DEMEANING FAITH NOT AN ARGUMENT

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Demeaning faith not an argument

FO Hipwell's letter (Mailbox July 3) appears to seek evidence of existence of God and fails to note that religion is 'a faith or belief' not 'a fact'.

Atheism is neither a religion nor an ideology or a doctrine. It is a-theism, ie lack of religious faith. It does not present any system of ideas, nor does it promise any salvation. In this sense it is a "negative" or "impoverished" stance.

Of course, spirituality in the intellectual, cultural, or moral sense is common to believers and non-believers in various degrees.

By way of illustration, I would say that very many survivors of the atrocious conditions in Russian death camps, both in the 1930s and during the Second World War, have stated that only religion made them hold the very strong belief that there would be an end to their suffering – and their belief resulted in their survival.

In their opinion, lack of faith would have resulted in their deaths.

Religion is also a part of our Christian culture.

If, as is suggested, religion is a myth, what is one to do when one studies the biographies of Pythagoras, Galena (accused of witchcraft because he was a successful doctor), Averroes (logic in Islamic philosophy), Paracelsus, Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus (a famous free thinker), Newton, Goethe….? They all declared their faith in God. As did many a poet, composer and sculptor.

What are we to do with the works of these famous people in a secular world?

Already children know very little about these people and many other historical figures.

When asked, they look blankly at you and ask 'You what?"

Knowledge of Shakespeare's religion is important in understanding the man and his works, because of the wealth of biblical and liturgical allusions in his writings.

Demeaning people of faith does not advance Mr Hipwell's argument. One can only sympathise with his own "personal experiences" which led him to hold his current views.

Michael Myers, Leicester

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,850)

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 578
2. United States 366
3. Russia 361
4. France 158
5. Canada 107
6. Spain 90
7. India 90
8. Germany 56
9. Poland 43
10. Ukraine 21

This week's total: 1,850 (last week: 1,994). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (i.e. in the last two hours), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time". They're updated each time I look at them.

VANDALS PAINT OFFENSIVE SLOGANS ON WIGSTON CHURCH WALLS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Vandals paint offensive slogans on Wigston church walls

Vandals have daubed anti-religious slogans over a church and community centre.

Officials at Central Avenue Christian Church, in Wigston, discovered the crude messages yesterday and its minister and volunteers spent the day trying to wash the graffiti off the walls using a high-pressure hose.

The slogans were painted on the front and side walls of the building in 9in-high letters.

Minister the Rev Alan Robinson, said: "The slogans were not very nice stuff, but we don't believe they were particularly aimed at our church, they were more against the Church in general.

"There are an awful lot of people who don't believe in God and don't think anyone else should either.

"I don't know how long it will take to get rid of.

"A police officer who came to investigate was going to ask if Oadby and Wigston Borough Council could help us remove it using its equipment.

"The police are very concerned and they took away a lid from the tin of paint which had been left behind.

"It's the first time we've had any problems such as this since we bought the building in about 1990.

"We demolished most of the building and rebuilt it as a church and community centre using voluntary labour."

From Monday to Friday, Central Avenue Community Link works with the church to operate a day centre for people with learning difficulties.

Mr Robinson said: "We help about 30 people aged from 25 to 50 and above with handicrafts, outings and computers.

"We are still running – this won't stop us.

"We're just about to start a drop-in centre on Tuesdays for anyone of any age who is lonely – because there is so much loneliness in the community.

"We have about 30 members but we are very active and very much involved with the community.

"We do more in the community than a lot of the larger churches."

Mr Robinson, who is one of two ministers at the church, said: "Whoever has done this hasn't just attacked the church, they've attacked the hub of the community as well."

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: "Offensive words were painted on to the wall in Central Avenue some time between 6.50pm yesterday and 7.10am today.

"Anyone with any information about the incident or who may be responsible is asked to contact us."

The police can contacted on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

RELIGIONS FACE AN INEVITABLE DECLINE

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Religions face an inevitable decline

The never-ending debate around religion and its influence has been well aired in these columns. Recently, F O Hipwell (July 3) and Peter Anderson (July 16) represented different ends of the spectrum of opinion.

