I agree entirely with Mr Paris' view on religion. I am equally certain that all religion must be firmly laid aside for the sake of the harmony, health and peaceful future of all of mankind.

Gavin, Ipswich, UK

The age of miracles ended when those men, upon whom the Apostles of Jesus the Christ (including Paul) had laid hands and given spiritual gifts including the power of performing miracles, died. No human since has performed a miracle.

Elle Jay, Maple Ridge , U. S.

I'm praying to JP2 that Torquay United escape relegation.

If they do, that would be a miracle

Moses Ironnob, hk,

One nun cured of Parkinson's disease is not a SPECTACULAR miracle. It's a very specific, weird and apparently arbitrary event. Everybody with Parkinson's waking up tomorrow totally cured - now that would qualify as spectacular. I'm not holding my breath.

Tony Jones, Grantham, UK

It doesn't surprise me that in these days of mass doubt God should respond with a really spectacular miracle, (especially given all the revolting hatred for JPII in this thread).

Isn't that what's really got Matthew's goat? This healing happened in France, not the back of beyond, and was clearly a spectacular and overnight cure by anyone's standards?

And how much of this article is being driven by a hatred of the Catholic Church for it's refusal to condone homosexual practice, a subject close to Matthew's heart, rather than any other reason? Homosexuality comes up so frequently in these columns it's like an obsession!

Niall Keenan, London, UK

If I may say so, thank God, Matthew Parris for your sensible article and for the subsequent one this last week. I believe in a divine being, a creator, something other than we are but could not begin to describe exactly what; suffice it to say that I believe there is something and sense another level of existence. However, I find any form of fundamentalism an anathema; indeed quite frightening. I do not understand how people who believe in a loving God can behave in a distinctly unloving way. Furthermore, why are they so interested what people do in the bedroom? Yes, we do need to be watchful and energetic and stand up and say we all have the right to believe and live as we will, as long as we do not harm others. As for the French nun who believes she has been cured of Parkinson's disease through invoking John Paul IIs name, if that is what she wishes to believe she may, common sense however tells us she is deluded.

Maureen A Jeffs, Ashton-under-Lyne, England

according to David ,pride is our first sin...lets hope that we don't excel in the next Olympic games otherwise we'll be a nation of sinners.. where on earth did David get ideas like that...

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

mr.parris I thought at first that the letter from david was a joke and that you were winding us all up.... but having read it and re-read it ,I've come to the conclusion that it is genuine.......after all,as the in-saying goes these days, you could not have made it up ,could you.

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

Reading this article I was constantly tempted into the first sin,Pride.The ignorance that the writer showed is exemplary.His knowledge and understanding of what he is writing about is more spartan than a monks life and all the while he believes that by lacking Faith he must be advancing in reason.If only it were so ,but alas reading the article I am reminded that it is true only in the mind of the writer.To address a subject like this one needs to have a certain amount of education on it,a certain outlook and above all an attitude that does not indulge falsities at every corner.Unfortunately Mr Parris has failed on all counts and in place of thought the reader is given a sneer.And all the while that he is informing us of the ways of Dogma he believes he himself is immune from such things ,but his words betray him.Reading it I begun to think that there is a deeper reason for such feelings that have little to do with Reason,I invite you Mr Parris to read the story of Copernicus.

David, Tipperary, Ireland

Atheism is just another belief? If not believing in a god, or more generally a supernatural "reality", is also a belief, then not playing chess is a hobby and being a teetotaller is just another way of being drunk. Perhaps those on this forum playing the semantics game should go to their dictionaries and look up the meaning of this simple but powerful word: "not".

Ed Zuiderwijk, Cambridge, UK

why bother with letters about proving or disproving miracles. Any verdict would depend on 100 per cent truth being told....I remember a car sticker which read " I never lie ,steal or cheat....unnecessarily"

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

A Newman - demonstrating miracles are a sham - how can anyone possibly demonstrate anything regarding unverifiable anecdotes by the credulous and simple-minded ?
Is there one "miracle" that has ever been demonstrated to be anything else but a biased perception of events that may or may not have happened and does not have a mundane explanation?
Its rather like belief in psychics - there is a million dollar prize for anyone who can demonstrate psychic abilities under test conditions - surprisingly nobody has collected it despite unshakable conviction among the credulous that it is a real phenomenon.

Dominic, Cardiff,

read all 255 comments..... it'll be a miracle if this debate ever finishes

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

Phil, atheism is the absence of belief or faith and instead the reliance on evidence.
"Proving atheism" doesn't make any sense any more than "proving gravity".
We look at the evidence and devise a theory that best fits the evidence, is testable and has predictive powers.
There is simply no need to invent supernatural beings to explain anything.

Dominic, Cardiff,

I'll come over to your point of view Matthew when you can unequivocally demonstrate that every claimed miracle in history is a sham. Back to you.

A.Newman, London, uk

Dominic,
Hmmm Thor, The Flying Spaghetti Monster and Invisible Pink Unicorns. So how do you know it's pink? =)

Seriously though we need to bundle ALL religious beliefs into this melting pot of the "unprovables" if we are to be fair ... and that include Atheism. You can chuck all the theories that you like around but you can't "prove" Atheism. It is basically a religion in its own right based on a set of beliefs, based on theories, based on facts that don't even prove evolution let alone the non-existence of God - plenty of science to back that statement up if you're willing to research it... I agree with Russell that something doesn't have validity simply because you can't disprove it - absolutely. However my original point is that people ridicule the Christian faith simply because they believe that they have enough evidence to discount it. That, if we are fair minded, is wrong. My point is take a look at the Christian faith objectively not with the assumption that there is no God.

Phil, Cardiff,

When you look around the globe and see the violence, suffering, pain and death one wonders why people still believe in a mythical superbeing. Stranger still is the fact that these same people (or sheep, as they prefer to be called) will quite happily devote their entire life to worshipping it. Perhaps i could offer some advice to everyone living on planet earth: when you stop relying on God to cure us of all our woes and realise that we humans do have the intelligence and responsibility to make this place a fair and beautiful home, perhaps then we can stop having these futile discussions and concentrate on more important matters.

James Hodgson, Liverpool,

Further to my question as to whether there will be an adjudication and conclusion to this argument so that we don't all feel we've wasted our time writing all these letters 'n stuff, then if there is not why can't we just vote one another off like they do on telly in a civilised manner.Or better still get that rich lady (the one with the funny eye) to tell us if we're the Missing Link or not. Don't just stop it but put a deadline on it to close,( say Midnight 2035)

ed.bradbury , bournemouth, dorset

Reading this whole thread, what strikes me is the enormous gulf in intelligence between those who use reason and those who only think in terms of dogma.
It set me wondering if there is a correlation between believing in supernatural beings and low intelligence - certainly in this "discussion" it seems obvious and very depressing.

Brian, Newcastle,

"No mere man has ever performed a miracle... "

David, Bristol, England

Prove it.

This should give the religious amongst us an insight into the fatuous argumnets they often employ by asking athiests to prove there isn't a god or in this case prove this was not a miracle.

Rob, Birmingham, UK

How glad I am to read in this newspaper such a fantastic article. Brave, which is sad. I say brave because as the author implies, we are living in a world where the nonthinking mass that believes stupid things is taking over media, politics, and even -oh no!- culture. It makes me sad and angry to be surrounded by mentally challenged people in all layers of society who believe in supersticions and are unable to ask themselves "could this be possible?". The fact that we don't know the answers to everything doesn't mean there is no rational answer. We just don't know it, in the same way that 25 years ago we didn't know what was the cause of AIDS and 700 years ago we didn't know the earth was a sphere.
My most sincere congratulations to Mr. Parris

Rafael, Madrid, Spain

Some of the believers seem to think disbelief is a kind oh faith. I beg to differ, the accepted scientific approach is what is called the null hypothesis. In this a statement that something is not true or doesn`t exist is made and then the scientist tries to find evidence of existence that will stand up to rigorous peer review. Let me state the null hypothrsis, There is no "God". The onus is now on the believers to prove their case. I wish then luck.

