Atheist wins silly little battle - but war goes on
CLIVE Bone looks like one of those men with too much money in his bank account, and too much time on his hands.
He spent quite a lot of both taking Bideford Town Council to the High Court because, when he was a member, they had the nerve to put prayers on the agenda at the start of every meeting.
Mr Bone is an atheist, and managed to convince their lordships he felt ‘embarrassed and disadvantaged’ by the monthly ritual.
He won his case, and his lasting achievement is to ensure that in town halls throughout the land the word ‘prayers’ will be placed above the word ‘agenda’ rather than below it.
They will not, therefore, form part of official business, so guidance from above can continue to be sought by those who require it, while the unbelievers can begin a sudoku or discuss the location of their post-assembly pint.
Either way, it is not going to make much difference to anyone’s council tax bill.
Local councillors are there to fret about potholes, fuss about overgrown hedgerows and vie for the mayoral regalia.
Those wishing to make a moral point about anything from atheism to Third World hunger should be encouraged to parade their consciences in more appropriate surroundings – such as Westminster.
But atheists – led by the great god Richard Dawkins – have become increasingly militant.
They are as evangelical as any believers in attempts to make infidels of us all – and in doing so have ignored our contrary nature.
When someone’s intent upon forcing their beliefs upon us, we have a tendency to take the opposing view just for the hell of it.
Mr Bone may have won his silly little battle – but the war rages on.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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