A prayerful dilemma

Journalist Christopher Hitchens (author of "God Is Not Great") and funnyman Bill Maher (producer of the film Religulous) are both well known for their strident disapproval of religion.

Yet, Hitch and Maher would be hard pressed to summarize their views more artfully and succinctly than the forebear to both men – journalist and social critic H. L. Mencken (1880–1956).

On religion, the "Sage of Baltimore" wrote:

"Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable."

However illogical religious faith may be, I suspect that even most doubters fall in line with philosopher Albert Camus who said, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is.” For believers, Camus’ notion is merely added incentive to keep faith close. And the world is probably better off for it.

Of course, as Hitchens and Maher know, there is no avoiding the often overriding truism perhaps best expressed by playwright George Bernard Shaw: “No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; He is always convinced that it says what he means.”

And therein has always laid humanity’s root dilemma.