THIS IS REFLECTIONS.

Well, I hope the speaker's going to say something about today's decline in moral standards, particularly among young people. If Joan had listened to her parents, things would never have come to this. Never, if she'd stuck to what we've always impressed on her. Every Sunday we've taken her to church as a child. And every school she attended taught religion.

O, the Word Service again, with its rotten Reflections, always right after the News. When will these warlocks m/f give up their monotheist monopoly on truth and morality? What i suggest is that they broadcast a few philosophical reflections at prime time.

DEAR LISTENERS, BEFORE PROCEEDING MAY I ASK YOUR ATTENTION A MOMENT FOR ALL THOSE LIVING ABROAD WHO, UNLIKE OURSELVES, SUFFER FOR THEIR RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS; FOR ALL THOSE WHO, OF WHATEVER RACE OR NATIONALITY THEY MAY BE, ARE KEPT IN THE GRIP OF A TOTALITARIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM. MAY I POINT OUT TO YOU THAT THE WORLD SERVICE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE IN ANY WAY BETWEEN PEOPLE ON THE GROUNDS OF THEIR NATIONAL, RACIAL OR RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS AND THAT THIS IS WHY WE HAVE RESERVED OUR FRIDAY REFLECTIONS FOR MUSLIMS AND OUR SATURDAY REFLECTIONS FOR JEWS.

Yes, and almost all remaining Reflections for the adherents of one other religion from the Northeast African-Southwest Asian region, namely Christianity; while the occasional Hindu will certainly have to praise the same single Lord as well.

Oh, please, don't attempt to reach a fashionable new peak of morality with some sermon on the wickedness of discrimination. Let one of our churchmen speak about a matter which has been important in life since time immemorial. Joan should also be listening now. She's promised me.

Nowadays warlocks fuse the natural and the supernatural by utilizing the most modern technical means to distribute their ghostly advices. And to cast reflections on those who do not follow them, preferably by showering the general populace with a diarrhea of territorial and ethnic exclusivities: "Isreal was and Isreal was not ... Jerusalem had and Jerusalem had not ... The Jews did and the Jews did not ...". As if the Americas had not yet been discovered, nor Australia. As if China and India did not exist, nor Nigeria. Nonetheless, it's quite possible that the Extremely Exclusive Christian So-And-So is going to shed some light on a natural, contemporary state of affairs. But if it's sensible what So-And-So says, it won't be typically supernatural or theodemonical, and if it's typically supernatural or theodemonical, it won't be sensible.

AS OUR BROADCASTING CORPORATION HAS ALWAYS MAINTAINED CLOSE TIES WITH BELIEVERS OF VERY DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS, THE SPEAKER TODAY ...
on this Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, i presume
WILL BE THE MOST REVEREND ARCHBISHOP CHRISTIAN MAN OF THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF OUR UNITED PROTESTANT COUNTRY. A ROMANTIC CATHOLIC, HE WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT MAN'S ETERNAL LOVE IN A MOMENT.

I'm very happy. It's a great honour to be asked to address millions of men all over the world on the wireless. As soon as I'm given the signal, in a minute or so, I'll start with what the Holy Father has said about the urgent need for peace and justice on this divided, strife-ridden planet. If all of us obeyed His will and loved one another, the Earth would be a paradise of peace and a jewel of justice. The least I can do is to make my listeners reflect upon this. But I'll point out, too, that our brethren persecuted abroad for the sake of their religion have at least succeeded in making their presence known and felt. This will fan the flame of their faith, and intensify their love of God.

Man's eternal love! What other subject could the thoughts of a mother whose only daughter is a fallen woman be centred on? I've always taught my children that the double blessedness of love is something else than the carnal pleasures of sex. Love is eternal, whereas sexuality is as ephemeral as the life of a mayfly. In this respect Catholics probably believe the same thing as Protestants. I don't mind, so long as he's not going to pontificate about the pope and his cohorts.

MAY I FIRST REMIND YOU THOUGH THAT THE RABBI'S TALK ON THE SABBATH HAS ALREADY BEEN RECORDED AND THAT IT WILL ONLY BE BROADCAST ON SATURDAY FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING.

