Care needed when talking about religion

IAN Harris in ‘‘Faith and Reason’’ (ODT, 13.4.18) calls for taste and decency when commenting on the religious beliefs of others, then condescendingly suggests that Stephen Fry, and other thinking atheists, think themselves too clever to believe in all that (religious) stuff.

Mr Harris then shoots Christianity in the head when he chides Fry for not knowing that God exists only in the human ‘‘thought realm’’ — i.e. God is imaginary — and not in the physical world of science and nature.

This is certainly not traditional Christian doctrine and many will call it heresy. But it is the firm belief of

Fry and many other thinking atheists.

Fry was commenting on the

‘‘biblical God’’ that most traditional Christians still literally believe in, as portrayed in the Old and New Testaments. This supposedly merciful, loving and forgiving God is an entirely different being and Fry’s candid condemnation of this God and the traditional churches that still perpetuate this dubious deity is well earned.

Mr Harris concludes that religion, when not corrupted by power, sets the bedrock values of civilised society, but corruption in mainstream religions has consistently undermined and compromised those bedrock values down the ages.

It is not always appropriate to address blatant institutional injustice, lies, abuse, internal corruption and inhumane false doctrines with taste and decency. More colourful language, such as that used by Stephen Fry, is fully justified.

Stew Webster

Dunedin