Also some claimed he only attacked christianity. At the time of the Danish mohammed with a nuclear bomb head cartoons furore Mr Parris wrote an article all religeons in general and the intolerance of islam in particular. In the article he correctly pointed out it was pointless trying to use logic and reason against religious faith and that ridicule and scorn were better. He finished the article by saying he reserved the right to fart. Spot on Matthew.

Denver Watt, Osaka, Japan

Some people, like Matthew Parris, won't believe their own eyes.

mark chapman., chichester, england

Poor Matthew Parris. Has he gone bonkers?
Happy Easter in any case.

Richard, Stockholm, Sweden

Faith is for the weak minded and those that prey on them to satisfy their need for control... the post invasion mayhem unleashed in Iraq by between islamists who brook their faith to justify violence in a strife fostered by a so-called born again President Bush makes for an excellent indicator of the zealotry that underpins the practice of faith... Look no further for the Pope can visit poor countries and urge the weak to be fruitful and multiple which results in the offspring becoming foragers on garbage heaps while he prances about from pulpit wearing $10,000 vestiments and no one crows about the insult... that should answer your questions above

KOJINATOR, PROVO, USA/UTAH

Reading what believers in magic have to say it comes over very strongly that they simply are unable to acknowledge that other people don't have religious type beliefs in any form. If they did understand this they wouldn't bang on with this nonsense about being "judged by god" - this is an utterly fruitless threat to someone who regards these kind of beliefs in the same detached way they regard witchcraft and voodoo. I wonder why they can't understand this very simple fact, is it perhaps that in acknowledging it they would have to think why ? Thinking why is not something those of faith seem to do much of.

Dave, Barrow,

It is what it is a famous quote by an unknown wise person that is a food for thought in zen. My whole point is one can choose to believe what he or she chooses. In a world where the common human mind is skeptical of every thing in a fractured MTV reality show culture, I'm one of the few that believes in miracles. But if evidence was to accompany the said event that would be awesome for the concrete elementary mind. But miracles are not all the same. I believe that miracles can be real,even if there is dna evidence to prove that. The world started with ancient people who believed that a higher power exists. This is what formed our ideas and societies to this day. If we don't believe in miracles, we can say we have no life. No water... No mind... No us!

Nina, Seattle, WA

Given his apparent admiration for 'reason' and disregard for 'faith', I'd be interested to read any rational arguments which Matthew Parris may have for dismissing the investigations of which he is so contemptuous. As far as I can see, his attitude towards the miraculous is one of pure, unadulterated faith: he doesn't believe in miracles, so they can't happen. Quod est demonstrandum.

The Church is much more sceptical. The enormous numbers of miraculous claims the authorities receive each year are investigated very carefully, and most of them are either found to be non-miraculous, or not found to be miraculous (a distinction which reads better in Latin). But because Church authorities (unlike Mr Parris's Catholic friends) are open-minded, there remains the possibility of a supernatural invention.

No one is more biased than the pure materialist.

Sue Sims, Bournemouth, Dorset

What annoys me is that we can't get away from the hysteria generated by the media whenever a 'religious' matter is to be considered. We shall at once be buried under a mountain of belief and opinion that is of no use in discussing matters of faith. There will be no way of getting at the truth of what happened to this nun - in the end, whether she is cured or not, she will bitterly regret allowing her case to come before the public.
That is not surprising - the Gospels say Jesus rose fro the dead, but that has not prevented a large number of commentators, some of whom are professed Christians, from saying there has to be some other, 'rational' explanation for the empty tomb.
Faith is not amenable to public discussion. I firmly believe that the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, and the many miracles of Christ are matters of fact, but I would not know how to begin to refute the persuasive writers in the Press that seem to show all those things are fictional.

Priscus, Harrow , Middlesex.,

please,is there an adjudicator after all this debating,or have we all been wasting our time?.. Check what you have written while you still have the chance (.yes...it may be God.)

ed.bradbury , bournemouth, dorset

why is it always the catholic popes who seem to be involved in all these miracles...why not give our boys a look in.It can only cause jealousy and result in religious conflict the world over,-and chosing a man (an ex-goalkeeper from Drogobych) he let in seven when his team played against Lubartow in 1934 causing them relegation.No wonder Bournemouth is filling up with Polish.They left in shame.

ed.bradbury , bournemouth, dorset

I am so looking forward to the day when "fearless" & " courageous" atheist journalists ( such as Parris) are going to write hard-hitting articles about the other great religions in our multi-faith society, such as Islam or Hinduism. These two, in particular, are, after all, the ones showing exponential growth in vigour & membership; not Matthew our dear old, moribund, Christianity.
Is this going to happen? Am I Mother Theresa?

K. Nelson, Wootton Bassett, Wilts

Recently, the heads of several religions in Britain, including the head of the Catholic church here, co-signed a letter accusing humanity of having 'too big a footptriont on the earth.' Can they together think of one main reason why? How about 'just too many of us?' Allow all religions to act within their own spheres of influence and faithful. When they seek to manipulate reason outside their own small worlds, as with the issues around birth control, they will need all of the faith that they possess. Those of us who follow reason would prefer to live safely in this world than in the imaginary next world.
Thank you, Matthew Parris.

(p.s. I also presume that each signator thought the believes of the other signators to be quite misguided.)

Evolutionist

A. J. Legge, Cambridge, U. K.

What frustrates non Christians the most is that despite all their reliance on rational thinking supporting the contrary, and scientific objectives to disprove the existence of God, the church grows larger by the day...nearly 2000 years after the gospels were written. Isn't that amazing? Maybe the short-term, fickle thinking folks in 1800 years time will believe what another scientist can prove to be the fallacies of Darwinism and how he was misguided in his own conclusions?

What they're obviously not realising is that regardless of their words of criticism, the attacks on our intelligence, personal decision-making processes and the passing of the blame of all wars onto religion, we simply say in return that the truth is waiting for all of us.

Matthew Parris - you gift from God - you cannot save me, you cannot save anyone else. Don't fear for me.

Paul Winn, Seria, Brunei

From both sides of the argument I keep seeing this word "God"....In what form? No one knows ,do they.?..I could just as well say ,"my god is quite like a slice of cheese" and keep using the abbreviation "Soc" and no one could say for sure otherwise.(PS I dont really believe in Soc)

e,bradbury , bournemouth, dorset

Carmen in Newark, yes I have heard of "faith" - its the believe that things don't require evidence to be believed.
Imagine that you and I are serving on Jury duty, the evidence for and against the defendant is put forward and at the end we retire to consider our verdict, as a believer in faith presumably you have not listened to the evidence and you simply "know" the answer. I on the other hand consider what I have heard and come to my decision based on the evidence put before me.
Another version of "faith" is that right now, all over the world, people are hating and killing each other over tiny differences in how they perceive their "faith" - its euphemistically called "sectarianism".
Carmen : If something requires "faith" because there is no evidence, is it possible that it exists only in the minds of the people who believe it?

Bob, Penzance,

As usual the Catholic Church needs to wheel out it's phallanx of experts to prove the unprovable . If we all kept to a simple faith in what Christ gave us during The Sermon on the Mount the world would be a happier place. The constant need for the Church to prove that the power of God through comitees of old men sitting in the Vatican amuses me.If the church diverted these resources to a way of curing poverty in this world rather than promising paradise in the next then it would have some credibility.

Bob Trnbull, Newcastlw upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Have any of you ever hard of faith? Faith is believing what you cannot see. Matthew Parris, how are you so certain that miracles do not exist? Miracles exist daily if only you would open your eyes and really see instead of going through life wearing blinders. Is it so out of the realm of possibility that, yes, somebody could inexplicably be cured of a disease. Is divine intervention a myth? I hope not, because then there would be no point to living in this world.

Carmen, Newark,

Phil, there is no proof that The Flying Spaghetti Monster does not exist, therefore it is an equally valid concept as god as are Thor, Zeus, The Invisible Pink Unicorn plus all the deities of other religions.
Bertrand Russell demonstrated the fallaciousness of the "You can't disprove it, therefore it must have validity" nonsense with his famous "Celestial Teapot".