Monotheist mysteries sure are fathomless, i must say. Do these crazy creatures also believe that it's beyond their gentile control what they're brewing? It's simply hilarious to think that some wireless warlocks break the Sabbath in order to beatify those who keep it.

Isn't it wonderful that this is especially mentioned? I'm most grateful that the World Service has invited me to speak on behalf of the Jewish community, and that I've been given the opportunity to have my Reflection recorded in advance. It proves that in this country people of different denominations know how to show respect towards one another. Oh, God, I wish it were like this everywhere! What else could I've chosen as the central theme of my Reflection than religious toleration? I hope that my brethren in other parts of the world who're discriminated against for the sake of their belief will have the vigour to eventually cast off the yoke of religious intolerance, and that they'll win their persecutors to a new brotherhood.

MAY I REMIND YOU, TOO, THAT THE WORLD SERVICE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE SEXES EITHER ...
except that it refers to Miss or Mrs Christina So-and-so, while not disclosing Mr So-and-so's marital status, and while using his surname for her and the children; except that it portrays men as tearless or rational and women as crying or sentimental in its stories and plays, altho not consistently so; except that ...
AND THEREFORE WE'RE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE'VE NOW INVITED MISS CHRISTINA SPINSTER --EXCUSE ME-- SPINNER TO TREAT OUR LISTENERS TO A FINE SPEECH AFTER THAT PROFANE MEAL WHICH THE NEWS USUALLY IS. MISS SPINNER, WHO'S THE VICE-PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL OF DIVINITY AT LAKE BRIMSTONE, WILL TALK TO YOU --LET ME SEE-- ABOUT THE LORD'S ETERNAL GUIDANCE IN A DAY OR TWO.
May i add that Person Spinner is very bright by reflection, like a full moon.

I'm so proud and it's such a pleasure that special attention is being drawn to my radio talk. It will be three days from now. Millions of men will listen to me then. I, Christina, who could never be ordained, like my brother, or enthroned, like my uncle, will be the Lord's mouthpiece for almost five minutes. They'll be the most precious minutes of my life. By serving my Principal I'll contribute a little bit to peace and justice in this world. Oh, God, guide me through this earthly maze of misery and evil. Give me the wisdom to convince the wicked of their doing wrong and the unbelievers of their being wrong. I hope that my sisters abroad who're discriminated against for the sake of their belief will have the courage to eventually cast off the yoke of political oppression, and that they'll win their persecutors to a new sisterhood.

If only Joan had her behaviour guided by the Lord! If only she had listened regularly to this programme which is such a moral beacon to us all! How true what her father said the other day: that Reflections is a spiritual lighthouse that warns the world of the dangers of atheism and nihilism. What I like most about Reflections is that its glad tidings make you forget the bad news.

YES, OUR BROADCASTING CORPORATION GIVES BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, BOTH WHITES AND NON-WHITES, THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROPAGATE THE COMING OF THE GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF GOD.
... and to dispel the specter of a novel worldview free from preternatural pretensions. Unless, of course, this would amount to party propaganda, because the law requires us to be impartial insofar as political ideology is concerned.
WE CONSIDER IT OUR TASK TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SPIRITUAL WELFARE. SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW PRECISELY WHAT ARE THE BLESSINGS AND THE CURSES THAT COME TO THOSE WHO DO AND THOSE WHO DON'T FOLLOW THE DIVINE COMMANDMENTS OF ONE OF THE BOOKS OF BOOKS, IT IS OUR SPEAKERS WHO WILL HELP YOU TO DISPEL ANY FEAR OR DOUBT.
Reflections is not the only World Service programme thus dedicated to preaching the words of feudal and institutionalised supernaturalism on our country's wireless. When it is not Christmas I need only mention our In Praise of God, our Sunday Services, our Reports on Religion, our Questions of Faith, our Focus on Faith, our Words of Faith, our series On God's Service, our series What Do Christians Believe?, and the many 'secular' programmes which are, if not wholly, at least holily, spangled with religious symbols, songs and suppositions. When it is Christmas I must mention furthermore our Radio Christmas Card, our Radio Fun at Christmas, our Christmas Music, our Christmas Cracker, and our Readings from the Good Book. In all these and several other programmes Very Important Persons are invited, or invite Themselves, to speak to the common witch.
BUT IN THE PAST, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, THE WORLD SERVICE ALSO GAVE A NUMBER OF ATHEISTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY WERE SO GODLESS. THAT SERIES, HOWEVER, WAS NOT, LIKE REFLECTIONS, BROADCAST REGULARLY AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE NEWS, WHEN MOST PEOPLE LISTEN. IT WAS A ONE-TIME EXCEPTION, MERELY MEANT TO PROVE THE RULE. THE OPPORTUNITY WAS SEIZED WITH BOTH HANDS BY THESE CONFOUNDED ATHEISTS BECAUSE THEY KNEW IT WOULD KNOCK AT THE DOOR ONLY ONCE. AND YET, IT MERELY ENABLED THEM TO DEFEND A NEGATIVE TRAIT, NOT TO ENLARGE UPON A POSITIVE TRAIT LIKE --GOD FORGIVE ME-- BEING A HUMANIST. THEIR NEGATIVE TRAIT COULD SOLELY BE DEFINED IN TERMS OF OUR BELIEF IN THE LORD, AND IT INADVERTENTLY RE-EMPHASISED THE RELEVANCE OF HIS EXISTENCE, RATHER THAN SOMETHING AWKWARD LIKE THE PRIMACY OF NORMS AND VALUES.

