What an extraordinary historical accident that the London Stock Exchange should have taken space in the new Paternoster Square office block seven years ago. Thus it was that, when the Occupy movement tried to invade what it thought was the hub of capitalism two weekends ago, it found itself on the steps of the best-known church in Britain. It being a Saturday, the hub of capitalism was closed and, Paternoster Square being private property, the police prevented the protesters from putting up their tents there.
Unintentionally, therefore, a protest against the greed of the City of London also became a separate, if related, and more engaging, debate about our national morality and the role of our established church. Although the American style of evangelical teaching – "What would Jesus do?" – puts many Anglicans' teeth on edge, the echoes of the New Testament are so strong that many Christians find themselves drawn to the tent people. Indeed, in engaging the sympathies of many non-church people, too, the biblical parallel is more effective than the message of the "99 per cent" against the establishment. Had the protesters camped out by the dealers' desks in the stock exchange itself, they would have attracted much less interest and support. The dispute would have been between some people in an office and a bunch of squatters. Instead, it has become a parable. MORE
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