Dominic, Cardiff,

Mathew Parris believes that washing your hair with shampoo to keep it clean is unecessary. He seems blind to the fact that his hair looks dirty.
I'll go with the pope rather than the founder of the greasy hair sect.

david lowe, saint leger en yvelines, france

Dear M. L. , cambridge
I don't hate religious people, I am just staggered that people living in the 21st Century still apparently want to choose ignorance, supersition and fear instead of reality and rationality. Additionally there is a double-standard, those who hate science for being a force to wipe away superstition are not honest enough to acknowledge that their life is surrounded by the results of science, that but for science many of us would have died from simple illnesses before reaching adulthood. Hilariously some people I have reasoned this out with profess that they could give up their 21st century lifestyle willingly but show no signs of doing so.
I don't want unelected "religious leaders" in the news telling me about their idiotic "morality", I don't want them in the House of Lords, I don't want to hear politicians talking about religion, I don't want people assuming I go along with the presumption of belief in the supernatural, I simply find it insulting.

Dominic, Cardiff,

I'm a Christian. Do I believe that Israel needs it's Biblical lands back ... no. Do I believe that every reported miracle is genuine ... no. But I do believe that God exists and I guess that is what offends so many people. It's the idea of being held to account, of there being someone who created you and who you will meet when you die. We don't like to think about that a lot. It's kind of inconvenient.

So what of miracles and God's views on politics? Well if you don't believe in God then of course you already think that it's all rubbish. So the real question isn't "Is this a miracle?" or "Does God have a view on Israeli politics?" but rather "Is there a God?" Many people who ridicule the Christian faith do so on the "assumption" that there is no God. That's unscientific. Scientific study, if it's to be fair, must have no assumptions.

There is no "proof" that God doesn't exist so let’s not act as if there is. The idea of Jesus being resurrected might not seem so far fetched then.

Phil, Cardiff,

Described as a "discreet little nun", this woman just seems full of love to me. I wish more of us could be like her. There's so much hatred and vitriol on this page. I really wonder where it gets us. I hope you are able to ponder on the hatred you've released this Easter Sunday, Mr. Parris. I really do.

M. L. , cambridge, UK

Many of the comments on this topic are amusing to me. Amusing in that they are no different from the opposition to religion throughout the ages. While I am first to decry many of the outrages of organized religions, I also believe and, yes, have FAITH in the spiritual. When I look around the world today I can easily see why people could be discouraged but that is what separates the wheat from the chaff at the end of time. You don't know what you believe until you actually examine it. My advice to all is simply try.

Will, Montreal, Canada

The Catholic style of 'miracles' is one thing, after all they are all a matter of opinion as to whether a particular problem was present in the first place and whether it has been cured.
The annual Orthodox "Holy Light" is another. The Metropolitan of Jerusalem goes down, alone in a cave with a candle and when he comes out it has been miraculously lit by 'God'. Either this is true, in which case a little independent evidence (eg. a TV Camera) would simply prove it beyond doubt... **OR** he has been using the 'Holy' cigarette lighter and this is a cynical manipulation of gullible believers. There are no half measures. This is in no way a matter of opinion or judgement it is either provably true or it is total fraud.

Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Greece

Religion is a tool for humans to use and work together. Alas!, people have always been using it for their own propaganda; their own motives. Look deeper in what all the religions and teachings are saying and find the common truth.

Mitram, Singapore,

I look around and often find it hard to believe that we are actually living in the 21st. Century, especially when there are so many seemingly intent on taking us headlong back to the dark ages. When will humanity be free of this sickness named religion.

John Phillips, Bristol,

I'm an atheist and -yes I believe in miracles.Medical miracles occur whenever doctors cannot explain what has happened and the term covers their embarrassment for not knowing everything. (Its our fault really for treating them as gods)
They happen quite often.

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

If the Catholic church really wants to perform a miracle the simplest way is to sell some of the art works which they have gathered during hundreds of years. They could buy food for millions of hungry people and save children from poverty and dying.

Bess, Uppsala , Sweden

"I think it is a very reasonable thing to believe that there is a Creator. And if there is a Creator, it is also very reasonable to believe that he takes an interest in his creation (us) and interacts with it in all kinds of ways...say to work a miracle?" says Paul, Dallas, TX. But perhaps beetles or viruses are the bits of his/her/its creation that Zeus/Baal/Kali/Yahweh/Odin/whoever really cares about?
And who or what created your Creator?

I could believe in a god - though I see no need to do so. But if it's omnipotent, it must be an evil one.

Eja, London, England

Few modern institutions require an urgent miracle more than organized religions. Magic writing aside, the "truth" of scripture and verse can't possible last another two or three decades, even among the most intellectually challenged..

Emma H. , Ottawa, Can.

I think I can answer Mary Shelley's question about why atheists hold animosity towards religion, at least why this atheist does. I can't fully explain in the 1000 word permitted me because there are so many reasons but I can give a few:
1. Religion is responsible for all of the man made ills of the world whether it be over population of the planet, terrorism, ritual abuse of women, or war. I could go on and on. If you are interested in just how religion is responsible for these things a very rational explanation is contained in a book by author Sam Harris entitled The End of Faith.
2. Religion is responsible for wasted lives; people not being truly happy, being afraid because of superstition, making life decisions based on fairy tales, staking their future on the prospect of pie in the sky after death. Most of these people never had a chance. They were brainwashed since childhood. Not only do they waste their lives, their decisions intrude on other's lives (see 1 above).

Matsu Sourdough, Palmer, USA/Alaska

Perhaps the more intelligent of us are simply reassessing whether the "Christian" society is worth saving. Why rage against the anti-theists? Dawkins and his ilk are merely the final sputterings of the failed Enlightenment project anyway.

It is revealing that the early church flourished despite, and probably because of, their hostile setting. Several recent observers of what we know as the "missional emerging church" - Australian Alan Hirsch in particular (The Forgotten Ways) have documented how the early persecuted church and the burgeoning, yet persecuted 20thC Chinese Church have a number of common features. Common to both is the organic nature of their congregations - all were stripped back and devoid of buildings and institution. Yet they grew and grew! A revolution is taking place which is, as you would expect in the myspace generation, completely under the radar, but no less vital for being so.

Stephen McAlpine, Sheffield, UK

Mathew, as you rail under the guise of rational thinking, (that dated Enlightenment thinking tool) what you seem not to accommodate is that God works! This Pope Miracle nonsense is just the latest manifestation. Viewed in the aeons of time, this is not about the latest ‘Miracle’; what such phenomena serve is the consecration of the identity of the larger ‘believer’ group; that core of society.

You may despair, so have others, Nietzsche: ‘Men would rather believe than know, they would rather have the void as a purpose, rather then be void of purpose”

Peter Cheevers, Rochester, Kent

People,it's 2007,not 1007...to believe that someone can be cured through a "miracle" is both simplistic and feeble...science will explain this one too,but,the masses must be controled through the church,because,if Catholics start thinking for themselves,the Vatican will lose money...
it's all about keeping old white men in power;pure and simple....

Barry Heath, Halifax, Canada

So - to sum up the religious viewpoint
1. Fingers in ears
2. "No matter what the evidence otherwise our invisible friend exists otherwise the world is an empty place !!!!".
3. "Plus it must be true because its written in an old book of fairy tales which lots of people believe"

Good grief I think this is the argument from idiocy defined.

Dominic Shields, Cardiff,

I very much enjoy reading articles by Matthew Parris, even when I don't always agree with his conclusions; they are always thoughful and well written. In this instance I would like to know if he is suggesting an intelligent Christian should not believe in miracles per say or just in this particular case. Presumably Christianity implies a belief in God and if one believes in God then one cannot preclude God's ability to act in a miraculous way. Assuming this to be true it does not follow that we must accept as true every event for which divine intervention is claimed. Nor does it imply that we can understand why God acts in one circumstance but not another.

Without the evidence before me I do not know whether this nun was healed or not, but I do know that faith in a God that cannot perfom miracles is not a faith worth holding.

