Antony Flew is a renowned philosopher who arguably has been the best known atheist in the English-speaking world until his announcement in 2004 that he now believes in God. What makes this news outside the corridors of Oxford and Cambridge is the new rise of militant atheism. One only need browse the best sellers on the subject in the last two years. Christopher Hitchens' God is not Great, and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, and Sam Harris' End of Faith.
All three have with hubris and anger put God on trial and found him guilty of capricious acts of violence against the human race. Hitchens in particular is quite angry toward God, who does not exist, for asking people to submit to him and then audaciously ask for eternal worship. Hitchens speaks of man living on earth around 100,000 years, those years were dominated by barbarians, in a true survival of the fittest. The population of the world was depleted by disease, tribal wars, they lived hard lives. Hitchens points out that God twiddles his thumbs for 98,000 years before he steps in with Jesus. It is this kind of thinking that dominates the new atheism, it is a tortured logic that only sees evil, that somehow if God were good and great, he would create a world without trouble. It must be said that indeed, God did create a world without trouble, one in which trouble was a possibility because choice was needed to make humankind possible. But it must be admitted it is a world of mystery, we still aren't sure where evil came from, or how God sorts out all the people who have ever lived. Why do people who serve Christ and others befall wrenching tragedies, and why does the church not change the world.
No one handles this issue as well as Dinesh D'sousa in his book, What's So Great About Christianity. He makes the case with well reasoned arguments. He essentially destroys the atheistic arguments, when he is done, you actually feel sorry for the advocates of doom. If you want to watch the D'sousa-Hitchens debate, Google it and watch it, about an hour long, you will find it uplifting.
i find a vast number of these indivduals, who do not believe in God, find themsleves fighting Him. how can one fight against something that they do not believe exists?
Some of the most intelligent people of our time are seemingly caught in this dilema.
After reading your blog, I did find and watch the debate. Yes, Mr. Hitchens is very angry with God. Mr. D'sousa I think did an outstanding job and I will go read his book after seeing him. Maybe Mr. Hitchens will dwell on some of D'sousa's ideas and God will speak to his heart. I pray.
I watched the whole thing, this morning. I understand why D'sousa did it but by limiting himself to non-theological subject matter, he hamstringed himself. He could not answer Hitchens continual assertion that it was absurd that a human sacrifice should save all mankind. The whole point is Jesus was not just a human sacrifice, he was God in the flesh. Without this face one has to agree with Hitchens and if you are not willing to believe that fact, it will never make any sense to you anyway. Hitchens also lumps all religions together, which is absurd, Jesus is the only human who claimed to be God, the creator and was resurrected to prove it.
I really think D’sousa won the debate, hands down.
Bob M