To the Editor,
Re: No place for religion, Letters, Nov. 20
Concerning your recently published letter “No place for religion” by Robert Rock from Mission, I found it interesting that his atheistic rant was given such wide circulation. While I agree that religion should not be taught in schools, I would like to remind Mr. Rock and your readers that all belief systems (religions) are protected by the Canadian Charter of Human Rights. This includes, of course, his right to preach his own godless beliefs.
Many of us may disagree with other views, but this doesn’t give us the right to mock them, as he does. I sincerely doubt that he, or anyone else on this planet, has the inside track to the truth. And a simple exercise in logic would demonstrate that those who do not believe in God cannot prove their assertion any more than those who do believe.
Spirituality, in whatever form, represents humanity’s sincere attempt to grapple with the unknown, to understand the true nature of a super-natural dimension. Like science and philosophy, religion should be a search for truth. But whether we are spiritual or atheistic, we will never discover anything new if our minds are shut off to alternative possibilities.
Mr. Rock would like to legally charge parents who dare to teach religion to their children, but would the same charges apply to his own atheistic indoctrination? He believes in the rights of children to make their own decisions about what to believe, but I can’t help wondering if he is sincere enough to give his own children the freedom to believe in God.
Mark Blackham,
Port Alberni
