[Applause]
good morning I by contrast and getting
on a little bit problems hips knees
remember it why they allowed me this
little rock yeah which is not common
instead talks like yeah so what I want
to talk about today I'm a fear because I
think we have a problem with fear in the
West I'm now I put some caveats in there
I'm not talking about biblical or and
one day you know when you stand beside
Victoria Falls and that majestic
tumbling sound excites you that's
wonderful I love that more of that
that's that's not what I'm worried about
I'm not talking about Halloween and Van
Helsing and Count Dracula that's favor
and fantasy and fun and I'm not talking
about justified fear you know real fear
of fear of real danger what I'm talking
about is the irrational fear that takes
a hold of us and leads to feelings of
insecurity and mistrust of others which
in turn leads us to behave in inhuman
wings now we've got those in traditional
examples and classic examples the fear
of color the fear of alternative
sexuality the fear of women that arrived
to me witch hunts in the Middle Ages the
fear of a Zionist conspiracy of bankers
that gave rise to the Holocaust we've
made big progress in a lot of those
areas I heard on the news this morning
that the last whites-only beach in South
Africa it's going to be opened up in
Revolt path so we've made a big promise
big promise and
but the trouble is I think the sponsors
we make progress in one area we seem to
fall down in the southern more fears
premium let's look at the ascent of the
Boris Trump brexit thing I'm sure that's
all symbolic about fears of losing
control losing control of our borders
our sovereignty immigration our economy
let's look at the fear of gang warfare
and drug warfare in these states that
gives rise to the proliferation of of
arms and school shootings of drive-by
but the fear of litigation with the
fear of free speech the safe space no
not for me
lobbyists what about super injunctions
what about performance anxiety
you may think if you young people will
be thinking of your exams when I
mentioned that that my age I'm thinking
more of middle-aged gentleman as
satisfied but why didn't we in the
northwest of the world
the richest most powerful area of the
world
why are we so prone of prey to fear I
mean we don't with overkill most
infectious diseases we don't die of
starvation famine anymore or childbirth
and yet somehow or other we come become
prey to the fears I think this we
haven't gotten it grilled
we frightened off we invent something
that's why I've suggested we're a bit
addicted to the idea we feel lost if we
don't have something to be proud so
where's all this fear come from a couple
of theological
oh I should have some happens you know
wait
welcome to some no thank you
couple of theological suggestion listen
now I really know that - this is James V
diagram to describe the human person
okay we're a mixture of good and evil we
got that Karl you only talked about the
shadow and the ego and we're a mixture
of both it all depends where you think
the balance is if you think we're more
evil than good your bent electric fears
run away with you a little bit more
traditionally in the plastics fell very
heavily on the side of good we like to
think of human beings as grace made in
the image of God we tended to deny the
shadow of a look at the border yet all
good Catholics and look at when you deny
the shadow recently in the Catholic
Church with denial of the Chateau it's
dangerous thing to do
Horus inspires are by contrast loops
that was growing he thought that the
humanities the peace he saw him around
every corner look at the Protestant the
way they cover up that women a lot of
the Puritans you know processes there
are a lot of the Protestant churches
view of the demon drink of course that
wasn't sued Irish Treasury had a
graduate all right attitude
so you sort of depends
but once it depends on your
interpretation of creation really
Catholic Christian fundamentalists tend
to think that creation was historical
event literal historic event and that
God created a perfect world and then
humans messed up on a history of
Minnesota decline innocence and they
want to get back to original perfection
they were to turn the clock back the way
men were in charge and women ruled
virgins you know that is sort of clear
I'm you'll see human history in a very
negative way then human development in
your fear of modernism and fear of
liberal values if you have that idea I
had a I gave a talk once on Christian
feminism there is such a thing actually
I gave a talk on it to a group and there
was a lady in there who was a Christian
fundamentalist she was a lawyer and she
wanted to give some money to her church
because she thought the pastor was doing
some wonderful charitable work and she
asked him if she could donate some money
and he said he gave her a piece of paper
and he said to go home and get your
husband signed permission for you to
give the money
what's that if you think on the other
hand the creation like I do it we've got