In one sense it is pointless to suggest to believers that they are misguided or delusional.

As Mr Anderson made clear, he is not really interested in asking, or being asked, questions as he already has the answers.

He repeats the latest of the rebuttals of science by suggesting that it is a narrow approach, which is true, and neither does it ask the question why?

This is mistaken as this question, based on mankind's innate curiosity, is at the root of science.

He also claims that science does not disprove God's existence.

It has never claimed to have done so, but increased knowledge has dealt body blows to much of what was once regarded as beyond explanation.

Neither is it the task of non-believers to disprove it.

On the other hand, it is easy for atheists to mock the various tenets of religious belief.

One prominent author has written a series of popular books doing just that. His conclusions are valid but mocking believers as simpletons is poor reasoning because it avoids the need for real analysis. To really undermine religious belief it is necessary to examine how it came about and why it still exerts power on parts of humankind.

At root, the question to be asked is does human consciousness determine life or does material life determine consciousness?

The only logical answer must be that consciousness is determined by life's material factors.

The first and foremost needs to eat, be clothed and find warmth and shelter had to be met before such social elements as politics, art, science, morality and, yes, religion could be developed.

So religion, like art and morality has to be regarded as a human construct which was felt to provide some answers to life's fundamental questions.

The consciousness which developed has given us the ability, unique to humans, to analyse the past and has revealed that religions derived from the widely diffuse material circumstances in different parts of the populated world, as discovered by the missionary movement.

It is both a reaction to, and a development of, human experience and, as we learn, develop and benefit from this experience, religion will gradually become less an influence on real material life.

Already the most developed parts of the world have seen a reduction of its influence as social answers have been developed to meet the challenges of life.

Real living experience and an ever-increasing knowledge base has shown that we as a race are capable of prioritising and affecting our areas of concern.

As a result, what remains of religious belief will appear increasingly less necessary to human development.

There will be fundamentalist groups which refuse to recognise this and adopt increasingly bizarre positions by clinging to outdated dogma, whether in the middle east, Rome or America's south.

Their backward-looking views will only delay their inevitable demise.

Chris Lymn, Oadby

TEMPLE PLAN FOR HISTORIC SITE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Temple plan for historic site

An historic building in the heart of the St George Conservation Area in Leicester could become a place of worship.

The city council has received a licensing inquiry about the empty Edwardian Guild for the Disabled building, in Colton Street, from the Shri Shirdi Baba Temple Association, an international religious organisation.

Leaders would like to use the Grade II-listed building, which is on English Heritage's "at risk" list, as a temple and meeting place.

Darshan Singh Nagi is chairman of the Shri Shirdi Baba Temple Association, which has a UK base in Wembley, north London.

He said: "We are in the process of signing a lease with the owners but want to be sure that it would be okay to use the building for worship.

"That's why we have applied to the council for a certificate for this purpose."

The temple association takes its name from Indian holy man and deity Sai Baba, of Shirdi, a village near Mumbai, who preached peace, charity and harmony under one god.

Mr Singh said: "He was well known for performing miracles and although his millions of devotees worldwide observe a loosely Hindu tradition, he is revered by Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Hindus alike.

"The hall would be used by our followers in Leicester and all people would be welcome."

Built in 1909 by city architects A and T E Sawday, the building, now called the Charles Venue, was the first in Britain, and possibly the world, to be designed for people with disabilities, complete with wheelchair access. Listed by English Heritage in 1992, it has been empty since 2000, when disabled charity Mosaic moved to new headquarters.

The city council refused a licensing application last year by Belgrave developer Ashik Madlani – who wanted to use it to stage plays, films, wrestling, live music and dance events – after concerns were raised by residents over noise disturbance.

"Our use would be a very quiet and peaceful one," said Mr Singh.

"We would like to breath new life into this truly beautiful and historic building so that the people of Leicester can be proud of it once again."

Graham Lees, spokesman for the Leicester Victorian Society, said: "When a lovely building like this is left empty for too long it is a big concern to us.

