Madam, - While urging the astrologers to remove the motes from their eyes, Fr Paul Clayton-Lea (August 25th,) seems blissfully unaware of the giant redwood protruding from his own.
Indeed, the case he assembles to discredit the "quasi-supernatural salespeople" he so deplores could just as easily be marshalled to refute the religious tradition he seeks to defend.
Richard Dawkins's new television series, Enemies of Reason, also skewers the pretensions of the new-agers, but lest Fr Clayton-Lea be tempted to welcome a natural ally, we should remind him that Dawkins preceded the series with an equally brilliant dissection of the religious impulse in his book The God Delusion.
Dawkins would argue that both new ageism and religion are equally guilty of preying on "people's insecurity and gullibility". The claims of astrologers and spiritualists have no greater credibility than those of religious adherents who repose blind faith in a sky-God who created the universe, knows everything, and doles out punishment and reward in an after-life of which we know nothing. In other words, new ageism and religion are mere projections of the human mind, equally speculative forms of wishful thinking.
But Fr Clayton-Lea's most egregious error lies in the futile attempt to ground religion in "reality and reason". In fact, reason exerts no purchase on religion whatsoever; it does the opposite, since a moment's rational thought can only induce scepticism about the gigantic claims which, without a shred of evidence, religion holds to be true.
By contrast, science, which Dawkins exalts over religion, accepts as true only propositions which can be conclusively demonstrated by reliable evidence. What actually sustains religion is human bewilderment and fear of death, from which predicament naturally arises the self-medication known as faith. For millions of people, this is more than enough, of course, but increasingly, as science advances, the God delusion becomes harder and harder to sustain.
Finally, as an example of religious arrogance, Fr Clayton-Lea's claim that religious faith "has bequeathed us whatever vestiges of civilisation we have" is tough to beat. We could discuss at very great length some of the other less edifying "bequests" which religion has handed down to us but that would require a very much longer letter. - Yours, etc,
BERT WRIGHT, Hillside, Dalkey, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Judging by some of the letters you have printed on this topic, followers of atheism, secularism, humanism, nihilism or whatever believe they have the facts, while everything else is superstition. Yet these "isms" are as dependent on faith as any religious belief.
The belief that something - we and our universe - emerged from nothing is one that I can't grasp. The story of the eternally present primeval soup, some self-detonated explosions and stardust requires an Olympian leap of faith, based on the mistaken notion that scientific progress ensures "today 10 unknowns, tomorrow nine", whereas we now know the fact is: today 10 unknowns, tomorrow 11. We have eventually to admit that the more we learn, the more we discover we don't know about this infinite universe.
I can accept the historical record of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Nazarene, His instructions, sayings and works. His close followers and friends gave their lives for His ideals. They must have believed Him. - Yours, etc,
GERRY CASSIDY, Tralee, Co Kerry.
Madam,- I was brought up in an Ireland steeped in religious nonsense and fears.
Religion was drummed into us at school by the same priests and nuns who have cruelly and systematically destroyed many innocent children's lives.
Studying astrology in later years not only saved me from a past filled with meaningless brainwashing, but helped me take responsibility for my own choices in life.
There are many serious astrologers among us who are not "quasi-supernatural salespeople". We wish only to help others move forward in their lives, and not remain stuck in the dark ages. - Yours, etc,
ANN C. RYAN, Astrologer, Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin 6.
Madam, - Letter-writers are tripping over each other in their zeal to demonstrate that, at best, religion makes no more sense than astrology. The problem is that their description of Christianity is a description of a distortion of Christianity (burning heretics, imprisoning Galileo, and so on).
True Christianity, as promulgated by the mainline Christian churches, is a philosophy of love, forgiveness, pacifism, moderation, self-responsibility, modesty, charity, courage and honest endeavour - a recipe for successful living that civilised people aspire to, even those who cannot accept the divinity of Jesus Christ. Innumerable people benefit from living true Christian lives.
It is true that the mainline Christian church has often failed to live up to these professed ideals, but you cannot blame the teachings of Christ for this any more than you can blame pure water for becoming contaminated when it is poured into a rusty container. The container is the problem, not the water.
On the other hand, astrology offers no philosophy of living. At best it is harmless fun, but only if you don't take it seriously. It could lead you very astray if you took it seriously. In contrast, taking true Christianity seriously yields only benefits. - Yours, etc,
WILLIAM J. REVILLE, Greybrook, Waterfall, Co Cork.