June 07, 2006

“If you talk to God you’re religious. If God talks to you, you’re psychotic”

Put Bono and Messiah together in the same sentence and most would naturally picture a self-important leather-clad Irish rock god with a hotline to the Pope and an exclusive following of smug squeaky-bottomed Notting Hill-dwelling media types as disciples. This time, you’d be wrong, because his infinitely more talented namesake, Edward de Bono, father of lateral thinking and corporate guru, now adds Messiah to his CV.
I was astounded to hear him on the BBC promoting, of all things, his new religion, "H+". In a tone that somehow combined quiet conviction with amused embarrassment, he explained that he has developed a new faith which, he believed, was the first one that had a place for humour.
De Bono’s creation doesn’t sound like a religion – it’s more a set of codes that you could, I suppose, treat as a supplement to your own religion, if you have one. There’s no sin, just “poms”, which may sound odd to Anglophobe Australians. These are four small positive achievements that followers should aim for every day. The best bit is that if you fail to perform, then you pay a fine. To Mr. de Bono.
Quotation by Gregory House (Hugh Laurie)

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