Just got back from the Christchurch Cathedral
russe...@my-dejanews.com
Zealand) and we turned a corner and dude! We were in Christchurch. We
figured that out because there was a sign beside the road that said
"Christchurch." And we had, like, a few hours to kill, and so we drove into
town.
We'd heard about Cathedral Square -- they call it that because it's, like, a
square, and it's got, like, a cathedral in it. We wanted to catch a tram to
get there, and I didn't have any money in my pocket; but then suddenly,
twang, I got this divine inspiration, and so I checked my wallet, and there
was enough money for the tram fare, yaaayyyyy!
So then, y'know, we got on the tram and the driver was telling us about the
buildings and stuff. Then suddenly I saw it, and it was like, soooo creepy!
("Dumb and Dumber" mode off.)
Actually it wasn't creepy at all. But it's fun to "send up" some people
around here. And some people make themselves remarkably easy to send up.
The cathedral is a 19th-century building, done in gothic style. It is run by
the local Church of England diocese.
We tried to go in the front door, and found that it is no longer used. To
enter the cathedral, you have to go in through a new building, called a
"Visitors Centre." What a unique concept! I wonder from where they could
have gotten an idea like that?
In the Visitors Centre, we saw a sign advertising the guided tours and their
times. Oh yes -- and the fees. Fees for being taken through the cathedral.
Fees for being taken up into the tower.
And I thought of all the (heh heh) "Christians" on a.r.m who claim that the
Church of Jesus Christ is "money-grubbing."
And I smiled.
Inside, we found that the wonderful old wooden pews had all been taken away.
They had been replaced by rows of blue vinyl chairs. In that setting --
mosaic floor, stone columns, vaulted ceiling -- they looked positively tacky.
Underneath the seat of each chair was a shelf containing a kneeling cushion.
They reminded me of the life-jackets underneath airplane seats.
Around the walls were hung a lot of flags. Some were very old imperial
flags, and I was reminded of how the "main-stream" churches used to send out
their missionaries as the advance reconnaissance for the armies of the
imperial powers. I reflected on how many so-called "Christian" hypocrites on
a.r.m waste megabytes of bandwidth claiming that the Church of Jesus Christ
is "political."
And I smiled again.
And my smile grew bigger as I realised with some satisfaction that the
Church's *non*-involvement in 19th-century imperialism probably has a
positive impact on how it is viewed in the former colonies.
Of course, that doesn't really explain everything, since the Church is also
doing rather well in areas that were *not* 19th-century colonies.
Now, in case anybody gets the wrong idea, I haven't posted this to slag off at
the C of E. This post is for those who love to throw stones, and the moral of
the story is simply this:
That people who live in glass houses....
Russell C. McGregor
"Remember, brethren, that no man's opinion is worth a straw"
(Brigham Young)
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