felo de se

By Diogenes ( articles ) | May 11, 2006

More on European nihilism, and fanaticism, from George Weigel:

The alternative approach to Europe's future was graphically on display last August upon the death of Robin Cook, the former British foreign secretary (and critic of the Iraq war). The funeral service was held in the historic "High Kirk" of Edinburgh, St. Giles, and led by Bishop Richard Holloway, the erstwhile Anglican primate of Scotland, who some years ago wrote a book attempting to reconcile his readers to what he termed the "massive indifference of the universe." Holloway later described the funeral in these words: "Here was I, an agnostic Anglican, taking the service in a Presbyterian church, for a dead atheist politician. And I thought that was just marvelous."

So the question is: will post-Christian Europe succeed in turning its corpse to stone before Islam succeeds in thrusting a scimitar through its heart? The future of the Cannes Film festival hangs on the outcome.