The New Atheism [Paperback]

I consider this book by Victor Stenger to be the best book that summarizes and expands on the arguments of the New Atheists (NA's) between the years 2004-2009. There is no other book like it. Any serious attempt by future writers to summarize the movement and/or criticize it must deal with this one written by one of the NA's themselves.

If someone had been hiding in a cave during these years and knew nothing about the NA's this would be the only book needed to understand it. The NA's mainly critique religion from a scientific perspective since they think science has a great deal to say about it. And they don't give religion much respect since: "Faith is always foolish and leads to many of the evils of society" (p, 15). The NA's thinking is best depicted by Stenger's often repeated phrase, that "absence of evidence is evidence of absence when the evidence should be there and is not" (p. 58).

According to Stenger the NA's "preach a more militant, in-your-face kind of atheism that has not been seen before, except with the abrasive and unpopular Madalyn Murray O'Hair" (p. 25). Summing up the books written by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, his own book, and Christopher Hitchens he concludes: "The atheist argues that empirical science and reason are the most reliable tools we have to determine truths about the world. The reason we trust reason and science, and have no trust whatsoever in religious arguments, is that science and reason work in understanding the world and making it a better place for humanity while religious argument leads universally to dismal failure and untold suffering" (p. 41).

In my opinion this book is even better that his previous one, "God: The Failed Hypothesis." Of course, he is never better than when discussing science in chapters 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. When it comes to the design argument for God's existence Stenger writes: "Any Christian, Jew, or Muslim who accepts evolution, as do most scientists of these faiths, must be confronted with the fact that, according to the conventional interpretation, the human species is an accident" (p. 99).

In this book the author answers such questions as: Can science study the supernatural?; Is science based on faith?; Can we trust our minds?; Do science and religion conflict?; Can science disprove God's existence?; Is any God consistent with science?; and, Do we need religion for morality? He also deals with questions like where the laws of the universe came from, the nature of the mind, and whether there is a soul. He even provides the reader with a scenario for the origin of the universe.

Stenger takes a good hard look at the so-called atheist atrocities and the Christian atrocities too. For Christians who argue that suffering can be redemptive he writes: "What was the redemptive value of the Crusades or the Black Plague or the Holocaust? What is the redemptive value of one child dying of leukemia or millions of children starving to death? The redemptive value would have to be enormous to justify the huge amount of suffering involved in those events" (p. 141).

Stenger seems to be aware of all of the important recent books coming from both atheists and Christians during this time period and he responds to all of the major criticisms of the NA's. There are at least a couple of notable exceptions, though. He didn't know about my book published in 2008. [*sigh*] But he's told me it will be mentioned in a reprint and in a second edition when that happens. [*Hurrah*] And he didn't mention David Eller's two books, "Natural Atheism" (2004) and "Atheism Advanced" (2007).

This book is a great summary of the debate during these years and it further expands and argues on behalf of atheism. Highly recommended. If you're interested in the New Atheist movement then this is essential reading.

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I'm the author of "Why I Became an Atheist," and the edited book, "The Christian Delusion."

Stenger successfully provides a rational response to the irrational critiques of the so-called "new atheists," highlighting the more prominent of these atheists (Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Chris Hitchens, and himself) and their positions then reviewing some of the more prominent critics ranging from Alister and Janna Collicut McGrath to Leon Wieseltier, writer for The New Republic and The New York Times.

Stenger's counter-criticisms include pointing out that the critics of new atheists aren't actually addressing the points and assertions of atheists but, rather, obfuscating the issues at hand and misrepresenting them in order to reshape the atheist arguments into those which are more manageable and easier to discount or disregard.

But Stenger's book is much more than a counter-critique. Prior to reading it, I was a bit put off by the "new atheist" term and still have my reservations about the moniker. But I now see the New Atheist movement as precisely that: a movement of consciousness-raising; a social mechanism that is truly needed in the face of modern neo-conservative and "theo-conservative" efforts which are anti-science and anti-intellectual in the United States. The New Atheist movement is an enlightenment for the modern age which brings into question the validity and legitimacy of the positions of the religious right and those that would impose their religious views on a secular society.

Atheist readers will gain insights into the thoughts of their peers; the agnostic and the moderate/liberal religious adherents will potentially have the opportunity to understand why the new atheists are so concerned; and the fundamentalist/conservative adherent will have an opportunity to reflect on their arguments and perhaps formulate better ones.

DR Vic Stenger, adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado and emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii , has given us the best yet of that collection of books under the genre of New Atheism. DR Stenger rejects the often asserted pronouncement that Science can say nothing about the assertions of religion. In this book the claims of religion are analyzed using the best Science available The Reader is also provided a look at the effects of belief using several case studies. While DR Stenger scrupulously avoids generalizing these case studies to all believers, it is clear from his examples the danger that irrational and delusional thinking posses in society. It is especially dangerous and destructive when this irrational and delusional thinking forms the bases for domestic and foreign policy in Nation States. DR Stenger also takes on intelligent design as well as the idea of mind body dualism. In addition, the various religious views on suffering are used to contrast religious and secular based morality. This is a well written and totally fascinating book.

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