Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nawee]

Hello,

Can someone please explain the phrase "if only" here?

�...the answers themselves are not as important as the process of thinking about the questions and contemplating their ultimate meaning. God is not dead (if only) because God represents these ultimate questions that have been with us as long as we have been human.�

Thank you,

Nawee

[pugachevV]

It probably means "if only it were true that God is not dead."
In other words, the writer is hoping that God is not dead, but has doubts.

[CP]

Interestingly, I read it to mean "If only God were dead [then we wouldn't have so much trouble sparked by religion]."

Anyone else read it that way? Does the original passage indicate that the writer is glad that God is not dead, or that he / she is sorry that God is not dead?
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[nawee]

The quote in question was written by Michael Shermer, taken from a magazine called "Skeptic". I actually got the quote from somewhere else which has nothing to do with the existence of God. So I can't tell whether the writer was sad or glad that God is dead or not dead.

So this really is an ambiguous phrase and I'm not the only one that's not clear about?

[dragn]

[CP]

I interviewed Michael Shermer a couple of times more than 20 years ago, when he was making a name for himself as a psychologist who participated in long-distance bicycle races, and I was writing stories featuring athletes and races. For a long time now, he has been the editor of the Skeptic, which casts a skeptical eye on everything, including beliefs about magic, religion, superstition, paranormal phenomena, and the like. I'm more sure about my guess now that I know that Michael Shermer wrote it to mean, "If only it were true [sigh]. . . ."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb