http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/roy-williams/ Roy Williams, 47, is the author of God, Actually - a reasoned defence of religion in general and Christianity in particular.  First published in Australasia in 2008 by ABC Books, and reprinted several times, God, Actually has since been published in a revised and updated edition by Monarch Books (an imprint of Lion Hudson plc), in Britain and North America. Williams was born and raised on the North Shore of Sydney.  He attended Sydney University in the 1980s, winning the University Medal in law, and went on to a twenty-year career in the legal profession.  He was a litigator and partner at one of Australia’s leading firms, Allens Arthur Robinson.  Stricken by a life-changing illness in 2004, he took time to recuperate before deciding to become a writer.  Since mid-2006 he has written regular book reviews for The Weekend Australian, as well as pieces for a diverse range of other publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, Spectator Australia, Australian Literary Review, Dissent, Inside Sport, The NSW Law Society Journal, Sydney Alumni Magazine and On-line Opinion. God, Actually has been a best-seller in Australia.  It has received high praise here and overseas from both reviewers and readers – believers and non-believers alike.  Williams speaks regularly about religious issues at churches, writers’ festivals, bookshops, schools and other public events. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-god-botherers-bother/ You hear many complaints nowadays about pesky, outspoken Christians.  Across the West, a fashionable attitude has emerged: Beyond the doing of charitable works, and perhaps the soothing of the bereaved at funerals, “religion” should be an entirely private affair.  The so-called New Atheists are vocal advocates of this position.  One of them, Michel Onfray, has admitted that his atheism “leaps to life when private belief becomes a public matter”.  Onfray hates it “when in the name of a personal mental pathology we organise the world for others”.  Here in Australia, there are many like him.  The talented journalist-author Peter FitzSimons is fond of ridiculing sportsmen, like golfer Aaron Baddeley, who publicly give thanks to God.  FitzSimons rarely misses a chance to snipe at all “delusional” believers, and, in a recent spray in the Sydney Morning Herald, asserted ludicrously that belief in God “is entirely inimical to educational principles”. (Read Brian Rosner’s spirited reply.) feedback@thepunch.com.au (Roy Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-god-botherers-bother/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/why-god-botherers-bother/#item7368 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:00:17 +0000 Roy Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dogmatism-derails-both-sides-of-the-religious-debate/ One of the ugliest aspects of the culture wars is dogmatism, the inability of either side to respect the other’s point of view. Nowhere is this vice more prevalent than among protagonists in the so-called God debate. It’s fine to be passionate about your belief (or unbelief).  But it’s wrong to demonise dissenters.  Far too often today Christians are dismissed by their critics as deluded fundamentalists, relics of a past era who have jettisoned reason and common sense.  Just as frequently, Christians disparage atheists and agnostics – even fellow Christians with whom they disagree on one point or another – as unprincipled or immoral.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (Roy Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dogmatism-derails-both-sides-of-the-religious-debate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dogmatism-derails-both-sides-of-the-religious-debate/#item6282 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:40:50 +0000 Roy Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-best-arguments-for-God-are-purely-scientific/ Modern-day defenders of orthodox Christianity – of any religion with a supernatural element – face a host of challenges. Chief among them is the widespread assumption that science and religion are hopelessly incompatible. In his best-selling book The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins asserts that “religion is now completely superseded by science”. It’s a familiar line.  Religion, we’re told, is shadowy and value-laden – an exercise in “blind faith”. And the Bible says that the Earth was made 6,000 years ago in the course of seven days. Anyone who believes that is crazy! These notions are deeply ingrained, but they are fallacious. And they distort the true beliefs of most Christians in Australia. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Roy Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-best-arguments-for-God-are-purely-scientific/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-best-arguments-for-God-are-purely-scientific/#item6281 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:35:50 +0000 Roy Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-bibles-old-stuff-way-funnier-than-the-new-stuff/ The Bible is renowned for many reasons, but its capacity to elicit laughter isn’t one of them.  Profound, boring, thought-provoking, out-moded, terrifying, censorious … take your pick.  But funny it is not. The American intellectual Jack Miles claimed recently that the Bible “is morally serious to the virtual exclusion of charm”. Such sentiments are understandable. There’s no disputing that the Bible’s concerns are, at core, as deep and weighty as they come.  Even so, there is humour to be found within its pages.  For the most part, however, it’s not of the side-splitting or slapstick variety. Almost all the intentional humour is in the Old Testament. Sarcasm, irony, punning, wordplay, humorous imagery and exaggeration – each were liberally employed by the ancient Hebrew authors. Like all the best communicators today, they appreciated that humour is an excellent way to win over an audience. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Roy Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-bibles-old-stuff-way-funnier-than-the-new-stuff/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-bibles-old-stuff-way-funnier-than-the-new-stuff/#item5840 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:39:59 +0000 Roy Williams | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/atheists-shouldnt-damn-the-bible-with-faint-praise/ Why, on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, are its praises being sung by so many prominent atheists?  Richard Dawkins himself, best-selling author of The God Delusion, has led the charge.  In an article published in the Christmas issue of New Statesman, Dawkins hailed the KJV as an “astonishing piece of English literature”.  He hoped to “encourage our schools to bring this precious English heritage to all our children, whatever their background”.  Here in Australia there have been similar calls.  A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Julia Gillard got into the act.  “It’s impossible to understand Western literature,” she opined, “without having that key of understanding [of] the Bible stories and how Western literature builds on them and reflects them”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Roy Williams) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/atheists-shouldnt-damn-the-bible-with-faint-praise/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/atheists-shouldnt-damn-the-bible-with-faint-praise/#item5868 Sun, 22 May 2011 19:50:19 +0000 Roy Williams | Author bios | The Punch