From Michael de Petrovsky.
Although I agree with much of what William Emslie wrote in his recent letter, I must correct him on one or two points.
He apparently misjudges my appreciation of Bible stories in that I, too, can find them both interesting and amusing.

At the same time I would emphasise the necessity of taking them with a pinch of salt – rather a large one in the matter of Lot’s wife. The difference between telling young children lies about religion and those such as pertains to the tooth fairy, magicians, witches, Santa Claus and so forth is that parents and society generally erase belief in all but the biblical ones well before puberty. It is, however, debatable whether we should tell any lies to children, but that is not a subject for this letter.

Quoting scientists such as Newton, Einstein and Hawkins can hardly be a basis for belief in a man-manufactured God or Creationism. Newton died 132 years before Charles Darwin’s On The Origin Of The Species. Though his scientific genius was years ahead of his time, he was still living in a world largely ignorant of evolution, outer space, human biology (especially the workings of the brain and DNA) and the other countless advances in science that undermine the greater part of biblical writings.

Einstein was an atheist, though frequently misquoted as a ‘believer’, as he explains here in his own words: ‘It was a lie about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly.’

As far as Steven Hawking is concerned, after reading his A Brief History Of Time the general consensus seems to be that he is more of an agnostic than a believer in any conventional deity. Nor do I consider the replies of Ray Speck and Peter Buesnel to prove anything other than that those who follow their Christian faith to the letter are, in general, moral and decent human beings.

True, there are many Christian men and women who have contributed a great deal to improving the lot of mankind. One could also say the same applies to a great number of men and women who follow other religions or none at all.
Conversely, there have been a great number who have caused untold misery to vast numbers of their fellow human beings. Even today there are those who, through warped religious beliefs, seek to obstruct the advance of medical science, help accelerate the spread of venereal disease and Aids and exploit any gullibility among their converts.

Here in Jersey, where the main religion appears to be the pursuit of wealth, there is little evidence of the practical application of Christian ethics. What is given in charitable terms hardly reflects a Christian giving up of ‘your worldly goods’. Despite all the lip service paid to Christianity and the continued deference the establishment pays to it, there is not a great deal of practical giving in relation with what is available.

Should any of your readers think all ‘unbelievers’ are necessarily bad, they may like to research some of the most famous. Included are Lucretius, Shakespeare, Arthur C Clarke, Sir John Gielgud, Rimsky Korsakov, Simon Bolivar, Frederick the Great, Albert Camus, Jonathan Miller, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, John Lennon, Marlon Brando, Bob Geldof and Peter Ustinov, to name but a small minority of a vast list.
Finally, those who, like Peter Buesnel, believe that Christ brings justice, hope and forgiveness must logically believe that He also brings injustice, disease, cruelty and the horrendous pain that accompanies nature’s survival of the fittest.
Le Sellier,
Rue du Rondin,
St Mary.
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