Review: Why God Won’t Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty?

Why God Won’t Go Away: Is the New Atheism Running on Empty? by Alister E. McGrath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As I picked up The God Delusion a few years ago, I have to say I was intimated.  Richard Dawkins is well-known and well-established as not only an atheist and intellectual, but he is also a sort of crusader for the cause of New Atheism.  While I do not doubt his intellect, his arguments against there being a God (we can’t explain Him, we can’t ascertain His origin, we can’t locate Him) and against religion in general (all religion leads to violence) are laughable at best.

 In extremely accessible language, Alister McGrath finds these and other gaping holes in the New Atheist rhetoric.  These are not your typical atheists.  While classic atheism simply argued against any sort of “higher power” and practiced religious tolerance, often even embracing it for its propagation of morality and community, the New Atheists see religion as only leading us off a cliff.

Deny The Bruise?

Several years ago (not telling how many) I was at a hotel at the end of youth convention, awaiting our leaders to check out and the bus to arrive to whisk us back home.  Since the convention was over there were so many people in the lobby that there were no places to sit.  So I decided to lean against the glass wall at the front of the hotel for a good vantage point.

Suddenly I felt a full body WHACK!  Startled I looked around and saw no one and nothing that could have done the damage.  In fact there was no one even close.  I thought nothing of it and continued to wait.

The Magic (Not Science) of Evolution

“Science is fact.  And since fact is superior to your holy book, then science is right and you are wrong.”  How many times has that argument been foisted by people who cannot acknowledge their own biases?  It would be way too simple to think that because it is based in fact, any time science seems to contradict faith then it must mean that faith is wrong.  But the question is in the word “fact,” which has its own set of definitions and connotations that may intentionally mislead even its supporters.

Meta-Critique: Mehta on Miller

Over the past several months I have had a unique opportunity to interact with atheists on matters of faith (or “lack of faith” as it were).  It is interesting to me how time and time again they tend to be keenly aware of the problems in the church, although not always a full understanding of what biblical Christianity is all about.

 One recent observation was made by Hemant Mehta in his post titled “God Doesn’t Have a Plan for Your Life.”  You may be inclined to quickly react against that, but before you do consider the fact that it is essentially a line taken from another post, of which Mehta’s is a critique.  Donald Miller, famed Christian and author of Blue Like Jazz, wrote a post titled “Does God Have a Specific Plan for Your Life? Probably Not,” where he explains that unless you have heard a donkey talk to you or have become pregnant in spite of never having had sex, God probably does not have a specific program for you to follow.

Good Without God: a Response

In pockets of the United States are swarms of atheists.  Centered around institutions of higher learning, these intellectual folk are hot for debate and hot for religion, just not in any way that would be supported by the local Christian church.  Yet, housed within these groups is something intriguing, that they even do not realize is there.  The seed of truth that has lain dormant for so long is germinating in this oddly fertile soil.

The “Good without God” campaign seeks to canvas the country with billboards and fliers announcing that it is possible to be a moral person without belief in a Higher Power of any sort.  Even in nearby Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University, a humanist group started a controversial bus ad campaign declaring that people all over the world do not believe in God and still are able to resist committing murder, adultery, and theft.  Oddly enough, with full agreement, the church may find the answer to its current identity crisis.