THE BEAUTIES OF THE INTERNET

I was sitting at my desk this morning, thinking about what I might post on my blog, and brooding that the news had me in something of a funk. "I am in the Slough of Despond," I thought. That provoked me to wonder about the source and real meaning of that familiar phrase. I knew that it came from John Bunyan's famous work, Pilgrim's Progress, of course, but since I have never actually read Pilgrim's Progress, I was not sure exactly what meaning Bunyan had ascribed to it. I tried Wikipedia, which, as always, was instantly helpful, and that in turn led me to click on the link in the article to the Wikipedia article on Pilgrim's Progress itself.

I read the entire synopsis of Parts One and Two, and was overwhelmed by its beauty. I had just been reading Freud"s The Future of an Illusion, and fuming at his utter tone-deafness to religion. The contrast was extremely powerful. As I read the synopsis of Bunyan's work, I found tears coming to my eyes.

I guess I shall have to pay my lapsed dues in the local Society of Unbelievers to maintain my credibility as the Village Atheist.