The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason
Victor J. Stenger
Language: English
Pages: 282
ISBN: 1591027519
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
In recent years a number of bestselling books have forcefully argued that belief in God can no longer be defended on rational or empirical grounds, and that the scientific worldview has rendered obsolete the traditional beliefs held by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The authors of these books—Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor J. Stenger—have come to be known as the "New Atheists." Predictably, their works have been controversial and attracted a good deal of critical reaction.
In this new book, Victor J. Stenger, whose God: The Failed Hypothesis was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007, reviews and expands upon the principles of New Atheism and answers many of its critics. He demonstrates in detail that naturalism—the view that all of reality is reducible to matter and nothing else—is sufficient to explain everything we observe in the universe, from the most distant galaxies to the inner workings of the brain that result in the phenomenon of mind.
Stenger disputes the claim of many critics that the question of whether God exists is beyond the ken of science. On the contrary, he argues that absence of evidence for God is, indeed, evidence of absence when the evidence should be there and is not.
Turning from scientific to historical evidence, Stenger then points out the many examples of evil perpetrated in the name of religion. He also notes that the Bible, which is still taken to be divine revelation by millions, fails as a basis for morality and is unable to account for the problem of unnecessary suffering throughout the world.
Finally, he discusses the teachings of ancient nontheist sages such as Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, whose guidelines for coping with the problems of life and death did not depend upon a supernatural metaphysics. Stenger argues that this "way of nature" is far superior to the traditional supernatural monotheisms, which history shows can lead to a host of evils.
The New Atheism is a well-argued defense of the atheist position and a strong rebuttal of its critics.
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the author’s review of The Language of God that appeared in Victor J. Stenger, “A Lack of Evidence,” Physics World 19, no. 10 (2006): 45-46. 30 John Beversluis, C. S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007). 31 Jerry A. Coyne, “Seeing and Believing: The Never-Ending Attempt to Reconcile Science and Religion, and Why It Is Doomed to Fail,” New Republic, February 4, 2009. 32 Karl Giberson, Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution (New
http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/DarkBibleContents.htm (accessed December 13, 2008), produced by nobeliefs.com, version 2.09, September 20, 2008. 5 For selected excerpts of cruelty and violence in the Qur’an, see The Skeptic’s Annotated Qur’an, http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/Zquran/cruelty/short.html (accessed December 31, 2008); for a history of the Qur’an, see Ibn Warraq, ed., The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1998). 6 Dan
version:I realized that I could no longer reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of life. In particular, I could no longer explain how there can be a good and all-powerful God actively involved in this world, given the state of things. For many people who inhabit this planet, life is a cesspool of misery and suffering. I came to a point where I simply could not believe that there is a good and kindly disposed Ruler who is in charge of it.5 Ehrman relates how at a Christmas Eve service
Ganges plain, bringing his teachings to the people. He assembled a huge following of disciples who practiced his methods and who, in turn, brought them to others. The key doctrine was anatta, the elimination of self. The Buddha rejected all questions about cosmology or gods. Knowing the answers would not end suffering and pain. They were of no help in negotiating the dhamma. To those who could not travel the road, who found they were too attached to self, the Buddha did not scold them but asked
W. Dyer, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2007). 19 Armstrong, The Great Transformation, p. 409. 20 Ibid., p. 468. 21 Victor J. Stenger, Quantum Gods: Creation, Chaos and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2009). 22 Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism (London: Wildwood House, 1975). 23 Stenger, The Unconscious Quantum. 24