The New Aggressive Atheism - Part 1

In my D.MIn. class at Fuller on "Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix," our professor, Dr. Keith Matthews, spoke of a new "aggressive atheism" that has developed in our culture. While I have both biology and divinity degrees and once studied atheistic arguments extensively, for a long time now I have not seen the need to deal with these issues in most of the evangelism training that I conduct. In fact, I even considered removing the small amount that I had devoted to basic belief in a divine being in my evangelistic Bible study, as I so seldom encountered atheism. Religious surveys have shown that true atheism in the US is incredibly small, and I have long said that America is spiritual, if not religious, and that it would continue to be so. We had a religious beginning as a nation, and as Alan Hirsch says, the way a country begins has a continual shaping effect upon the culture.

America will still have a significant spiritual future, and it is true that this is embeeded in our culture. Now, however, my eyes are opened. While still very small, the number of atheists doubled in the last religious survey of the US. They are organizing, and they view atheism as a cause like other causes. Ironically, they are "proseltyzing," seeking to convert others to atheism. Books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens make the case for atheism (and against religion). The Golden Compass is a movie from a book series designed to teach atheism to children.

We need to be prepared to reach out to those who are confronted with these beliefs and help them in their faith, as well as show love and kindness to those who are hardened atheists. This video is a news special on ABC which shows how one atheistic family was treated in Oklahoma. It is difficult to sort out fact from fiction in any of these accounts, but one thing is clear-we need to love people unconditionally, even as we defend our beliefs.

Have you encountered atheism in your circle of people? What have you seen in the larger culture? How should we respond?

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Comment by James Nored on May 18, 2009 at 12:10am: Jim, I have generally said that postmodern culture is spiritual, but not religious. 9/11, I believe, has had a hand in the resurgance of atheism. While it caused some to see evil as evil, and dealt a bit of a blow to relativism, it caused others to see extremist religion--and by extension, religion in general--as the problem.

The Internet has helped those in marginalized groups such as atheists tremendously to organize and support one another. Clay Shirky tells the story of First Heifermann who started a social networking site called Meetup. First Heiferman, "Meetup" http://meetup.com. After a year, the fifteen most active groups on the site were witches, Slashdot, LiveJournal, Bloggers, Pagans, Fark, Ex-Jehovah’s Witness, Bookcrossing, Xena, Tori Amoms, Ultima, Star Trek, Radiohead, Vampires, and Atheists—most all of which are marginalized groups who have few opportunities to congregate outside of the Internet. Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody : How Digital Networks Transform Our Ability to Gather and Cooperate(New York: Penguin Press, 2008), 197. This example helps explain the emergence of the new aggressive atheism of recent years. As atheists and other non-Christian groups have found online community—ironically, a Christian concept—they have felt free to speak out about their non-belief without feeling marginalized by society.

Comment by James Nored on May 5, 2009 at 1:07pm: Thanks, Stan. One young adult I know is very intellectual, has had a bad church experience, and has latched onto Dawkins and Hitchens. I'll be interested in hearing your perspective and resources. Thanks!

Comment by Stanley N. Helton on May 5, 2009 at 12:54pm: James, I only have time for a quick note here. Our more intellectually minded students here have all read both Dawkins and Hitchens and they find some of their arguments convincing and thus unsettling. I have been a bit surprised by the onslaught of the new atheism, however, the "Price of Atheism" pieces you posted, while clearly slanted, nonetheless, shows how unprepared "Christian" people are for this conversation. More later, as I have kept up with some of this new atheistic literature.

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