Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

4. 

   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

5. 

   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

ON learning that the ridiculous project—the result of a “vision” received from God by Richard Gamble, inset above— I was reminded of an observation on prayer by atheist writer David G. McAfee.

Prayer doesn’t work. Perhaps it makes the believer feel better (in the same way that meditation or deep thought would), but prayer doesn’t actually affect the external world. Not only is it ineffective, but it is also a very narcissistic practice … why would a ‘God’ change its ‘Divine Plan’ to accommodate any person’s wishes?

But despite the complete absence of any verifiable proof that a single prayer has ever been answered by any gods in the annals of human history, Gamble embarked on the project after he carried a giant cross across the country in 2004.

After completing his stunt, he asked, “hey God, what do you want me to do next?”

Back came the vainglorious answer, “build me a monument to the prayers I have answered.” Or words to that effect.

Gamble then began soliciting accounts of “answered prayers” from around the globe.

He told Our Sunday Visitor:

The stories vary so much from parents [who told of] their unborn children being healed in the womb, to provision of food for a single mum, to Jesus helping a couple in their marriage then all the way to unusual ones like a sailor lost at sea but God guided him back to port. We have 36,000 stories so far ….

The Eternal Wall’s website describes the 167 ft-high thing—due to be completed in 2026 at a cost of £10-million—as :

A huge Christian landmark. It will sit in the heart of the UK. The gigantic monument of hope will host a million accounts of answered prayer, making it the largest database of hope stories in the world.

Each brick will recount a personal, specific way in which God has answered a prayer for people both now and in the past, offering a vast amount of experiences all explaining how God has come through for individuals in the midst of life’s storms. 

We want to see Jesus’ miraculous and loving nature celebrated through these answered prayers and believe that the one million testimonies will ignite faith, and belief in the power of prayer, on a national level.

Once completed, Gamble’s prayer now is that a host of dignitaries—including King Charles—will be attracted to the site, located near Birmingham.

At least this monument to Christian conceit, arrogance and idiocy isn’t being paid for by British taxpayers. The dosh has come from delusional donors via crowdfunding.

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