Answering the New Atheists - III

Transcription

1 /October 2008 Quick Summary The New Atheists are convinced that religion is not only wrong, it is dangerous. For atheists rejecting the evil of religion is taking the moral high ground they believe morality is on their side. This challenge to morality takes two forms: the problem of evil in general and evil committed in the name of God. Citing evil in favor of atheism is self-defeating. Saying something is evil is making a moral judgment, moral judgments require a moral standard, a moral standard requires an author, a transcendent moral law requires a transcendent moral law-giver (God). The first problem with citing religious evil as evidence against God s existence is logical you can t know anything about the existence of God or religious truth simply from the behavior of religious people or teaching of any religion. The second problem with using evil committed in the name of religion as evidence against God is factual the historical record shows that the greatest evil has always resulted from denial of God, not pursuit of Him. Violence done in the name of Christ is contrary to His teachings and therefore Christianity cannot be held responsible for those who don t follow the written instructions. Stand to Reason By Greg Koukl J 2007 Answering the New Atheists - III Hymns are usually written as anthems of praise to God. They extol His noble characteristics and recount the benefits of his favor. But atheists have hymns, too. They celebrate the freedoms of god-lessness and the virtues of a world bereft of the ravages of religion. John Lennon s sublime vision of Utopia is such a hymn. It is simply entitled Imagine : Imagine there s no heaven It s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today. Imagine there s no countries It isn t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace. You may say I m a dreamer But I m not the only one I hope someday you ll join us And the world will be as one. Lennon s God-less Garden of Eden is the world envisioned by New Atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. They are convinced that religion is not only wrong, it is dangerous. Hitchens titled one of his chapters Religion Kills. Richard Dawkins chose Childhood, Abuse, and the Escape from Religion. Sam Harris s book The End of Faith is subtitled Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. He recounts the bloodletting endorsed by the Almighty in a chapter entitled In the Shadow of God. To reject the evil of religion, then, is to take the moral high road, the path to a better world: Imagine all the people, living life in peace. The point: Morality is on the side of atheism, not theism and religion. The atheists challenge based on morality takes two forms. The first is the problem of evil in general. It is a common and understandable complaint. One doesn t need a Ph.D. in theology to look around the world and realize something is desperately wrong. If everything was designed, Hitchens asks, what are we to make of the designer who has subjected so many generations to barbarism, misery, ignorance, slavery and early death? Second is the problem of religious evil in particular: crimes done in the name of God, in defense of some theological doctrine, or in the furtherance of some religious goal. The New Atheists concur with Blaise Pascal who noted that, Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. As you will see, though, both of these objections falter in fatal ways. Above Us Only Sky In previous issues of Solid Ground, 1 I have discussed at length why citing evil in 1438 E. 33rd Street Signal Hill, CA REASON

