Tony Blair, Christopher Hitchens, and a religious foundation without any useful foundations ...

(Above: an old Steve Bell cartoon. More Steve Bell here).

Time for a little extra ecclesiam nulla salus - "outside the church there is no salvation" - as we welcome Tony Blair to the pond.

As usual, the wiki has a nice and extended explanation of the Roman Catholic catechism Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus and the way theologians have laboured hard over the years to reverse its meaning, or more to the point, provide an out clause for those outside the church and yet still in need of salvation. As the church's power has waned, it's tended to be a little less hard on those outside the tent, and reduce talk of a direct pathway to hell to muttered asides. It's only a few traditionalists that maintain proper standards:

Those who disagree with the Church's interpretation of the teaching "outside the Church there is no salvation" claim that the Church has contradicted itself in its teachings on faith and morals. They say that the medieval Church statements indicate that no person could possibly be saved unless a member of the physical Church on earth, and that this was the meaning intended by the Popes of the time, who made no "lenient statements" on the matter. People like Father Leonard Feeney and some traditionalists believe their understanding of the original doctrine to be correct and that, if the Church were now to teach that the salvation of non-Catholics is possible, it would contradict its earlier teaching, and would violate the doctrine of the Church's infallibility.

Yes folks, disbelievers and apostates, Father Feeney will still see you in hell.

Some sedevacantists hold that the Second Vatican Council did in fact defect from the Church's infallible teaching, and that what is today generally recognized as the Catholic Church is a counterfeit, which therefore is not infallible.

Ah so that's the rough beast slouching towards Bethlehem.

Happily, the church is still adept at damning Muslims for their attitudes and theological postures:

The Koran contains dogma, legends, history, fiction, religion and superstition, social and family laws prayers, threats, liturgy, fanciful descriptions of heaven, hell, the judgment day, resurrection, etc. — a combination of fact and fancy often devoid of force and originality. The most creditable portions are those in which Jewish and Christian influences are clearly discernible.

Oh yes, and I bet the Muslims have a tough attitude to the wretches outside the faith. Tell 'em:

Sura 9 treats of the campaign to Tebuk ... It opens with the "release" promulgated at the pilgrimage of the same year and declares the antagonism of Islam to all other religions. All but Muslims are excluded from Mecca and the rites of pilgrimage. Idolaters are threatened with slaughter and slavery. War is declared against Jews and Christians until they are humbled and pay tribute. This sura is called "the crusade chapter", and in the early campaigns was often read on the field before battle. (all that and more in the Catholic Encyclopedia here).

What's this stroll down memory lane got to do with Blair? Well the goose turned Catholic, for reasons only he might understand, and now is haring around the world spouting platitudes like a gargoyle on a cathedral in a heavy rain storm.

Naturally The Australian makes room for this nonsense, under the bizarre header We must make faith a weapon.

Yep, even when talking of peace and faith, Blair does it under a header deploying faith as a weapon. I guess that's because weapons have done such a tremendous job for peace in Iraq in recent years, thanks to the Blair-Bush axis of weevils.

But down to taws. Here's Blair's opening shot:

Faith matters. Religion can be a powerful force for good or ill. As globalisation pushes us closer together, and as countries become mosaics of different cultures, races and faiths, then if religion acts to pull us back apart, it will become a source of division and discord. This is religion as a badge of identity; me in opposition to you.

Why I immediately felt inspired.

Cliches matter. Cliches can be a powerful force for good or ill. As cliches push us closer together, and as countries become mosaics of cliches, then if cliches act to pull us apart, they will become a source of division and discord. This is cliches and stereotypes as a badge of identity; my cliches in opposition to yours.

You could play the substitution word game with the rest of the column and do no ultimate harm to its meaning, since banality will always find its own level of earnest stupidity. But back to the text:

But if instead we reach out across the faith divide, learning from each other, representing each other, understanding each other, then faith diversity becomes not a cause of conflict but a help to peaceful coexistence.

Sure, in much the same way as religion has helped us live in peaceful coexistence these past few thousand years.

And now for a little decoding of the text:

The 20th century was riven by fundamentalist political ideology. The danger facing the 21st century is fundamentalist religious ideology. Inter-faith action and religious literacy is the answer to it.

You see, it was the Communists and the Nazis and the atheists who ruined the twentieth century. And now it's the Islamics threatening to ruin the twenty first century. Not the crazed Christians lurking in the mid west of the United States.

But what on earth is inter-faith action, since if you're outside the one true church, the chances of ending up in hell seem greatly enhanced? How on earth will religious literacy help, since if you bother to read the Bible or the Koran you will see how there's plenty of room for fundamentalists to seize on the fundamentalism lurking in the texts and behave like ratbags?

Wouldn't religious illiteracy be a much bigger help? That way at least you could remain blissfully ignorant of the book of Leveticus and some of the more absurd offerings of the Koran (except of course where helped out by Jewish and Christian thinking).

Sigh, no none of that, because Blair has turned into the most irritating kind of hippie basket weaving tree hugging religious metaphysical Christian, ready to turn an ear to any kind of spirituality and mysticism. Is this what happens when you have the blood of thousands of dead people on your hands? (Mommy, I see dead people.)

