The things that people believe...

Although the tone of my posts in the past couple days might belie the fact, I am and have been in quite a good mood over the past week or more. I have had a week holiday, the weather is fine - almost summery - I went flying on Friday evening on my way home (just happened to have the chuckies in the car ;-D ) and all is right with the world. Unlike a certain Rincewind I am NOT hanging on waiting for the next disaster to strike. Just to add to that confusion comes the idea for this post.

Every week my letter box (actual not virtual) is bombarded with veritable mountains of spam of every manner and mien. By far the great bulk of this waste of natural and recycled resources is advertising; everything from the local supermarket telling the Chancellor of My Exchequer exactly what she might spend my hard earned on at the local supermarket, to the invitations for me to spend large on all manner of tools and equipment that I will never need or at the very worst I sincerely hope that I will never need.

But, I have to admit, just occasionally there is thrown up in this unsolicited street spew a real gem, the kind of reading matter that I can sit down with for a few minutes and torment myself over.

Such manner of "publication" was delivered to my letter box this morning. In best newspaper practice it is called "The Signs of" (that in very Gothic script) THE TIMES (in large and bold Roman - the irony of which I am sure is lost on the publishers). The dateline for this august and worthy journal is "2003-2004". Well, I guess that I am lucky that it came a half way through its publication day.

Oh, and I note that it lists itself as a "Free Educational Publication".

The teasers under the banner head -

"New World Order may be closer than we think" - p8
"Famine hits crisis point in Africa"
"First Episcopal Gay bishop splits Church of England" - p7
"Turkish government claims Noah's Ark found" - p 5
"Sun sets on liberties s Big Brother reacts to tragedies" - p8

The front page headlines...

"Armageddon tension grips Middle East" - their rehash of the Israel - Palestine conflict. The twist in the "report" is that neither side really believes in Christ.

"'God help us' prays President Bush" - together with a small photo of the man himself looking like he has just broken a molar and the article suggesting that the next to go will be the First Amendment,

"Papacy urges New World Order" - reporting on the speech of His Holiness to the Ambassador from Israel in June 2003. Well, I guess that is "news".

And so it charges on ... brief articles on global warming (it is true) Gates tops US rich list (that is true as well), archaeologists have discovered Sodom and Gemorrah, and an item listing the prophesies of Revelations that have already been fulfilled.

All in all, my reaction to all of this has to be recorded as sadness. That sadness is not that all of these articles and commentaries in these eight pages are true. Far from it.

The true sadness is that there are people out there who really do believe that much of this stupidity and misinterpretation of both event and scripture is in fact true.

Saddest of all is that the radio talk-back lines will probably run hot on the New World Order (that President Bush and the Pope reportedly speak of) fulfilling one of the final prophesies of "marriage of state and church"; that Noah's Ark has been found in a several million year old lava flow; that the US will become a police state by the end of next year; oh and not forgetting the numerology analysis of the number 666... oh sadness indeed.

Well, guys and gals, if they are right and I am wrong then I am not going to get the chance to eat my hat. But then who am I to worry about that anyways.