Hard to Believe: A Beginner's Guide to Heresy reflects the author's respect for the positive role that religion plays in the life of most of humanity, and at the same time his abhorrence of the recurring brutal impact of religion on the evolution of the human race.
Interwoven with this well documented and thoughtful study, is the author's own story of his conventional introduction to religion by his traditional Protestant parents, his early instruction in Christian theology and ethics in a village United Church in northern Alberta, and his lifelong reassessment of religious creeds and practices, and the role they should play in his life.
The fundamental premise of Paul Roddick's exposition is that religion - every religion - rest on two pillars: theology and ethics. The former (throughout the history of mankind) has been marked by cruelty and repression, and by constant and bloody conflict. The latter, on the other hand, has provided us with definitions of morality and codes of behaviour which encourage and enable us to live together in peace and harmony.
This is a book that will hold the attention ?and command the respect - of both self-confessed intellectuals, and those who think The Da Vinci Code is a very good read. It is a book which opens far more doors than it closes.
For readers who are encouraged to continue their "search of truth," the books listed by Paul Roddick in the bibliography are available in your local library, or for web surfers, on eBay. This book (as its title suggests) is only a beginning. Whatever your religious roots, age or occupation, what you really believe is an issue worthy of careful consideration, and a question that will never go away.