Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human Condition by Richard Holloway - review by John Gray

John Gray

Negative Capability

Between the Monster and the Saint: Reflections on the Human Condition

By

Canongate 200pp £14.99
 

Most people who get involved in debates about religion assume that having strong beliefs is a Good Thing. For secular humanists, religion is a tissue of errors no reasonable person should entertain for a moment. For at least some believers, religion is a body of received truths one must accept or reject. Both sides take for granted that it is an area of life where firm convictions are required.

In Britain the enemies of religion are commonly more dogmatic than its friends. Drawing on a tradition of questioning that goes all the way back to the Book of Job, most religious people in this country do not need reminding that their beliefs are highly problematical. In contrast, secular humanists

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