Daily revelations of financial impropriety by members of Parliament dominated the British news headlines during the month of May. Respect for politicians and for Parliament itself is at an all-time low. A change of government is expected at the next election. But that won't change the root cause.
by Melvin Rhodes
In May, we took a family vacation to England, spending most of our time with four of my brothers and their families.
I am always struck on such visits by the contrast between their lives and ours. Whereas religious belief has played a major role in our lives, the four of them have no interest in the subject at all. Not one of them has a Bible in his home. If asked, they would consider the book of no relevance to us today.
One of my brothers observed the reason for my religious beliefs was that I'm older and was educated in a different age. I was at school in England in the 1950s and early '60s, whereas my four younger brothers were educated in the late '60s and '70s. In his mind, religious belief died in the 1960s.
It is true that in the 1950s the old standards still prevailed. Each school day began with a Bible reading and prayers. On Fridays we ended the day similarly, as if we all needed fortifying for the temptations the coming weekend might offer! We were taught the Ten
Commandments and basic biblical principles common to all churches. In short, there was a certain familiarity with the Bible.
We were also taught some patriotic values. Our sports teams were named after famous British heroes. Scott, Drake, Nelson and Livingstone were the four "houses" in my school. As we marched single file into our assembly hall for morning prayers, we passed an impressive portrait of the new queen in coronation regalia. A map of the world was still largely colored red, denoting the various colonies and dominions of what was still the British Empire and Commonwealth.
