Iona, I don't resort to insults because I don't have an argument. I insult you because pity is more insulting than taking the piss.

All of what you say relies on the bible as being more than a set of translations of translations of stories. (A bit like Gunther unt Heidi, as translated from Topsy & Tim.)

As the bible is no more than an interesting portal into a superstitious past, your arguments wither away with the credibility of it. It being a man made convenient set of population control measures. Jam tomorrow and all that.

I prefer jam today. And clotted cream. And beer. And pork. And prior to getting married, sex with girlfriends.

Oh, and getting married in a hotel is much much better than a church. They aren't drafty and they have a bar. You see, I have no problem with your Sunday club, as I have no problem with the buffs, the masons or the local flower arranging group. Live & let live. Just don't assume we all want to grunt at each other / use secret hand shakes / put petunias alongside darker carnations.

The Bishop dude in York said the other day that government shouldn't contradict the bible. Sorry mate, but your and your club get more irrelevant each day and loose cannons like him just make disestablishment nearer and nearer. And that would be a shame, because if your wonderful old buildings had to rely on what practicing Christians can raise, (less than 1% of the UK population) it would have to be St Pauls Offices to rent, Westminster Abbey branch of Starbucks. And I for one like the tradition if not the dangerous claptrap lurking behind it.