Faithlift

The Quernmore Methodist Church on a particularly dreary day. I have to say, of all the people in history who've thought that God was telling them to do stuff (a subject on which I've passed a few harsh words in the past), John Wesley was probably one of the more likeable. Far from telling him to go all explodey on public transport, or lock himself away in a compound with hundreds of recruits and a lifetime's supply of poison, God apparently asked Wesley to reform the prison system, abolish slavery, create charities, open schools and orphanages, and fund libraries and artistic pursuits. See, that's the kind of divine fuckery in mortal affairs that we could really do with more of.

Okay, so Wesley also thought that alcohol was evil. But everyone's allowed to make one mistake in their life. Plus, he came out with a couple of quotes that I can't help but like:

"Liberty is the right of every human creature, as soon as he breathes the vital air; no human law can deprive him of that right which he derives from the law of nature."

And the slightly more succinct:

"Lord, let me not live to be useless."

It's my heartfelt opinion that if George W. Bush had adopted either of these two wonderful maxims at an early age, the last decade would have been so much nicer. But then, that's why Wesley has buildings and statues erected in his honour, whereas George will be lucky if he gets a public toilet.