[orgaelin]

An Indian Guru once complained, "Every time a prostitute comes to me, she's talking about nothing but God. She says 'I'm sick of this life that I'm living. I want God.' But every time a priest comes to me he's talking about nothing but sex."

Is the Christian church just a tired old whore waiting to die?

I watched a program the other day about sexual corruption within the Roman Catholic church. It wasn't just about the paedophilic activities of priests, but about the widespread sexual dysfunctionality caused by the church's denial of that so natural of Human impulses.

The program also showed how the number of new priests signing up is declining rapidly. Is the church on its last legs? It was once the largest and greatest empire (or should I say, it once Borg-esquely assimilated the largest empire) and was untouchable as the supreme source of evil on earth. I have a book which goes through the list of popes and lists every sin they committed. You feel more like you're reading a collection of the sins of people on death-row!

I think what we are witnessing is a world which recognises that it's biggest church, the most bold acclaimant to the authority of God, is and has been the source of the greatest wrong-doings of Humanity. As the sins of the church become better and better known, decent people are becoming ever more wary of the church.

There will always be the fundamentalists (God help them!), but as the major religious movement on earth, I suspect the Roman Catholic faith will be just a bad memory within 50-100 years.