The Editor, Sir:

Ian Boyne has disappointed me again! But I want to applaud him first for his article published on October 18, 'The war over religion'. I applaud him for the series of articles revealing the recent writings of the new atheists, and for exposing to the reader what has been going on within the circles of religionists.

I applaud his wide knowledge of the subject. He evidently reads widely and deeply and does so on both sides of the argument, unlike most persons who propound their ideas of a particular subject. While he has skilfully shown that the new atheists can be, and indeed have been adequately matched in argumentation by defenders of the divinity, he has not given us his own reasons for believing. He has pointed us to many of the protagonists and to their works. He has even given us guides to websites where the truly interested may find arguments to defend their faith. But he has not himself defended his own faith.

Reasonable faith

True Christianity is a religion of beliefs: of faith. It is a reasonable faith, yes. But it is not a faith built simply on reasons, or on who has the best arguments. While our reasoning is a God-given gift, and should be developed and utilised, it should be recognised as fallible: as is everything about mankind. While it could be argued that all religions are concoctions of man's reason, and in this regard no one is better or different from the other; it is recognised by many that Christianity is different from all religions (and is therefore not itself a religion, by the above definition) as it is a "revealed religion", the only and true religion of God.

I would like Boyne to write a piece defending the above thesis: not simply analysing the opinions of others but giving us his own reasons for believing. I want him to take on the main arguments of the detractors and give his best defence for disagreeing with them, which he says he does. Surely, he has opinions of his own.

I am, etc.,

LLOYD A. COOKE

Royal Flat,

Mandeville