Monday, February 04, 2008
The Irrational Atheist
****
One of the problems Christians have when confronted by atheists – assuming that the Christian is well-versed in his or her faith - is the instinctual appeal to the Bible in response. Appeals to scripture are fine in discussions between believers because even if they may disagree on interpretation they both agree that scripture is authoritative. Not so the non-Christian.
Atheists are rare; true atheists are rarer. Most of what passes for atheism in the US is merely snarky anti-Christian mutterings of perpetual adolescents rebelling against authority. Most of this type of atheist are, if irreligious, prone to a host of weird beliefs that make Christianity appear utterly reasonable in comparison.
Then there are those atheists who appeal to reason as the basis of their unbelief. Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins are three of this latter sort. They have each written best-selling books and promote the cause of unbelief wherever the opportunity presents itself – evangelical atheists, if you will. It is this “unholy trinity” that Vox Day addresses in his book, “The Irrational Atheist.”
I've always said Vox is the thinking man's Anne Coulter - a rapier wit with a taste for blood and a talent for wordplay. Only not as attractive. TIA is laugh-out-loud funny in spots – the footnotes are a hoot – but the book is a deadly serious takedown of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens dissecting their own arguments and using them against them. It does so without recourse to Scripture and Day succeeds brilliantly; the “unholy trinity” have a lot to answer for, and they should answer. I suspect they won’t.
Readers of Vox Day’s blog are going to be familiar with most of the arguments. I found the “God as game designer” analogy to be dubious, if diverting, but overall this is a good read and highly recommended for atheists and Christians alike - Christians, for ammunition to use in defending the faith and atheists, because it is good to reconsider what you think you know from time to time. Be prepared to reconsider what you thought you knew about the Inquisition, the Crusades, Adolf Hitler and a host of other subjects. If you are hoping for a definitive argument for God’s existence, you won’t find it here. What you will find is definitive proof of the existence of irrational atheists.
One of the problems Christians have when confronted by atheists – assuming that the Christian is well-versed in his or her faith - is the instinctual appeal to the Bible in response. Appeals to scripture are fine in discussions between believers because even if they may disagree on interpretation they both agree that scripture is authoritative. Not so the non-Christian.
Atheists are rare; true atheists are rarer. Most of what passes for atheism in the US is merely snarky anti-Christian mutterings of perpetual adolescents rebelling against authority. Most of this type of atheist are, if irreligious, prone to a host of weird beliefs that make Christianity appear utterly reasonable in comparison.
Then there are those atheists who appeal to reason as the basis of their unbelief. Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins are three of this latter sort. They have each written best-selling books and promote the cause of unbelief wherever the opportunity presents itself – evangelical atheists, if you will. It is this “unholy trinity” that Vox Day addresses in his book, “The Irrational Atheist.”
I've always said Vox is the thinking man's Anne Coulter - a rapier wit with a taste for blood and a talent for wordplay. Only not as attractive. TIA is laugh-out-loud funny in spots – the footnotes are a hoot – but the book is a deadly serious takedown of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens dissecting their own arguments and using them against them. It does so without recourse to Scripture and Day succeeds brilliantly; the “unholy trinity” have a lot to answer for, and they should answer. I suspect they won’t.
Readers of Vox Day’s blog are going to be familiar with most of the arguments. I found the “God as game designer” analogy to be dubious, if diverting, but overall this is a good read and highly recommended for atheists and Christians alike - Christians, for ammunition to use in defending the faith and atheists, because it is good to reconsider what you think you know from time to time. Be prepared to reconsider what you thought you knew about the Inquisition, the Crusades, Adolf Hitler and a host of other subjects. If you are hoping for a definitive argument for God’s existence, you won’t find it here. What you will find is definitive proof of the existence of irrational atheists.
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