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Several things combined to put me in a rather dark mood this morning as I headed off to work. I am coming to the end of Jonathan Reed's book *In search of Paul*. I am so busy that getting through the book has been something of an achievement. But there I am every morning 7.30 am at Fairfield station, with my Kindle out and me reading as ostentatiously as possible. (Eat your hearts out I say to my bewildered fellow travellers). The apostle emerges from Reed's text as a radical egalitarian, a driven man both an ecstatic and a mystic proud of his ability to speak in tongues. I wonder what I would have thought of him. His courage is impressive but his views on homosexuality cannot be rescued and to his credit Reed does not attempt to do so. Still in all probability Paul died a horrible death In Nero's brutal auto-da-fe of 64CE, either covered in an animal's skin and mauled by dogs or set on fire on a cross. On a political level I was much struck by the initial quotation with which Reed began the epilogue. It is worth giving in full: Albert Beveridge (R- Indiana) "The Philippines are ours forever, and just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either...We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustees under God, of the civilization of the world...He has made us adept in government, that we administer government among savage and senile peoples.(Feb 1899, in the Senate). Beveridge was to anticipate the neo-liberals with his knack of being able to combine a belief in a divine mission and a commitment to market values. So what has changed? In my own life time that evil prelate (there's a tautology!) Spellman described the American soldiers in Vietnam repeatedly as "the soldiers of Christ". In a similar vein just before the brutal attack of Fallujah a Marine colonel spoke about how the Devil was in Fallujah. And every time Obama mentions God I feel quite ill. Before setting out for work, I had read, in the Guardian, Mandelson's remarks on how Brown's gaffe about the "bigoted woman" was an "unspinnable perfect storm". So the King Rat is scrambling to get off the ship. Let me be clear here . I dislike Brown intensely, but for a traitorous toady like Mandelson, I have nothing but contempt. All that combined to quite darken the day for me as I passed out of the gardens and into George Street. Then as I crossed Alice Street, I noticed two young students holding hands as they headed to their early morning lectures. Nothing remarkable about that you say. But these were two males. This may be 2010 but it is still Brisbane and it must have taken a lot of courage and love to do what they did. Suddenly I noticed that the sun was shining in the bluest of skies, and I realised that it was a Friday before a long weekend. I felt alive as back rushed my old faith that there was still a world to be won, and it might still all be possible. regards Gary ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
