Keith Ward is a Professor of Philosophy and the author of many books. Several of these set out to debunk the arguments of the New Atheists — in particular, Is religion dangerous? and Is religion irrational?, both published by Lion Hudson. Who is he aiming his writing at, and what are their main arguments?
‘The “New Atheists” — Dawkins, Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, to whom we can add Francis Crick, Peter Atkins and others — are vocally opposed to God and to Christian religion.
‘They argue that religious faith is irrational, not based on good evidence, and rendered obsolete by modern science.’ And, he goes on, they believe religious faith ‘is a major cause of violence and intolerance. It believes in “spooky entities” like God and souls. It rejects evolution. Biblical morality is archaic and perverse — commending genocide, stoning to death, and slavery, for example. God is portrayed in the Old Testament as a racist tyrant who murders large numbers of people in earthquakes and battles. Religion causes mental disturbances and social unrest. This is quite a catalogue!’ Nor does it end there: according to the New Atheists, Professor Ward says, ‘the existence of evil is incompatible with a good God; life shows no signs of intelligent design; the idea of God is incoherent; there is no way of deciding what the true revelation is; and Christians are always fighting one another over obscure points that nobody else cares about’.
