A local taxi driver and theology student has penned a new book which looks to ‘debate’ the topic of atheism.

Mike Bell’s book ‘R U An Atheist?’ looks to create a platform for a debate between theists and atheists about if the existence of God has any truth, as well as whether ‘any evidence is trustworthy’.

While Mike was self-employed as a taxi driver in the island, he found time to study theology and philosophy and became a physics student at the Open University.

Speaking about the new book, Mike said: ‘My book is about the problems inside atheism, and I show how it is the only rational stance inside the theology debates.

‘I became aware of all the religious arguments while I studied theology and philosophy, and it slowly shoved me into atheism.

‘I then spent more than 10 years studying the debates in the theist and atheist war rooms of the past and the present.

‘As time goes on, I find it more and more important to discuss what we know as truth and, even more importantly, how to seek it.’

Mike said that the book was difficult to write due to the need for ‘specific detail’.

He also explained that it was tough to find a publisher for his book due to them ‘not being interested’ in the topic.

Mike added: ‘Manx publishers were not interested, and it wouldn’t have brought the kind of momentum that I seek to gain if I just published it myself.

‘I thought that this was the best way to get the atheist word out to the public, as other mediums don’t seem to work so well.’

The book is now available to buy on Amazon, in Waterstones and WH Smiths for the price of £7.99.