Matthew, London, UK

We are asked "Do they believe that John Paul II may have cured this nun from beyond the grave? "
The answer is of course a resounding NO.
We are then told "A nun has apparently been cured of Parkinson’s disease through writing the name of John Paul II on a piece of paper."
What a heap of rubbish.
Further down the article the author seems to correct himself and attributes the healing (which he still rubbishes) to God.
Now we are going places and finally he encourages us to go "and choose your side" To what? Perhaps it is to this wonderful quote. "For those who believe no miracle is necessary. For those who do not no miracle is ever enough."
Now I know what side I am on and what side I freely choose with pride.
Firstly: Only God works miracles. The Pope has healed noone.
Secondly: It was not only the "scribbling" of the Holy Father's name that brought about the miracle, but the continued prayers of her fellow sisters.
if you are gonna report on something, report honestly.

Fergal, Naas, Ireland

I still believe that an intelligent, rational, reasonable faith in God is not only possible, but also the only way to make any kind of sense out of the world. I don't have to blindly believe in every so-called miracle out there, but I can and do believe in Jesus Christ without needing to sacrifice my mind.

Anna, Isle of Wight, UK

Why the atheist animosity towards the (especially Catholic) Christian religious? Why the demand for proof of what cannot be proved? Why the anger at the Catholic religion being so, well, religious?

Christianity has always held a mystical element—it is founded upon the most incomprehensible mystery of all: not the resurrection, joyous and miraculous as it is, no--the incarnation: God becoming man and walking amongst us.

I would say the fury of the atheists comes from Christianity threatening their world view: a materialist, ultimately nihilist, scientific secularism. Pope John Paul II represented the opposite of the cosmos: one originating with God, an earth sacred and sanctified, human life filled with Christian purpose.

They threaten each other.

Mary Shelley, London, UK

Theres plenty of holy books .Lots of religions.Many gods down through the ages.Spirits in the natural world of aboriginals.Supernatural experiences by diverse cultures.I ,m getting a picture that there is something out there ,subtle and subjective to the individual but abstract and difficult to understand.In my own experiments if moved a solid object,receive numerous messages from loved ones and observed behavoiur from pets that tells me animals are like us with this spirit /soul in them and a part of the living entities of this world that is our home.We are part of a very large system of living souls or creatures speaking many languages but not understanding what each has to say.This is a fundamental barrier and we should strive to break these barriers of man and animal before we start devising a god and a religion to practice.First things first.

Bill coleman, Sydney, australia

Surely man has gor it wrong and continues to get it wrong. Before Christ came to earth we practised Religion of some discription irrespective of our faith. During Christ's ministry iman was left the legacy that organised religion really isn't the answer. You "ain't" going to heaven practising religion - you know, bowing and scraping, talking in language that nobody can understand and then saying do you believe? After all when organised chruch got going it was an ideal opportiunity for those who anointed themselves [or is it appointed themselves?] did so with great reverence for themselves and convinced the rest of us we were mere mortals. Religion is after all mans' efforts to edify himself before God in his efforts to find God. Stuff religion I'm all for Faith - now that's God's effort to find man. All the religion in the world has caused the mayhem, inhumanity and discrimination and hatred that can never be undone because we all think they way we do it is right. Christ's message????

Ian Tucker, London - Wandsworth, England

To Mr Armitage: to prove that God must reasonably exist is not beyond man's reason. Aquinas did it in the 13th century. Read the first part of the Summa Theologica (you can find it on the net, translated into English). God, I repeat, performs many wonders in the lives of those who pray to Him in humility, knowing their own weakness. You atheists first of all need to acknowledge that truth about yourself in your hearts - that without God you are nothing. And then the ascent begins. And sometimes these things called miracles happen. The world demands signs - God gives them to us constantly. As I wrote before, do the research.

Benedict Carter, Moscow, Russia

Where are you intelligent Muslims? Where is your voice, your righteous anger?

Now, Matthew, are some religions more multicultural than others?

James Walker, Oadby, UK

"Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see HIm, even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the earth will weep because of him. Yes!" Revelation 1:7
These things are sure, we will weep before our God. Let's do it now, not just later.

pearl, bucaramanga, Colombia

You only have to think about the crib at Christmas time. This is a religion that can appeal convingly to three-year-olds. Unfortunately, the higher clerics think that all their 'faithful' (e.g Catholic Mothers) can be conveniently categorized in this way. They have no need to listen. They cannot listen.

John Carty, Medellin, Colombia

I, my friends,my family and everyone I have ever known, when it is felt absolutely necessary ,resort to exaggeration or deception Deception is a feature almost unique in that it exists in every aspect of creation -animal, vegetable, mineral and abstract. It is all around us.When most things are sold, be it a product or an idea,people will, if it is important to them to sell,exaggerate (and or lie). Getting people to believe what we believe has always been (mans urge to change man) the root of conflict. The futile arguments I have witnessed on this page and at other times of my life ,only recently seem to be explained by a report of a study by a University in the USA. Faith or lack of it ,is in our genes and all the arguing in the world isnt going to change anything...we are all hardwired!

ed bradbury, bournemouth, dorset

IT'S A MIRACLE.... I had a vision that said I didn't have to pay income tax anymore, can drive my car as fast as I want, can be rude to my neighbours and can tell the mother in law where to go, ALLELUYAHHH I'm cured....

Mike Jones, Farnborough, Hampshire

"But what a melancholy conclusion: that the thinking parts of a religion should be almost extraneous to what moves it..."

Religion has thinking parts?

Lois, Prescott, AZ

Indeed, Tapdog, “Faith and reason are not natural enemies.” And no, the definition of faith is not (necessarily) belief in the absence of proof. We do not believe in spite of reason, but in light of reason. Faith is first (as the Catechism states in para.153) a gift of God, a “supernatural virtue infused by him”. Faith is also (p. 154) a human act of the will: “Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed are contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason.” God gives us faith, the ability to believe, and he gives us proofs of his revelation that we can perceive through our human reason. Faith opens our eyes to understanding God’s revelation and (even more importantly), it calls us to seek deeper understanding. Faith calls us to exercise our reason, to question, and to seek answers, it does not call us to reject blindly learning, inquiry, or external proofs. Part of these external proofs, perhaps, is the apparently inexplicable--when we must humbly admit that we do

Diane, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Shizee, I am sure this devote woman of God has “actually read her bible and knows what the God she serves says about idol worship and blasphemy”. I am sure that she knows this, but do you? Do you know what the Catholic Church teaches about the intercession of the saints? This nun would NEVER claim that a man cured her. Catholics pray directly to God, through the intercession of our one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. All Catholics pray in this way—Catholics living on earth now and those who have passed on from this earth and are now in heaven. Catholics can also ask others to pray to God for them, to add their voices and supplications to the individual’s. As you might ask a friend to pray for you, so do Catholics—the difference is that we ask both our friends on earth and our friends in heaven. When we prayer “to” a saint we are asking them to pray for us to God. We venerate the saints. We worship only God. Please do not condem us for something we do not actually do!

Diane, Charlottesville, VA, USA

It really isn't fair of those naughty Christians to start substituting 'faith' for 'religion' to describe what they believe and do. Just because 'religion' has had so much negative baggage attached to it in recent times by those who are critical of such things, it just isn't on for Christians to adapt to changing circumstances. You give these wicked nasty people a good telling off, Matthew. There now do you feel better?

Richard, Gateshead, UK

All you believers out there I must ask "Do you believe everything you read in the papers?"
Then why on earth would you take any notice of something that was eventually written 2000 years ago by people who knew the earth to be flat?
Incidentally Mr Parris Jesus is Alive and lives in South Park Colorado

Steve Byrne, Christchurch, UK

Lol, what's wrong with a marriage between faith and reason--provide, of course, that they're both "mature adults" that respect each other's differences.

I don't see any problem harmonizing man's ability to reason with his ability to believe in things that have not yet been seen.

Faith is not "provable."
But that does not mean that faith is irational...

I think it is a very reasonable thing to believe that there is a Creator. And if there is a Creator, it is also very reasonable to believe that he takes an interest in his creation (us) and interacts with it in all kinds of ways...say to work a miracle?

