New Atheism

Justin Brierley is convinced that in our time we are witnessing a growing wave of faith. Famously described as the “long, withdrawing roar” of the “Sea of Faith,” the Christian narrative that shaped the West has been replaced by sweeping secularism. But is that the end of the story? It was a conversation with agnostic journalist Douglas Murray that led Brierley to investigate whether a change was on the horizon.

Atheism is on the march in the western world, and its enemy is God. And if religion is the problem with the world, their answer is simple: Get rid of it. But are things really so straightforward? Tackling the likes of Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett head on, John Lennox highlights the fallacies in the their approach, arguing that their irrational and unscientific methodology leaves them guilty of the same obstinate foolishness of which they accuse dogmatic religious folks.

Editors Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath gather other intelligent minds from around the world to share their startling commonality: Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists were instrumental in their conversions to Christianity. Despite a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, all are united in the fact that they were first enthusiasts for the claims and writings of the New Atheists. But each became disillusioned by the arguments and conclusions of Dawkins, causing them to look deeper and with more objectivity at religious faith.

Before the gospels were written, there were proto-gospels, notes, lists, and collections used to construct the gospels we have today. Some gospels were used and built upon to form other, expanded gospels. The “Q” Document was used as a memory tool and literary scaffolding by Matthew and Luke in the writing of their gospels. Although many scholars believe Mark had access to the oldest parts of Q, others believe he did not. Since Mark predates Matthew and Luke, they believe Mark was used as a template for Matthew and Luke.