A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life

A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life
___
I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, –that unless I believed, I should not understand.-- St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I Couldn't Be an Atheist

So says Sir Anthony Hopkins in an interview with the Catholic Herald:

Sir Anthony Hopkins told the Catholic Herald this week that he "couldn't live with" the certainty of being an atheist.

The actor, who was knighted in 1993, said: "Being an atheist must be like living in a closed cell with no windows".

Sir Anthony said: "I'd hate to live like that, wouldn't you? We see them, mind you, on television today, many brilliant people who are professional atheists who say they know for a fact that it's insanity to have a God or to believe in religion. Well, OK, God bless them for feeling that way and I hope they're happy."

He added: "But I couldn't live with that certainty, and I wonder about some of them: why are they protesting so much? How are they so sure of what is out there? And who am I to refute the beliefs of so many great philosophers and martyrs all the way down the years?"

Sir Anthony, who is most famous for playing the cannibal Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, stars as Fr Lucas in The Rite, based on the experiences of American exorcist Fr Gary Thomas.

4 comments:

Bruce said...

Smart man. It is a bit odd to hear a man talk about not being sure about everything as a position from which to have faith. That is the wonder of mystery, God, Love, Presence, and the witness of nearly all people in history. There is far more to the human experience than fact and hyper rationalism.

Allan R. Bevere said...

Bruce, I like Hopkins' comment that begin an atheist was like living in a cell with no windows.

larry said...

Hopkins gave a terrific interview to Piers Morgan on his show on CNN about 10 days ago. I didn't find Morgan's show on Hulu, and I don't know if its available elsewhere, but Morgan asked a great deal about belief and certainty, and Hopkins gave quite personal answers.

Allan R. Bevere said...

Larry, I missed it. Hopefully, it will be posted online somewhere.