Religion does not provide a battery of stock and slick answers but a framework within which compassion and mystery can be nurtured and celebrated. Attend a funeral or a wedding in New Zealand these days and what springs to mind is the incredible variety of what is on offer. Recently I attended a pub where Jesus Christ was very much present, but of course in rollicking, unselfconscious expletive form! Would it include, for example, the Santa parade, which is the nearest we come to a traditional religious procession? At its best, after all, religion does not provide a battery of stock and slick answers but a framework within which compassion and mystery can be nurtured and celebrated.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 25, 2021 15:22 UTC