Tim Challies reviews Al Mohler's new book, Atheism Remix. He concludes:
Dr. Mohler’s book is only one of many to respond to the challenge of the new atheism and it is a welcome contribution. A reader who wishes to acquaint himself with the leading proponents of atheism, the arguments they use, and the most effective ways of thinking biblically about those arguments, will want to read this book. It is an ideal addition to any church or public library. I benefited from Mohler’s wisdom and am convinced you will also.
4 comments:
Samuel Skinner
Thinking Biblically? What does that mean? Why can't he just say thinking rationally? He is a YEC, isn't he?
As God is the ground of *all* true rationality, there really is no difference between thinking Biblically and thinking rationally. However, for most people (unconverted people), their "rationality" is at odds with the Bible, because simply put, they hate God. I once did, before God saved me. I didn't subject my reasoning to God-- I *judged* Him and His word, according to my fallen standards of reasoning. This is why it's important to clarify the difference between thinking Biblically and thinking rationally-- because most peoples' "rationality" is twisted, at odds with God, who *defines* what is true rationality. Sinful hearts cannot be counted on for consistent rationality.
Reason is above good and evil- the most dark hearts can use it as well as the most virtuous. To say it relies on your intent is to reduce it from a method to magic.
As for hating God... which one? Some of the Gods are the sort most men would willingly die for, most are bastards and others cross the line into evil.
Suffice to say I don't believe in any of them and thus cannot hate them anymore than any other fictional character (Thomas Covenant is the only one that inspires genuine loathing).
You cannot hate God if you don't believe in him. Hate requires knowledge.
You can refuse to worship through hate, but refuse to recognize? Never.
Samuel,
Reason, as used by human beings, is not morally neutral. Why do you think that it is? People skew reason (in their use of it) all of the time, in order to justify how they want to live and/or what they want to believe.
The Christian faith holds that all people know the true God, but that they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness." (Romans, chap.1, verses 18-21) This suppression is simply our sinfulness in action-- our desire to "live our own lives," apart from God, and to "think for ourselves," rather than submitting our reasoning to God, who is the ground of reason. This suppression continues until God steps in to free people from their hatred for Him and their love for sin.
This intervention happened in my life six years ago. Previously, I had been an agnostic. I wanted God to "prove Himself" to me-- prove His existence, prove His goodness. However, the problem was mine. I was not *willing* to see God as He is, because I wanted to define Him, accept Him, and submit to Him only on my own terms. I would have claimed that my "reasoning" was neutral, but in hindsight, it clearly was not. The Bible claims that this is the case for all people, apart from God's intervening grace. Unless He steps in, we will always define and worship "God" as we want to (which may mean claiming that there is no God). Ultimately, this is worship of self, because we are putting ourselves above God in order to "evaluate" (judge) Him.
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