A letter to David Robertson (author of The Dawkins Letters)

First of all, I have to say that David Robertson is a lovely person and the most reasonable Christian I have ever met. The sarcasm/humour used in this email is in the spirit of the conversations I have had with him, it is not at all meant in an aggressive way. This email is here for reference, please feel free to comment.

Dear David,

I hope you are well and managed to get back to Scotland safely after your visit to Brighton a few weeks back. I wondered if you have had the chance to read the copy of Steve Taylor's The Fall yet? I'd be very interested in your thoughts on his comments about the early gatherer-hunters and the amicable ways of life pre-religion.

I have been reading the copy of Ravi Zacharias' The End of Reason that you gave me and I've found it very interesting. I'm afraid I'm still some way from being converted, but I have at least realised what frauds Dawkins and Harris are recently.

It's been a very interesting experience listening to you and reading the discussion from the "other side". I think some of my atheist friends are worried about me because I have a new-found sympathy for Christianity. I've made an effort to start reading the Bible and though I am a very slow reader (I'm currently at Genesis 28, and I started reading a month or so ago, but hey, at least it means I'm doing something useful while sat on the toilet), I'm starting to see how convincing it is. My problem thus far is that it's still all very convenient, and there's so little justification for so many of God's actions that I can't take it's moral structure seriously. Maybe that will change as I read through.

I'm also starting to believe that there's a significant middle ground here. I think previously I wanted to be an evangelist for atheism, but I think that was the effect Dawkins and Harris had on me. Though I still agree with a lot of what they have to say (i.e. I still don't believe that religion should be enforced on children), I'm more happy now to live and let live. Indeed, if atheism is to be successful in spreading then I think that is how it has to be. You said to me that only God can convert me to Christianity - no one else can do it. Well, I now think that only an individidual can convert oneself to atheism - through knowledge and understanding - because in my opinion, in atheism "God" is oneself. I think Zacharias makes a great point when he says

After years in the academy I have learned a trade secret: If you know enough about a subject, you can confuse anybody by selective use of the facts.

I believe this is the essence of the problem in the Christianity/atheism discussion. The reason that I did not dismiss you (or Zacharias) as I would many other religious writers is because of your forthright honesty. Dawkins and Harris have proved themselves (in my eyes) to be deceiptful and manipulative. This makes me dislike them as much as the street preacher with the megaphone and lecture of how we're all going to hell.

Your comment about your realisation that you are a bad person has also been resonating in my head lately. This is of course true for all people, religious or not, but something has been nagging away at me about that theory, I'm not sure what it is.

I'm not actually sure what I'm getting at here. I didn't intend to write this much but I'd be interested in your comments nonetheless. I've also been writing a blog: Love, Life and Reason which is more of a sketchpad for my thoughts. I may well post this email there for my own reference. I think this is what day sat on your own in your bedroom does to you...

Anyway, best wishes to you and your family. I do hope all is well.

Guy

Genesis 11

Look, let it not be said that I don't make an effort. I'm trying to get to know the Bible a bit better, but can someone explain this for me please?

1 And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

2 And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.

3 And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar:

4 And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.

6 And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.

7 Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.

9 And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

Why? It's quite possible that I've missed something here, but why would God stop people from communicating? Why would he not want everyone to get along and be able to speak the same language and develop the skills and knowledge that they had, especially if he wanted them to spread the word etc.

From what I've read so far, the Bible appears to be like a really bad soap opera...

Faith/Loyalty/Common Sense

This past week I had the pleasure (and I really do mean that) of meeting David Robertson, author of The Dawkins Letters. I have a lot to say on that, but I'm going to give that a miss for now as I'm in desperate need of some sleep. However, I have this to say:

The more I read, the more I hear, the more I see - the more I am convinced that following a religion, and indeed NOT following a religion, is like following a football team.

• You either follow the one your dad supports through family loyalty, or you rebel and choose another team just to wind him up
• You stick with the team no matter how good or bad they are
• Even when you don't like what's happening at your club, you stick by them because they are YOUR team
• On very rare occasions, when something happens to really test the patience, some people defect to another team
• Ultimately, that's your team and you will defend them with passion

From everything I've read, THIS is where everyone is going wrong when writing about religion and atheism. So much passion and so much good meaning, yet so little substance. I will no doubt fall foul of the same accusations as I write.

Dawkins is wrong. Robertson is wrong. Zacharias is wrong and Harris is wrong. And God knows that the bible is wrong (see what I did there?)

The tone is wrong, the argument is presented badly and we end up going around in one big circle. What is obvious is that at present there is no tangible answer, and there will probably never be one in your or my lifetime. But as human knowledge grows we are more likely to find the answers that we seek.

THAT is why I am an atheist.

And actually, not a lot else matters.