FAITH, INTELLIGENCE AND LOGIC

"Intelligence is tied to the ability to think logically; so intelligent people ought not to believe in God."

This is the provocative line taken in the first part of Edward Dutton's article in the Church Times. But that is not all there is, just as logic is not all there is. 

His offended Evangelical friend says in paragraph one, "So basically your book is saying I'm thick". By the end, after examining a number of personality characteristics with their 'life implications', he can say of her: 

She is an intelligent person, but is likely to have very high agreeableness, conscientiousness, and, perhaps, openness and neuroticism.

He himself, though an atheist, says: "I believe in God sometimes."  

By contrast Professor Brian Cox even questions the relevance of logic to the question of the existence of God. He was asked about his attitude to religion and told the Radio Times recently: 

In the spirit of Gottfried Leibniz [17th century mathematician and philosopher], you can say, "Well, I don't accept that something can come into existence without a cause." You're allowed to say that; it's not illogical. So if you want to think there's an eternal presence that causes things to happen, that's not illogical. I don't happen to think that - I almost don't have an opinion on it.

Join us on Sunday at Wychwood Library as we explore these different angles on faith, rationality and personality. The article is available online here:
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/30-may/features/features/why-atheists-are-brighter-than-christians