Is Atheism Dead an answer to the 1966 Times article Is God Dead?. Original Times Article Here.
Briefly, the original Times article explores the idea of God being absolutely Dead within the traditional citadels of Christendom. That God is dead but proposes to keep writing theology without God. It's important to point out that the article's thesis is different from the age-old assertion that God does not and never did exist. As the article unravels, the reader can see the authors laying out fact by fact to evidence America's broken allegiance to the church by 1966. Naturally, this secular article was an outrageous attempt at attacking God and his kingdom, in the eyes of believers, thus any attempted discussion got smothered with emotionalism and anger. In my lexicon, the believer is anyone who accepts the presence of theos, the presence of God, or gods for that matter!
Is Atheism Dead unravels as an emotionalized response, however with a description of the original 1966 article. I picked up the book as part of the readings for a book club that I am part of. My expectations for non-Fiction books are usually very high and assumed it to be an educated intellectual discussion on the topic, or more so the healthy debate between the atheist and the believer. By now, you may have an idea of where I am going with this.
No book is without positivity. This is NOT a book written intended for an intellectual exploration of atheism/ monotheism/ polytheism. It’s a plain and simple spiritual booster for those who already consider themselves devoted Christians (etc.). It would be hard to disagree on that that this book doesn't serve as a positive spiritual reassurance to those who felt lost by the original Times article.
Now comes the heavy guns!
While the author didn't present a clear definition, for the sake of discussion, I use the term science to represent all the hard sciences such as physical sciences (chemistry and physics), biology, geology, and all fall within, and the Lingua Scientia, i.e. mathematics [not Latin ;)]. If the reader is an atheist, a pro-secular, or a non-believer, or at least someone keeps their wits on the topic in the middle lane, then their minds may resonate toward one point while reading this book. Especially, with the tone of the book is written.
When scientists don’t know how to explain/ don’t have answers, they should stop looking for them and just ‘accept’ that god did so!
Simply, that’s not how science works! Science is always refuted by better science, we learn as we go. This is a fundamental difference between theology and science. Moreover, there’s nothing wrong with being wrong in science. Sadly, the author completely missed that about science, and try to fit the scientific mindset in a theological framework.
The author's viewpoint is that when science cannot explain something, scientists should be "embarrassed" and give up.
However, just because science cannot explain something, it doesn’t automatically mean a god (or the God) did it so, as the author suggests. It's merely the green light to keep going.
As readers read through the book, they can encounter the names of numerous scientists who believed in some sort of higher power, commonly known to humanity as God/ Gods & Goddesses.
It is not uncommon for scientists to be religious and believe in a higher power, just like among the people in any other profession. That's a personal choice.
On the other hand, the author resonates back multiple times with the idea that scientists have math's, nothing else.
THAT’S the point! Science is backed by math's and reproducibility as opposed to scripture /s, stelas, and scribbles written by the unknowns throughout the span of humanity.
The final takeaway of the book is nothing, but an amalgam of emotionalism and a religious tonic gingering up one's faith [if already faithful]!
However, science and religions, especially of the theistic type better stayed in two separate lanes, simply because they are not compatible! Is Atheism Dead is another failed attempt on trying to bring those two on the same lane, or more so accurately, trying to prove one is better than the other. By doing so, the book undermines the value of religion and faith to humanity. The place of any religion in humanity is not where it explains who creates what or industrializes our lives, but where it guides humanity on how to grow as humans, and how to spiritually evolve as sensible human beings with common social norms. Whether secular or religious, people today throughout the world across numerous cultures agree that killing another human being is wrong, and science didn't teach that, the religions did!
~E.S.H.