Magellan's Log: Iris Murdoch: Fidelistos

Most of Murdoch’s clerics, if they speak, endearingly admit to having no belief in God. Over the course of 26 books, as a class they on the whole probably get off a little easier than do certain other groups ("men", for one; or "women"). Though they may have misplaced "God", Murdoch seems to have a soft spot for them because she’s willing to acknowledge their on-going quest, even if quite foggy, for something on the order of the "Good". Father Bernard, for example, in The Philosopher’s Pupil, in the privacy of his rooms is given to contemplation of a small statue of the Buddha while listening to Scott Joplin, a practice which he refers to as "meditation" and which in fact leads his life to one of the more remarkable outcomes in Murdochville.