On a recent visit to China I was struck at how, increasingly, it is developing a narrative about its future that draws heavily on its culture, on its civilisation, now thousands of years old, and on its faith traditions and philosophy: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism. Several people I met talked openly of their faith and, yes, some were Christians, part of a growing Christian movement. More than four billion people across the world consider themselves of one religion or another. So to ignore the role of faith is to be blind to a dimension of the world that plays a part in the thinking and attitudes of billions of people.

Who could be blind or deaf to a President talking of a crusade, and other loons on the other side thinking that they're fighting back against a crusade in their own religious crusade?

And who could be blind to the way Christians - yes a lot of them are Christians - who think they are the way and the light and the truth? In much the same way as fundamentalist Islamics do. Give me a Buddhist any day, and please lord save Buddhism from Blair's strangling imperial Christian embrace ...

But it's not just Buddhism that can steal into the tent. Everybody is welcome with their jumble of beliefs and confusions, and soon enough we'll be able to re-enact the tower of Babel inside the temple:

Australia is a nation of huge religious and cultural diversity, home to 22 million people originating from almost 200 countries. It is home to the world's oldest living spirituality, cosmology and knowledge system. And it is continuing to change. Migration from Southeast Asia is increasing, resulting in significant growth in the numbers of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. Importantly, these numbers are increasing at a faster rate than the numbers of non-believers. On a daily basis we all work and communicate with people of a different culture and faith; indeed, Australia's main trading partners are China and Japan. It is essential that young Australians starting careers in business or politics are able to understand and interact positively within cultures in which Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are influences.

Whatever happened to the good old notion that you should leave your guns and your religion at the door?

Who was it that said if you believe in everything, you may as well believe in nothing? Oh dear lord, has Blair inspired in me half-remembered memories of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and

"I believe in everything, nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing, everything is sacred." Shoot me, shoot me now, put me out of my misery. Quick, bring me a refreshing draught of The Big Lebowski:

Donny: Are these the Nazis, Walter?
Walter Sobchak: No, Donny, these men are nihilists. There's nothing to be afraid of.

But back to Blair, albeit reluctantly, because the blather gets bigger and bigger:

Unfortunately, there are some people in the world who actively seek to cause religious conflict. They use faith as a destructive force by emphasising difference and reinforcing distrust of the "other". These people are small in number but highly motivated and well organised.

Some people? Names please, so we can arrange for shooting parties. Isn't that the preferred Blair style? Grab a weapon and knock off a despot?

The Israel-Palestine dispute is not the cause of extremism. But its resolution can be an essential part of consigning that affliction to the oblivion it deserves. I believed this before I became the Quartet Representative. I believe it even more strongly now. Peace between Israelis and Palestinians would release forces of modernisation across the region. It would pin back the forces of reaction.

And this man is working for peace in the middle east? I was hoping that like the Irish troubles it might begin to wind down in the next twenty years. Reading that, I'm thinking the next two hundred ...

On we go ...

Religious belief cannot be beaten by military means alone. It is as much the force of ideas as the force of arms that will secure our future. And the principal idea is that people of different faiths, cultures and creeds can live together peacefully.

Oh dear, and still he keeps shoving Iraq down my throat with the force of his arms! But hang on, if he couldn't live together peacefully with a despot, why on earth should I live together peacefully with a blathering Blair. Or fundamentalist religionistas?

Peaceful coexistence cannot take root unless we have strong alliances not only across nations but across faiths, too. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation is a response to these challenges. It aims to increase respect and understanding between the different faiths by creating opportunities for these different groups to come together and learn directly from one another. We have found this to be an effective way to challenge stereotypes and reduce prejudice.

I'm growing weaker, fainter, from lack of intellectual nutrition. Quick, someone hand me a lifeline or ring a friend. Is there an atheist in the room? Where's Christopher Hitchens when he's needed? Oh here he is:

... far more irritating is Blair’s new banality, which rises almost to Queen’s Christmas broadcast level – “science has given us great power for good or ill” – combined with his addiction to junk statistics, and his unexamined assumption that there must be some natural connection between faith and rectitude.

Phew, renewed strength, back to Blair:

The foundation has grown rapidly in the past couple of years and runs a range of education and multi-faith humanitarian projects. Its schools program operates in 12 countries, connecting classrooms and developing relationships and understanding.

Oh no, health failing, need a new health pack, can't find anything on this level. Quick, another dose of Hitchens please:

Of his supposed two billion Christians, for example, how many belong to congregations that are at each other’s throats, or that rant about the imminence of the “end times”? The leader of Blair’s own Christian sect cannot decide which is worse – Aids or condoms – and has just readmitted a neo-fascist bishop who thinks that the “deicide” committed by the Jews against Jesus is a historic fact, but that the genocide practised by the Nazis on the Jews is a fiction.

