Christian Living

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This week in Australia we have seen the TV screening of a documentary by the famous British scientist, Richard Dawkins, called 'The Root of All Evil'. The claim of this series is that the greatest threat our world now faces is the threat of what Dawkins calls 'irrational religion'. To be honest, watching the show made me think that, in many ways, he is substantially correct.

For Dawkins a great threat to the modern world is mindless, irrational, tradition bound, superstitious laden religion. Religion that encourages people to not think, to be uncritical, and to accept the word of leaders without question, is indeed dangerous. To buy into a worldview divorced from logic, sense and thought is indeed an enemy of the modern world. Years ago at Bible College, I remember a great teacher who reminded us of Socrates' words: 'An unexamined life is not worth living'. This teacher’s faith conviction was that an unexamined faith was also not worth having.

All thinking people should be thankful that Dawkins is exposing the lie that all religion is equal, benign and good. We should praise Mr Dawkins when he questions a religion which promises healing and does not deliver. Dawkins deserves our appreciation for reminding us of the mess that religion is causing to a place like Jerusalem, and that fighting and indeed warfare over any building defies reason and logic. No wonder people have wept over this city. Religious leaders who preach one thing and do another should be exposed and condemned.

The more I think about it, the more I think Richard Dawkins and Jesus of Nazareth would get on well. Jesus also hated the sort of man made, religious legalism that bound people in slavery. Jesus butted heads with people who turned faith into a market. Jesus insisted on staying out of the arguments of His day regarding tradition and buildings. The sort of people discarded and rejected by legalistic religion were the sort of people who loved Jesus, and He seems to have loved them too. In fact Jesus was less polite than Richard Dawkins. He paid a far greater price for His outspoken role in condemning religion that was in bed with the power politics of His day.

Richard Dawkins is right to question religion's right to universal respect when the evidence reveals its darker side. But I humbly suggest that he is doing the exact thing in reverse by concluding that all religion is legalistic, corrupt and evil.

For every ugly and thoughtless picture Richard Dawkins displays, we could show alternatives of wise, careful, loving, giving and life enhancing faith. Not mindless faith, not blind unquestioning faith, not irrational faith, but kind, giving, thoughtful, nurturing, forgiving Jesus inspired faith. Dawkins met some awful zealots of religious hate in Israel, but I pray next time he might look up someone like Elias Chacour – a man of faith, peace, love and grace.

I believe that Jesus would have loved Richard Dawkins. I hope all who are moved by Dawkins' rejection of religion might consider a greater man, Jesus, who also rejected the folly of man’s religion, while maintaining a very real hope in a loving God.

Jesus said; “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13: 34 (NIV)

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