Isobel

A fantastic bit of hope of Christians everywhere in this day and age. For an individual's faith is indeed very singular in nature. There should be more who speak out like this, to make it simple for those with and without belief in God to comprehend. I got a nice little "ping" in my stomach from reading this one.

Hi Isobel,
Enjoyed this one.Esp.the contrast between the first and second section's.Thought the first bit could have been a bit longer though.
If Jesus were here in the flesh today,he would still be a revolutionary,wouldn't he? x

Can't wait to see you at the next Open Mic for a good nat. Liked the structure and no issues with any of the "sentiments".

im far from religious and have strong views towards "it/them" but im not getting into that i really love the way you have taken an extremely sensitive subject matter and turned the perspective suggesting jesus be more of a role model for life which i have never thought of it that way before. i also like the way you mix the old with the more contemporary with the part about children being a pain i find that more current. a pleasantly enlightening read which has made me pause for thought thankyou

Thanks Steve - I had a feeling you might like it :)x

Ray - forgot to pick up on your point about symmetry. I would agree with you - it is something I ummed and aaahed over for a nano second. Often what I want to say takes precedence over how I say it. I just couldn't lose the line. I suppose I'm less of a poet and more of a thinker or talker.

Mental note for the New Year - try to comment less on my own poetry!

xx

Love this, absolutely love it all the more for seeing it written down. Love to se a bit of Latin as well. My old school motto in Wigan was "Quod Bonum Est Tenete" (Hold that which is good).

You are of course entitled to your humble opinion :)

Fab poem...but I'm not so sure he really existed, and I am sure that, if he did, it was purely as a re-write by family/political factions at least 70 years after his death. There is no contemporaneous literature to support who, how, or what he was...it's all political posturing by his descendants....

Paul wrote it all...and he was a pillock.

Nick Clegg's descendants will be doing the same thing in a couple of hundred years.

Just my humble opinion...no offence meant.

:-)

Jx

Thank God. For a minute I thought that his was another bloody back to front Ghazal!
Nicely lean approach Isobel. Merry Christmas, Graham.

Hello Cynthia - where've you been?! You are right about the lower case - I'll change it - didn't give it much thought, apart from knowing that I wanted it to have 2 meanings. As for explaining my thinking - other people do make me think and I like to share that thought with others and I am a gobby soul who likes to tell the world just how things should be :) If Christ were to come back this century, I've no doubt he would be a woman - though I'm not labouring under any illusions - have far too many faults LOL xx

Good one, Isobel, very timely, very honest. I had no problem hoisting the 'New Testament' reference out of the Christian canon and reading it in its literal literate sense, although I would have preferred all lower case letters, so that its Christian Biblical usage was bypassed. Your Latin quote certainly cared whether Maria was a 'maid'. Latin is an insidious weapon in its mystic ethos when it comes to the Christian religion, whatever the 'catholicism' which is embraced. Pure Roman is Latin, however hard people may protest. Why did you feel the need to explain anything; perhaps to yourself?

I like its simplicity, no issue with the sentiments, only that this line:
New Testament to how a man can live

is unnecessary and disturbs the symmetry.

Love your poem, Isobel, and I find your beliefs something similar to mine - I was also born into Christianity but don't go to church much, I do believe but not every single word in the bible, especially how the world began. Anyway, good poem xx

Andy - I used to preface many comments by 'I'm not a religious person' - then I had a good think and re-examined the word religious. No - I don't go to church very often - but I do have certain beliefs and I'm not going to go round apologising for them. All these comments have got me thinking about it though. Was wondering in the shower this morning how one man who lived thousands of years ago, could still be so relevant. There are so many arguments against, it seems crazy to believe and yet.... it's the message, isn't it - or the sentiments, if that's what you like to call it.

Merry Christmas All - and Banksy :) x

the split in this piece is probably need isobel, i must admit... i am not really a religionous person truth b told but i liked the sentiment in this piece... nice one xx

Merry Christmas, then. xx

Powerful poem, Izz, which sets us all up nicely for a debate. Thanks for the link Alvin. I first read Russell's 'Why I am Not a Christian' nearly 40 years ago. It makes some good points but I wasn't convinced by it then and still am not. I'd be happy to discuss by email - can't clog up Izzy's blog.

I did like the reference to It's a Wonderful Life. What a great film. Interesting that we both like it when we differ on other things. There is a wonderful humanity in it, isn't there. Bridges not walls

Thanks for the link again Alvin - you are a very well read man. It is too big a subject to talk about in a comment. I call myself a Christian but I know that I could just as easily have been anything else that centred itself around wholesome ethics - I just happen to have been born into Christianity. That being said, I identify more with Christ as a role model, than I do God. If a God exists - I see him more as an answer and a power source, than a father type figure - if that makes sense.
I don't expect my poem to be that popular on this site - or anywhere for that matter. The wider world seems very cautious with people prepared to discuss belief and faith - it seems to make others uncomfortable. It would help if we all could see that there are no absolute truths - just beliefs and hopes.

A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time toward a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.

http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/_p2/why_not_christian.html

Apart from the above caveat I enjoyed the poem. Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings

These are lovely sentiments and so appropriate.
I like the way you've divided the poem with 'I care not' and 'I care' - it makes both perspectives powerful.

Ha - yes - I'd agree - the way someone dies can immortalise them - project them often beyond what they actually were - witness John Lennon for that. The message of Christ was a beautiful one though - not to be dwarfed by the manner in which he died.

I like this and it clearly explains 'your' religion. I don't regard myself as a true Christian as I believe we ought to concentrate on what he said in the Sermon on the Mount and not on his death, which has become all-consuming. But I'm starting to preach now...!