First I must confess that once of the books I used in my Constructive Theology class in Seminary was McGrath’s book and it was the most well-worn out book of the lot that I had as I was going through the two semesters of Constructive Theology 1 and 2. With that said, I was looking forward to reading his work about the New Atheism.
I think the first thing that the reader needs to understand is that this book was not written in order to convince someone to come to Christ. Instead it was written in order to discuss the concept of the “New Atheism” and review writings of 4 of the most prominent writers in this area, Richard Dawkins, who also teaches at Oxford where McGrath teaches, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.
McGrath’s purpose is discuss the logic that the “New Atheism” authors lay out and pokes holes in them to show the flaws of what they believe. I like the way that McGrath does this since his points squarely puts the ball back in the court of the “New Atheism” authors to explain their positions and account for the holes. Instead of just point fingers and saying you’re wrong because this is what I believe, McGrath looks at their arguments logically and says okay if this is what you believe that shows that there is no God, then explain these issues or flaws in your logic.
I really liked McGrath’s book. This book is very informational, well-written/researched book on the “New Atheism” and what the movement is about. At the same time, McGrath really does provide a logical understand of the flaws that this movement has and provides you with some interesting points to think about regarding the “New Atheism.” The book leaves me longing to see a debate between McGrath and Dawkins. While this may not be a book for all Christians, I would recommend this book to anyone who really wants to understand and see what the “New Atheism” is from their perspective with an understanding of the flaws of their arguments from a Christian perspective.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
