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.

Morgan Freeman: ‘God or Cosmic Crap Shoot?’

Making his rounds this week to promote his new show, Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, the actor who twice portrayed the God of the Bible said that he is not sure if there is a god at all.  The series is intended to explore the limits of what science can explain and exploring the expanse of space and time to learn all that is possible.

In an interview with CNN, Freeman responded to a comment about him being “a man of God” with a series of “no”s followed by an explanation of his views of science and faith.  Faith, he said, is where the lack of scientific explanation causes us to have to create assumptions about reality.  What has not been explained we have to take on “faith.”  This is certainly a different notion than the biblical concept of faith so hardly makes him a man of faith either.

Freeman further discusses with CNN his ambivalence on the existence of God: either God exists or it is “a cosmic crap shoot.”  He says that life likely evolved in many other planets, including this one, and implies that science will surely some day be able to explain it all.  Freeman is sure that one day we will discover how to bend space and time so that we can explore far off planets and potentially other galaxies for those answers.

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.

The Atheist “Non-Agenda”

It has often been said by many an atheist that there is “no such thing as an atheist agenda.”  Oddly enough, one such statement comes from “The Atheist Missionary” (@AtheistMission).  Apparently the name must be an oxymoron, but under casual scrutiny there is much to be said about regular and insipid attacks against Christianity.

Last night I happened to notice the following tweet, and my suspicions were confirmed when I clicked on the link:

Great article in Washington Post by Richard Dawkins on #Haiti & Hypocrisy of #Christian Theology: http://bit.ly/6z6seR #atheist #atheism (Online Source)