Commonly identified by the individuals such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens New Atheism is the name given to arguments supposedly based on scientific reasoning that "religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises." Nowhere, they argue, is it necessary to introduce God or the supernatural to understand reality.
Many religious or supernatural claims, such as the virgin birth of Jesus are scientific claims, say the New Atheists, with insistence that "absence of evidence is evidence of absence" when evidence can be expected. Cardinal William Levada among others reply that New Atheism has misrepresented the doctrines of the church, describing its followers as "aggressive" the primary source of discrimination against Christians. The theologians Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey concluded that, with Evangelical Christianity, New Atheism "encourages endless conflict without progress" between the two. Sociologist William Stahl observed that, "What is striking about the current debate is the frequency with which the New Atheists are portrayed as mirror images of religious fundamentalists."
When the New Atheist, Chrsitopher Hitchens, wrote in support of the philosphy, he included C S Lewis as the only spokesman for God since 1800, revealing the respect for the man’s intellectual honesty and courageous thinking, even among his opponents. In particular, the difficult arguments that Lewis forces himself face shows a serious consideration and response to the challenges of atheism. This new assessment of the debate, by Peter S Williams, takes you on an intellectual journey through Lewis' conversion and into serious conversation with today's generation of anti-theists.
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