I'm not a regular churchgoer - but I attended this morning's service at St Mary's in Welshpool. It was both a sad and special day. The service, included the 'laying-up' of the Standard of the Montgomery Branch of the Royal Army Service Corps Association to the Vicar of Welshpool. In other words, after many year's as an independent association, the local branch is merging with the Shrewsbury Branch. At least there's no sillyness about working across Offa's Dyke here. As I become older, those serving in the Armed Forces seem to me to be so young. I think more about the sacrifice that young people have made to protect the freedom that my family enjoys today.
This is what the President actually said during the Laying-up Ceremony;
"I commit this sacred Standard of the Montgomery Branch of the Royal Army Service Corps Association to you as Vicar of Welshpool for safe-keeping in this church for evermore."
During his powerful sermon, the Vicar talked about the meaning of religion. He listed some of the reasons that are given by those who are opposed to the very idea of religion, one being the number of people that have been killed throughout history in it's name. He named Hitler and Stalin. What occurred to me was that Mao had got away with it again. I do not know the accurate figures, and maybe someone will inform us in comments - but the ball park figures in my mind are 1) Mao at 50 million murdered, 2)Stalin at 20 million, and 3) Hitler at 6 million. In my book, that makes Mao Tse Tung (or Zedong if you prefer) the most evil person who ever lived.
2 comments:
Unpalatable as it may be, Mao 'gets away with it' on two counts in this modern Liberal world.
1, He was a 'Left Winger'.
2, He was non white.
As I say, unpalatable (especially number 2) - but true.
Half Blood - Thanks for informative comment. Real evil is very difficult to understand.
JPT - I think its because we've seen comparatively litle of Mao's evil on our screens - and it wasn't aimed at us.
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