the realm of weirdo. A group of Christians in America (where else?) are having ultra-large families, ten seems to be the norm, who will go out into the world spreading the news and saving the world from vice and degradation by bringing people back to Christ. What makes them think that all the children in each family are going to be models of Christian correctness? There definitely will not be a single bad apple in the barrel? And reading today that one in four is now Muslim they will have a pretty steep hill to climb to push their particular brand of Christianity.
Second story, a couple, also in America, allowed their sick young daughter to die because they believed God would save her, so they sat around with like-minded idiots praying and believing and didn’t call anybody else in until the child’s breathing stopped.
Sent for trial the Judge found them guilty of something or other because, in his words, they were really very good people, just misguided. He sentenced each of them to six months imprisonment to be served a month a year at different times. If I remember correctly the husband would serve his in March and the wife in September. In the meantime social services would be paying regular visits to the household in case anything similar should happen with the other children. The husband’s only reaction was he still believed in God and, if you want my reaction,. The judge was just as cuckoo as the rest.
Third story, not quite so weird because it has been going on for some considerable time and that is confusion in the Church Of England about female bishops. Can’t see what all the fuss is about myself. In the good old day of paganism there were priestesses and high priestesses so why not have female bishops? This Gordian knot together with homosexual clergy really has people’s knickers in a right old twist.
Another cautionary tale, this time from the weird realm of science-fiction, more fiction than science: Half the world goes naked but Tom Cruise’s three year old daughter Suri allegedly has a fashion wardrobe valued at £2000000! She has no friends her own age but does have birthday parties at £64000 a throw. She goes on shopping sprees followed by her mother who buys her whatever takes her fancy and acts as bag woman. The child throws tantrums. Is it any wonder? Children according to Scientology should be treated like adults and as Cruise is evidently numero duo in the hierarchy and money is no object his little girl is going to grow up, that is if she grows up at all, a complete unbalanced mess and her pseudo–religious parents will have only themselves and Scientology to blame.
And yet another cautionary tale: three brothers in England are charged with the murder of the fifteen year old daughter of one of them as she had lost her virginity to a boy friend and was therefore damaged goods but, just as important in their minds, if not more so, the boyfriend who she wanted to marry was of a different religious sect to the family and marriage would be out of the question. The fact they were both Muslims was immaterial. Does Islam really condone the honour killing of a fifteen year old girl? Apparently so.
All those people brought up on the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and the search for the Holy Grail etcetera who believe Arthur was a Christian hold up your hands. Thought so. Wro-ong! He was a pagan through and through.