Paul, Dallas, TX

Don't forget that in order to pass the entrance exam to either the Orthodox faith or its younger sibling the Catholic faith, you need to believe in a deity that has nothing better to do with His Sundays than to transubstantiate a few billion pieces of bread (even though you and I might think that teleporting a tenth that much to Darfur would be easier and win Him a gazillion more converts). Belief in miracles that serve no purpose is a sine qua non of Catholic faith. Any Catholic who applied reason or logic (oop's there's Pope Benedict's favourite words again) to them would instantly cease to be a Catholic.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

“We are given to understand that the great world religions are all really fumbling towards the same truth.” I don’t agree w/the former, but I believe that we are under the same existence, no matter the belief. Science isn't the only explanation; hence, my continued belief that there is something greater than the realms of Science. As a Catholic I believe in many things—one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, all that is seen and unseen…at the same time, I believe that there are those who have a greater sense of faith than I, and if they are privy to miracles, props to them. I also believe in one’s right to an opinion, but I heartedly believe that if you choose to exercise that right, then you have to keep the door open to the opposite. Mr. Parris, you’ve done well expressing your opinion, but you failed to leave room for the possibility that you could be mistaken. Remember, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Kimberly, Wabeno, Wisconsin, US

I think you missed the point Mr. Parris. To have faith is to believe the incredible, reason has nothing to do with it, otherwise how could we believe that there is only one God but three persons within that Oneness? There are quite a few of us out here who believe in miracles, and we will discover in time whether the event, which seems to give you such verbal dyspepsia, will be declared supernatural.
This is Holy Week, when we Christians review and renew our spiritual lives and your discourteous article may have helped many of us in that process. God really does move in mysterious ways!

Clare, Redditch, Worcs.

there can be no evidence to prove this, or it wouldn't be a miracle. To apportion the event to a religious intervention without the proof is not really the action of a logical/intelligent person.

I think the writer is right to ask people to question the logic of jumping to this conclusion, when if it happened in another part of the world it would be apportioned to another God.

One thing I never understand, is who will tell the people that worship another God, just as commitedly as Christians worship theirs, that the other God/s can't exist as there is apparently only one? Can't all be right can they?

simon, Valencia, spain

Matthew you ask: Where are the shouts of self-respecting bishops and cardinal-archbishops, raised against the woeful confusion of faith with superstition?

Bernard (above) has it exactly right when he says:
'I believe in God the father and in his son Jesus Christ. I believe God can perform miracles, even today (God would be expected to be able to do that wouldn't He?).

John Paul II however was a man and the leader of an institution that is rife with unbiblical traditions and superstitions, some of them blasphemous. Jesus said nothing about canonisation and the whole process is a disgrace.'

No mere man has ever performed a miracle. But the whole institutional church career structure - Roman Catholic and Anglican - is built on the lie that its professional hierarchy have supernatural powers that you and I don't. (E.g. to conjure up Jesus in person at Mass or Communion) Don't expect any of THEM to vote for their own demise.

David, Bristol, England

Catriona, I shouldn't be alive. As a baby I was very ill. My mother and grandmother prayed for me and I came through- shocking the doctors who thought I should be dead. I don't ask for the Catholic Church to proclaim this as a miracle- it's far too late for it to investigate now. Doctors have done a lot for me since then, and without their help I also wouldn't be alive, which I am fully prepared to admit.
Just because I believe God intervenes sometimes doesn't mean doctors don't do some of the greatest work there is to do.

Madeleine Johnson, Watford , Britain

In answer to Kieran's comment; "You can't just tell us what you believe and use it to run-down someone elses beliefs." - Funny I thought that was what the world's religions did exactly!!!!!!

Roger, Sheffield,

Somebody is censoring comments, and indeed comments that are not aggressive nor attacking others beliefs, who and why?

Graeme, London,

Matthew, you won't find many Christians, even intelligent ones, answering your call. Not because the Church needs the 'petrol' provided by the credulous -- though probably it does. No, the reason is that something intractably miraculous is the very heart of Christianity: the resurrection of a dead man. Some of us are more ready to believe in miracles today, and some of us are less, but your clever Catholic friends won't come running en masse to your indignant howls, because most of them know: no miracles, no Christianity.

Mark Nelson, Santa Barbara/Leeds, California/W. Yorks.

Hi Roy Marsh,

Just look at this miracle of the nun! Do research and you'll see that the doctors will be stumped. If they ain't, then a rational answer to her cure will mean that this isn't classified as a miracle.

Miracles are actions which are inexplicable to science and apparently contrary to the laws of nature. A cure will have been affected which is beyond medicine and it will be seen to be an objective intervention by God for the personal wellbeing of the person who is healed - and to generally encourage us ALL to believe!

God bless ya!

Another Kieran, Dublin,

I’m a catholic and find debates like this very tiresome,
just to set out my beliefs was Jesus son of god no, is there an all powerful entity of some kind yes, and the most important one does following the man made rules of Christianity cause a happy balanced life yes yes yes. Atheist lease design system of living communism did not work capitalism not working your just as bad as us.
Its not really important to any ones faith if miracle was from god or not except perhaps that nun.
For the sceptics out there read John Barrows book on inner and outer space, he has a very even handed approach, i.e the game theorist whom found that an all powerful god would logically act like he does removed but occasionally causing miracles is the most optimal strategy.
I leave you with a quote from dawkins the arch atheist, the chances of life forming are like a hurricane going through a scrap yard and forming a 747, now to me that’s a miracle and that enough for me to believe in god.

George Bull, South Shields,

Perhaps we're missing something here, in that a nun, is more than likely going to [writing,thinking,praying] about some religious subject [in this case JP] - that being her role in life, whereas joe public (who on many occasions have been cured without explaination) just goes unreported. I refer specifically of the man who rid himself of the aids virus recently in the news - I wonder what investigations would be instigated if he were a priest/monk etc !!

barney, Burnley, Lancs

Whether He did or not is debatable. But as for coming back - oh He is Mathew, He is.

Nan Bradshaw, London,

With the ridiculous Pol Pot assertion, has it been established that he was an atheist and carried out his crimes in the name of atheism ? Isn't it more credible that he was following his interpretation of his own holy book - Das Kapital ? The reason communism can't allow religion is that when you have two conflicting irrational and baseless belief systems one has to go.
What's the percentage of inmates in US jails that declare themselves atheist ? I'd been told it is one percent.

Dominic Shields, Cardiff,

As a non believer i have questions for religion - yet havn't offered any credible answers. Ask religious types what they would do with God's power if they were to do the job for a day? Answers: end poverty, hunger, suffering, war, cure all sick children and destroy/uninvent disease and illness, make sure bad things dont happen to good people etc. I would reply 'then what is he doing about it - he has had the job for a long time and things get worse'. No sensible answer can be provided e.g. 'it's because he has given us free will'. Well thanks be to God for giving the rapist the free will sodomise the 3 year old girl.
From this type of discussion i have drawn two simplistic conclusions! 1) He doesn't exist 2) He exists but enjoys people suffering.
I would love to be proved wrong, because after walking through the pearly gates i'll hunt the all powerful one down and give him a good slapping on behalf of Darfur, Rawanda, kids with cancer, holocaust, WWI, wife beaters etc.

matt, hong kong, hong kong

I for one am appalled at the Pope's revision of the events leading to the crucifixion. Fundamentalist Python is on retreat these days so to take out the "Welease Woderwick" scene, the "He won't haggle" scene and completely chop the final "Always look on the bright side of life" is simply denegrating my deeply-held beliefs. Its no good simply asserting that the "What have the Romans ever done for us?" scene is apocryphal - I know it to be true and the onus is on him to prove me wrong.

Dominic Shields, Cardiff, Wales

nothing is imposible for God. Therefor He, not the Pope, may have curred this Nun's deases, if indeed she is curred. However, God, in His Holy scriptures, does not promise to necessary do this. The healing which the Lord is most concered over is spiritual, as spiritual rebellion against Go's rule in our lives is our greatest deases. To redeem us from this crime God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die and take hell, our just punishments, in our place. It is by trusting in Jesus' sacrifice and victory and being obidient to Him, having faith in Him, that we can be given this healing.

