“God is a delusion – a ‘psychotic delinquent; invented by mad, deluded people.” [i] So believes Dr. Richard Dawkins. On the BBC radio, speaking of God he said, “This infantile explanation belongs to an earlier, superstitious era in the history of humanity. We’ve outgrown it.” Dr. Dawkins believes that Christian belief is “a persistently false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence.”
These are strong statements and they are public. The New Atheists, and those influenced by them are secular missionaries. They are sincere, they are motivated, and in many cases, they are passionate. The trickle down effect of their ideas, books, blogs and influence are seen in movies, TV, and are picked up anecdotally by any who need a convenient excuse to avoid what Socrates called “the examined life”. How to respond?
¨ The role of apologetics
The Greek and APOLOGIA means, a speech made in defense. [ii] In some translations it is rendered as giving an answer or a witness (Acts 25:16; 1 Corinthians 9:3; 2 Timothy 4:16). The idea is the response given to accusations or attacks and the provision of “reasons” for your actions, position or beliefs. Dr. Greg Pritchard calls it “the art and science of Christian persuasion”. The New Atheists and their followers need an answer.
¨ Uncomfortable truths
Life is messy. People are a mixed bag. Think of our annual “thanksgiving” experiences. All those strange relatives you may want to avoid but who show up at that one time in the year. They are often eccentric, sometimes weird, and occasionally embarrassing. But, they are…..well, family. In the Christian world, we suffer at times, from our pop culture relatives. They may be on the TV, they usually are extreme, and they make you want to run for cover. The key factor is that they are a part of ALL societies, political, religious, academic, sports, or whatever. This is a HUMAN issue not a specifically religious one. The fact that there are some strange, confused, or odd believers does not mean ALL are, anymore than it would imply the same if applied to any other social grouping.
Focus on the issue
Is faith blind? Do Christians indeed reject the role of the mind and the use of reason? Art Lindsley puts this well, “C. S. Lewis definitely saw a place for reason in the Christian faith. He wrote ‘I’m not asking anyone to accept Christianity if his best reasoning tells him the weight of evidence is against it.’ Lewis believed that there was enough evidence for Christ to lead to the psychological exclusion of doubt, but not the logical exclusion of dispute.” [iii] Lewis joined a long tradition of those who brought reason to bear on deep issues and he invested his life in the importance of reasons for believing the right things.
So, are the New Atheists correct in their assertion that this a credible claim against the Christian faith? Are the secular “missionaries” more effective than Christian ones?
I look forward to your thoughts below.
All the best,
S.
[i] Alister McGrath with Joanna Collicutt McGrath, “The Dawkins Delusion” (London, UK: SPCK, 2007), pp. 1, 4 and 5
[ii] W. E. Vine, “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words” (London, UK: Oliphants, 1978), p. 285
[iii] Art Lindsley, “C. S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insight from Reason, Imagination and Faith” (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2005), p. 83