True Reason:
Confronting the Irrationality of the New Atheism Edited by Tom Gilson and
Carson Weitnauer
The onslaught of arguments against God and his existence
seems to grow every day. Yet, we
generally hear from only a few atheists in the news, namely the likes of
Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and other notables public figures like Bill
Maher. These virulent men lay claim that
their religion is reason and they use reason alone in debating matters of
science, religion, and ethics. But, as
many have pointed out, reason is not the only tool in their arsenal. In this new book called True Reason, edited
by Tom Gilson and Carson Weitnauer, the issues surrounding rationality, the
Christian faith, and the irrationality of these new atheists come to the
foreground. Gathering a host of
wonderful authors, apologists, and teachers, these chapters cut right against
the heart of the claim that reason alone is the way of the new atheists. With stunning insight, sound analysis, and an
eye toward the Christian faith, these authors present a brilliant case against
the new atheism and its tenents.
Tom Gilson leads off the book with a chapter entitled The
Party of Reason? He comments after
reading Richard Dawkins that, “Evolution provides a way for nature to have come
about without design, therefore it came about without design.” (16) Disappointment follows his Tom’s comment due
to the lack of evidence or rationality on the part of Dawkins. Tom goes onto point out that the New Atheists
look at reason in two ways, that which can be ascertained by empirical study
and to act reasonably. Yet, there is no
hint of reason proper here, the act by which we draw deductive inferences from
a premise and then test its viability through observation. This kind of reasoning is prior to other
kinds of logical thinking because it puts at the center the nuts and bolts of
sound reasoning and the trajectory of how you get to a certain conclusion from
premises. Tom ends the chapter with an
appeal to the Christian faith to show that Christianity is no enemy of reason,
nor has it ever been.
One of the best chapters in the book is chapter 4 by Chuck
Edwards. He looks at arguments against
God by Richard Dawkins and points out some telling observations. One, Edwards points out that Dawkins uses two
fallacious arguments, poisoning the well and the straw man, to seek to bring down
the God of the Old Testament (44). I
would add that in the description of God by Dawkins there is not the slightest
hint of a desire to interpret OT passages contextually with reference to the
history of Israel or their religion. Dawkins
also fails to consider the positive contributions to society that Christianity
has provided, rather he looks for isolated passages in the OT that bolster his
straw man argument that God is blood thirsty and capricious.
Lenny Esposito’s analysis of reason and the new atheism is
provocative and very beneficial (ch. 7).
He indicates that we can’t know whether a belief is true or false if our
‘reasoning ability is purely an internal product of biochemical development.’
(104) We have to get beyond the senses
to figure out the truth of the matter.
The New Atheist claim that naturalism is the most reasonable option and
true to reason is faulty because it fails to understand that naturalism is a
belief itself. The argument that
Christianity provides an outside source of truth is hard to swallow for the New
Atheists because this is outside the material and empirical data, or so they
say. Lenny carefully exposes the
circular reasoning and unreasonableness of their propositions.
I think anyone wanting to see the New Atheism and all its
foibles would do well to read this book.
Thanks to Kregel Publications and General Editor Carson
Weitnauer for the copy of this book in exchange for review.
Comments
Post a Comment