Especialy at this time we should concentrate on this problem, our broken relations with our Creator, and the gracious solution He has blessed us with. Not questions over possible miricals. God bless and Happy Easter.

Gareth Rhymes, Hull, UK

"Did John Paul II perform a miracle?"

NO.

"Where are you, intelligent Christians? Where is your voice, your righteous anger? Where is your honest contempt for this nonsense?"

Rightly said.

As Catholics often criticize and accuse others of superstition and other wide- ranging things (some imaginary), we need to question some of their practices.

At least learn to respect other religions and their followers instead thinking them as fodder for conversion by all methods including different forms of high-level fraud.
Regards,

Krishna R. Kumar, Udupi, India

Well said Matthew Parris!
I am so sick of everyone pussy footing around the religious so as not to offend. What about the religious who offend me? So here, my opinion.
Religion is insanity! Life is fabulous without it!
Ofcourse everyone is free to believe what they want, live and let live etc.. But why is it then, that this ethos seems mainly only to be respected by the atheists amongst us? It’s always the religious who feel they need to make their point at any cost. (There’s safety in numbers and if you believe that pigs fly, it’s certainly reassuring if a few million others believe the same thing.)
Religion is a tool for controlling the populace, or for controlling wives. Religion is a palliative for people who havent found a way of dealing with this existence and therefore hope for the happiness they are missing here, in an afterlife. If all this energy wasted in preparation for death would be invested in living life, the world would be a different place today.

girl, munich, germany

Oh yes, Mr Parris seems to think that anyone capable of believing in miracles is stupid. I suppose he includes the doctors of theology and high ranking scientists in this? Do you have a degree in theology, Mr Parris? Have you even researched what you are criticising? I dare you to read the Bible front to back and go to Lourdes, meet people who went there in wheelchairs and came away on their own two feet then tell me what I believe is lies.

Madeleine Johnson, Watford , Britain

I too felt like the learned writer that God never existed and i would laugh at people who read the Bible and close the door on any Witness.
However when my life was at the crossroads so to speak and for some reason unknown i cried out to God for help
and without being able to go in to detail(obviously) my life and outlook changed.
I have felt guided , supported and loved by an unknown force which i now five years later am happy to call God.
I pray and commune everyday and He is as real to me as anything tangilble on earth because i have felt His presence and recieved His Love
You are entitled to your opinion and i fully understand your position, but unless you find yourself in circumstances were your soul cries out for help perhaps you will never experience,which is a pity.
Contempt prior to investigation will continue to keep man in total ignorance...seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened,it was for me and i can only share that honestly as its my testimony

Paul Houghton, Epping, Essex

Sir, surely the definition of faith is belief in the absence of proof. Proof is what makes a belief reasonable in the world of secular humanism. But this is not secular humanism, it is faith. The resurrection of Jesus, the parting of the Red Sea, Mohammad moving the mountain and many more miraculous events lack reason, yet billions believe they happen based on faith. God in his infinite and incomprehensible vastness need not stand up to your proofs of reason. I am not arguing for John Pauls sainthood based on what happened to this nun, and i certainly don't agree with the Christian Right when it comes to forcing the end of the world, I merely assert that, by the contents of your argument, nothing miraculous or special about faith is true. To me it would seem that your argument is against faith itself.

Patrick Mc Guigan, Havertown, PA, USA

Another Kieran, I can't let that comment go undisputed. "Miracles have been scientifically proven to happen". Sorry, what? Because something today is not within the reach of scientific understanding does not make it a miracle. Invoking God, or any supernatural entity in scientific discussion is a non-starter. Would you have understood the inexplicable scientific experiments between 1900 and 1920 which pointed to quantum theory, that unimaginable treat, as miracles before science could explain them? I doubt it. Yet, just as those experiments showed, science can advance and rationalise phenomena previously unexplained. Further, science cannot conclusively 'prove' a theory; all it can do is test it to the limit.

Hannah, Oxford,

Some of these comments suggest that readers have got confused about what this debate is about. It's about the miracle, not the healing. Of course, inexplicable things happen all the time. Someone decides at the last minute not to catch the flight that crashed; it's a miracle! Someone else decides at the last minute to catch it; he's not talking. A whole college of physicians certifying that the diseased one is now well has nothing to say about WHY. It may well be that faith in a deity is the reason for the cure, but the deity concerned doesn't actually have to exist for this to happen. The question is whether it's necessary to invoke pie in the sky to account for the cure - especially when the pie in the sky comes with a side order of intellectual cowardice and manipulation.

And this all-loving god would ignore the good nun's prayers but for the intervention of a heavenly insider?

Ruth , Johannesburg, South Africa

Desmond Persaud said

"the archetypal atheist, Pol Pot"

So what exactly makes Pol Pot the archetypal atheist, rather than the thousands of atheists who go about their lives every day without turning into homicidal maniacs?

Dave Cross, London, UK

I can just imagine the High Priest Caiphas, while putting Jesus on trial dismissing the miracles Jesus performed as superstition and not founded in reason........

Paul, Bedfordshire,

Unfortunately good intelligent people rail at the nonsenses of religion instead of actually seeking out the God of the Faith those religions conceal to favor their own terms. Reversing past the rewritten Bible, past religion's superstitions and mythology, one faces the first-century predenominational, original pre-church Christian real Church known as “The Way”. True Christians do not attain to specificity; we are freed from false specificity by releasing our wanton beliefs back to God, who cleans us up through Christ. So basically while the author's rant has the ring of true skepticism, he is railing against what we know to be false advertising - a never-ending go-around...

Bishop Marcus, New Mexico, USA

Why do atheists concern themselves with religion? If they do not believe in any of the gods that are worshipped why should they care to post on forums such as this?

For me, as a devout atheist, there are many reasons. As most atheists I am interested in knowledge and the truth. It upsets me to see the ignorance, intolerance, hypocrisy and downright stupidity perpetuated by religion and its followers. It is the biggest detriment to mankind and if I can do anything in my power to remove this evil from the face of the earth then I will post away.

To me religious people live a horrible empty life based on a rather unpleasant fairy tale. But worse this superstition is not just dangerous to them but to the world around them (Just look at Northern Ireland, the middle east...). I think every atheist is duty bound to stop the religious disease spreading and if possible cure those afflicted.

Barry, Newbury,

Mr Parris, I would like to invite all miracle cure believers to an absolute blue chip investment. They can send me cash now and I will guarantee triple the investment will await them in Paradise. Its called the Paradise Plan and credit cards are acceptable. I can be contacted at Hereafter Cash a charity set up in my name with of-course spiritual guidance as it takes a Miracle to get the cash transferred. I have many glowing testimonials from satisfied customers on the farside, unfortunately none with Parkinsons. To guarantee high life in the hereafter see Hereafter Cash an investment in your future. Robert Nickisson

Robert Nickisson, Gorokan, Australia

"You can't just tell us what you believe and use it to run-down someone elses beliefs. To each his own and all that!"

Fine. I believe Christians are idiots -- deep down they are children who have never stopped believing in fairytales because the true realities of life and death without a safety blanket are too much for them to bear.

Having to make your own decisions in life based on what YOU believe to be the right thing to do, instead of some threat of eternal punishment or problem of eternal reward? Facing up to the fact that when you die that may well be it, and this is the only life you have? Just too hard for a great many people. But telling yourself "there there, god will make it better" just blinds you to richness of the life you could be living free from this nonsense.

I am a scientist. Science is real and verifiable, and if we realise we were wrong we change our minds. Religion is nonsense and people cling to it unchanged for centuries. I know which side I'd rather be on.

Catriona, Belfast,

I'm afraid Matthew Parris is just one more of the fashionable atheists that set up in the media as rational beings. There is no way you can have a newspaper debate on miracles - you can argue about physical phenomena - whether and how they occur - because we expect the physical world to operate on a consistent basis, according to rules elucidated by scientific investigation.
Miracles are acts of God - who is free to do what he will, according with his own nature of love - and those who recognise them for what they are should respond with thanksgiving, and with their own efforts at doing good for. their neighbours.
I wish the Roman church had not put this poor nun up as an exhibit - saying, in effect, 'See! Miracles do occur!' It smacks of religious strife, and antagonistic evangelism. For what it's worth, I think it possible that the late Pope did intercede for her - and I'm not at all moved by the idiots that say, 'Why, then, not for all the other sufferers?'

