Thanks to kennahijja

[fpb]

Nice postcard. I like Aberystwyth too - used to have a friend there. And the Welsh National Library - OK, that explains everything. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a nice handwriting? Soft, neat and altogether unreadable. (Yes, unreadable. 8-))

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I have thought about it, and i do not think I had better. Your confidence in me is flattering, but, I think, misplaced. To beging with, the forum you pointed me to is essentially dedicated to supporting atheists and helping them keep their unbelief. It is the last place in the world where a man may be freely challenged on his or her beliefs and debate them openly. The general attitude is expressed by the contributor who says that while he will read some books pointed by a Christian, "it's probalby all BS anyway". In other words, I will condescend to letting my eyes glaze over some lines of your books, but do not expect that they can do a thing to change my mind even on matter of fact. After all, a thread where they can accept the ancient Protestant fable that there is no evidence that Peter went to Rome and was martyred there well, it is a thread where any atheist proposition, however preposterous, will be accepted with shouts and cheers.

Second, there is the matter of the kind of person I am. I find that,however hard I try, my contempt for certain kinds of prejudice and wallowing in error cannot be hidden; and people take it personally. I may say that "it is not you I find ridiculous, it is your belief that Jesus was a marxist activist with environmentalist leanings," but people do not differentiate. Consider, therefore, what would happen if I suddenly appeared on this alien thread, bearing an uncompromisingly oppositional message. Do you think I would be welcomed? Do you imagine that my arguments would be heard with an open mind? And do you think I would not add to my already numerous crop of enemies?

There are, surely, people with the learning, the wit and the sanctity to make an impression even in an hostile audience. I very much doubt whether I am one such.

Nonetheless, thank you for your confidence.