Sir, – Further to "Archbishop Diarmuid Martin bemoans lack of Catholic intellectuals in Ireland", June 6th). When a church leader bemoans the absence of intellectuals in his organisation, two things come to mind. The first is that intellectuals are alienated by the beliefs and attitudes of his church, and perhaps the church should ask itself why. Second, it does not make any sense for the leader of an organisation to denigrate the intellectuality of its own members! – Yours, etc,
TOM O’ROURKE,
Gorey, Co Wexford.
Sir, – All churches expect their members to accept a set of beliefs that people find difficult to understand. Then when a member questions a particular belief he is told to have “faith”. Faith is the willingness to accept a belief that one cannot rationalise using one’s own intellect. Religious beliefs could therefore be described as being anti-intellectual. So it is no surprise that intellectuals are conspicuous by their absence in church life. – Yours, etc,
SEAN O’SULLIVAN,
Crossabeg, Co Wexford.
Sir, – Garry Bury asserts that religions "demand loyalty to a set of beliefs that is largely incompatible with logic and common sense" and that "modern intellectuals are alienated from the major religions" (June 8th).
Evangelical Protestantism calls its adherents to settle down and earn the food they eat, pay the taxes they owe, live a life of love, lament their own faults and honour their father and mother. Husbands are expected to act towards their wives with gentleness and respect. Is such a faith-based moral compass incompatible with logic and common sense? Has he ever read the Sermon on the Mount? Who are all these intellectuals “driven elsewhere” by simple yet noble precepts such as “blessed are the peacemakers”? Mr Bury is, however, correct that the major religions were codified at a time when “irrational superstition prevailed”. Yet if he takes the time to read the Book of Proverbs, for example, he’ll see that its author neither concocts nor perpetuates any superstition.
Mr Bury further claims religious beliefs stem from stories using “outdated language”. There’s not a particle of evidence that Holy Scripture was written in anything other than the everyday vernacular of its first recipients. The Holy Bible New International Version translated the original manuscripts into familiar English as recently as 2011. Is Mr Bury seriously asking your readers to regard the English spoken five years ago as already out of date? – Yours, etc,
R SCANLAN,
Leopardstown,Dublin 18.
Sir, – Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s call is timely. We should recall the words of Saint John Paul: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth”. – Yours, etc,
MARIE O’BRIEN,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.