Have any Daily Mail readers ever read the Bible?

This may sound like a strange title for a blog post but it's an important one. You see as regular readers are aware I am a Christian. I am on the pink and fluffy, pretty liberal, live and let live wing of Christianity, (we do exist, it just seems that often we are few and far between) but still a Christian at that, that's right I believe that Jesus was the son of God.

Anyway, the Jesus I believe in, as described by the gospels, was an individual who didn't have a huge amount of time for the establishment, for traditions and how things were done. He spent time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers. He was a refugee himself. He had few if any possessions and sought to provide for the poor and treat the sick.

Even if you are not a Christian, even if you are of no religion at all, even if you think that the whole thing is a lot of hocus pocus, you must admit that the Jesus portrayed in the Bible was a pretty good egg.

So where is this going?

Well take a look at this story in the Mail

Now the story itself, while poorly written and a bit incoherent, is pretty balanced. Yet lets take a look at some comments shall we?

Total nonsense. Time these silly vicars got back to basics instead of trying to be politically correct. No wonder churches are empty!
Click to rate Rating 7
- GB, England, 11/12/2008 17:55

So GB thinks that a priest trying to emulate Jesus and bring attention to those at the bottom is politically correct. Sorry GB but I thought that following the example of Jesus was exactly what they were meant to do.

Not even funny. Leave our traditions alone.
Click to rate Rating 1
- Renee, Melbourne, Australia, 11/12/2008 19:06

Sorry Renee, but much like Jesus himself the job of priests is not to protect tradition but to spread the word of God and the example of Jesus. Do you think churches are there just to look pretty?

Stop 'getting with it' and leave well alone, too many on the bandwagon changing everything.....What for?
Click to rate Rating 14
- Ross, Bucks, 11/12/2008 19:35

What for? To do as Jesus did you twat.

The 'less fortunate' eh? At least six of the new items are self-inflicted. Fortune not only favours the brave, it favours the clean-living. And besides, GT of Belgium is right, it isn't a religious ditty so has no place in church. Oh, how I hate trendiness in the church. I stopped going to church when the choir started wearing jeans and tee-shirts and strumming their 'geetars' and we were all encouraged to hug the person beside us whether we knew them from Adam or not. Church is a place of quiet prayer and solemnity for me. Sorry to be so old fashioned, but there it is. I feel that this modernity has helped to destroy church-going, because there's as much racket there as anywhere else. B&Q is the new C of E for a lot of folk.
Click to rate Rating 7
- Kathy Bianco, Kensington, London., 11/12/2008 20:07

Arsehole, pure and simple.

The Rev. George Fisher, should remember that he is a disciple, who's job is to go out and spread the word of God.....not waste time re-writing the words and context of a Christmas song, that has nothing to do with the church....it is just another song that is sung at Chrismas. With religious ministers such as Rev, Fisher, it is no wonder that people are leaving the church in droves.
Click to rate Rating 6

- Max, Hampshire, 12/12/2008 3:11

Priceless Max, fucking priceless. What do you think the word of God is? have you ever heard of "love thy neighbour"? Have you read the bible?

The people in this song are exactly the people who Jesus would have spent his time with if he was on earth today, exactly the sort. And Christmas, or the Christian Christmas anyway, is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. The traditions are neither here nor there, maybe it's time some Mail readers started remembering that.