Book Review: Why God won’t go away by Alister McGrath

IN THIS BOOK, Alister McGrath offers an overview and critique of the movement known as the New Atheism.  He begins by looking at what the New Atheism is, with particular references to four names associated with the movement – Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens.  He also explains the differences between the “New” Atheism and other, more moderate forms of Atheism.  McGrath then addresses three themes often identified by the movement as arguments against religious belief – those of violence, reason and science.  He then assesses the current state of the New Atheism before asking what the future may hold.

This is an engaging and accessible book.  It’s succinct but thorough and as such is a very useful tool in understanding the New Atheism, its strengths and its weaknesses.  By looking at this worldview in such a way it’s a brilliant introduction for those wanting to understand the New Atheism better without focusing on only one issue or one associated ‘name’ or book.

McGrath is not a sloganeer and offers a perceptive analysis, asking difficult questions of the New Atheist worldview while attempting to give them a fair hearing.  It is interesting that although New Atheists accuse religious people of being irrational and ‘vile’, they frequently resort to insult to try and make their often incoherent point.  This appears to frustrate McGrath more than anything – rather than having a constructive conversation it becomes a shouting contest whereby reason  and rationality appear to have very little say – highly ironic since New Atheists like to accuse anyone with a belief in God as ‘irrational’.  Religion, to them, is evil, and God the cause of all the world’s woes.  But ‘evil’ is a moral statement, and if God is a delusion how can he cause anything?

The New Atheist tendency to proclaim itself as right and everyone else as wrong smacks of the very fanaticism it criticises.  It fails to back up its statements from history and ignores the criticism from other atheists, seeing them somehow as traitors to the cause.

I could go on far longer – but this is a review rather than an opinion post!  I will simply say this – if this is a topic that interests you, or indeed you are fascinated by either religion, philosophy, reason or science, this is an excellent book.





I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Lord is my Light - Lecture with Professor Alister McGrath

Spent some time listening to this lecture by Alister McGrath this morning. He tends to tackle topics that interest me, theology and apologetics among them. I decided to plug my netbook into the radio and listen while doing the ironing downstairs. It's a good way of getting two things done at once but I did find myself hissing occasionally that I did not have a notebook and pen to hand. I know my mind is so full of holes by nature that I cannot rely on my memory.


So, I may need to listen/watch again at some point - with a pen instead of an iron!  Plus, the screen was not in my view as I stood at the ironing board, trying to get the fluff off a T-Shirt.  I did run and get a coat hanger at one point, too.

I liked the ideas of seeing Christianity as light but also something that sheds light on everything else, seeing doctrines as both the glass of a window but also seeing through it to a wider landscape.  McGrath talks of theology as something that informs but also excites, something we do together as we look at scripture, drawing each other's attention to things we had not previously noticed (one of the reasons I love this kind of discussion).

In relation to apologetics, I was struck by the fact that in order to translate something, we need to understand our own meaning - which is often what I'm trying to put across when I bang on about intelligent faith.

 If you're interested in theology, apologetics and thinking deeply about faith this may be worth a look, as McGrath talks about loving God with all our minds - while still allowing for the fact that there are some things beyond our mental grasp, some things words cannot contain and some questions that cannot be resolved in a logical way.

Lecture with Professor Alister McGrath – Lanier Theological Library

Image from Alister McGrath's biography on RZIM website

needing to know: the known and the familiar

It strikes me as somewhat ironic that in a culture where many prize personal certainty, we are so unwilling to seek knowledge.  Unless, of course, it's on a need-to-know basis.  The problem is, I don't always realise what I need to know.  Have you ever taken a bite of something and only then realised how hungry you were? Or sunk into a warm bath and been struck by the heat against the coldness of your body - a coldness you had managed to ignore?

I continue to think about faith - faith that is informed, a seeing faith, a faith that hungers and thirsts.  About what we believe and why we believe it - and how we explain it to others.  How can I make sense to others when I have not discovered the sense for myself?  How can I, relying on nuggets of second hand information, ever hope to firmly grasp the promise and hope that the bible offers?

