David Mitchell, Robert Webb and Olivia Colman star in the “Bad Vicar” sketch from the BBC show, That Mitchell and Webb Look. The skit is part of an ongoing series in which Mitchell plays the dark and cynical man who has replaced the friendly woman in the restaurant, the church…
See more of their skits online at BBC and on YouTube.
Ben Elton provides a cutting critique of cultural trends at the beginning of the 21st century in this novel set after the flood. Global warming has led to much of Britain being submerged. FaceSpace culture has led to the disappearance of privacy. The Temple (combine massive manipulative Evangelical rallies with Mormon and Anglican structures) are in control of law and order. Trafford, the protagonist, discovers privacy, vaccination, books, humanism and evolution. Somewhat reminiscent of 1984 and Brazil the novel presents darkness and hope together.
This post-apocalyptic world combines elements of technology from today with a loss of standards of living. It’s hot in the UK - so hot that people have virtually given up wearing clothes. Modesty is a thing of the past. Turning up at a physical work space is a novelty. Trafford works for the government, in NatDat, finding new kinds of ‘degrees of separation’ between members of the population.
Vaccination, regarded as a dangerous meddling with nature, has been abandoned. And so the infant mortality rate has skyrocketed in the face of measles, mumps, tetanus, cholera, smallpox, bubonic plague and so on.
Every moment of life, including every sexual encounter, is captured on the WorldTube in a combination of exhibitionism and voyeurism. All foods are sweetened. Women are pressured into breast enlargements. Marriage is not as important as ‘getting married’.
Elton provides a tongue-in-cheek critique of the “Save the World” rock concerts and Evangelical faith gatherings. Faith Festivals in Blind faith are held in Wembley Stadium, with global satellite coverage.
“It was most inspiring to live in a world where ‘people power’ could mean so much, where a single concert could change the world irrevocably for the better, where things could be improved just because the people wanted them to improve. Simply by massing, cheering, listening to music and eating enormous amounts of takeaway food, everyone knew they could make a real difference”.
Time and time again Trafford and his newly found friends reflect on the contrast between reasoned humanism and irrational blind faith. The God of the Temple, Everlasting Love, is portrayed as one who is responsible for both wonderful miracles and the terrible suffering experienced by grieving parents. This is the God who created everything in six days. “Any God who kills a child to punish its parents is not worth worshiping!” Trafford argues.
Elton provides important warnings for us today. It is too easy to sacrifice a capacity for privacy in the quest to develop an online identity. Is it possible to retain the ability to write material that only we will ever read? With the move towards utilitarianism on the internet will we know when we’ve lost the capacity to reflect deeply, to think, to celebrate life, to form our own fantasies? Or will our superheroes of the future be the people who tell us to make money, become famous and look young and sexy?
The dark controlling nature of the religious institution in Blind Faith is only too possible when power and faith are combined in an environment of fear and ignorance. We have the Spanish Inquisition, John Calvin’s merciless rule in Geneva, and the complicity of Martin Luther in the quelling of the Peasants Revolt to keep us humble and alert.
In reading Blind Faith it’s important to remember that satire, by nature, exaggerates and amplifies the follies of a society’s existing weaknesses. There are individuals and groups who even now exhibit the disturbing behaviours and beliefs described in the book. It’s our responsibility to live, think and act in a way that ensures that these distortions of faith and reason do not become the norm.
I’m leading a workshop with the title, “When Church Sucks”, on Sunday with a group of young people from Uniting Church backgrounds. Church is not easy for many adults. It’s even harder for most teenagers.
Here’s a list of reasons why church sucks for different people
1. The sermons are boring.
2. The sermons are too long (usually a problem if they’re boring)
3. The people are cliquey
4. The people are unfriendly
5. The people criticize or judge me for my style in clothing and hairstyle
6. The music is bad (too old, poorly performed, poorly sung, too loud, not loud enough)
7. I don’t know the music
8. Too much revolves around singing
9. Not much evidence of faith in God
10. People are fanatical to the point of being anti intellectual
11. No sense of vision beyond running Sunday services
12. Direction of church is dominated by one person
13. Everything revolves around the pastor
14. Lack of imagination - nothing much changes
15. Lack of flexibility
16. Little sense of practical connection with real needs
17. Not connected to important issues in the world
18. Focused on narrow set of moral issues
19. Inward focused - no sense of connecting with outsiders
20. Lack of decent food and drink
In some ways these are the corollaries of a list put out by the National Church Life Survey people in Sydney - indicators of healthy congregational life.
1. Alive and growing faith
2. Vital and nurturing worship
3. Strong and growing belonging
4. Clear and owned vision
5. Inspiring and empowering leadership
6. Imaginative and flexible innovation
7. Practical and diverse service
8. Willing and effective faith sharing
9. Intentional and welcoming inclusion
The focus of the workshop will be on what young people can do about their list of complaints, ranging from 101 things to do during a dull sermon, to developing new environments in which people are welcome, to getting out more. The reality is that we can invest so many expectations in a 60 - 120 minute gathering that will always be hard to meet. Engaging in world poverty, building strong friendships, developing a sense of shared vision, are all 7 days a week activities that happen outside church buildings.
So what would you add to the list? What advice would you give a young person grappling with anything from dull to abusive church environments?
This post-apocalyptic world combines elements of technology from today with a loss of standards of living. It’s hot in the UK - so hot that people have virtually given up wearing clothes. Modesty is a thing of the past. Turning up at a physical work space is a novelty. Trafford works for the government, in NatDat, finding new kinds of ‘degrees of separation’ between members of the population. 
