Lets Brush-up our understanding of Religious Piety

We have just done three monasteries by walking ten kilometres and climbing 500 metres. Piety was never my 'long suit'... but after this morning's effort, I'll never be better placed. So here are some words of caution.

Firstly, a few of you place too much reliance on rationality and the scientific method. Please note:

"Rationality is an excessive confidence in our powers of reason, it s elevation to the supreme and absolute value. In essence, it is a form of disbelief, lack of faith. It is not a simple sin, but a sinful state of mind, a sinful view of life. Rationalism is the most typical and the most evil manifestation of pride, concealed beneath all our other sins, latent in all our actions, poisoning all our good deeds, leading to an absolute belief in the supremacy of the self and finally to the inability to repent - thereby closing the door of divine mercy. "

Now don't say you haven't been told. These thoughts have been ruminating for some time... but today, in the Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron (the transfiguration of our saviour) we saw a card in the chapel saying these exact thoughts! When rationality and science do not back up your assertions it's always handy to label rationality a sin... and the most evil manifestation of pride.

Rationality may say that building monasteries accessible only by rope ladders may not be a good idea. But, now that we know rationality is the most evil manifestation of pride... its OK... let's go ahead and build it anyhow.

The walk from our hotel up to the monasteries was labelled (indelicately) by Lonely Planet as' bum numbing'. Indelicate it may be... but also accurate. The height was not the main issue. The path was first made in the 12th century... and little maintenance has been made subsequently. The loose gravel meant that each step up was sacrificed by half a step slip back down the slope. Still, for us pious types, the hardship only made the spiritual rewards greater. If the rationality of such an equation escapes you... get a hold of yourself.. you may be suffering the most evil manifestation of pride.

This area is the top tourist destination in Greece. Meteoro gets this title against competition from Delphi, Olympia and the islands. Not bad going!