I don't write much about religion.

It's a personal thing and provided you don't try to convert me, I will respect your beliefs.

There has been a bit of a flurry here over the last week on the subject of religion.  On Sunday, Stephen Fry rattled Gay Byrne to the core by describing God as capricious, stupid and mean minded.  Then a couple of days later Herself told me she had been listening to Joe Duffy.

Now personally I cannot stand Joe Duffy, and I never listen to him.  I don't know why [face to face he’s a very nice bloke] but I just hate his programme.  Apparently he had been discussing Maria Devine Mercy.

Who the fuck is Maria Devine Mercy?  You may well ask.  She is apparently the seventh and last great prophet sent by God to foretell the End of Times.  Powerful stuff, huh?  Leastwise she has seemingly garnered herself quite a following [into the hundreds of thousands] who all wait with baited breath for each message.

I did a little research on line.  It transpires that this great "prophet" from God is none other than a Dublin housewife with four grown children and who very conveniently runs her own Public Relations firm.  She has a rather full website whereby she imparts her regular phone calls direct from God [or Jesus] himself.  It make for some great reading if you happen to have a day or two to spare.

Her website is however buried under a clatter of other sites all denouncing her, which is fair enough.

Unfortunately our Mary McGovern/Carberry Maria Devine Mercy makes the mistake of not leaving herself an escape route.  If you are going to predict something cataclysmic you had better be damn sure it will happen or you are fucked.

Back in February 2011 she predicted the Second Coming.  By March "the hours are ticking".  By April we are told that the Event will be this year.   By May the message is that there are only a few months left.  In July there was a bit of a backtrack and a "few months" might in fact be a year.  Finally we are told in October that The Time has come.  Obviously that didn't happen because in November we are told to be patient because the time is almost upon us.  This imminence carries on well into 2012 but nothing has happened yet so far as I know.

We will all know when the time comes because two comets are going to collide and the skies will fill with fire.  That should be fairly spectacular all right.  I wonder if NASA have spotted the two comets yet?  We will all see our sins laid out before us and some who will be so ashamed will die an instant death and go straight to Hell.  At least that will sort out our politicians and bankers then?

Maybe I'm wrong and it has happened already?  Maybe I just missed it?  Was I having a dump at the time, or in the pub?  Or maybe I'm one of The Chosen and as a pure of soul spirit I was spared all the fireworks?

The messages are still coming.  The Great Event keeps being deferred [a bit like our Lottery?] so presumably at some stage in the next few billion years she will be right?

Now I have the greatest respect for our Mary/Maria.  She has pulled off a nice little con-job and her PR firm is obviously excellent.  If there are people out there gullible enough to fall for the scam and buy those books and videos then that's their problem.  A fool and his money are easily parted.

But I can't help but wonder what Supershadow would make of all this?