It's time for Part Seven of our latest Tale for Our Time: Lord of the World is Robert Hugh Benson's futuristic fiction of 1907, speculating on where we'll be in a century's time - which is more or less right now.
Paul, a Colorado member of The Mark Steyn Club, contrasts Benson's priestly protagonist with the excruciating harpie scolding Trump at the pathetically misnamed National Prayer Breakfast:
The contrast is stark indeed between Father Percy in this tale, who appears to believe sincerely, and hold fast to, the tenets of the faith in which he has taken holy orders, and the miserable asexual wraith ensconced in the pulpit of the National Cathedral, whose "confession" has long since abandoned anything properly described as holy, and replaced it with the utterly predictable, dead boring, contemporary leftist propaganda spewed forth here. However, should the wretch survive long enough for the Episcopal "Church" to be of no further use to the Left, he/she/it/they will be able to step effortlessly into whatever more fashionable neo-pagan cult replaces it, complete with no changes made to the nattily curated vestments worn here.
That so-called "bishop" has already stepped into her "neo-pagan cult" of transgender child sacrifice et al. As Robert Hugh Benson foresaw in 1907, replacing God with Man-as-God is quite an easy sell. Thus, in tonight's episode, the author gives us a glimpse of new gods America's post-Christian Episcopal clerics would surely recognise - a combination of Gaia and Self:
The hymn was one composed ten years before, and all England was familiar with it. Old Mrs Bland lifted the printed paper mechanically to her eyes, and saw the words that she knew so well:
"The Lord that dwells in earth and sea..."
She glanced down the verses, that from the Humanitarian point of view had been composed with both skill and ardour. They had a religious ring; the unintelligent Christian could sing them without a qualm; yet their sense was plain enough—the old human creed that man was all. Even Christ's words themselves were quoted. The kingdom of God, it was said, lay within the human heart...
Lots of other topical resonances in tonight's episode, including attempted political assassination. Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read Part Seven of our tale simply by clicking here and logging-in. And, if you're playing catch-up on Lord of the World, you can start fresh with Part One and have a good old binge-listen here.
If you'd like to join Paul in The Mark Steyn Club, we'd love to have you along for this eighth season. So do click here for more info - and don't forget, for fellow fans of classic fiction and/or poetry, our Steyn Club Gift Membership.