Yesterday I had one of my regular bible studies with my Jehovah's Witness friends.  We come from different viewpoints, with different beliefs on the central issues of our faith.  But we all enjoy seeking knowledge together, looking at the bible and discussing its meaning.  I wish that more people would take the time to do this.  But I worry that we have become ill equipped to do so.  When discussing the meaning of our faith and what we believe about the bible, we need to be familiar with it.  Otherwise how can we give a reason for our belief?

OED definition - familiar: adjective (1) well known from long or close association

It goes on to add:  'often encountered or experienced'.  Then a second hue of meaning:

(2) in close friendship; intimate

Do we have that kind of familiarity with what we believe?  That familiarity with the bible?

Or do we take it on a 'need-to-know basis'?  Looking it up only when we think we need to, only when we are challenged, asked or troubled by something.

If we do not immerse ourselves in the pursuit of knowing something, we will never get familiar with it.  If we don't frequently encounter it, have a close association with it, we will never achieve an intimate knowledge of it.

If we never achieve an intimate knowledge of something, we will never be able to explain it fully to those who really want - and need - to know.

Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias (ed.)

Beyond Opinion: living the faith we defend is an apologetic resource edited by Ravi Zacharias (see the Zacharias Trust).   It is divided into three main sections: 'Giving An Answer',  which looks at difficult questions posed against faith in God, as well as the 'questions behind the questions'.  This tackles areas such as postmodernism, atheism and scientific questions. The second part, 'Internalising the Questions and Answers', explores deeper issues of spiritual transformation and the third part, 'Living Out the Answers', addresses the role of the church.

This is not a book that you can read straight through, and it is difficult to encapsulate in a review.  It took me a long time to absorb and digest the various themes and dilemmas presented here.  With a range of contributors writing on various subjects, the book is a collection of voices and topics, all important to apologetics.

I found this book valuable, and challenging.  As it wrestles with some quite hefty philosophical and scientific thinking at times, it can take some effort to grasp certain passages.  However, I enjoyed the opportunity of familiarising myself with the thoughts and questions posed.  The myriad of voices means that naturally a reader may appreciate one chapter more than another, depending on areas of interest or preference of writing style, but the change of tone can be helpful, especially after being immersed in a very complex subject.

The book resounds with the call of 1 Peter 3:15, the defining statement of apologetics, that Christ is set apart as Lord in our hearts, that we should always be ready to give an answer (Greek: apologia) for the hope we have and that we should do so with gentleness and respect.

This book is more meaty than milky. It is not an easy or quick read, and won't be to everyone's taste.  However, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to think deeply about their faith, and longs to be able to explain it more fully.  There were moments in my reading where I was deeply interested, amiably befuddled, greatly challenged and even, I believe, spoken to in a way I was not expecting, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I was provoked to think more deeply about my faith, ponder the incredible nature of God and examine my own attitudes and lifestyle.

More than that, it emphasises the need for us to live our answers, to reflect our faith in our actions and to be genuine disciples, demonstrating God's love to all around us.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

the problem with borrowed answers

It's not just about knowing what you believe.  It's about knowing why you believe it.  If I offer you a rehearsed sentence, a platitude, a ready answer to a difficult question and you come back at me, what happens?  Do I understand the answer I have given?  Is it merely an answer I have borrowed?  Have I been on a journey through the difficult questions in order to find that answer?  Perhaps I should not call it an answer, but a response.  I respond in a certain way because I believe certain things.  But do I know why I believe them?  Are they realities, or just words?

Why are we afraid of difficult questions?  Why are we afraid to admit our own ignorance, struggles, continuing journeys in a messy world?  We know only in part, but how partial is our knowledge? 

Are my answers my own?  Have I looked into the issues myself, or merely relied on secondhand wisdom?  Do I think it my duty to look into the things of God or my need?

We think we can rely on borrowed answers but without knowing the background or the reason they are inadequate.  Life involves getting your hands dirty.  If we offer a borrowed answer, how can we explain it further?  How can we be convincing?

Lately I am coming across these questions in many different places, nudges and niggles.  And the realisation that if we only use borrowed answers, we will be afraid of them.  We will be afraid of them because we can't explain them.  We will be afraid of them because we don't understand them.

They may well be the right answers, or as close as we can get for now.  But we need to know why.

Otherwise, they become merely clever words, toppled at the slightest sign of storms.