This morning I went out to grab the newspaper, and instead of the regular Salt Lake Tribune we received a Sunday New York Times. This was quite a treat, especially getting the Times Book Review.
Leafing through it, I was struck by the fact that there are currently two books on the bestseller list that focus on essentially debunking religious faith. At number 6 is Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris, which is a polemic against the tenets of Christianity (particularly evangelical Christianity). Then at number 8 is The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, which basically says that religious faith is a human fantasy wired into our mental consciousness.
Now, I haven’t read either of these books yet–but I might. I think it’s good sometimes to examine the "other side" of faith. And I do mean faith, because even atheists have beliefs. Still, since the existence of God is neither empirically provable nor disprovable, it’s important for us to examine the evidence and weigh it critically.
One of the things that bugs me about this kind of debate is the a priori assumption by some people that having faith in God is somehow anti-intellectual. They’ll quote Freud and Bertrand Russell, but rarely look at the likes of C.S. Lewis (who was an Oxford man, just like Dawkins). The assumption seems to follow the argument that religion has caused much division and destruction in the world, therefore it should be abandoned. Well, that’s certainly a big baby to be throwing out with the theological bathwater!
If you’ve read either of these books I’d be interested in your review. I’m not interested in just pooh-poohing these works. They deserve some critical thought, but at the same time we need to understand assumptions and agendas (and I have my own as well). These might make great book discussions!
I’m still not sure why I got the Times instead of the Trib, but who’s complaining! The only drawback is that there weren’t any comics…
