Society is losing the plot, says Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23825465

Society is losing the plot, says Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

Society is "losing the plot" as it becomes more secular and less trusting, the UK's outgoing Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks has said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme, Lord Jonathan Sacks said the growth of individualism over the past 50 years was responsible for a pervasive breakdown in trust.

"When trust breaks down, you see institutions break down," he continued.

He will be succeeded by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, an ex-chief rabbi of Ireland.

Lord Sacks, 65, who is to step down next month after 22 years in office, highlighted the 2008 financial crisis and the declining marriage rate.

He said: "I think we're losing the plot actually. I think we haven't really noticed what's happened in Britain."

He added: "If people work for the maximum possible benefit for themselves then we will not have trust in industry, in economics, in financial institutions, we will not see marriages last."

He also said institutions, including marriage, broke down "when you begin to lose faith and society becomes very, very secularised".

(....not sure society can handle the truth myself either lately, too many idiots about.)

[Hermit]

To summarise the Rabbi: society is less religious now, and the lack of religiosity leads to a breakdown in morality.

Holy Crap!

Can someone move this thread to the Atheism & Religion section, please?

[pErvinalia]

equating trust and faith is typically predictable, but still wrong. Why do heads of religious organisations think they are qualified to make rational arguments?

[klr]

To summarise the Rabbi: society is less religious now, and the lack of religiosity leads to a breakdown in morality.

Holy Crap!

Can someone move this thread to the Atheism & Religion section, please?

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought ... or in this case, to the deed.

[cronus]

To summarise the Rabbi: society is less religious now, and the lack of religiosity leads to a breakdown in morality.

Holy Crap!

Can someone move this thread to the Atheism & Religion section, please?

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought ... or in this case, to the deed.

I still believe he was a cultural rather than religious man.

[Svartalf]

equating trust and faith is typically predictable, but still wrong. Why do heads of religious organisations think they are qualified to make rational arguments?

It was an attempt at rational argument? to me that was ex cathedra espounding with some argumentation slipped in for rhetorical reasons.

[Animavore]

Society is actually gaining the plot.

I can see how it might look the opposite way to some.

[mistermack]

I haven't read through all that he said. But it seems to be bollocks.
What does he mean by a breakdown of trust? Are people supposed to go on trusting, when it's obvious that they have been lied to and conned?
Or is he saying that it's a breakdown in trustWORTHINESS, which is a different thing.
In that case, he's just stating the old mantra, things ain't what they used to be.

He would like people to trust what HE says, of course. Because it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Trust what I say, because it's bollocks, and I can't back it up.

[DaveDodo007]

Couldn't agree more, hell in a hand cart, in the good old days we could murder our sons on mountains and give


our pure daughters to a rapy mobs. Look at what you have wrought with your science and reason.

[cronus]

Couldn't agree more, hell in a hand cart, in the good old days we could murder our sons on mountains and give


our pure daughters to a rapy mobs. Look at what you have wrought with your science and reason.

Yeah. Like causing the sixth mass extinction and bolloxing up the atmosphere big time is a vast improvement on the old days? Same old, same old.

[Audley Strange]

Its basically correct. Society is losing the plot of the Jehovah narrative and replacing it with an even more capricious imbecilic god.

[Thinking Aloud]

Couldn't agree more, hell in a hand cart, in the good old days we could murder our sons on mountains and give


our pure daughters to a rapy mobs. Look at what you have wrought with your science and reason.

Yeah. Like causing the sixth mass extinction and bolloxing up the atmosphere big time is a vast improvement on the old days? Same old, same old.

Remind me what the correlation is between climate-change deniers and people who think that Jesus is going to return soon.

[cronus]

Couldn't agree more, hell in a hand cart, in the good old days we could murder our sons on mountains and give


our pure daughters to a rapy mobs. Look at what you have wrought with your science and reason.

Yeah. Like causing the sixth mass extinction and bolloxing up the atmosphere big time is a vast improvement on the old days? Same old, same old.

Remind me what the correlation is between climate-change deniers and people who think that Jesus is going to return soon.

Deniers are neither here nor there. A US theocracy and collapse of the consumer would limit the acute risk of the Amazon burning down...and that is the real issue now.

[mistermack]

It's been shit before.
There have been times when virtually the whole globe was covered in ice.
And times when Volcanoes caused enormous climate change.

And there was the flood, of course.

Today is ok, it could be a lot worse.

[cronus]

It's been shit before.
There have been times when virtually the whole globe was covered in ice.
And times when Volcanoes caused enormous climate change.

And there was the flood, of course.

Today is ok, it could be a lot worse.

In the long term things will right themselves not sure humans can survive another population bottleneck - the fragile ape is ill-equipped for natural survival having lost it's stone chipping culture and the megabeasts to bring down....