2 Holier than Thou? (continued from page 1) favor of atheism is self-defeating. Here is that argument in summary form. The problem of evil is only a problem if evil is real. To say something is evil, though, is to make a moral judgment. Moral judgments require a moral standard a moral law and a moral law requires an author. If the standard is transcendent, then the law-giver must be, too. It would be self-defeating to acknowledge shadows, but deny light because light makes shadows possible in the first place. In the same way, it is self-defeating to complain that transcendent moral laws have been broken, yet deny that a transcendent moral law-giver (God) exists. In a world bereft of God, there are many ways to characterize Hitchens s barbarism, misery, ignorance, slavery and early death : sad, painful, unpleasant, even ghastly. Yet if God doesn t exist, the one thing we can never do is call such human destruction tragic, or wanton abuse wicked. If God doesn t exist to ground morality, the carnage ceases to be tragic at all, if by that word we mean a genuine breach of goodness. Note that concepts like evil and tragic are parasitic on moral perfections. Evil is spoiled goodness. We already know this. Note the words we use to describe it: unrighteousness, immorality, impurity. Evil depends on the good. Where does If God doesn t exist, Hitchens s barbarism, misery, ignorance, slavery and early death cease to be tragic at all. such goodness come from, though? This point was explored in the movie The Quarrel. 2 The main characters, Hersh and Chiam, were boyhood friends who separated in a dispute over God and evil. Then came the Holocaust; each thought the other had perished. After the war, they reunite by chance and immediately become embroiled once again in their boyhood quarrel. Hersh, now a rabbi, offers this challenge to the secularist Chiam: If there s nothing in the universe that s higher than human beings, then what s morality? Well, it s a matter of opinion. I like milk; you like meat. Hitler likes to kill people; I like to save them. Who s to say which is better? Do you begin to see the horror of this? If there is no Master of the universe, then who s to say that Hitler did anything wrong? If there is no God, then the people that murdered your wife and kids did nothing wrong. If there is no God, it is hard to begin making sense of the notions of evil or moral tragedy to begin with. The events that trouble us are reduced to mere stuff that happens. There are different kinds of stuff, to be sure, some we like (Mother Teresa), and some we don t (Hitler), but in a universe without God it amounts to nothing more than stuff in the end. The irony is, if real evil does exist, someone very much like God must also exist, also. But there is also a practical consideration. The great 20th Century British philosopher and atheist Bertrand Russell wondered how anyone could talk of God while kneeling at the bed of a dying child. It is a powerful image. Like the threeword sound Atheists have no good news of hope for a broken world. Their worldview denies them that luxury. byte Where was God? it strikes many Christians dumb. How can anyone cling to the hope of a benevolent, powerful sovereign in the face of such tragedy? They might consider Christian philosopher William Lane Craig s response: What is the atheist Bertrand Russell going to say to that dying child? Too bad? Tough luck? That s the way it goes? No happy ending, no silver lining, nothing but devastating, senseless evil? This is why Dinesh D Souza asks, Where is atheism when bad things happen? The New Atheists are struck dumb while kneeling at the bed of a dying child. They cannot speak of the patience and mercy of God. They cannot mention the future perfection that awaits all who trust in Christ. They cannot offer the comfort that a redemptive God is working to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. They have no good news of hope for a broken world. Their worldview denies them that luxury. Theism can do much better. This problem has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not religious people are more moral than atheists, by the way. On balance, atheists can be as good as anyone else, it seems to me. The question is not whether an atheist can be virtuous, but whether he can make sense of either virtue or vice in a universe bereft of God. The reality of evil in the world does not help the atheist. It hinders him. Rather than being good evidence against God, the presence of evil in the world is one of the best arguments in favor of God. Religion Kills There are two serious problems with citing religious evil as evidence against the existence of God. The first is logical, and the second is factual. Here s the essence of the logical problem. When faced with PAGE 2 Stand to Reason 1438 E. 33rd Street Signal Hill, CA REASON

3 the claim that religion even Christian religion has been responsible for more wars, wickedness, and wonton evil than anything else in history, what if I simply responded, You re right. So what? Even if I agreed with that analysis (I do not), what would follow? What would that fact alone tell us anything about the legitimacy of religion or the existence of God? The answer is, it would tell us nothing at all about those two things. Here s why: You cannot legitimately infer anything about God s existence or the possibility of religious truth simply from the behavior of religious people or the teaching of some religions. This becomes obvious when you break the various forms of the argument into their unadorned parts: Some religious people do evil. Therefore, religion itself is evil. Some religions teach evil. Therefore, all religions are evil. Some religious people do evil, and some religions teach evil. Therefore, God does not exist. When the reasoning is stated simply, absent the rhetorical garb it is usually clothed in, it instantly becomes obvious even on casual reflection that none of these arguments are valid. Even if the premises are true, the conclusions do not follow. You couldn t properly conclude, for example, that God does not exist or that Jesus was not the Savior simply by citing acts of violence done in the name of God or Christ. This might tell you something about people. It tells you nothing about God or His Messiah. Turn the argument around the other way and the flaw becomes even more obvious: Christopher Hitchens believes God does not exist. Hitchens is an immoral man. Therefore, God does exist. Even if it were true that Hitchens were immoral (I m not commenting either way), this fact alone couldn t possibly confirm theism. But there is a second problem with the religion kills argument, this time empirical, not logical. The atheist is in no position to object to carnage done in the name of God because atheistic ideologies in the 20th century have been responsible for the greatest blood-letting in all history to the tune of over 100 million bodies for communism alone. 3 Marx has a lot more blood on his hands than Christ other people s blood, I mean, Columnist Mark Steyn quips, but the hyper-rationalists are noticeably less keen to stick him with the tab for the party. 4 Richards Dawkins has a response: If we accept that Hitler and Stalin shared atheism in common, they both also had moustaches, as does Saddam Hussein. So what? Individual atheists may do evil things, but they don t do evil things in the name of atheism. 5 Dawkins s rejoinder completely misses the point. I said above that nothing can be inferred about the existence of God simply from the evil acts of professing theists because nothing about belief in God per se entails such behavior. (The same could be said for moustaches.) This is not true of atheism, however. There is a certain natural affinity between particular worldviews and behaviors and lifestyles that seem logically to flow from them. Atheism doesn t require mass murder, but it has few ideological resources to resist it. Dawkins is strangely myopic here when it comes to the consequence of ideas. Joel Engel reflects: Let s imagine six billion people who believe that flesh and blood is all there is that Hitler and Mother Teresa, for example, both met the same ultimate fate. Common sense suggests that such a world would produce a lot more Hitlers and a lot fewer Teresas, for the same reason that you get a lot more speeders/ murderers/rapists/embezzlers when you eliminate laws, police and punishment. Nothing clears the conscience quite like a belief in eternal nothingness. 6 I think it is fair to ask why anyone should expect that a world without God, Heaven, or Hell would lead inexorably to oneness and world peace, Lennon s brotherhood of man. If someone thinks divine accountability is an inferior means of securing moral order, then anarchy is the answer to the world s ills. I presume, however, that Mr. Dawkins locks his latch at night, and not because he has deeply religious neighbors. Theists are banking on God, and history is on our side. The record shows that the greatest evil has always resulted from denial of God, not pursuit of Him. Just count the corpses. Sheep and Goats There is no question that some religious people and some (false) religious teaching have caused tremendous evil. So has true religion (Christianity) falsely construed or inconsistently practiced. Regarding Christianity, though, an important question needs asking: Is oppression and bloodshed either a religious duty of Christianity or a logical application of the teachings of Christ? If not, then violence done in the name of Christ cannot be laid at His door. Imagine yourself a builder who sends out crews with detailed, written instructions for their work. Instead of building, though, they destroy. Would you be responsible? That would continued on back page Solid Ground A Foundation for Building Ambassadors PAGE 3