Hey, this is fun, a real roller coaster ride. First some Blair:

Recently I joined a session between a school in Delhi, one in Bolton in England and one in Palestine. The foundation has volunteers in 75 nations, undertaking practical work across religious divides. It has recently joined with the faith community in Africa to combat malaria, using churches and mosques as distribution centres for netting and health workers.

Then some Hitchens:

Speaking of the Jews, does Blair really believe that 13 million of them go anywhere near a synagogue? They (we), the inventors of monotheism, have become the most secular population in human history and have flourished mightily since throwing off rabbinical rule. And doesn’t he know the first thing about that supposed tsunami of new converts in Africa, many of whom are animists in another guise? Just ask the luckless Archbishop of Canterbury (that feckless and sheeplike advocate of sharia), whose own pathetic little Anglican faction is being riven by cruel and fanatical African bishops who think that homosexuality is a mortal sin. Or consult the dissenting Christians of Russia, now faced by the emergence of a full-dress Putin dictatorship, garbed in the clerical robes of a state-sponsored Orthodoxy.

Now a little more sanctimonious prattling from Blair:

And today the University of Western Australia joins its Faith and Globalisation Initiative. This is a multidisciplinary university undergraduate program designed to equip graduates with the critical skills they need to understand the world in which they live and to understand the importance of religion within this world.

Followed by a lacerating Hitchens:

There is something crass and nasty as well as something vulgar in Blair’s quantitative triumphalism (“more than 900 million Hindus”: such good news for those who think like the sectarian Bharatiya Janata Party). Those of us who have our doubts about the God delusion have never been under the impression that it is under-supported. But the way that Blair talks, it seems that religion’s chief pride is its availability in bulk and wholesale form. Why doesn’t he mention Mormonism, the crackpot Joseph Smith-oriented faith that is said to be the fastest-growing of them all?

More feeble hop-scotch from Blair:

We hope these graduates will go on to become leaders in business, politics, development or academe and breed a new generation of policy-makers who put understanding religion at the heart of their thinking and not as an add-on. We hope it will deliver more successful and durable development strategies, conflict resolution and trade agreements.

Dear lord, more religionistas, and putting religion at the heart of things. Quelle catastrophe ... Even a latte can't help me now ... Yes, let's have conflict resolution over a hearty discussion of the credibility of transubstantiation:

UWA joins what will soon be a dozen first-class universities in the initiative, alongside Yale, the National University of Singapore, Durham in Britain and McGill in Canada.

Back to Hitchens, scoffing Blair's "suffocatingly boring five-point agenda", which includes his discovery that the world is against malaria, and also includes interfaith interaction, globalisation and an ethical imperative in the world of economics, and then a fifth proposition:

On the fifth proposition, that of an “Abrahamic” coalition, I can only give way humbly, to those who think it moral and exemplary for mythical tribalists to circumcise themselves at the age of 90 and to offer their sons as human sacrifices when they hear voices in their heads. As our former prime minister phrases it so smoothly: “While in office, it was best, in my view, not to shout that too loudly from the roof tops.” So shout it out loud now, Tony, and see if it makes those demons go away. But why weren’t you so brave before?

Finally I was beginning to understand why it was fun to read Blair blathering on about intellectual exercises, especially this deeply impractical one to develop one giant all encompassing religion. The Bahá'ís tried that one, never mind the pantheists, but look where their monotheistic emphasis on the spiritual unity of all human kind got them. Maybe six million followers. Back to the messiah Blair:

This is not just an intellectual exercise but a deeply practical one. Unless we find a way of reconciling faith and globalisation, the world will not only be a dangerous place but globalisation itself will be far less successful in spreading prosperity. I look forward to working with the University of Western Australia in the classroom, on campus and in the wider community to address these crucial issues.

If nothing else, it led me to Hitchens' suggestions for Blair's foundation:

Fight against the genital mutilation of children of both sexes;
Fight against dowry and bride-price for underage girls;
Campaign for the right of men and women to employ contraception;
Call for an Islamic ruling against suicide bombing;
Call for a rabbinic ruling against the theft of non-Jewish land.

To which we could immediately add a fight against the stoning to death of women, provided that any accidental stoning arising from reading a Janet Albrechtsen column is first referred to arbitration. And a word or two about the fate of homosexuals in Africa and elsewhere in the world wouldn't go astray either.

Come to think of it, there's a hell of a lot being done by true believers in the name of faith that they should stop immediately for fear that all that rubbing will make them go blind.

But let's leave Hitchens with the last word on Blair:

This list is suggestive rather than exhaustive, but it is at least as relevant as the menace of malaria and it also serves to demonstrate that the religious are not morally brave, as they like to brag, but are instead quite unable to face the fact that they are the cause, and not the cure, of so much suffering and stupidity and misery. (Please, let's not do God).

Hitchens of course has his own cross to bear for his travelling along the road to Iraq with the god botherer Blair, and then be forced to marvel and wonder how the axis of weevils comprehensively stuffed up the occupation, but never mind, it's nice to see that Blair is now no longer the messiah leading the western world to freedom, he's just a naughty boy who's gone religious ...

(Below: and another Bell to wrap up proceedings).