a more sort of Darwinian approach that
creation began as an embryo a seed with
enormous potential they're not going to
see human development much more as an
asset an asset growth as I say not a
straight line of course I mean Hitler's
interpretation of National Socialism I
could say was a dip in our evolution you
know I think we do that a bit but
overall I'm quite sure that we are on
the earth that's my dream and that's
let's finish and this one I like this is
much more fun have you ever seen the
underground I like this one
let me define it for you it's an ancient
Sufi counselling - it was discovered at
the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls and it
identifies nine personality types each
with their own passion or drive but it
says if you over identified with that
passion or drive to the exclusion amount
of all others that leaves you with nine
potential deadly sin the interesting in
the West we have seven deadly sins
and if you saw beautiful things Dudley
Moore long time ago they're filmed on
the deadly sins must read we have seven
it's interesting the East Nine and the
two that we don't recognize
I'm not very good at this
the two we don't recognize the true we
don't recognize of fear and deceit
what an interesting fear and deceit
things we just recognize haven't going
home
I think you ought to do so trouble with
old age and honestly let you down
deceit do we not have a problem in the
West with deceit no I did not have
Boris's bus fake news we have a huge
problem with deceit in our culture
misogynist truth you know tax avoidance
how about that one the very wealthy
bogus insurance dreams we have a big
problem you see that fear and I think we
have a problem with fear
with a number of crime programs on
television thousands of them the line of
duty is my favorite if you enjoyed that
one but you'd be quite justified in
thinking that there was a bent copper
and rapist on every street corner
we look at the number of crime series on
television look how its wave us down
with mounds and mounds of paperwork
hours and hours of time it's taken
promise that we should especially health
in education time that we should be
giving to our children and to our
patients insurance daytime TV absolutely
drowned so what do we do about what but
another one what about cosmetic surgery
plastic surgery favorite involved in it
fair that my boobs are just long
so what do we do with this problem well
III think that we need to name fears
attention what do we do about it
where's with any addiction there you can
start then you can start to deal with it
if you don't recognize that it has a
potential for evil then we worry I think
one of the things it does for us is it
causes us to lose confidence in our
ability to deal with problems and to do
with well problems our own problems it's
fear mix leads to despair it's like we
want no more
another thing damages our relationships
with us if we lose compassion and we
lose empathy how an ask that we this
whole day is about making connections
how can we make connections with people
in this country they used fear not in
the past to love control these in the
army in the church and education I can't
say I'm trained as a nurse in the
nineteen sixties I cannot tell you how
terrified we were at the thought of the
Nightsisters around if you've got the
snagging of that stuff
I think the other thing we need to do is
we need to differentiate through the
fear and concern of course we concerned
we must be concerned about abuse and
accountability and crime and global
warming in drugs and plastics in our
ocean and deforestation we must have be
concerned concern will mobilize us for
challenges it will challenge us to
mobilize our resources our creativity
our imagination to help us work together
with hope not with fear with work
together
we're gonna get rid of the rational fear
I'm terrified of spiders in the bar
my mother had abducted mother but fear
really was her favorite phrase was what
terrifies me
and she and my mum she was a lovely
month lived in nights which I don't know
if any of you know London it's not there
but it's part of their London with
terrorism yes
it's not known for ruff ruff ruff oh
really
and but I used to go and visit her and
she'd say she said you're not going home
on the Underground like I'd say well yes
you're not being known at this time of
night on the Underground I say mummy at
six o'clock it's commuter travel dream
I'm really not sure what statistics are
for mugging old ladies in Knightsbridge
all the way home from work I don't think
they're very high but you know this is
what I'm talking about this irrational
unreasonable disproportionately its
various I think this limiting us alone
in all sorts of ways anyway I think then
someone's going to start showing me a
thing force it to save the time I'm in
finished because they they don't have a
fear they have a mind it was Sir that I
might go aren't you
I just like to point out that I don't
have a fear but I do have a minor
concern about my Domitian better control
so thank you very much
you
[Applause]