Madam, - Prof William Reville (August 24th) writes that "there is sufficient evidence in favour of God to make it reasonable to believe". He argues that this evidence exists both on the scientific level, and on a personal level.
For Prof Reville, the "exquisitely fine-tuned" nature of the universe is evidence for an "impersonal God", a designer of this seemingly perfect system.
A problem with this, however, is that it assumes that human life is the only form of life which could ever exist. Had the universe developed differently, there is no way of knowing if or how life might have developed.
This argument is essentially a huge assumption, displaying more lack of imagination than evidence for a God.
Prof Reville's second argument, to support the existence of a personal God, states that ". . .if we find that abiding by the principles that Jesus taught brings peace and joy into our lives, then it is reasonable for us to accept the words of Jesus about God".
However, a lot of people have teachings which bring "peace and joy" into the lives of those who follow them.
Unfortunately, simply believing in something is not enough to make it either true or reasonable. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN CAREY, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.