Users browsing this forum: Michael Moorcock, SimonH

When I worked at Covent Garden Craft Market, back in the 80s, I used to read a lot to alleviate the boredom. That's when I first discovered a liking for stories by the great SF and Fantasy writer Michael Moorcock.

When I left that job, I stopped reading fiction and stuck mainly to history, as I found I was more interested in learning real stories. But recently, I was browsing in the Red Cross second hand bookshop in Palmers Green and bought a book by him written in 1967 called Behold The Man.

I enjoyed that so today I returned to the same bookshop and bought his first Jerry Cornelius book, The Final Programme.

Then, just now, I was looking for a Michael Moorcock website which was as official as possible and found Moorcock's Micellany, a site which he actually takes part in himself. As I was browsing through his forum pages, I noticed he was no token patron of his site - he was very active posting replies. You mean I can write a message and stand a very reasonable chance of receiving a reply from the Michael Moorcock?!

A little nervously, I posted a reply to a thread about the recent Muhammad cartoons. I hit reply and the page refreshes to reveal: "Users browsing this forum: Michael Moorcock, SimonH." And he's actually posting replies as I watch!

Wow. There's actually a website I can go to have casual chat with one of my life-long literary heros. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

By the way, Behold The Man is about a guy who goes back in time to meet Jesus and discovers he is a gibbering idiot. The guy takes the place of Jesus and ends up getting crucified. His point, I read, is that it does not matter if Jesus existed or not, what is important is the power of the myth.

Good point.

Ten Die For the Sake of a Cartoon

10 people have died as a result of protests over the Muhammad cartoons. And people ask me why I am so anti-religion. Is the loss of 10 lives enough of an answer for you? (Add these to a long, long, long list)

Having said that, I have argued that there are double standards. In Germany, any English fan (any person, for that matter, but in this case it's like they will be English) who is spotted mocking the German team or fans by goose-stepping will be arrested.

I guess there's an irony in that. "For you, Tommy, ze verld cup iz ova!"

So much for freedom of speech.

GOD = 2 + 2 = 5

Belief defies logic.

For example, some Christians complain that scientists don't know everything and so that leaves room for God.

I counter argue - Christians don't know everything either. Their belief just does not add up. The old Christian way used fear as way of making people behave - "If you don't behave according to God's laws, you will burn in Hell's fire for all Eternity."

Then Jesus came along and softened things up a bit, and went more for the carrot than the stick. "God loves us all and if we're good we'll go to Heaven."

See, it's nice to have somewhere to go, isn't it? It's pretty depressing to think me, my friends and family will just evaporate when we die.

Isn't the Bible supposed to be a book of answers? A book to live our lives by? A "road map" to life? The problem is, for me it just throws up more and more questions.

So what happens when we get to Heaven?

Is it infinite? Does time exist in Heaven? Do we have to do anything when we get there? Why do we have go through this life on Earth before we are allowed to go to there? What's the point? Are we learning to be better people so we can lounge around in the Afterlife for ever more?

I have to say, it does sound rather dull having nothing to do for all Eternity. If Heaven bears no relation to this world, and it is an experience beyond my mortal comprehension, what is the point of of my consciousness existing there? If this world and the next bear no resemblance then, for God's sake, why create this damned place?

That's the real question people want answered. At least in the film The Matrix there's this good vs evil battle going on, in an alternative dimension. Come on, relgious innovators could have come up with a better story. All they ever waffle on about is being "holy". Why? What is the use of holyness, that's what I want to know. When I'm a fully qualified, badge-wearing, top-ranking Mr. Holy, what then?

I mean, why did God create everything? Is it just a game to amuse himself? Why did he only tell people in one small region of the Middle East about his generosity? Why didn't he send word to his other peoples - in the Americas, for example?

You ask religious believers this and they talk in vague and deflecting terms. "It is not our place to understand the workings of God's mind"; "God moves in mysterious ways"; "You must decide for yourself what Heaven is"...

In other words, ultimately, religions tell us nothing more about spiritual matters than we knew to start with - nothing. They have no idea what happens after we die. They haven't got a clue.

I Believe in Belief

Belief definately exists. I believe that belief has been integral to human endeavour. Blaise Pascal argued that without God life would become meaningless and people would only be able to avoid boredom by createing their own obstacles to overcome.

That's exactly how my life has panned out. In fact, the obstacle I struggle to overcome most often is boredom.

When I went to art college, as both my parents were artists, I knew all the tricks. By the 3rd week, the tutor brought the other students in my group to see my architecurally-sound straw model, "This is what you should be aiming at."

Then I got bored. It was down hill from then on. The fine art tutor enthused and insisted I chose fine art. But I found contemporary art too abstract - it was detatched from reality.

And anyway, you can't teach art. You can teach the craft part of art, but how do you teach Damien Hirst to come up with the idea to cut up animal parts? Of course, you don't. But attending art college legitimises your activity. Anyone else who spent his days cutting up animals and displaying them would be seen as a slightly demented fool, and a waste of tax-payers Social Security cash.

So anyway, I lost my belief in art and I promptly lost interest in creating any. I became quite good at table tennis, though.

The Universe is inherently Evil?

Apparently, there was this guy called Marcion who was a Christian who believed there were two gods - one good and one evil - the evil one was the one who created the Universe. I love that idea. Unfortunately, his sect pretty much died out.

"Marcionites hold that the god known as YHWH is inconsistent, jealous, wrathful and genocidal. The material world he created is defective, a place of suffering; the god who made such a world is a bungling or malicious demiurge."

Can't argue with that.

Ah, those By-gone Days

For some reason, there is nothing which creates a feeling of nostalgic sadness in my heart than watching an old kids' public information film from the era of my youth. Today, the BBC are showing a Jon Pertwee Road Safety classic from 1974. Added to the sadness was the shock that Jon Pertwee is no more. In fact, it's 10 years since he left.