4 Solid Ground from Stand to Reason This letter may be reproduced or forwarded via without change and in its entirety for non-commercial purposes without prior permission from Stand to Reason Gregory Koukl (continued from page 3) depend on one thing: the written instructions. One can t hold Christianity responsible when so-called Christians violate the written instructions. The fault is not with Christ, but with people who disobey Him. Jesus was quite clear on this: If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15). His command to love extended even to one s enemies (Luke 10:29-37). He also warned of interlopers, wolves in sheep s clothing. His assessment of them is withering: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:23). The Apostle John reflects the same view: By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:10). Nothing in Christian teaching itself mandates forcible conversion to the faith or coerced adherence to Biblical doctrines. The teachings of Christ do not lead logically to wanton bloodshed. Well-meaning Christians say and do silly and even dangerous things, often simply out of ignorance, but sometimes out of malice. This is not an excuse, but it does show that the problem is with Christians, not Christianity. By parallel, there may be charlatans in the medical profession, but that does not mean there isn t real disease or legitimate doctors to treat it. Someone once said, You can t hold a religion responsible for the crimes of its heretics. It is not God s fault when so-called Christians disobey the written instructions. Since oppression and mayhem are neither religious duties for Christians nor logical applications of the teachings of Christ, violence done in the name of Christ cannot be laid at His feet. Putting Your Knowledge into Action 4 Remember that the New Atheists have no grounds to take the moral high ground regarding evil their argument is self-defeating. 4 Keep in mind that if God doesn t exist to ground morality, the horrors of barbarism, misery, ignorance, slavery and early death are not tragic. Evil, by definition, depends on an objective standard. 4 When someone asks, Where was God? in the face of tragedy, remember that atheists have no good news of hope for a broken world. 4 Don t forget that history is on the side of theism. The record shows that the greatest evil has always resulted from denial of God, not pursuit of Him. 4 Although evil has been done in the name of Christianity, oppression and bloodshed is neither a religious duty nor a logical application of the teachings of Christ. The New Atheists have failed to carry the day. Nothing that the recent wave of critics has said or written even comes close to undermining the intellectual or moral credibility of theism or Christianity. John Lennon has invited us to dream. But there is a difference between believe and make believe, trusting what is unmistakably real and what one simply imagines. In the real world, reason, science, and morality all point so forcefully to God s existence that we can still say confidently with the Psalmist, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. For the kingdom, Gregory Koukl, President 1 Author s note: Much of what follows builds upon what was discussed in Answering the New Atheists: Parts I & II found in the last two issues of Solid Ground. To make the most of this issue, review those thoughts. 2 The Quarrel, directed by Eli Cohen, released For more details, see Just the Facts, Ma am, Solid Ground, March 2008 at str.org. 4 Mark Steyn, O Come, All Ye Faithless, Spectator.CO.UK, December 17, Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006), 273, E.G., Evil As Evidence for God, Solid Ground,, Joel Engel, Imagining Imagine, The Weekly Standard, December 8, Contact Us Today (800) 2-REASON (562) Christianity Worth Thinking About

