The New Atheism and Spiritual Delusion by Chris White

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So that they are without excuse.”

                                                                                      ( Romans 1:18-20)

There is a new militant atheism afoot today, but I predict (without any sort of prophetic insight whatsoever) it will be a short-lived movement.  Why so?  Because man instinctively knows all attempts to explain his existence in this world as a meaningless, happy coincidence in a chaotic cosmos, is more an excuse than an explanation.  Perhaps this is why idolatry has always been much more prevalent as a belief system.  Even though faith is being placed in the creation (sun, moon, stars, rocks, animals, spirits) and not the Creator, at least it is looking to something greater than itself.  Theologian Alistair McGrath points out in a recent work that the Genesis account of creation taken in context is a statement against idolatry not atheism.  The ancient world was not without faith, but had divinized all they saw.  The Genesis account points that God stands apart from what He has made and all that is created is not intrinsically divine.  The new Atheism speaks with great authority.  It states that science speaks with a unified voice that all is just nature and all meaning we ascribe to it is merely illusory or sentimentality and the sooner we as a species can dispense with all this religious nonsense, the happier we all will be on this planet.  The subtext though is as old as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, with knowledge and complete freedom, you will become gods.  Go for it!  Man is no god and deep down he knows it.  He can’t live without God.  As Pascal said centuries ago, man has a God-shaped void in his heart and will not be happy until it is properly filled.  I say the sooner we dispense with all this atheistic nonsense, the quicker man will be living in reality!