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CAN CHRISTIANITY EVER BE INTELLECTUALLY SATISFYING?

Just before Christmas the celebrated author and journalist Christopher Hitchens sadly lost his battle against oesophageal cancer and died. He was clearly a brilliant man with a sharp wit and was as The Guardian stated an ʻunshakable secularistʼ and indeed upon his death, many tributes were made to him by friends and ʻfoesʼ alike. Richard Dawkins described him as “one of the greatest orators of all time” and called him “a polymath, a wit ... and a valiant fighter against all tyrants including imaginary supernatural ones.” Even the former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was famously ʻbestedʼ by Christopher Hitchens in a debate over religion at the end of last year, described Hitchens as being “fearless in the pursuit of truth” and praised him for his “passion, commitment and brilliance”.

But does the combination of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and even latterly the eminent scientist Stephen Hawking mean that the secularists have won the day and that no sensible, clear-thinking, reasonable individual could ever be expected to possibly hold a religious faith in the modern era again (certainly not one that carries both intellectual weight and rigour)? The answer has to be – of course not! For years scientists and other secular critics have treated those with religious faith as being the mere holders of a simple superstition with no real intellectual  weight or bearing in the modern world - but this simply isnʼt true! There are many bright intellectuals with scientific backgrounds who have absolutely no difficultly in relating their Christian faith to their scientific understanding of the world. People such as John Polkinghorne, a fellow of the Royal Society and ordained in the Church of England, knighted by the Queen in 1997 for ʻdistinguished service to science, religion, learning and medical ethicsʼ.  Or John Lennox, a Professor of Mathematics and lecturer of science and religion at Oxford University, who famously debated with Christopher Hitchens at the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 and ʻbestedʼ him.  The problem so often is not that Christians donʼt have an understanding of science or the modern world but that famous secularists such as Dawkins and Hitchens donʼt have an adequate understanding of even the most basic theology or simple Christianity. All their examples of God are taken either from the Old Testament and depict him as being a malicious, angry tyrant who delights in the punishing of poor people, or lampooning him as the imagined creator of a universe whose existence scientists naturally understand came into being by other methods. There is simply no time or space in their thinking to understand these things within the broader context of scripture or theology, nor even to look beyond their own tiny (often literal) understanding of what they perceive Christians to believe..

Yes! The Bible does contains many violent episodes, especially within its Old Testament pages, and these are certainly difficult for the Christian to understand or reconcile, but they do probably portray an accurate depiction of what happened in history (and yet one also needs to remember that even some of the most strident atheists in history, such as Stalin and Hitler donʼt have blemish free stories either!). Ultimately the Bible speaks about a God who loved the world so much, that despite itʼs obvious depravity, he steps in and takes upon himself in the person of Jesus, the punishment it rightly deserves; providing each one of us with the possibility of love, forgiveness and restoration whenever we put our faith and trust in him. Inevitably, whenever one speaks about God there has to be a certain element of ʻnot-knowing and mysteryʼ but this doesnʼt mean that we are left completely ʻin the darkʼ nor without the possibility of understanding who God is, or what heʼs about! To be a Christian is not about having a ʻblind faithʼ but having a faith that sees things more as God sees them. The more one reads the Bible and examines the life of Jesus, the more logical, lovely and relevant it becomes – indeed to coin a phrase not only does it truly ʻfeed the heart and the soulʼ, but the mind and intellect too. Itʼs my hope therefore that the people of our communities will not be put off - or dare I say even deceived by the current fads and fashions of the secularist mind, but will be far more open, perceptive and discerning in their thoughts about such things, willing to let God be God and willing to entertain the possibility that as they put their faith and trust in him they might be intellectually satisfied in the process.

Yours as ever,

Stephen Thorp

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in Godʼs sight”. Corinthians 3.18-19