Marty

As Silvertongue strikes again!

Hi right bakatya, Clo!

Táimid níos láidre le chéile Size queen!

Níos láidre ná an rud (nó cé), a h'Albert? [Stronger than what (or who), Albert?]

Someone once said that only dirty people need to shower (or bathe) (or wash). Just saying...

Tá mé an-mhaith ar fad, a h'Albert, go raibh maith agat. Agus tú féin? (I'm very good indeed, Albert, thank you very much. And yourself?)

And watered.

G'day yourself, duggy! But would we be able to trust what Val may have to say? Hey, clo! How ya doing, Droopy-Drew? 😛 Good to see you, Gary! Howdy, young Alberto! You talking about the Spring Antho? I'm sure there'll be a big announcement when they come out. In the meantime just keep clicking on that big Stories button on the red bar at the top of every page here on GA, Albert.

Oh, I suspect that even the purest amongst us still have their "Guilty Little Secrets" ...

Well, that wasn't just a waste of time on Chris' part, but it seems as though the experience may actually have negative effects on him in the future. Another well-written chapter. I could certainly sense Chris' feeling of disappointment when he found out that Lenny was a member of The Release Trust (a Google search leaves me suspecting that's a made up name). And his "Why won't it all just go away?" question right at the end of the chapter makes me wonder about what actually did happen to him all those years ago. Hopefully he will eventually find a way to consign the past firmly into the past; but I suppose I shall just have to keep on reading to find out (no spoilers, please! ). I also get the impression that Kay might well turn out to be the sort of good friend that will help Chris move forward... +++++ Interestingly, here in Ireland there is a bill that earlier this month passed through its second reading in the Seanad (the upper House of the Irish Government) that proposes to ban Gay Conversion Therapy. It's early days yet, and even if it does get passed by the Seanad, it will still have to be passed by the Dáil (the lower House). I reckon, particularly considering that we have an openly gay Taoiseach (Prime Minister), it stands a good chance of becoming law, although the minority Government may fall before it passes all final stages (it's only really the worry about the possible fall-out from a Hard Brexit that is preventing the opposition parties from collapsing the Government at the moment). https://www.thejournal.ie/seanad-conversion-therapy-bill-3991347-May2018/ +++++ While I have not actually come across examples of individuals giving out "anti-gay" literature at pride parades here in Ireland (although I suspect that may happen in Northern Ireland), I have seen individuals holding up large signs with religious quotes on them. The participants in the parades generally just ignore them. Here's a photo of some of some of the demonstrators and their placards that I took at a pride parade in County Mayo two years ago:-

Yes, that basically was how Pullman approached the story. Mary had twin boys, one weak and sickly and the other strong and healthy. I wasn't suggesting that Of Gods and Angels is based on a similar premise; more on the fact that it, and Pullman's book, both dare to suggest different ideas about the origin of Jesus. Pullman received a lot of criticism for his "blasphemy" when The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ was published, so I'm not surprised that this work of yours also wasn't well received on another site. Pullman also faced criticism for the way he portrayed God in His Dark Materials. I suppose he got off lightly, though, compared to the the fatwā that was issued calling for the assassination of Salman Rushdie following the publication of his The Satanic Verses novel in 1998. As for your suggestion that God is both good and evil, I remember getting caned at primary school for suggesting in class one day that, if God really did make everything, then he must have made evil as well as good. I reckon I was just a little too naïve at times; I thought school was supposed to include teaching us to think for ourselves. The good nuns that were responsible for our spiritual upbringing obviously didn't want any independent thinkers amongst their charges. Nowadays I believe good and evil to be man-made constructs. And if heaven and hell exist, they only exist here on earth. Good/Evil - Heaven/Hell - they're like the two sides of the same coin. A bit like yin and yang?

Mikiesboy says, in the Chapter notes at the start of this chapter, that it is based in part at least on his own upbringing in the Church. Having suffered seven years of Catholic education at primary school, I think I can understand at least partly where he is coming from. I'm not a believer myself any more, but I think that even now, sixty years after finishing primary school, I still carry a little bit of Catholic Guilt around with me inside my head.

An interesting glimpse at the interrelationship between good and evil. Although it doesn't seem to be going along exactly the same lines, I couldn't help comparing this opening chapter to Philip Pullman's "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ."

Why do I get this feeling that the words innocent and clochette don't really belong together...? See what I mean?

So I'm not the only one that can have ?

Okay.... You had me confused because you were quoting one of my posts...

CLO ?

Hope all goes well, and Mark makes a swift recovery.

Oh! Hi there, Droopy Drew! You got back from wherever it was you went to, then? Short trip, that was.... Hopefully you're not back for too long.

Thanks for the kind words, Geron. Expect to see new chapters to this every week or two. I've quite a few chapters already written. But I don't want to release them all too quickly, just in case my creativity slows down as I get to new chapters. We'll find out just how good (or bad) the news is in the next chapter.

Oops! There I go again... Sowwie!

I think it's also important sometimes to know the difference between what you may want and what you actually deserve. I have been known sometimes to write something like "I hope you get what you want, and not what you deserve" on Christmas cards to some of my friends. 😃

Good evening, Gary.

Yes, please don't give anything away! It would only take away the anticipation I get from reading the chapters. And, as for wants and needs, I am often telling my younger friends and relatives how important it is for them to understand the difference between the two.

Yea, I feel the same way. Spirituality to me has nothing to do with religion.