New Years Message 2012

According to legend, 2012 is the year the planet fights back and we humans are in for a real bad time, thank goodness we had John Cusack to show us what to do when it all kicks off.

Until the earthquakes start what are you going to be doing with your final days?

I'm going to be reading the Bible.

I know this seems a strange thing for a Humanist to be doing but I decided that it was time I really tried to understand the power of these ancient myths, so I have downloaded all 96 hours of the talking Bible to pass the time away as I drive to and from my Humanist duties.

I won't be reading the Quran as I understand that any translation away from the original Arabic text is fraught with danger and many mistranslations have occurred over the years...and to be honest I don't want  to be in the same club as Salman Rushdie. I will also give the other religions a wide berth because as Mr Cameron did say, we are a Christian country.

So I'll stick with the good old English Bible because, as some apocryphal American politician once said, "if English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me".


I shall of course report back at regular intervals on my journey through this vast tome and I will try to be honest with what I find - but don't worry I will also be sarcastic because I know you expect that of me and I don't like to disappoint.


So what else does 2012 bring? The answer for most of us is we don't know. 366 days (it's a leap year) that are stretched before us like a clean canvas on which we can paint our future.

Go on, be the artist you always wanted to be and paint yourself a brilliant year.

Take the opportunities that come your way to make this year and each day in it something that you can be proud of.

I have been slowly working my way through a bucket list and I shall continue to tick off things I want to experience before death decides it's time to swing by again and finish of the job he started a few years ago. I hope he's kept busy elsewhere and if he wants any suggestions for places to visit I'm sure we can come up with a few.

Whether you are motivated by faith or not, I wish all of my readers the year they hope for and work for.

Now, where is that Bible...

'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth'...or did he?