Priscus, Harrow , Middlesex., England

If there is no God, Who is it that draws Athiests to talk about Him with such fascination?

Vern Humphrey, Mountain View, Arkansas, USA

"Churlish nonbelievers like me are made to feel it is we who are being arrogant, dogmatic, closed-minded. "

"Shout it from the rooftops. Write it on walls. Carve it into rock. He didn’t. He isn’t. He won’t."

I don't think you can put it in a more arrogant, dogmatic and closed-minded way, Mr Parris. Perhaps you're "made to feel" that way because that's the way you're behaving.

I don't see why there's such a fuss about this anyway - if you don't believe in God and sainthood, why would you care whether the former Pope is declared a saint or not? Why can't you just leave those of us who do believe in peace, rather than pouring vitriol and scorn on us?

Liz, Bucks,

Absolutely superlative, Matthew, honestly. I want to get an original print of this.

Kevin Johansen, San Francisco, CA

YES YES YES YES - SURPRISE - GOD DID DO IT AFTER ALL MR PARRIS and your column only exposes the limitations of your human experience as compared with the spiritual power that operated through John Paul II. This is not superstition. This is not fake. Sorry - this is the power of God at work. Miracles do happen Mr Parris. The miracle is that millions do believe Mr Parris. Millions have done so and will contuinue to do so long after you are dead and gone and are not able to write a peurile column. Your scepticism is falacious; your article is built on doubt not faith. Regretfully, you are only one of many who fail to believe what you cannot see or touch. The reality is that millions do believe in a higher power, a power beyond the grave that DOES operate. Can you explain the origin of the universe; can you explain the miracle that happened to the French nun? Perhaps you ought try explaining that before you rush to judgment in what must be the worst column you have ever penned.

Anthony, London, United Kingdom

'The problem lies with Mr Parris to disprove that miracles occur,' says Benedict Carter above. No, no, no! The onus is on those who make these ridiculous claims to prove that miracles exist. Exposed to scientific reason, these putative miracles would fall, flat, dead, unproven and unprovable. By the same token, Mr Carter, the onus is on believers in gods to prove that those gods exist (or that God exists). Of course, I cannot prove that such entities do not exist, because you cannot prove a negative. I cannot prove that fairies don't exist at the bottom of my garden either. But show me the evidence. Reason the argument. Even Anselm's attempt at the ontological argument is ridiculous. As for the argument from design ... We have billions of years of evolution to show us how things happened and grew complex. Sorry, Mr Carter, you prove your stance. Don't expect Parris, me and other more rational people to prove the absence of entities that are borne out of rather silly claims.

Andrew Armitage, Hebron, Whitland, West Wales, UK

To pick on a 'miracle' by John Paul II makes a point. But if you look through the multitude of saints that were put through by that Pope, each of whom was supposed to have the requisite number of miracles, the situation beggars belief. Obviously many Catholics accept these miracles without questioning them. But many others ignore them and tend to look at the quality of life of the 'saint'. Personally I find it embarrassing that a great Church that has stressed the role of reason should set reason aside when it comes to supposed miracles. The latter tend disproportionately to be found among certain ethnicities and congregations of sisters; and they draw on illnesses that have links with psychological disorders. Saints at best come from the ranks of the good and the holy and do not need to be buttressed by hysteria, overactive imaginations and complaisant medical officials.

James O'Connell, Ilkley, U.K.

It's not really the question of a miracle but the entire process of rushing through the sainthood of Pope John Paul. The fact is more saints were cannonised during his reign than any other Pope. John Paul was a good C.E.O but there were no share options, pension or big bonus. But what can his toadies do? Well promote him to sainthood. It's not whether or not he deserves it. Let's face it there are far more 'saintly' people in this world. i.e single mothers who fight to bring up their children in the Christian faith, people working with the poor etc, etc. Unfortunately, these people never got the media exposure except perhaps Mother Theresa who is also in line for a fast track promotion. Just like the corporate world, the 'grunts' who do the best work go unnoticed. So for a Church where the word 'change' does not exist why the rush? Unless the message is be celebate, be obediant, be traditional become Pope and change nothing etc, etc. We adorn our celebrities with honours, gifts etc.

john connor, burlington, Ontario, Canada

Firstly, the nun was cured by God, not John Paul II. Her prayers and the prayers of her fellow sisters, were offered through the intercession of JP II. The cure didn't happen BECAUSE she wrote his name, her ABILITY to write his name LEGIBLY was PROOF of the cure . . . she had had Parkinson's aferall. Mr. Parris clearly needs some help reading the newspaper. He also needs help writing the newspaper. Religion is not a campaign to increase goodness in the world. Religions, by definition, involve the supernatural: belief in a world beyond the one we see. Anyone who intimates otherwise doesn't actually believe in the faith - they just enjoy the warm fuzzies and acts of charity of a social-service provider. So yes, the Blairs (and centuries of other brilliant minds) actually do believe in miracles, and that faith and reason are the "two wings" on which the human mind soars to the heavens (JP II's phrase). But Mr. Parris is so much smarter and more open-minded than all those people.

Rev. Mr. Stephen M. Koeth, CSC, Portland, OR, USA

At last some common sense. Thank-you Matthew! This whole fantasy/superstition thing has gone on too long as it is!

Ian Boys, Broadbottom, UK

It is a source of constant amazement to me that non-believers seem unable to leave the subject of God alone. I don't believe in Horace the purple dragon as a supreme being, so I don't mention him. Why, then, do people without faith still feel the need to talk about God? You don't believe - fine. But couldn't you leave the people who do alone?

Clare, Manchester,

No, it is not for Matthew Parris to prove that miracles did not occur". If anyone (catholics or otherwise) make claims for extraordinary events, the onus is on them to prove the claims right . And it's absurdly arrogant to claim, as Benedict Carter does, that secularism equates to "an evident lack of joy, hope and love". Secular humanists (like myself) simply find hope, wonder, joy and love in slightly different ways and places to the religiously-minded.

Paul, London,

I couldn't agree more. Religion of whatever variety is frankly nothing more than a form of mental illness; a crutch on which the psychologically weak seek to support themselves.

John Walker, Wigton, UK

Further, God doesn't create miracles; scientists do. Remember that the next time medical technology saves the life of someone you love.

Or you could attribute it to those words you muttered over and over to a man who died 2000 years ago, or the last Pope. We won't mind. We're too busy creating other miracles to care.

Catriona, Belfast,

As an atheist I enjoyed the article and the discussion that followed. Only one thing bothers me - If Matthew Parris is a committed atheist could this in itself be proof that there is a God?

arnoldo, Coventry,

I think Peter of Chessington makes a good point - if we cannot today establish any credible evidence of godly intervention (still waiting for those cured amputees or prayed-for patients to beat the odds) why on earth should we give the slightest credence to some ancient hear-say contradictory set of stories of an empty tomb, written by unknown authors decades after the alleged event, in an age of extreme superstition, where such god-man stories were dime-a-dozen (osiris, mithras, attis, etc ). Faith in such a story is indeed futile.

K Manning, Oxford, UK

Dear Matthew, You have forgotten that the Christian faith stands or falls, not on whether a nun really has been cured of Parkinson's or indeed on eschatological niceties, but on an empty tomb. Take time this Easter to read 1 Corinthians 15 for an honest asssessment of the implications of this. As the author says, if Christ is not risen then faith in him is futile. But if he did....

Peter, Chessington, UK

The problem lies with Mr Parris to disprove that miracles occur. The world is full of Catholic miracles, not just the curing of this nun. These happen very regularly, whether at headline shrines such as Lourdes, Fatima or Guadalupe, or in the lives of unknown faithful throughout the world. People nowadays demand proof? That's fine: so do some simple research, on the internet or by reading the relevant (vast) litertaure. My chief sadness is not with Mr Parris' lack of reasoning (identifying "intelligence" with secularism) but in his, Dawkins' and others' evident lack of joy, hope and love. But without God and without faith, you are already in a desert of your own making.

