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The God In The Machine

I've watched the BBC all day, when not following BBC coverage online, and on the radio.  The Royal Wedding was a smashing success: weather, dressmaker, kiss, and cartwheeling verger all being splendid.  People showed up (a million) and were patriotic and happy.  There has been a lot of nonsense from the media, mostly tea-leaves reading regarding the future of the Monarchy.  Apparently, the use of Aston Martins, chocolate cakes, etc., are portents of a renewed modernity in the land.  What hasn't been discussed (until 23:00 on Newsnight, briefly) is the elephant in the room - Anglicanism.  While a Catholic myself, I am a former Anglican, and was deeply impressed by the beauty, seriousness, and moral force of the Christian sacrament of marriage - for most of the key hour of today's wedding took place in a house of God, featured sermons, readings, and hymns, and featured a sacred vow.  This extraordinary showcasing of the English Faith was admirable, impressive, and reassuring - for a day, it seemed, there was a kingdom on earth as in heaven.  The absence of any reflection on this core aspect of the wedding - the wedding itself (separate from the surface of clothing and pomp) - is a failure of Britain's secular media to appreciate, and observe, and report upon, what was staring it in the face.  Forget a renewal of the Monarchy.  Today's marriage renewed, in front of billions around the world, the significance of religion in the UK.
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Anonymous said…
Yes indeed. The passage from Romans 12 was apt & the bride's brother spoke it well.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind ...
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good."

- Nancy
Sat Apr 30, 09:12:00 am 2011
Poetry Pleases! said…
Dear Todd

Yes, I was very impressed by both Rowan Williams and Richard Chartres. As a jaded Anglican myself, it made me appreciate that the Church of England isn't quite dead yet.

Best wishes from Simon
Sat Apr 30, 09:22:00 am 2011
Norbert Hirschhorn said…
I was struck in particular by several moments: First, the exquisite grace shown by Kate Middleton in all her very public moments and movements. Second, the mixed boys and men's choir -- the boys, from varied ethnic backgrounds, surely models for a Michelangelo. Finally, because I was a little boy in London when the future Queen Elizabeth made her wartime broadcast to the children of Great Britain (you can hear it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/history/ww2clips/speeches/princess_elizabeth), hearing "God save our gracious Queen" brought me to tears.
Sat Apr 30, 10:19:00 am 2011
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