All the Latest Synthetic Religion

I first heard Monteverdi's Vespers and Bach's Matthew Passion in Norwich Cathedral. Hearing the Vespers was one of the greatest experiences of my life. There really is no better word than 'transcendent' to describe how it felt. Come the 'Gloria Patri' the last decaying vestiges of atheism finally fell from me. I may not have become a believer, but I became open to belief. I found myself, at the very least -- though many believers doubtless (and justifiably) sigh upon hearing this phrase -- becoming a 'cultural Christian'.

This great 12th century Cathedral, where I once sat in quiet ecstasy listening to Monteverdi and Bach, has now installed in its nave a lurid helter skelter:

It is a sad image. It reminds one of that passage in Brave New World, when Henry and Lenina are walking past Westminster Abbey in 26th century Britain. It has become Westminster Abbey Cabaret, and

from the façade of the new Abbey the giant letters invitingly glared. 'LONDON'S FINEST SCENT AND COLOUR ORGAN. ALL THE LATEST SYNTHETIC MUSIC.'

The Bishop of Lynn, the Rt Revd Jonathan Meyrick, delivering his sermon from the ride, told his congregation that 'God is a tourist attraction'. I'd like to know what he means by that astonishing statement. It stinks of crowd-pleasing right-on sentiment. It is certainly true that cathedrals are now little more than tourist attractions, more important historically than culturally, let alone religiously. To install a helter skelter in one only emphasises their cultural and religious unimportance.

Even the most hardened atheists like Richard Dawkins, A.C. Grayling and the late Christopher Hitchens, being men with a sense of goodness and beauty, would surely disapprove of what Norwich Cathedral has done. One gets the impression, correct or not, that the clergy dislike their church and want to see it debased even more than Dawkins et al.

From the BBC:

The Reverend Canon Andy Bryant, from Norwich Cathedral, said he could see why people would be surprised to see the helter-skelter. 

But in addition to showcasing the roof, he said it was "part of the cathedral's mission to share the story of the Bible" and was a "creative and innovative way to do that".

'Creative' and 'innovative' are surely two of the most abused words in 21st century English. They are always used to justify cheap pleasure, sensationalism, self-indulgence, ugliness, prurience, novelty of the worst sort -- pretending that these are profound and penetrating qualities. We live in a society where merely to deviate from tradition is a virtue -- and the more one deviates the better. It does not have to have any greater purpose than to 'challenge' (whatever that means). Such 'deviance' should be considered at best conceited and pretentious.