5 Bulletin Board Greg koukl STR Speakers Schedules 9 Lighthouse Bible Church, Simi Valley, CA 7 p.m. Topic: Same-Sex Marriage Contact: (509) C/FAR fundraiser, San Juan Capistrano, CA 5 p.m. Contact: (949) brett kunkle 1 Chinese Community Church of South Bay Retreat (8/30-9/01), San Diego, CA Topics: Truth and the Real World, True for You but Not for Me?, Is One Way the Only Way?, Why I Am a Christian Contact: David Martin, (310) Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, CA 8:45 a.m. Topic: TBD Contact: (714) California Christian Apologetics Conference, Stand for Truth Ministries, Fremont, CA Topics: The Emergent Church and Who s Waiting for You? Contact: 26 South Bay Evangelical Christian Church, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 7:30 p.m. Topic: Christians and the Media Contact: (310) STEVE WAGNER 2 Benedictine College (hosted by Justice For All), Atchinson, KS 4:00 p.m. Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue 10 Santa Clarita Valley Pregnancy Center, Santa Clarita, CA 7:30 a.m. Topic: Reaching Hearts and Minds on Abortion Contact: (661) Focus on the Family Institute (hosted by Justice For All), Colorado Springs, CO 8:00 a.m. Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue 26 Faith Christian High School (hosted by Justice For All), Arvada, CO 8:00 a.m. Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue 28 Colorado State University (hosted by Justice For All), Ft. Collins, CO 12:00 p.m. Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue October 4 Students for Life of Illinois, Champaign, IL 10:00 a.m. Topic: Common Ground without Compromise Contact: 19 North Carolina State University (hosted by Justice For All), Raleigh, NC 12:00 p.m. Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue Schenectady County Right to Life, Schenectady, NY Topic: TBD Contact: (518) Grace Chapel, Clifton Park, NY Topics: Various student worldview training Contact: (518) Christian Heritage Academy (hosted by Justice For All), Del City, OK Time: TBD Topic: Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue alan shlemon 13 EV Free Conejo Valley, Newbury Park, CA Time: TBD Topic: Ambassadors for Christ: The Essential Skills Contact: (805) October 3 Chinese Evangelical Free Church of Monterey Park, Monterey Park, CA 8:00 p.m. Topic: Same-Sex Marriage and the Future of Family Contact: (626) or

6 STR Fall Specials What Has Christianity Ever Done for Us? How It Shaped the Modern World by Jonathan Hill, Hardcover, 192 pages (BK271) $ What has Christianity ever done for us? What value is there in seeking to preserve its influence today? As Hill tells the story of the centuries-long entanglement between Christianity and Western culture, he shows the profound influence that Christianity has had from what we drink to how we speak, from how we write to how we mark the seasons. Employing a rich, narrative style packed with events and people and illustrated throughout in full color, he describes the place of Christianity both in history and in the present day. What Has Christianity Ever Done for Us? is an enlightening and often humorous tour of culture and thought, the arts, the landscape, education, society, spirituality and ethics, and social justice. Here is a rich, entertaining, and informative read. Evil, Suffering, and the Goodness of God by Gregory Koukl, Audio CD with Study Notes in PDF (CD106) $8.95 Also Available in MP3 Format. What is evil and where did it come from? Why does God allow it and what is He doing about it? The reality of human suffering poses the most difficult question anyone can ask about a God who is both good and powerful. If God were absolutely powerful and ultimately good, He would deal with evil. Instead, He appears too frail to oppose it or too sinister to care, and no one can believe in a God like that. Greg answers these challenges and shows that there is no contradiction. You ll also learn why the presence of evil in the world is one of the best proofs for the existence of God. *NEW* Charting Our Course: Alaskan Adventure 2008 by Josh McDowell, J.P. Moreland, Sean McDowell, and Gregory Koukl, 8 Audio CDs (CD287) $35.95 Also Available in MP3 Format. Last month, Stand to Reason set sail from Vancouver, BC on an unforgettable cruise up the Alaskan coastline. Now the audio recordings from this floating conference featuring a distinguished line-up of expert speakers and apologists are available to you. These powerful presentations will help equip you to represent Christ to a world looking for answers to life s toughest questions. Included Titles: The Bible: Fact, Fiction, or Fable? Josh McDowell Why Did Jesus Have to Die? Josh McDowell The Crisis of Culture: Naturalism J.P. Moreland The Crisis of Culture: Postmodernism J.P. Moreland The New Atheists: Old Arguments, New Attitude (Parts I and II) Gregory Koukl S.O.S.: Save Our Students Sean McDowell Lecture Q&A (Panel Discussion) All Speakers