Here's an interview I recently did on the topic of New Atheism. I give some reasons for the popularity of New Atheism and suggest some strategies for communicating the truth of Christianity in today's world. The interview originally posted on Christianity.com, a site that delivers Christian content for all areas of life from trusted Christian leaders.

Here's an interview I recently did on the topic of New Atheism. I give some reasons for the popularity of New Atheism and suggest some strategies for communicating the truth of Christianity in today's world. The interview originally posted on Christianity.com, a site that delivers Christian content for all areas of life from trusted Christian leaders.

A Christianity.com Interview with Sean McDowell from ChristianityDotCom on Vimeo.

In the last post we explored the nature of the New Atheism. Now, let’s consider the tactics of the New Atheists and why we must respond to their attacks.

Why the New Atheism Matters

One of the reasons the New Atheists have been so effective is that today’s students can’t think well. As Mark Bauerlein has argued in The Dumbest Generation, the dawn of the technological age that promised to produce a brighter, more intellectually sophisticated young people has had the opposite effect. This generation has grown up in a society driven by images and slogans, not carefully reasoned discourse or critical analysis. It’s not that they are incapable, or even unwilling to engage difficult issues (from my experience, I believe they are both capable and willing). They simply haven’t been trained or properly motivated. And so many fall for the shallow, emotionally charged diatribes of the New Atheists.

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Atheism is on the move. At least that’s what Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and other so-called “New Atheists” are fighting for. While atheists have always been around, the pop-cultural influence of atheism has traditionally been rather minimal. Not anymore.

In the past few years there has been a resurgence of interest in the case against God. From books to bus campaigns, the question of God’s existence is back in the forefront of public dialogue. And the New Atheists have been leading the charge. Perhaps you are familiar with some of their titles—God Is Not Great (Hitchens), The God Delusion (Dawkins), or The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (Harris)—books which have appeared consecutively on best-seller lists.

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You may be wondering why I would bother to thank the New Atheists. Why would people such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens deserve my gratitude? After all, haven’t they wrecked havoc on the lives of many believers and emboldened many skeptics, agnostics, and atheists? There is probably some truth behind this last question. In fact, I’ve personally had to clean up some of the mess from young believers unable to respond to their attacks. So, why thank them?

The reason is simple: they have helped put the discussion of God back in the forefront of public dialogue. When William Dembski was in grad school, he was amazed at how his professors simply wrote of Christianity as false. There was no debate. Christianity was ignored as false superstition. This is part of what motivated him to begin his research into ID. This certainly isn’t the case anymore. God cannot be ignored. There is public debate about the existence of God, and the New Atheists have helped bring it down from the academy to the common folk. I much prefer ferocious attacks than benign apathy.

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Check out this video my dad and I recently produced with ConversantLIfe.  I love doing TV and radio interviews, but there's something particularly special about partnering with my dad.  In this Livestream interview, we discuss apologetics and ministry today as well as take questions from a live online audience. There's some great content here.  Don't miss it, and pass it on!

 

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