Oh dear. I have been considerably neglecting my blogger responsibilities of late. Too much holiday... and the small matter of lots of new staff starting at church and a church plant too!
Anyway I have had some holiday... and read some fascinating books that I thought I recommend, each one only briefly... so here goes...
Ben Elton's Blind Faith, is a dystopian cross between Brave New World and 1984. The principal character, Ttrafford, is out of love with the world he lives in and is seeking a quiet rebellion... So as you'll have realised the plot isn't really any different from Huxley or Orwell's efforts.
What's fresh though is the take on what the future mught look like. This is a world where the one thing not permitted is privacy. Not because some big brother government is watching you - but because all your neighbours just expect to see your whole life, from losing your virginity to giving birth, on your blog. It's a society ruled by sentimentalism with a religious veneer - the Lord and the Love and the baby Jesus and Princess Diana are its gods - but with an authoritarian streak too.
It's a disturbing read - not least because so much of Elton's parody actually quite accurately describes a lot of vapid 21st century evangelicalism with its twee slogans, upbeat rallys and sound bite songs.
Next...
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