She's still rambling on and on, and the Archbishop hasn't had a chance to say one word about the Vicar of Christ yet. Well, I'm more interested in what our own vicar will say on Sunday, when we see him. Probably other people have already told him. Like all of us he also thought that Manuel and Joan were going to be engaged soon. Everyone agreed that they were such a wonderful couple, Manuel having a very good job and Joan making an excellent housewife. Now, she's on her way to becoming the Devil's own slut. Oh, my God, how am I to tell the Reverend that one of the pearls of his flock has chosen to live in sin?

Only the most atheistic, totalitarian state radio would not even one time give three or four dissidents a few minutes to speak in favor of one of their negative traits. Just imagine how much more democratic and objective a communist state broadcasting corporation would be if it occasionally allowed a capitalist to go on the air to explain why he or she is opposed to the well-being of farmers and workers.

AS OUR REGULAR LISTENERS WILL KNOW, WE AT THE WORLD SERVICE HAVE ALWAYS RELIGIOUSLY HOPED NEVER TO BE CONFRONTED WITH GENUINE PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS OF A NON-THEOCENTRIC, NON-SUPERNATURALIST NATURE. TOO DEEP AND WIDE-RANGING, SUCH THOUGHTS WOULD, I DARESAY, DEFINITELY BE OUT OF PLACE IN REFLECTIONS.

How could they decide to live together and to have children; without any intention to marry; even without asking my advice? Every Christian knows --even a Jew or a Muslim knows-- that there can be no love where a man and a woman have not been joined in holy matrimony. Every man of honour will first solemnly and sincerely promise to love his wife and comfort her forever. And every woman of noble mind will first, in the sight of God, promise to always obey her husband and to always serve him. Oh, God, what have I done wrong that my daughter forsakes her religion? I've even offered to consent to a civil wedding if she doesn't want to marry in church. Why do I deserve this?

I tell you what, you witch! Why don't you think of all those who suffer or have suffered, not for their religious convictions but for their convictions; and of all those who, of whatever kind they may be, are or have been kept in the grip of totalitarianism, whether party-political or religious? How insensitive to people with a different outlook-on-life you are; what a lack of understanding. Wait till those believing in a veridical interpretation of truth and in a neutral interpretation of relevance make their presence known and felt, also in this country. If persecuted or discriminated against, this will only strengthen their convictions and renew their commitment to the belief in the primacy of these values. What they need is the vigor and courage to eventually cast off the yoke, not only of political oppression, but also of state religionism ... state radio religionism. Let them win their persecutors or discriminators to a new insight. Let them win you and all the other self-complacent warlocks, male or female, to an inclusive siblinghood indeed.

OH, I MUST APOLOGISE: I HAVE BEEN CARRIED AWAY TOO FAR BY MY OWN REFLECTIONS. I AM SO SORRY. MAN WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL ANOTHER TIME.