"It is far better for it to cared for and maintained while being used in an appropriate way."

A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: "The application is for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Use.

"This process allows the applicant to ask for the council's legal opinion as to whether or not the Guild for the Disabled can be used as a place of worship without the need for planning permission.

"Current planning legislation allows for the grouping of similar uses in one category. A training centre and place of worship would fall within the same group.

"A change between uses within the same group will not normally require planning permission.

"We are undertaking research into the history of the site to identify if the building can be used as a place of worship without the need for further planning permission.

"Any related alterations to the building would still need planning permission."

MAPPING FAITH & PLACE IN LEICESTER CONFERENCE

The Grand Hall in St Martins House is the venue for this conference, concluding the first phase of the University of Leicester's Mapping Faith and Place project. I haven't been in the Grand Hall before, but it's a setting that lives up to its name, one fit for a queen. Literally, in this case, as HM Queen Elizabeth II was served lunch here on her recent visit to Leicester which kicked off her Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. Some of those attending today were guests on that occasion.

Deirdre O'Sullivan (Lecturer in Medieaval Archaeology at the University of Leicester) welcomes attendees and introduces the project. The rest of the day is taken up with a number of presentations:

Heritage and Multi-Faith in Leicester, Canon Dr John Hall, Director, St Philip's Centre for Study andEngagement in a Multi-Faith Society

English Heritage Policy on Faith Buildings, Dr Lind Monckton, English Heritage

History and Interpretation, Surinderpal Rai, Chair, Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara

Leicester Perspective, CllrManjula Sood, Assistant Mayor (and Chair, Leicester Council of Faiths)

Jain Heritage in Leicester, Dr Atul Shah, CEO, Diverse Ethics

The Church of St Mary de Castro: a Document in our Midst, David Lamb, St Mary de Castro

An Archaelogical Approach to Understanding Religious Buildings, Neil Finn, Archaeological Consultant

The Story of Leicester, Sarah Levitt, Leicester City Council Arts and Museums Service

An interesting variety of presentations, to be sure, but it wouldn't be unfair to say that they're something of a mixed bag. Although the conference is sponsored by the University of Leicester, it's not, strictly speaking, an academic occasion, so it would be wrong to hold all the contributions to the kind of rigorous standard. Let's just say that the standards of preparation and delivery vary today.

Mapping Faith and Place in Leicester has been funded by the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) within their funding stream, "Care for the Future: Thinking Forward Through the Past". After the end of this initial period of funding, the project moves into a new phase, focusing on the past, present and future uses of one faith-related site in particular: Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara on East Park Road.

The Council of Faiths has lent a hand at various stages of the Mapping Faith and Place in Leicester project (although if we'd grasped how significant it is, we'd surely have done more to help). I've posted entries about the launch event in October 2011 and the first, second and third seminars for the project in this blog. We borrowed the project's pop-up banners for our display at Highcross during Inter Faith Week 2011, when we also distributed many copies of the Leicester Faith Trail booklet (the second, updated edition of which is published today). Members of staff Deirdre O'Sullivan and Dr Ruth Young (Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Director of Distance Learning Strategy) and students from the School of Archaeology and Ancient History took part in that exhibition. There are several members of the Council of Faiths here today and, of course, our Chair, Cllr Manjula Sood, is one of the platform speakers. But I can't help wishing we'd been able to make a more formal presentation. There were some questions from the floor about inter-faith issues in Leicester that some of the platform speakers were unable to answer, that would have surely been part of a proper presentation by the Council of Faiths (regarding consultation with the city's decision-making bodies, for example).

I've enjoyed being involved in this project. It's opened some doors for me and introduced me to some good people I might otherwise never have met. I hope that I (and Leicester Council of Faiths) can play an active part in the project's future development and even find new ways to contribute and collaborate.

As I do at the end of all my blog posts referring to St Martins House, I refer any reader wondering about the omission of the possessive apostrophe from the building's name to a letter from Rev. Peter Hobson, Director of St Martins House, published in the Leicester Mercury, 29 March 2011.

