The Atheist Blogger

Yesterday I commented on a news story about a student in America who took a wafer from a Catholic Mass, incurring the wrath of quite a number of Catholic organizations in the process. The “crime” was referred to repeatedly as kidnap because of the strange belief of transubstantiation which states that the wafer and wine turn to the body and blood of Jesus Christ once blessed, although our sense still perceive them as food.

In this sense, taking a wafer without eating it is apparently equal to the crime of kidnapping Jesus himself. For atheists, this claim is completely ridiculous and illogical; not so much because there is no way of proving any of this transubstantiating actually happens, but because by their own logic, Catholics (and other denominations which subscribe to the process) are partaking in ritual cannibalism of their Saviour.

The whole debacle got me thinking about churches in England, and I found that my “local” cathedral followed a rare doctrine introduced by one of it’s early bishops to unite both Catholics and Prostestants on the issue of transubstantiation. As such, they adhere to the doctrine that the wafer and wine literally become the body and blood, but can only be “grasped by faith”. I decided to mimic the student in America, go to church for the first time in 10 years, and take Jesus’ body home with me.

When I first announced my plan, some people said it was disrespectful of faith and I would be violating someone else’s freedom of expression in order to fulfil my own. Such an idea was not the case, and it was if I had planned to run up to the alter and grab a handful. In my defense, I will tell you exactly how the morning went.

Read more…

I lost my faith in Christianity (and religion in general) at the age of 11. At the time I had just started attending secondary school (high school) that was located next to the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral. The school was founded by a Bishop of the cathedral, and was an all boys school. It is quite appropriate to say that whilst worshiping at Salisbury Cathedral, I lost my faith.

However, the building itself is remarkable, and nobody could deny the fact that it is beautiful. The medieval architecture, combined with the tower and spire (the tallest in Britain) makes for great tourism and photography. I recently went on a amateur photography course at the cathedral which was great fun. I have been playing around with WordPress image galleries, and I have uploaded the photos for anyone who wishes to have a look.

The best way to view them is to let the page load completely, and then click on the first image thumbnail. The screen will darken and the image should load. You should then be able to go through the images by clicking on the arrows at the bottom.

Read more…