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This, quite simply, is the most stylishly arrogant assertion that I have come across in a long time:
“Given the world that he created, it would be an impiety against God to believe in him.”
– Max Morden, The Sea, John Banville
It’s tough to argue with that.
I’m arrogant enough to think it’s terriffic.
The inference given in the quote seems to acknowledge God as a definitive male in whom, given the evidence for him in the creation of the world, it would be irreverent/impious (words applying to God like beings) to believe.
I agree with you. It would be tough to argue with that statement until it is reframed into a form that allows for argument by those who may not believe that God created the world, or even that there is a God.
That you define the statement as a most stylishly arrogant assertion is not surprising.
Perhaps the writer should have lived in my part of the world (KZN Midlands). My daily commute past rolling green landscapes with random whisps of cloud leads me to eradicate the potential non-existence of God.
It reminds me of that verse in the Bible: to the pure all things are pure. Stunningly true.
@hughstan:
It was a rather tongue-in-cheek comment on my part. Part of the statement’s arrogance is that it implicitly asserts no other formation of the statement is possible.
And Banville pays a lot of attention to style.
Slow Thoughts from Dale du Preez 
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