THE DEATH OF PROTESTANTISM?

I see McMurdo and his disciples have reverted to type. They know their new club's heading for the crapper and so they're looking for folk to blame. Of course, they don't have to look very far; it's all the fault of the Irish and the Catholic Church. They're not only deluded; they're absolutely fucking demented! One bam in particular has the following to say:

"If Scotland or Rangers supporters would have retained their Presbyterian Faith, there’s not way that those minority tims would have become stronger than us, the majority."

Funny that, I don't remember ever reading or hearing that Rangers was in any way affiliated with the Church of Scotland, or any other Presbyterian church for that matter. In fact, the Protestantism of the Rangers supporters had nothing whatsoever to do with any church; it was simply to do with hatred of Catholics and the Irish in particular. There have been theories bandied about that this hatred began with the importation of shipyard workers from Belfast but, actually, it started before that and the cause was simple: Celtic was too successful. This bred a hatred and resentment that has lasted to the present day.

The Church of Scotland used to indulge in this sectarian hatred as well but, over the years, has moved into the modern age and has apologised for its previous bigotry. This apology seems to have upset one of Merlin's minions, a psycho that talks about himself in the Third Person all the time; a sure sign of serious personality disorder issues. He says:

"This was even undertaken to the point where the COS apologised to Romanism for what they insisted was sectarianism. Really got to sit back and laugh at who are the REAL sectarian bigots appear to be."

We're then treated to the tired, old shit about RC schools being 'sectarian' and the cause of all the problems. Isn't it strange that every other country in the world has no problem with Catholic schools? It is also the case that there's no such thing as a Non-Denominational school in Scotland. Unlike in the USA, where God is left outside the door, RE is compulsory in Scottish primary schools. I remember the shock on the faces of many at teacher-training college when this fact was made clear. And, unlike what the papers will tell you, the RE in Scottish primary schools is, by law, got to be Christian in flavour. Yes, the children will learn about other faiths but the main focus is on Christianity, including celebrating festivals like Easter and Christmas. It also means that every primary school has a chaplain; the local minister. What this amounts to is that what is called a 'Non-Denominational' school is effectively what everyone calls it - a Protestant school.

Most ministers that come into Scottish primary schools tend to focus on general themes, like prayer, living in a morally righteous way and praising God, as well as Bible stories. The same is pretty much true in RC schools. Doctrine seems to be something that nobody really wants to get into. For example, many Catholics don't know that the Church believes that Jesus had no idea that he was God or the Messiah; he read the Jewish scriptures and felt that he fitted the bill. It was not until he died and was resurrected that he remembered his real nature. Protestant ministers probably have more reason to avoid getting into doctrine; telling children that God has already made his mind up about who is going to Heaven and who is going to Hell would probably be counter-productive. To most children this would just mean that religion was a waste of time.

The Protestant doctrine of 'Double Predestination' is something that is not trumpeted much these days by the churches. I know members of the Church of Scotland that have no idea that this is a fundamental tenet of their church. It is a problem that Martin Luther saw straight-off; if people believe that they are already going to Heaven then why should they bother going to church or living the way the Church tells them? Equally, if they're bound for Hell and Damnation then they might as well enjoy themselves while they've got the chance!

The Church of England does not accept this doctrine and, back in the heady days of the Reformation, Desiderius Erasmus couldn't bring himself to accept it since it effectively did away with human free will. That's why Erasmus, for all his criticisms of the Church, remained a Catholic. I wonder if, nowadays, the Church of Scotland believes in it anymore. It hardly promotes the image of a just, kind, benevolent God, does it? If anything, it makes Him appear to be nothing more than a cruel, capricious brute. Interestingly, one of the doctrines of the Mormon Church is that such predestined salvation was Lucifer's idea, which was why he ended up being cast out!

