An error:

The author claims:
"The contemporary enemies of Christianity have a vested interest in not discovering what Christians believe about God. You would have thought that Richard Dawkins, resident as he is at Oxford would have wandered across the quad to talk with any number of theologians that reside there. I can only assume that he and his ilk are so enraged that anyone can be faithful that they are blinded to what these people have faith in."

In his book, "The God Delusion", Dawkins refers many, many times to his conversations with theologians. Many of these his names as his friends. Just one example is described on page 335 Dwakins joining forces with the Richard Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford and another 8 British bishops to petition Tony Blair against the state funding of fundametalist school. Harries also has a brief role in Dawkins' doco "the root of all evil". There are numerous others throughout the book.

The author's statement in clearly wrong.

It seems that the author barely took the time to aquaint himself with the arguments of the people he attacks

This article, together with most of the foregoing comments, is a load of canting rubbish. So now the 'miracles' have normal explanations, Jesus didn't 'rise from the dead', Mary was not impregnated by the 'god of Abraham' etc. etc. Tell that to the arm-waving nit-wits out at Hillsong; tell it to the several billion dirt poor catholics who give their money to the church in the hope of eternal salvation; tell it to the multi-millionaire TV evangelists who terrify the dim-witted with threats of eternal hellfire and damnation. Don't however have the audacity to instruct me and others like me - we already know. Christianity is on the way out, and about time. The article is nothing more than a desperate attempt to hang on in the face of ruin, and the loss of thousands of good jobs in the highly secular undustry known as religion. The writer is a hypocrite of the first order.

Yes, you'd think Sellick would have bothered to have actually read Dawkins' book before having a gratuitous swipe at him, wouldn't you?

As for the article, I'm with Gym-Fish.

Fencepost,

Thank God for the heretics who are now successfully 'dividing' the church. Not very long ago the literalist wing of the Church was powerful enough to silence the more liberal and rational voices but that is no longer the case.

Sells' contemporary critics of the Church are slowly but successfully killing off the supernatural brand of Christianity. They have clearly won the day in Australia and for this, again, I say thank God.

Sells' challenge now is to address and engage ordinary people through the symbolic, mythic and parabolic language of Scripture in a such a lifegiving way that it brings Jesus' politically radical theology to bear over against the structural discrimination that keeps indigenous Australians living in poverty and the religious arrogance that lies behind America's military adventures in the Middle East and the intolerance that recognises only one expression of sexuality and vilifies those who do not or cannot conform to it.

Thank God for those who would once more have the Church give expression to the Love that Jesus proclaimed.

I think that some posters are being hyper-critical.

A 'Secular Church' sounds like a great idea. After all, the main reason why people go to a church, mosque or synagogue is for the friendly socialisation.

So, if Sell's offered me a supernatural-free New Testament with some lectures about Cosmology and Evolution by Natural Selection, then I would be very tempted to go. Especially if I get to meet friends from my local community.

A BBQ after the gathering would be great too. Just NO silly literal fundamentalism.

Christians may scoff at Muslims for their source of authority (writings made in a cave that added to the Old Testament) but ask Christians for their source of authority and it becomes "god's book" - and not to be questioned.

The religious institutions are simply power systems which rely on mythology and fear to impose antiquated rules and conventions underpinned by fear of the unknown, ie. death. Claiming to report only to their particular god, it becomes an offense (blasphemy!) to question and so they place themselves above review and examination.

These insane mythology-based belief systems only serve to warp the universal sense of a greater being (call it universal spirituality) to impose centuries old social customs on a modern society which manifests as friction like the earthquakes between 'tectonic plates'.

Surely one day we will be seen as still living in the Dark Ages where religion will be seen as a madness legitimised and protected by institutions threatening hell and purgotory for transgressors. Where religion rose from man's need to rationalize his spirituality.

There is today much evidence pointing to a new world order - of oneness and which uses the bible's ...

THY WILL BE DONE. All is one. Religion is predicated on fear and ignorance - and worse, promotes separateness - the saved from the unsaved.