Atheist Delusions
by David Bentley Hart, Yale
University Press, 2010, 272 pages,
$17.00 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-0-300-164299
This book is subtitled “The Christian
Revolution and Its
Fashionable Enemies,” and in the flyleaf the author says “Currently it
is fashionable to be devoutly undevout.” We have had a number of
articles in this journal over the past twelve months dealing with the
ignorance shown in atheist attacks on God and on the Bible. Our
discussions have been very basic and rooted in science and common
sense. This book is rooted in history and philosophy.
Hart shows how Christianity transformed the ancient world and brought
dignity and value to humans, freeing mankind from the cruel pagan
traditions into which man had fallen. The book is divided into four
parts: (1) Faith, Reason, and Freedom; (2) The Mythology of the Secular
Age; (3) Revolution: The Christian Invention of the Human; and (4)
Reaction and Retreat.
Hart writes strongly and belligerently. His style is like Richard
Dawkins, but his message is very different. He accurately attacks the
rather weak arguments of modern atheists like Dawkins, Christopher
Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. If you are looking for a book
that does a pretty good job of demolishing the claims of these and
other atheist writers in the field of history and philosophy, you will
find this book useful.
Back to Contents
Does God Exist?, MayJun10.