A trip to a local bookstore today will reveal dozens of
books from the “New Atheists” and their popularity is growing as everyday
people accept their message as truth. There have always been men and women
within the Christian worldview rising to answer these atheist insinuations but
the books that they write can be complicated. This is also to the advantage of
the atheist.
In The Atheist’s Fatal
Flaw: Exposing Conflicting Beliefs, Norman Geisler and Daniel McCoy have
responded by displaying the conflicting logic used in the writing these many
atheist books. Geisler and McCoy show the atheist’s words and treat them fairly
and fully. The vast majority of the book is simply showing the contradictions
used in “God in the Dock” arguments.
They look at:
The problem of Moral Evil
The value of human autonomy
Submission and favor
Death and faith
Guilt and Rules
Punishment and Pardon
Hell and heaven
Inconsistencies
The bulk of their arguments flow from the first two subjects
here and they look at the conflict that come up in atheist arguments because of
the tension in the problem of moral evil and the value of human autonomy. Then
the authors display the unnecessary rebellion and rejection of God that these
atheists make with undue certainty.
What I liked.
There was much in this book that is valuable and enjoyable.
The writers know how to deal with difficult topics with simplicity and grace.
They are fair to the writings of the atheists that they disagree with and try
to let them speak for themselves. If you interact with people that are
influenced by popular atheist writing (or if you are reading them for yourself)
then you need to read this book.
The book was written logically and with such a style that
you go through the chapters very quickly. I was surprised by how the book
flowed and there were so few times that I was bogged down by philosophy or formal
language.
What I did not like.
I wish there were some areas that would help the everyday
Christian get into discussion with the everyday atheist. There are few helps
here for that, however. This is more of a discussion about atheist authors than
the everyday atheist. Few atheists that I know are going to jump into “God in
the Dock” arguments (assuming that God is real). They still have contradicting
beliefs but they are not dealt with here. So if you are looking for an everyday
help to answer the reason for the hope that lies within you to your atheist
friend you probably will not find much here. However, there could be some great
discussions brought up if your atheist friend reads popular atheistic writing.
