Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins’ Case against God
Overview
Scott Hahn is a well-known Catholic author, apologist, theologian, and professor. In addition, he’s a popular speaker who’s delivered hundreds of talks on Scripture and the Catholic faith. In his books, Hahn and his ministry seek to emphasize the importance of Bible literacy.
Atheist Richard Dawkins thinks that
- Religious belief is a virus that infects inferior genes
- Religion is not only a form of infantile regression—it’s an especially pernicious kind of insanity
- “Dyed-in-the-wool faith-heads are immune to argument”
- Teaching religion to your children is a form of child abuse
In Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins’ Case against God, Hahn addresses Dawkins’ inflammatory rhetoric and bad reasoning that are misleading millions of readers who don’t see the holes in his argument. In a lively and fair analysis, Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker expose the shoddy reasoning, logical blunders, and factual errors of Dawkins’ bestseller The God Delusion. Along the way, Hahn and Wiker offer a cogent and convincing argument for God’s existence.
In the Logos edition, Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins’ Case against God is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Key Features
- Examines the inconsistencies in Dawkins’ arguments
- Provides an alternative perspective to the popular God Delusion
- Argues the God case in a lively and informative manner
Contents
- Dawkins’ God, Chance
- Pride and Prejudice
- Dawkins’ Fallacious Philosophy
- Can God’s Existence Be Demonstrated?
- The Problem of Morality
- Dawkins’ Morality
- Dawkins Dismantled
- King Richard
Top Highlights
“A necessary condition is not a sufficient condition.” (Page 24)
“Simply put, God’s existence is not a matter of probability. Either He does exist or He doesn’t exist. Things that enter the realm of probability are contingent; they are the kind of things that don’t necessarily have to be. By contrast, God is eternal by definition; by definition, if He exists, He exists of necessity outside of time.” (Page 14)
“For some reason, he wants his reader to assume that the impossible is really only extremely improbable.” (Page 12)
“As the great Greek philosopher Plato once said, the best way to assess the argumentative core of largely rhetorical speeches, is to strip them of all their rhetoric and analyze the bare arguments.” (Page 7)
“No event that is more miraculous than the miracle that it seeks to discredit can be used as an explanation to deny that a miracle actually occurred.” (Page 23)
Praise for the Print Edition
Rarely, if ever, in my many years as a professor of philosophy did I ever have the opportunity to read such a compelling argument.
—Antony Flew, author, There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Dr. Scott Hahn and Dr. Benjamin Wiker, show, again and again, that atheists like Richard Dawkins are putting forth shoddy arguments, and once those arguments are dismantled by cool reason, there is very little left.
—Dinesh D’Souza, Rishwain Research Scholar, Hoover Institution
In a better world than ours there would have been no need for Answering the New Atheism. But under the circumstances, I’m grateful to Dr. Sott Hahn and Dr. Benjamin Wiker for their essential service in coolly, rationally taking apart Richard Dawkins’ inflamed rhetoric and exposing the absurdities, and the dangers, at its heart. Their final chapter is a particularly chilling, important reminder of what Dawkins’ secular faith would lead to if it were more widely embraced.
—David Klinghoffer, author, Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril
Answering the New Atheism is a superb exposé of Dawkins’ The God Delusion. Systematically and lucidly, Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker dissect and dispose of the fundamental errors that riddle Dawkins’ attempt to demonize the divine. Dawkins has declared a jihad against religion and his main weapons are diatribe and caricature. But the authors refuse to respond in kind and instead turn to reason, the one tool that Dawkins seems to disdain. As readable and humorous as it is rigorously reasoned, Answering the New Atheism is the best antidote in the marketplace for Dawkinitis.
—Roy Abraham Varghese, editor, Cosmos, Bios, Theos
Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker patiently, thoroughly pick apart the reasoning of Richard Dawkins until very little is left standing. I highly recommend Answering the New Atheism to anyone who wants to watch scientific atheist bullies get their comeuppance.
—Michael K. Behe, professor of biochemistry, Lehigh University
When two Catholic intellectual heavyweights collaborate on a project, expectations are high. Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker, scholars and bestselling authors, do not disappoint us in Answering the New Atheism. As coauthors they have produced a gem—a book that provides a clear response to the atheistic secularism of Richard Dawkins. In a logical, measured, and accessible manner they provide the reader with what is needed ‘to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have . . . [doing so] with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15–16).
—Regis J. Flaherty, author, Last Things First
Product Details
- Title: Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins’ Case against God
- Authors: Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker
- Publisher: Emmaus Road Publishing
- Publication Date: 2008
- Pages: 151
About the Authors
Scott Hahn has delivered numerous talks nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith. Hundreds of these talks have been produced on audio and video by St. Joseph Communications. His talks have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen away Catholics reembrace the Catholic faith. He is currently a professor of theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and he’s the founder and director of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Hahn is also the bestselling author of numerous books, including The Lamb’s Supper, Reasons to Believe, and Rome Sweet Home. Scott received his BA in theology, philosophy, and economics from Grove City College, Pennsylvania, his Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and his PhD in biblical theology from Marquette University. He entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, 1986.
Benjamin Wiker holds a PhD in theological ethics from Vanderbilt University, and he has taught at Marquette University, St. Mary’s University, Thomas Aquinas College, and Franciscan University. He is the author of several books including, Moral Darwinism: How We Became Hedonists, A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature (coauthored with Jonathan Witt), The Mystery of the Periodic Table, and Architects of the Culture of Death (coauthored with Donald DeMarco). He is now a fulltime, freelance writer. Wiker writes regularly for a variety of journals, including Catholic World Report, New Oxford Review, and Crisis Magazine, and he is a regular columnist for the National Catholic Register.