djenkins,

I hope you have a great weekend. Just promise us one thing: When you are living your life fully, without the "encumbrances" of Christianity, please do not imagine there is no legal system.

Kevin, London,

The Times should stick to news and not take every opportunity to
insult us by shoving superstition down our throats. If you need to print this kind of waffle, put it in the Faith (religion!) section where it belongs. Then people with intelligence can avoid it.

Insulted of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Perhaps by now John Lennon has changed his views Mr. Jenkins.

Brian Carroll, Hong Kong, China

I realise it may come as a shock to "djenkins" and others who think like him, but to some of us God's message of love shown to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, is not an "ancient superstitious tale" but, to us, a real personal experience has made our lives MORE fulfilled, not less. I find myself reminded by "djenkins" comments of the old Guiness advert - "I've never tried it because I don't like it"

So yes, I can imagine "ALL the people living for today" - including the sociopaths, the paedophiles, the serial killers, the people traffickers, the drug dealers etc.. I'll also reflect that the more that philosophy gains ground the more fearful people become and the greater the demands for external control over the people. Then I'll go back and I'll thank God for those who have listened to Him in the past and, driven by their contemplation of "some ancient S&M tale", tried to create the foundations of a society built on different lines.

E Burgess, Slough,

There are plenty of atheists who recopgnise the need for mystery, but who find that organised churches quash the mystery and punish curiosity about mystery. The closer you look at a church that's 80 generations old, the more arbitrary it becomes, the more obviously a human construct, abused and exploited by humans.

For example, Gerard Baker in his column casually describes Christ as a man. That's a heresy. But it's not a heresy because of scripture or divine revelation, it's a heresy because after a lot of schisms, a bunch of politicians decided that it should be an article of faith that Christ was simultaneously-divine-and-human, creating a mystery which it then refused to explain or justify.

The apocryphal gospels are legend not because the canonical gospels are truth, but because they were politically inconvenient for the early churches. Because of this spurious "authenticity", we have lost the Gospel of Thomas, some of the most spiritually uplifting poetry ever written.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

"Mystery is central to man’s spiritual existence. Without it, there is no awe, no reverence, no transcendental meaning."

What a load of meaningless mystical codswallop.

Why should 'mystery' be central to anything?
What exactly is meant by the term 'spiritual existance'?
Why should we have 'awe' or 'reverence'?
And what on earth does the tem 'transendental meaning' actually mean?

What utter irational tosh.

Clive, Colchester, UK

djenkins - Sam Harris says he has experienced something transcendental, he is a buddhist after all. His atheism is exclusively directed at the Abrahamic faiths.

bob, london, UK

It always boggles me why some people think it is necessary to believe in some ancient superstitious tale in order to live meaningful, enriched lives. Carl Sagan, Daniel Dennet, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and others have written many times on the experience of awe and meaning they have encountered and derived variously through science, philosophy, family, even sailing and meditation.
Indeed, I find religion rather life-draining in so far as it makes unsubstantiated promises of an afterlife which may detract from living this life fully. As John Lennon once said, "imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky, imagine all the people living for today." Too right! I will spend my Easter weekend with friends, family, books and hobbies and am sure I will have just as much fulfilment as contemplating the great 'mystery' of some ancient S&M tale.

djenkins, London, UK