NEW ATHEISM
NEW ATHEISM
New Atheism is a term coined in 2006 by the agnostic journalist Gary Wolf. It is merely a more militant version of the old atheism. The “new atheist” seeks destruction of opposing viewpoints rather than peaceful co-existence. Critics have dubbed this “fundamentalist atheism”.
Four prominent leaders in this movement met Sept. 30, 2007 in Washington D.C. for a private unmoderated discussion. They were Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett. Their discussion was video taped and titled “The Four Horsemen”. This title, of course, was borrowed from the Bible (Rev. 6:1 - 8). Some have called them “evangelical atheists”. Sadly, Christopher Hitchens died of cancer in December 2011. He was once a British Trotskyite who became famous for criticizing Mother Theresa and writing a book asserting that “God is Not Great”! He made clear that he did not regret a life time of smoking and drinking and said that if he ever experienced a death bed conversion it would be the result of cancer spreading to his brain. He told Charlie Rose in a television interview in 2010, that it was “impossible for me to imagine having my life without going to those parties, without having those late nights, without that second bottle.”
Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist who suffered a stroke at the age of 75. He recently announced that he was divorcing his third wife. Not surprisingly he has also denounced both monogamy and fidelity. The attack of 9/11/01 was a catalyst inspiring him to eliminate the influence of all religion. His critics say that his book the God Delusion disparages both science and atheism.
Sam Harris is an American philosopher and neuroscientist. His first book “The End of Faith” was published in 2004. The militant nature of his atheism is reflected by this quote: "The link between belief and behavior raises the stakes considerably. Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them." He has angered many by suggesting that blacks are inferior and that women are not attracted to his brand of atheism because he doesn’t defer to the “nurturing, coherence-building, extra estrogen vibe” which women desire. Interestingly, he believes that man is a bag of chemicals with no free will. He feels that he can no more control what happens in his prefrontal cortex than he can control the beat of his heart.
Atheist Daniel Dennett was born in 1942. He is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist. He was named “humanist of the year” in 2004. He believes that anyone who denies the theory of evolution is inexcusably ignorant. To his credit, however, he feels that the secret of happiness is finding something in life more important than you are and dedicating yourself to it.
Atheism in a previous generation was personified by the outrageous Madelyn Murray O’Hair. Her own son described her as the “Hulk Hogan” of atheism. The new atheists, however, are more suave and sophisticated. They “believe” there is no God and promote their faith with evangelical zeal.
Jesus reminded us that teachers are best identified by what they produce, and not by what they say or write. Jesus said: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:16). You may be confused in a furniture store about wood, but not in the super market about fruit. In the same way rational people immediately notice the difference between North and South Korea. It is obvious that these new atheists do not practice what they preach. Not one of them wants to emigrate to North Korea and yet it is perhaps the most atheistic nation on earth. South Korea, by contrast, has churches everywhere, including the largest church on earth with 800,000 members in a single congregation. Before buying into “New Atheism”, first taste it’s fruit!