JESUS THE "MIGHTY PROPHET"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Jesus the "mighty prophet"

A mosque is to stage a play about the lives of Jesus and Mary.

Worshippers from Leicester's Muslim Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Community are to stage the interfaith production to highlight the similarities between Islam and Christianity.

Jesus is a central figure in the Koran, in which he is known as Isa, and is revered as a major prophet fabled for his miracles, just as he is in the Bible.

The play will be performed at mosque in Duxbury Road, New Humberstone, Leicester.

The religious production is being put on as part of an inter-faith day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

People wanting to attend the event from 7pm on Saturday, August 4, can either give up food and water during daylight hours, as most Muslims do, or just give up a treat.

Secretary of the organising group Ali Abbas Panju said: "Along with being the month of prayer, fasting and other benefits, Ramadan is also the month of unity.

"We are requesting that all attendees keep a one-day fast for the purpose of attaining closeness to God.

"The fast may be a fruit fast, a water fast, simply keeping away from something enjoyable for one day, or giving up a bad habit consciously for just one day."

The 40-minute play, called The Fast of Maryam and Isa, will be shown twice and focus on Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

Suleman Nagdi, of the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicestershire, said: "Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all based on the same early texts and the only real difference between Christians and Muslims is that Jesus is not seen as the literal son of God in Islam, but as a mighty prophet who performed miracles.

"There are 24 mentions of Jesus in the Koran and a whole passage about his mother Mary.

"A lot of people are unaware of how important they are.

"The play has been chosen as it highlights these similarities and a devout Christian would be comfortable with the play.

"There are parts of the world where there are difficulties but there are also parts where Muslims and Christians work very closely together.

Christians and Jews are all considered 'people of the book' within Islam, following religions with the same message."

Manjula Sood, chair of the Leicester Council of Faiths, will be attending the event.

She said: "I think it's very helpful to celebrate the commonalities as well as the differences between the faiths.

"Judaism, Christianity and Islam have so many similarities and it's good to get together and remember the goodness of all faiths and the message of peace and harmony they share.

"Our ability to celebrate one another's faiths is a great strength of our city."

To reserve a place at the event, e-mail: secretary.mksi@gmail.com

BOOK REFLECTS DIVERSITY OF NEIGHBOURHOOD

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Book reflects diversity of neighbourhood

A book about one of the city's most diverse neighbourhoods has been launched.

We Are South Highfields includes accounts of nearly 100 people from dozens of different nationalities who have lived in the area.

The book, funded by the Church Urban Fund Near Neighbours project, was launched at St Peter's Community Centre in Highfields, Leicester.

Editor Penny Walker said: "It was a brilliant evening and the community centre was packed out.

"South Highfields has been the place for people to come to first and a lot of Ugandan Asians moved to this area in the 1970s. A lot of the Afro-Caribbeans in Leicester still regard it as a sort of spiritual home.

"I live here and it's a wonderful area. The book gives you the backgrounds of the people and encompasses a wide range of ages and nationalities."

Copies of the book, costing £7.50, are available by calling 0116 319 9487.

CONSIDERING WORSHIP

This article (regarding the conference rounding off the University of Leicester's Mapping Faith and Place project) appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Considering worship

Places of worship will be the subject of a conference next week.St Martin's House, in Peacock Lane, Leicester, will host the event, which runs from 9.30am to 4pm on Thursday.

There will be guest speakers from faith groups, English Heritage, Leicester City Council and the University of Leicester, and a chance to debate the role of faith buildings.

For more details, call Heather Lomas on 0116 270 0386.

THIS WEEK'S VISITORS (1,994)

Regular update on the number of pageviews received from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 724
2. United States 414
3. Russia 356
4. Canada 135
5. France 136
6. India 82
7. Germany 47
8. Poland 35
9. Australia 30
10. China 25

This week's total: 1,994 (last week: 1,816). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of that map for "now" (i.e. in the last two hours), "today", "this week", "this month" and "all time". They're updated each time I look at them.