Here are some good quotes from last night's QandA show on the ABC:

John Lennox (Mathematician and Christian) on the News of the World: "... my impression is that when you engage in the kind of investigative journalism that the News of the World has gone in for, it seems to me to become a different matter when that kind of level of investigation is focussed at them and that, to me, is a good sign that the moral tolerance of people has limits."

John Lennox on the forgiveness in politics: " ...if we talk about forgiveness, I mean if I personify it, personalise it, I’m a man who needs forgiveness and I notice that in the Lord’s prayer, you know, there’s a prayer for give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses. We notice it when we miss our daily bread but we don’t notice it so much when we miss forgiveness."

Eva Cox (atheist) on “the Force”: “I think the idea of having some sort of supreme force makes me really uncomfortable because if there is one there they do a pretty lousy job of it.”

John Lennox on Proof and God: “I believe in God because I believe there’s evidence for God.”

Susan Carland (Muslim) on Proof and God: “In the end to only base religion on proof is a problem because you have to have faith. Obviously faith has to be an element and faith is evidence of things not seen.”

John Saffron on Proof and God: “Because, I mean, it’s like basically I’ve been to like a sceptics convention and I’ve been to an exorcism and the exorcism was way more fun and way more - I don’t think these things have to be absolutely true to sort of be invigorating.”

Jacqui Grey (Pentacostal Christian): “But I think that for a lot of people who have an interest in spirituality and particularly for Christians, the idea of the proof of God is actually in the demonstration of their lives. The idea that their behaviour, that their actions may actually reflect who God is from their understanding of the biblical text and to me that’s actually just as important as a proof of God as a mathematical equation.                                                                                                                                 “

Virginia Trioli (host):“Eva Cox, is there any proof that would persuade you?”
Eva Cox: “No. Because, I mean, I’m a social scientist so I’m into probabilities, not into proofs, not a mathematician.”

Audience question: “Do you think it’s more important to have a belief in something or to be a good person and to help, realistically, humanity?”

Susan Carland:“Yeah, definitely. I think being a good person is definitely more important. You can have belief and be just an atrocious person who brings nothing but havoc to the world. So I think definitely being a good person is the ideal. If you can marry the two, then obviously I think that’s excellent as well. But belief without being a good person is - you’re essentially a dead person walking around, as far as I’m concerned.”

Jacqui Grey:“Everyone has a belief system and their belief system comes out in their actions. So what they do is a reflection of what they believe and I guess the challenge is if someone is acting inappropriately or acting in a way that is unhelpful for society, we need to look at what do they believe.”

God Gone Quiet:

John Lennox:“I’m not sure that God’s quiet. I think we’ve stopped listening ... it’s a very western remark. If you go to the eastern world, like China, where Christianity is thriving and people’s lives are being transformed, you would have a very different response and coming back to what has been previously said, in the end supreme test of any religion is does it work in life? Does it change people’s lives?”

Susan Carland:“So when you use your reason and think in a reasonable way, that in itself is the voice of God and so I believe that God talks to us all the time with our own reason and from the people that come into our lives. It might not be the burning bush, but I still believe that if we’re attuned to it, I believe the voice of God is everywhere.”

Question: “Whatever you believe, faith is, by definition, not fact. Yet religion is taught to young children, who can't possibly understand what it means, as fact. How can you justify brainwashing children?”

John Lennox:“I think one of the important things here is our concept of faith because what I would like to see happen in schools is children taught to think and taught to evaluate things because faith, what is it? It’s a commitment, as I see it based on evidence. It’s not a blind taking leave of your intelligence and jumping into the dark.”

If you’re watching the video, there’s a significant moment at 18:35.