As I threatened in a previous post, I have written an article for the Church magazine on the new series by Richard Dawkins. Here's the article;
Atheism is getting a good airing this month. Evolutionary
Biologist Richard Dawkins’ new series,
Root of all evil? has been showing on Channel 4, and on Radio 4,
historian David Starkey has a series called Who
killed Christianity? Both men pose some important questions for thinking
Christians, and I’d like to use this letter to look at some of the things they
have to say.
Starkey first. He’s an entertaining and erudite presenter,
whose central theme is that Christ’s followers down the ages have altered
Jesus’ message to the extent that Christianity and the church as we know them
today would hardly be recognisable to our founder. The first two programmes
looked at Paul, who took the gospel to the gentiles, and Emperor Constantine,
who made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Amidst lively debate with
Christians and academics, Starkey describes how the message was changed and
damaged by these people. Now Starkey knows that good radio requires
controversy, and that at times he is playing devil’s advocate for the sake of
entertainment and education. Yet it seems to me that change, far from killing
Christianity off, has been vital to its relevance and vitality in new
situations. Jesus never gave his followers a manual for how to organise the
church, nor a fully-worked out code of ethics for handling imperial roman
power, let alone the world of the internet. Jesus trusted that his followers
would use their creative ingenuity, guided by his own teachings, the indwelling
Spirit, and the traditions of the faith, to ensure that the timeless Good News
of the Kingdom would be proclaimed afresh in every age. It will be very
interesting to see if Starkey recognises this in future programmes.
Richard Dawkins is a remarkable scientist and communicator
of science. His writing conveys a sense of awe and beauty at the world, and at
the explanative power of science. I was sad, but not surprised, that his new
series is a vicious attack on faith. He visits Lourdes, and comments that the pilgrims in
torchlight procession are on the slippery slope that leads to bombs in
rucksacks. Interviewing a pilgrim, his style is kindly, but ridiculing as the
woman explains that her pilgrimage has deepened her faith.
Though scenes such as this show Dawkins in a poor light, he
says much that I agree with. He points up the poor grasp of science of an
American preacher, and is treated very nastily in return. Visiting a
fundamentalist convert to Islam in Jerusalem, Dawkins is told that atheists can
have no morality, that 9/11 is a legitimate response to Israeli incursions
against Arab territory, that Islam will one day take over the world, and
that we should prepare for it by ‘fixing’ the way ‘our’ women dress. Dawkins’
interviewees present appalling views, and Dawkins wants us to be appalled. The vast majority of Moslems are moderate,
prayerful, and deeply opposed to violence. Of course, Dawkins didn’t interview
one of the majority, because that wouldn’t suit his argument. He fails to
recognise that poverty, injustice and oppression provide the conditions in
which religion becomes a vehicle for protest. His argument is akin to asking us
to reject all science because some science was used in the service of Nazi
eugenics, or the construction of the atom bomb.
All areas of human life can be used for evil as well as
good. Dawkins rightly condemns faith that is violent, bigoted, or closed to
alternative views. But babies and bathwater spring to mind. The god he rails
against isn’t the God I believe in.
Whilst Starkey presents an informative, thoughtful debate,
the vitriolic plausibility of Dawkins will probably sway many viewers who have
never thought about the issues before. Atheists deserve the same respect and
attentiveness that we afford to people of any faith. But when they engage in
arguments such as these, we need to respond.
So watch the programmes if you get the chance! Talk to your
friends about them, and don’t let Dawkins’ views be accepted uncritically.
Instead, let’s remind ourselves, and others, that God leads us to seek peace,
reject violence, and listen attentively to people of other faiths, to science,
and to the Bible.
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