Christian philosophy

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 20

Christian philosophy

Sir, — Letters such as Arthur May’s (April 14) help bolster my faith in humans as rational, compassionate creatures. However, he should -not confine his criti-

cism of the Bible to the Old Testament. Jesus, for example, indulged in some rather unnecessary gloating over the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” that would be done in Hell by those who did not accept him as divine. And there is the gratuitous cruelty he showed towards the pigs in the story about (the Gadarene Swine. But these cruelties pale before those fantasised by John in Revelations. It is significant that the New Testament includes the ravings of a sadis-tically-inspired schizophrenic. I would like to draw the attention of correspondents such as W. H. Daly (April 14) to the strong positive correlation between the rise in public morality and the decline in Christianity and other theistic dogmas, and would suggest to them that the relationship may be causal. — Yours, etc., GEORGIE HALL. April 14, 1980.

Sir, — W. H. Daly (April 14) makes a valid point. Our cultural roots are Christian whether Arthur May likes it or not. But we should not put cart before horse. Given social “dis-ease” combined with Christian complacency

and helplessness, many .troubled people will ignore or revile Christianity. How bad do things have to get before our organised Christianity abandons its nostalgic privatism and stands up for its anti-Marxist but anciently radical principles—free will and the equality of all men before God? We are free collectively to change —, to approach in brotherhood and sisterhood the Kingdom of God on earth. But many powerful secular currents of Right and Left, still pervert and use Christianity for their ends. Matyred bishops in the United States satellites and victims in the Soviet ones testify to a spark that seems to ignite only under the most'oppressive politicoeconomic conditions.—Yours, etc ■ B. P. LILBURN. April 14, 1980. Sir, — W. H. Daly, (April 14) makes the grossly erroneous assumption that' “everything that is good in our society comes from . (Christianity)”, and that "our way of life , ... owes, its existence to the Christian philosophy.” This ignores the obvious fact that, every society, Christian or otherwise, has these altruistic at-

tributes simply because they are essential for the survival of any society. I know of no society, for example, which does not have some kind of institution for marriage, although most of these would probably not be recognised as such by Christians.. If children having respect for their parents is Christianity “in practice” as W. H. Daly suggests, then every society is practising Christianity. I would ■ prefer, rather than presume that all the world’s virtue comes from Christians, to dissociate myself from them and not have my society defined as “Christian.” — Yours, etc., GRAHAM PARTON. April 14, 1980. Sir, — Because of the insensitivity and rigidity of so. many • Christians; their middle-ground. support is withering away. .Frighteningly,/.many .believers . who., sense 'this loss of ■ support are retreating into. the. irrational : and uncompromising cults. W. H. Daly (April 14) says that nearly everything that is good in our society comes from . Christianity. That is an assertion of- faith. It is also an insensitive putdown of all non-Christians. To claim that “the move-

ment away from Christianity today is the cause of our social diseases” is to refuse to listen even to the other Christians who want reform of dogma or institutions. Viewing history with blinkers on is no guide to the future. — Yours, etc., ALAN WILKINSON. . April 14, 1980. ‘ .