[Pierre]

A life without a spiritual sense of purpose, or the moral parameters set by the Ten Commandments -- is a living hell.

I'm not a religious person, however, if you are going to live by a set of rules - then some of these 10 are a pretty good start, the non-religious ones,.eg

Honor your father and your mother

you shall not kill

Neither shall you commit adultery

Neither shall you steal

Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbour

Neither shall you covet your neighbour's wife

Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house

All very good and you don't need a supreme being to tell you that either

Troubled and immature young persons, given a nihilistic message that there is no meaning to life -- that we are just reasonably clever animals who evolved from a set of molluscs, quite by chance -- are easily driven down the road to despair.

That is so wrong I can't believe it. She is saying that without religion there is no meaning to life????

The meaning of life comes from within, to be good, kind and generous. Love someone, if possible, have a family. Enjoy yourself and others.

It's all about what you do when you're here because, I believe, that's it. What's the point in worrying about what may or may not happen when you expire, I suppose that's why you need a certain kind of faith. I don't have that kind of faith, I don't need it.

Britain has been hugely shaken, over the last month, by the public tragedy of 'Baby P', and the tormented infant's young life has been taken as an all-too-accurate indictment of an aspect of British life today.

That is a life without moral parameters; in which fathers walk away from their children because the state provides all welfare; in which relationships are casual, and a variety boyfriends and serial stepfathers move in; in which mothers spend the day smoking dope, drinking vodka and cruising for sex on the internet, while their children die with broken backs -- among filth and excrement, dead mice and pet snakes.

Non of which has anything to with religion. Shall we go back to the good old, so called moral days?

Girls sent away/locked away because they are pregnant? back street abortions? kids taken away from their mothers.

Don't get me wrong I agree with all the problems she has identified and society is heading off the rails like a runaway train but religion isn't the cure all.

The "no responsibility" generation are to blame, along with the nanny state. If you can't afford to have kids you shouldn't have them, you certainly shouldn't get "paid" by the state to look after, say, more than two.

The benefit culture is what needs to be addressed, leave religion out of it.