To prevent his congregation backsliding into apathy about religion, Calvin promoted the idea of a Covenant between God and his Chosen People, the Elect, the ones whose place in Heaven was already booked. This was straight out of the Old Testament, which was why your archetypal 'Hellfire and Brimstone' Protestant preacher very rarely quoted from the New Testament: that particular part of the Bible had too many awkward bits about love, charity and caring about your neighbour! Being taught that they were God's Chosen inculcated a deep sense of superiority and entitlement among Presbyterians; one only has to look at the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa to see the consequences.

Things have, thankfully, changed. I have been to many services in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church and the days of some bearded figure roaring at you from the pulpit are long gone. Nowadays the readings are from the Gospels and Christ's message takes precedence over lurid tales of Sodom and Gomorrah. But some folk seem determined to hold onto that sense of superiority and entitlement, along with the hatred and suspicion it engenders.

Having worked in both RC and ND primary schools I can say that there's not really a lot to choose between them. You get hard-working, well-behaved children in both types of school and you get children with, often severe, learning and behavioural difficulties in both types of school as well. There is one type of child, however, that you only get in the 'Non-Denominational' sector: the one brought up in an Orange household. I'm not talking here about folk that march behind the band once a year and shout 'Fuck the Pope' because they think it's expected of them as a Rangers supporter. I'm talking about your dyed-in-the-wool Orange type, who believes all the semi-literate, almost pagan, crap that you often see regurgitated on McMurdo's blog.

A child from such a family is almost impossible to teach. He already knows all he needs to know; he's one of God's Chosen and is superior to everybody else. Why should he bother with school work? After all, as his father says, school never did him any good. Every child I encountered that came from an Orange family had no interest in school and was often disruptive. When asked how he would manage when he left school he would answer, "Ma da'll get mae in tae work wi' him." And therein lay the problem; they are all still clinging to the old days of a funny handshake getting you a job and can't see that the world has moved on and left them behind.

And since they see the world in terms of a nod and a wink and the right pressure applied by a thumb, they think that everybody else is the same; hence the ridiculous belief that those of Irish-Catholic descent in Scotland have conspired to take over the country. The truth is rather more prosaic. What they call the 'PUL Community' is filled with ignorance and a lack of education; that's the reason why they can't progress or get themselves elected into positions of power. They've made a virtue out of being thick and their sense of entitlement has come back to bite them on the arse, making them angry and bitter. Our religious correspondent on McMurdo's blog continues:

"However the last true bastion of the RFC lets use the term cultural Proddyism, as it appears this is all there is left, has seen a sustained attack the likes of which we never be seen again as this attack will lead to the death of any form of Protest against Romanism if the RFC is allowed collapse in this country."

The lack of education screams at you from that little diatribe; what he means is that Rangers (sic) is the last bastion of Protestantism. It shows you what sad lives The Peeppul have. Most real Protestants no longer feel the need to label themselves as such; there's really nothing for them to protest against anymore. They call themselves Christians and don't feel themselves under persecution from other Churches; it's secularism and apathy that are the enemies. The Church of Scotland, among other churches, is looking for ways for Christians to cooperate and work together. There is no danger to the C of S from the Catholic Church and, equally, there is no danger to the RC Church from the Church of Scotland. At the very least there is a live-and-let-live approach.

Many of The Peeppul, however, can't see this. By all means it is healthy to have debates about doctrine, soteriology and the rest but that's not what they want. They don't want debate because they have nothing to debate with. They are not like Luther, nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the Cathedral door for discussion; all they have to offer is unreasoning hatred. And they wonder why nobody, least of all the Reformed Churches, wants anything to do with them.

It is a sad reflection on them that they see their 'religion' not in terms of churches or theologians but in the vagaries of a football team. I suppose instead of Christ returning from the dead they believe that it's Rangers that managed that miracle! They're moaning that the death of their club will mean the death of their religion; and yet the pews in the Church of Scotland and other churches lie empty every Sunday. When Christ spoke about people gathering together in His name, I don't think he meant Ibrox, do you?

Sorry to be so serious for a change but these clowns really get on my tits!