Benedict Carter, Moscow, Russia

Miracle, schmiracle.

JPII made more saints than all his modern predecessors combined, which completely lowered the prestige and credibility of those who were meant to be sources of inspiration to the Catholic faithful. So yes, it would be very fitting if JP11 was made a saint, like every one of the conveyor-belt McSaints that he made.

... and if you act now, this beautiful JPII bobble-head statue could be yours for only $4.99!

Amanda, Norfolk, UK

Unfortunately good intelligent people rail at the nonsenses of religion instead of actually seeking out the God of the Faith those religions conceal to favor their own terms. Reversing past the rewritten Bible, past religion's superstitions and mythology, one faces the first-century predenominational, original pre-church Christian real Church known as “The Way”. True Christians do not attain to specificity; we are freed from false specificity by releasing our wanton beliefs back to God, who cleans us up through Christ. So basically while the author's rant has the ring of true skepticism, he is railing against what we know to be false advertising - a never-ending go-around...

Bishop Marcus, New Mexico, USA

Well done MP. Keep shouting your message.

Religious believers have been secure for too long in the unchallenged prevalence of their perspective. NO MORE. Atheists exist and live in great numbers in a street near YOU. Question your beliefs now!

Alternatively buy a sand pit!

John, Manchester,

Wonderful article Matthew.

Telling it exactly as it is.

One really has trouble keeping a straight face when there are those in the world who believe this rubbish and those continually try to perpetuate it. How can the intelligent mind look at this fairy story and believe....

Once again for all of you:

He didn't. He isn't. He won't.

THERE IS NO gOD.

F.S.SUMERS, LONDON,

For all those who believe that God makes miraculous interventions, they should check out http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/. Surely if he's prepared to intervene and cure parkinson's, cancer etc he should every so often answer the prayer of an amuptee and give them their limb back. But alas he does not. Not only that but a number of prayer studies have conclusively demonstrated that prayer is not efficacious at all. The only reasonable conclusion we can come to is that he simply doesn't exist or he just doesn't like amputees.

Daniel, New York,

In response to the question of why some people are passionate about debunking this miracle nonsense: imagine a world in which scientific research (e.g. stem cells) was inhibited because some people claim that the Klingons forbid it (and will zap us if we persist); imagine middle eastern policy being influenced by a Klingon prophecy of war there; imagine if homophobic policies were permitted because the Klingons are also apparently bigots. Imagine if challenged to demonstrate the actual existence of the Klingons we were told by the followers that they have warm fuzzy feelings (revelation), or no reasons at all (faith), or some follower apparently was cured of cancer once after waving a tricorder over him (miracles). I hope we would all ridicule these fatuous justifications. While we should respect the right of people to hold all sorts of ideas, we certainly don't have to respect the ideas themselves, especially if they have deleterious consequencs for our society.

djenkins, London, UK

Mr. Parris seems to have a religion all his own: "believe in me, for no good reason." Why sir, all the ranting and drivel without giving intelligent readers your REASON(s) for calling names?
This seems to be a True-True observation: A-the nun was cured of her condition and B-she prayed to John Paul II for such a cure. What is at issue is whether B caused A. I believe that search for causality, and the nature of her condition, is what is currently being investigated. What, specifically, is your "beef?" Because you choose not to believe in the possibility that B caused A, should others blindly follow you? It seems to make you quite angry. Please calm down and express yourself in a manner consistent with your dignity. Best regards..

Robert P. N. Shearin, M.D., M.S., Jackson, USA/Mississippi

Can anyone explain why the usually thoughtful and coherent Mathew Parris, abandons these qualities whenever he turns his pen to the subject of religion?

Martin Symington, Biddestone, Wiltshire

Which is worse, the column itself, or the treasure trove of equally insulting comments from readers that followed?

Seriously, folks--are you not embarrassed to be raving anti-Catholic bigots in this day and age? I thought for sure modern people were well beyond such revolting prejudices. They should be relegated to the dark history of past religious persecution.

Yet any halfway tolerant person would be sickened by the vile rants that Matthew Parris and some of his readers would like to pass off as the opinions of supposedly educated, "scientific" thinkers.

Shame on you. If you are still capable of shame.

Chris, New York City,

Does Parris exist? If he believes he does... why does he assume for himself what he denies God? Everything crys out for explanation including this cure.

Neil, Bodmin, Cornwall

Thank you, Matthew, for a breath of reason. Here's what I was saying in 1997: http://members.cox.net/mcplanck/essays/moral.html

Anna of Spain, the reason atheists won't stop talking about God is very simple: because theists won't stop trying to use God to control other people's lives. This is the Pope who swears that birth control is a mortal sin. Isn't it fair to point out that his evidence for that claim might be as shaky and irrational as his evidence for this one?

MIcheal C. Planck, Tucson, AZ, USA

Why are there so few miracles that are claimed but so many terrible dissasters in the world that kill millions of people? If this omnipresent supreme being is such a good God what is likely to be his (of hers) rationalle based on those facts?
If the answer is, he is testing our faith, then I suggest 2000 years is about enough thank you, we got it, you can stop now.

Keith Manton, houston, usa

Mr Parris misses an important point. "Christian" derives from "Christ" and if you are a Christian you do believe in Christ and His miracles. The Christian religion is not just about this watery, vague religion that Mr Parris descibes- "sharing moral values, the good of mankind "etc. Yes, of course, it involves all of that but it stems from a fundamental belief. And from that belief arises faith. Using the adjective intelligent seems to suggest that only the "unintelligent " Christians would believe in miracles. It is understandable, expected even, if those without faith do not believe in miracles, but it is precisely those "intelligent Christians" who should believe in miracles because they understand that believing in God is believing in a higher power, much more intelligent that the most intelligent human being. I personally believe in God and in miracles, but will respect the rights and the views of those who do not believe. Let ''unbeleivers" accord us the same rights.

Samantha, London, UK

It is curious that 'miracles' only seem to happen when there is ambiguity in the diagnosis or cure. For some reason it never happens in the case of amputees where there is no such ambiguity. Why does god not heal amputees?

And of course, when properly controlled statistical studies are done, prayer has no significant effect (for example, the recent heart patient study in the US). But people like to hail the cures as miracles and ignore the misses ( 'god works in mysterious ways').

But the point I think the author is making is that most intelligent people know this. And in any other area of discourse, say of quack medicine or psychic mediums, we would be quite happy for people to point out the fallacies involved (e.g. counting hits and ignoring misses) without being accused of intolerance, disrepect, fundamentalism (!), etc. It is just normal critical thinking. When it comes to the question of the existence of powerful sky beings apparently such criticism is bad form.

gkclifford, Cambridge, UK

Mr. Parris,

It's OK - I forgive you.

God bless,

Richard, London,

Christians believe in a soul, an afterlife, and the power of prayer. Catholics especially reverence their holy men and women—the saints-- spiritual virtuosos--those possessed of what the great sociologist Max Weber called spiritual intelligence. John Paul II was such a man, a man who died with nothing, who left nothing material, yet for whose funeral the most powerful of the earth journeyed to Rome.

The nun wasn’t praying * to* John Paul so much as praying *with* him, thinking of him with love, and asking him to intercede with God. The phrase in the Catholic Confiteor is “pray to the Lord, our God, for me.” Thinking about/ with such a very great man brought about a great thing.

Not so very strange, then, eh Mr Parris,? Not really.

Mary S., London, UK

The only miracle I've noticed lately is Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley sitting together at the same table. Is John Paul II going to take the credit for that?

Roddy Nicolson, Shetland, UK

Faith in the modern world is difficult for those who respect their own intelligence more than humanity. Evidence which is compelling to a believer is a mere quirk of the mind to those who have no belief beyond pride in their superior understanding. Martina and Marie Lousie feel their evidence is valid, but not so to an athiest. The athiest does not have an answer to futher our understanding of these phenomenon but is certain science eventually will. Fortunately, we will find the believer correct. Ironically, it will be after death. See you then.

Lizbet, Orillia, Ontario, Canada