WHY I AM NOT AN ATHEIST
Facing the inadequacies of unbelief
Edited by David J.Randall
Christian Focus. 192 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 781 912 706
In this book 11 Christians are given a chapter each to explain why they are not atheists.
One of its strengths is the personal dimension, with reasons and arguments for rejecting atheism being presented in the context of the contributor’s own lives, backgrounds and experiences. There is a variety of approach – one chapter is a tightly-argued essay by a debater responding to the arguments of I am not a Bertrand Russell in his Why Christian (to which this title alludes); another is a former journalist’s very personal account of her journey to faith in Christ, which was ‘mainly an emotional one’. The book does a good job of exposing the inadequacies of atheism with a humble, irenic tone, which contrasts with the aggression of some of the New Atheism it is countering.
Overlaps
One of the pitfalls of having 11 contributors address the same topic is that you do find the same arguments being repeated – and even some of the same anecdotes and quotations. But the material is both intellectually rigorous and accessible and the book would serve well as an introduction for Christians wanting to be equipped to engage with atheists.
The repeatedly stated aim of the book, however, is that through it atheists would become followers of Jesus. That might appear quite an ambitious goal for a book which is mainly making the case against atheism rather than for Christianity. That said, whereas one contributor concludes by saying why he is a Christian is ‘another story’, beyond the remit of the book, another one says ‘I cannot finish at this point because it would not reflect the totality of my spiritual pilgrimage’.
I think the preface could be more user-friendly for an atheist. It begins by emphasising God’s sovereignty in salvation, which, though true, may not be the most helpful starting-point to draw in a curious atheist. And the preface ends with a call, presumably to the believer, not to let Christianity be kept in a corner, reflecting the concerns of Solas, the Centre for Public Christianity, of which all the contributors are members or friends.
An atheist might also wish that fewer contributors were in Christian ministry (seven of the 11). Undoubtedly, though, it would give the atheist much food for thought and would help overcome any misconceptions about Christians being soft in the head. And I’m sure it could serve as a stepping-stone to faith.
