Dear Editor,

I hereby refer to a letter from Roger Williams which appeared in you newspaper on December 23. The unkind and, yes, uncharacteristic missive (missile?) just shows how a simple sentence (from Dr Mc Donald) like “I want to believe in God,” can provoke such an unusual (dare I say irrational) response.

I have learnt, some decades ago, that one does not even peripherally question a religionist’s beliefs, nor does an agnostic/atheist entertain discussions on religion with a believer.

How can one oppose, via argument, a person who believes in a personal God who takes personal interest in each and every individual (person, plant, insect, bacterium); who hears and answers prayers (sometimes to the detriment of other prayer-offerers); who is concerned with each sin and transgression; and who passes judgement – all of which are, by the way, human characteristics – observations which have prompted some to wonder if it was not man who created God and not vice versa.

How can one open the mind of the convinced self-righteous who are prepared to kill a Copernicus or a Galileo for even questioning the Bible’s ‘rightness’? How can one convince a theist that it is enough to perceive the beauty of a garden without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

Finally, since Mr Williams referred to books to support his argument, it might be worthy of any reader who also has Dr Mc Donald’s “confusion between uncertainty and faith” to peruse with an open (?) mind the following:

·   God  is not great – Christopher Hitchens

·    The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

·   Bertrand Russell’s ‘Why I am not a Christian’ – an old favourite which led me to the path of reasoning and reasonableness

·  When Religion Becomes Evil – Charles Kimbell
This latter book by the religionist Kimball recognizes the warning signs (of religious extremism and fanaticism) which are:

(1) absolute truth claims;

(2) blind obedience;

(3) establishing the “Ideal Time” for Armageddon and the Day of Judgement;

(4) the end justifies any means;

(5) declaration of a holy war supported of course by one’s own god.

Yours faithfully,
Steve Surujbally