Michael Kirby

An Honest Faith

Philosophy

“This book is a highly readable attempt to reconcile two basically different ways to resolve moral dilemmas in our lives. The first, like the philosophers of ancient Athens, invokes human rationality, knowledge, and experience. The second, like all the religions derived from Jerusalem, relies on religious instruction expressed in the ‘revealed’ Word of God. For decades, the author, an Anglican priest, has struggled with this dilemma, searching for ways to reconcile the two systems. Billions of human beings find pure human reasoning unsatisfying. They search for the peace and love that spirituality, which passes all understanding, can bring. On the other hand, close encounters with God and His worldly ministers can sometimes appear so unscientific and irrational that we keep searching for different ways of reasoning. The author instances religious cruelty and irrationality on subjects like race, indigeneity, gender, sexuality, and politics which cast doubt on religion’s legitimacy. Census returns in many Western societies show a large and growing drift away from organized religion. The resulting controversy is tackled with honesty, humility, persistence, and courage. Many readers will recognize their own feelings in the author’s ultimately stated conclusions.”