New atheism

The New Atheism is a movement which puts atheism "on the front lines of current cultural conversation." [1] It is spearheaded by people such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. Out of these four, Richard Dawkins is considered to be the leader. The New Atheists are dramatically opposed to any and all types of theism, especially Christian theism. "What the New Atheists share is a belief that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises." [2]

The movement is exemplified by books such as The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins), God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Christopher Hitchens), Letter to a Christian Nation (Sam Harris), and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (Daniel Dennett).

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Criticism

The New Atheism has received significant criticism from Christian apologists, with numerous books being written in response. Many of the arguments presented by the New Atheists have been criticized by Christian apologists as being generally weak, with the prominent figures behind the New Atheism receiving criticism for writing about issues which are outside their fields of expertise. The noted analytic philosopher Alvin Plantinga has stated that many of Richard Dawkins's philosophical arguments in his book The God Delusion "would receive a failing grade in a sophomore philosophy class." [3].

Resources

  • Tim Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Dutton, 2008). ISBN 978-0-525-95049-3.
  • Ravi Zacharias, The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists (Zondervan, 2008). ISBN 978-0310282518.
  • Dinesh D'Souza, What's So Great About Christianity, (Regnery, 2007). ISBN 978-1596985179.
  • Alister McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion: Atheism Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine (IVP, 2007). ISBN 978-0-8308-3446-4.

See also

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