http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7695.article


Point of View
A new breed of atheist: The anti-theist
By CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

Published August 16, 2007

The way Hitchens lumps all religions and all believers into one
category here is typical of his tone throughout the book, and typical
of anti-theists in general. They don't argue; they yell. They've
decided that, simply because they dislike religion, there is no reason
to respect it. In their minds, it's stupid, dangerous, and that's all
that needs to be said.

That's why I believe the anti-theist movement, as hot as it is right
now with books like Hitchens's topping the bestseller lists, is doomed
to fail. The moment you take it seriously and start to study it, it
falls apart. There's no substance, just anger and a lot of hot air.
Because anti-theists simply ignore evidence and arguments they don't
like, they're ill-equipped to deal with them rationally.

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7695.article


Point of View
A new breed of atheist: The anti-theist
By CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

Published August 16, 2007



Atheism has nearly always been with us in one form or another,
but the atheists we've been hearing the most from lately-chiefly
Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris-are a new
breed. Unlike the old-school humanists, the new atheists-or
anti-theists, as some of them prefer to be called-don't want to
just deny the existence of God, they want to wipe religion off
the map.

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7695.article


Point of View
A new breed of atheist: The anti-theist
By CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7695.article


Point of View
A new breed of atheist: The anti-theist
By CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

Published August 16, 2007



Atheism has nearly always been with us in one form or another, but the
atheists we've been hearing the most from lately-chiefly Richard
Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris-are a new breed. Unlike
the old-school humanists, the new atheists-or anti-theists, as some of
them prefer to be called-don't want to just deny the existence of God,
they want to wipe religion off the map.

Christopher Hitchens follows this pattern with his new book,
belligerently titled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons
Everything. In his first chapter, called "Putting It Mildly," Hitchens
writes, "I will continue to [respect my friends' religious traditions]
without insisting on the polite reciprocal condition-which is that
they in turn leave me alone." But this is something that religion is
ultimately incapable of doing. "People of faith," Hitchens continues,
"are in their different ways planning your and my destruction, and the
destruction of all...hard-won human attainments...Religion poisons
everything."

By CHARLES COLSON

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7695.article


Point of View
A new breed of atheist: The anti-theist
By CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

Published August 16, 2007



Atheism has nearly always been with us in one form or another, but the
atheists we've been hearing the most from lately-chiefly Richard
Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris-are a new breed. Unlike
the old-school humanists, the new atheists-or anti-theists, as some of
them prefer to be called-don't want to just deny the existence of God,
they want to wipe religion off the map.

Christopher Hitchens follows this pattern with his new book,
belligerently titled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons
Everything. In his first chapter, called "Putting It Mildly," Hitchens
writes, "I will continue to [respect my friends' religious traditions]
without insisting on the polite reciprocal condition-which is that
they in turn leave me alone." But this is something that religion is
ultimately incapable of doing. "People of faith," Hitchens continues,
"are in their different ways planning your and my destruction, and the
destruction of all...hard-won human attainments...Religion poisons
everything."

The way Hitchens lumps all religions and all believers into one
category here is typical of his tone throughout the book, and typical
of anti-theists in general.

They don't argue; they yell. They've

decided that, simply because they dislike religion, there is no reason

to respect it. In their minds, it's stupid, dangerous, and that's all
that needs to be said.

That's why I believe the anti-theist movement, as hot as it is right

now with books like Hitchens's topping the bestseller lists, is doomed
to fail. The moment you take it seriously and start to study it, it
falls apart.

There's no substance, just anger and a lot of hot air.

Because anti-theists simply ignore evidence and arguments they don't

like, they're ill-equipped to deal with them rationally.

The old-guard secular humanists are questioning this new trend, and

rightly so. Most traditional atheists simply had their own belief
system,

and if we wanted our belief system that was okay. The new

breed reflects the death of truth.

They're like the communists who
feared religion more than anything else because it was a competing
truth claim.

The Star of David and the cross have been scandalous to
every totalitarian leader.

Many traditional atheists and humanists seem to recognize the parallel
and feel uncomfortable about it.

As Gary Wolf writes in Wired, "The
New Atheists have castigated fundamentalism and branded even the
mildest religious liberals as enablers of a vengeful mob. Everybody

who doesn't join them is an ally of the Taliban. Even those of us who
sympathize intellectually," he writes, "don't want the New Atheists to
succeed."

When you think about it this way, you have to wonder if the anti-
theists, in their heart of hearts, are a little uncomfortable with
their own beliefs.

After all, if you really believe that truth will
win out-and to Hitchens and company, their idea of truth is so obvious
that it cannot fail to win-you can let other people make their own
claims and live by their own beliefs without feeling the need to
destroy everything they stand for.

Because Hitchens and the others cannot do this, their polemics are
destined to lead not to the end of religion, but to the collapse of
their own movement. Not before, of course, they have gotten very rich.
It's not irrelevant to the debate that Dawkins, Hitchens, and Sam
Harris sold one million copies of their angry diatribes last year. At
two dollars a book for royalties, that's not bad.