Christian defence

I ACCUSED Christopher Hitchens of failing to properly understand opposing views and of attempting to demonise the religious. In reply, Bruce Crichton illustrated the first point, and Chilton Inglis the second (Letters, 20 December).

I have never written anything that even vaguely implies that communism is the only alternative to religion, that “man lacks the capacity for reason”, or that reason is “invalid”.

Can Mr Crichton cite any relevant quotations? I do believe that morality ultimately collapses into subjectivism without religious justification, but that is not the same as saying that “religion has a monopoly on the field of morality”.

The fact that Mr Hitchens asked whether “the religious” will grant him the freedom to be an atheist shows how divorced from reality he was. In a western context, “the religious” are mainly Christians, who show no desire to prohibit atheism, instead entering freely into discussion and debate.

I don’t know whether Mr Hitchens really believed that his liberty was under threat, or whether he was just scaremongering, but the result is the same: stirring up irrational hostility towards religious people.

Mr Hitchens himself said that we should respond to religion with “hatred”, so I don’t think he would have objected to my charge that he encouraged hatred of religion.

Richard Lucas

Solas – Centre for Public Christianity

St Peter’s Street, Dundee