There has been some correspondence in the Guardian in reaction to Martin Kettle's theological question of a couple of days ago. My own convictions are secular and rationalist, and I can't say that I was swayed by any of the letters here from people of religious outlook. I am, nevertheless, uncomfortable with the follow-up letter today from Richard Dawkins. I do not quarrel with his claim that we must look to science to explain 'why the tsunami happened', and that this 'can give precious hours of warning'. But Dawkins concludes as follows:
Let's get up off our knees, stop cringing before bogeymen and virtual fathers, face reality, and help science to do something constructive about human suffering.That is where I feel a - contextual - discomfort. I can best say why by referring back to what I wrote earlier this week about the different 'modes' of speaking as an atheist on the subject of religious faith.
In an intellectual discussion about the grounds for belief in God, one may legitimately argue, with all the force one can muster, that there are no compelling grounds. On the other hand - and to put this point with particular sharpness by use of an extreme example - I wouldn't think it morally admirable to give out aggressive statements against religious belief at the funeral of someone from a devout family; or to advise a grief-stricken person against appealing to (their) God for solace.
Now, to be fair about this, in the letter in question Richard Dawkins could be seen as simply contributing to a reasoned discussion in the national press about religious faith. My own discomfort with the form of his concluding sentiments, however, is that the immediate context of that discussion is the vast tragedy that has just unfolded along the coasts of South-East Asia. It's hard to abstract what he says from the immediacy of this, from the scenes of loss and grief and suffering being relayed to us hourly. Against that background 'getting up off our knees' and 'not cringing before bogeymen and virtual fathers' have, to me, a rather brutal ring, insensitive to the complexities and vulnerabilities (final item) of the human condition.
I mean to post further on the issue in the next few days. (Amended at 12.10 AM, December 31.)