Jackie Danicki

I’m feeling much better than I did yesterday, when I had to go straight to bed upon arriving home. I couldn’t move, but I felt too wretched to sleep, so ended up doing a lot of online reading on my BlackBerry (which I’d very much missed while I was away).

I read as much as I could about Alistair Campbell’s diaries; as much as I want politics to go away, I can’t resist reading about what utter babies politicians act like when the cameras aren’t there. (The punch-up between Peter Mandelson, Campbell, and Tony Blair would have been hilarious to witness.) The fact that Campbell has decided to save the most damning diary entries until after the next election fills me with a sense of shameful anticipation.

One thing did jump out at me while reading about Tony Blair’s religious leanings:

After the 1996 Dunblane massacre of 16 children and a teacher, atheist Mr Campbell asked Mr Blair how he could still believe after seeing the blood of children on the floor. Mr Blair said: “Just because the killer is bad does not mean that God is not good.”

I can never quite work out why atheists use this line, as if any God that existed would surely not grant free will to human beings. It seems to me that there are more solid arguments to be made against the existence of God. That someone who attained a position as lofty as Campbell’s cannot come up with any is somewhat surprising.

Filed under: Life