God in the world

In the holier-than-thou secularist tradition, Doug Clark (Letters, 19 May) blamed religions for the world’s conflicts, conveniently omitting mention of the wars clearly caused by political ideology (often explicitly atheist) and simple human greed and aggression.

Even when religious motivation has caused or contributed to conflict, it is simplistic in the extreme to cite this as an argument against religious beliefs in general.

Yes, the Church of Scotland as a whole is declining as it moves away from the teachings of the Christian faith, but there is a plethora of new, independent, evangelical and/or charismatic churches springing up and flourishing around Scotland.

Anyone regarding the vague mumblings of the Kirk as the voice of Scottish Christianity is failing to keep abreast of developments.

By “singularly out of touch with the rest of the population” I assume Mr Clark means that many Christians do not merely soak up the prevailing secular liberal values that dominate (and are increasingly forced upon) our society.

Christ did not call us to follow the crowd, but to follow him. All schools must address issues of value, purpose and meaning. Humanism is the doctrine that such issues are best addressed without reference to God.

Mr Clark is therefore asking that all state schools become exclusively humanist institutions. That’s not my idea of neutrality.

Richard Lucas

Broomyknowe

Edinburgh

If a Christian scientist believed in an “originator” (C Badenoch’s letter, 19 May), then s/he could not be a cosmologist (there is no room for an originator in modern cosmology).

Even if this Christian scientist believed in an originator the latter would have to be one that set the universe going and then left it to develop on its own.

No scientist, certainly not a biologist, could believe that some divine agency is manipulating everyday events.

As for this originator being omniscient, it may well be a god who does not care or does not know what the result of his/her/its experiment is.

Jesus’s own god (Jehovah) created stars on the fourth day but light itself, which comes to us from a star, on the first day. That, of course is impossible. Anyone who thinks that Christianity is compatible with modernscience (knowledge) is deluded.

Steuart Campbell

Dovecot Loan

Edinburgh