Friday 9 July 2010

Wee Free whining.

The weel kent Wee Free theologian Donald MacLeod has had a wee pop at the Papal visit in a rather crabby way. I snaffled this from the Edinburgh Evening Snooze:

"In his weekly column in the West Highland Free Press, Professor Macleod said: "On the face of things the forthcoming papal visit to Britain should be an unqualified publicity triumph, offering a heady mixture of theatre, religion and politics.

"It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the event was deliberately timed to clash with the 450th anniversary of the Scottish Reformation.

"Ironically the spoiling tactic has turned out to be entirely unnecessary. Our SNP Government has no intention whatever of acknowledging Scotland's debt to the Reformation, and even less of honouring John Knox, the greatest of all our nation-builders, but now safely airbrushed out of our history.

"That he saved us from national economic ruin, laid the foundation of our national system of education and fired us with an aversion to tyranny, now counts for nothing. Our Government is in Knox-denial

"Why does secular, humanist Scotland so warmly entertain Catholicism, with all its authoritarianism, and yet register terror at the mere mention of the religion of Knox?

"Is it just that we're suckers for funny costumes, and love to see old men dressed in ancient Roman togas?"

No, Donald, it's just that you can't have much of a party with crabbit, dour Calvinists who whine about their loss of dominance over a nation and culture they did much to twist into a superlapsarian parody of the Gospel of Grace. At least Benny's boys affirmed culture like Mozart et al and not just whiny Gaelic psalmody or dreich paraphrases. And, by the way, the religion of Knox included decent liturgical order in the Book of Common Order and regular communion, not dull ministerial monologues-cum-hymn-sandwiches with a quarterly sacrament. And a Kirk that wears Geneva gowns can scarcely carp about funny costumes. PS the chasuble is based on the outdoor cloak known as the paenula, not on the toga. Where were you Professor again? Oh, the Free Church College - not a real University!

6 comments:

  1. Fr. Dougal,
    I guess I would be called a Romish Papist (really just a Roman Catholic) but I am not the biggest fan of B16. Even so, this visit is a big deal for the church in Scotland, so the Wee Frees should just let it be. I fully agree with everything you say. I live in northeast Florida, where Baptist hymn and sermon sandwiches are everywhere. I love liturgy and especially communion and I could not get used to another sort of worship. I have also enjoyed the High Church Episcopal worship, although in this Episcopal diocese it is more of a minority.

    Hope you are doing well!
    David

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  2. Well said indeed, John!!!

    regards ALAN

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  3. And your helpful translation utility says:

    "After reading your article every time, always pondering for a long time, we should always express Oh".

    It normally doesn't take me that long to generate a reaction ... :)

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  4. Maybe because neither of us have English as a 1st language (Fife & Chinese)!

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