|
New Atheism's doctrine of man that he is the
product of random processes of time and chance
runs into serious problems when the New Atheist
is confronted with the marvel of the human mind.
The Product of Time and Chance
In the New Atheist worldview, man
is the product of evolution. Mankind came about
not as the result of any creative intelligence
but merely through random processes of time and
chance. But this assertion presents some
problems for the New Atheist. It is interesting
to see how much of the New Atheist literature
focuses on trying to explain the marvel of the
human brain, and the nature of human thought and
reason.
Human reasoning, they assert, is
merely the product of electro-chemical processes
taking place in the brain. As Richard Dawkins
puts it, human life is "just bytes and bits of
digital information."1
"We are jumped-up apes and our brains were only
designed to understand the mundane details of
how to survive in the Stone Age African
savannah."2
Christopher Hitchens writes: "If
our presence here, in our present form, is
indeed random and contingent [as Hitchens and
his New Atheist colleagues assert], then at
least we can consciously look forward to the
further evolution of our poor brains, and to
stupendous advances in medicine and life
extension, derived from work on our elementary
stem cells and umbilical-cord blood cells. . . .
And all this will be further clarified if we are
modest and patient enough to understand the
building blocks of nature and the lowly stamp
our of origins. No divine plan, let alone
angelic intervention, is required.
Everything works without that assumption."3
Unlike some of his New Atheist
colleagues, Sam Harris is at least puzzled by
the amazing abilities of our "poor brains."
He notes that the "human
brain is a prolific generator of beliefs about
the world. In fact, the very humanness
of any brain consists largely in its capacity to
evaluate new statements of propositional truth
in light of innumerable others that it already
accepts. By recourse to intuitions of truth and
falsity, logical necessity and contradiction,
human beings are able to knit together private
visions of the world that largely cohere. What
neural events underlie this process? What must a
brain do in order to believe that a
given statement is true or false?
We currently have no idea. Language processing
may play a large role, of course, but the
challenge will be to discover how the brain
brings the products of perception, memory, and
reasoning to bear on individual propositions and
magically transforms them into the very
substance of our living."4
In a
previous article we quoted
British former atheist Robert Frost, who
pinpoints this critical issue in the New
Atheists' doctrine of man. If the human mind is
merely the product of time and chance, then
The atheist must, of necessity,
believe that matter without mind created reason
and logic. Matter without intelligence created
understanding and comprehension. Matter without
morals created complex ethical codes and legal
systems. Matter without conscience created a
sense of right and wrong. Matter without emotion
created skills and art, music, drama,
architecture, comedy, literature and dance.
Matter without design created in humankind an
insatiable hunger for meaning and purpose.5
Authentic Christianity in
Contrast
Authentic Biblical Christianity has no such
logical problem. The Scripture-driven Christian understands that
he is God's special creation. Man is not, as the
New Atheists assert, a creature of "lowly"
origins a
"jumped-up ape" with a tenth-rate brain. His
thoughts and beliefs are not the mere products
of random electro-chemically induced "neural
events."
Scripture tells us that God created man in His
own image and likeness. Genesis 1:26-31 tells us
that the first man was an adult, rational,
sensate, linguistic creature with whom God immediately
began communicating in complex language,
indicating that God's new creature already
possessed multifaceted knowledge. God
immediately gave the first man dominion over the
earth.
How did newly-created man possess such knowledge
and understanding? We read in Genesis 2:7
that "the Lord God formed man out of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living being."
In the book of Job we read of the significance
of God's breathing life into man: "There is a
spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty
gives him understanding" (32:3). It is God our
Maker "who teaches us more than the beasts of
the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of
heaven" (35:10-11).
God Himself asked Job the rhetorical questions,
"Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has
given understanding to the heart?" (Job 38:36).
The Christian also understands
from Scripture that because of man's sin, the
human mind became thoroughly corrupt. By the
time of Noah, "God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every
intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). The main thing
that has been corrupted by sin in the mind of
man is his understanding of God:
The fool has said in his heart,
'There is no God.'
They are corrupt, they have
done abominable works, there
is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the children of men, to
see if there are any who understand, who seek
God. They have all turned
aside, they have together
become corrupt; there is
none who does good, no, not
one. (Psalm 14:1-3)
For the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth
in unrighteousness, because
what may be known of God is manifest in them,
for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the
world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they
are without excuse,
because, although they knew God, they did not
glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but
became futile in their thoughts, and their
foolish hearts were darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became
fools, and changed the
glory of the incorruptible God into an image
made like corruptible manand birds and
four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to
dishonor their bodies among themselves,
who exchanged the truth of God for
the lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
Amen.
For this reason God gave them up
to vile passions. For even their women exchanged
the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the
natural use of the woman, burned in their lust
for one another, men with men committing what is
shameful, and receiving in themselves the
penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a debased mind, to do those things which
are not fitting; being
filled with all unrighteousness, sexual
immorality, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God,
violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy,
unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous
judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the
same but also approve of those who practice
them." (Romans 1:18-32)
The saving work of Jesus Christ
on behalf of sinners involves the salvation of
the mind, in order that man may once again bear
the unmarred image of God:
And you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins,
in which you once walked according
to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit who
now works in the sons of disobedience,
among whom also we all once
conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just
as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved
us, even when we were dead
in trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up together, and
made us sit together in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, that in the
ages to come He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should
boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we
should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
God's work of the sanctification
of the believer involves the mind:
I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing
(literally, the renovation) of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God.
(Romans 12:1-2)
The New Atheist indeed every sinner needs to
experience the salvation of mind and soul that
is only possible through faith in the finished
work of Jesus Christ. "But without
faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Recommended Resources
Articles on our website:
Available in our Online Store:
References:
-
Richard Dawkins, as quoted in John
Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?
((Darlington, England: Evangelical
Press, 2000) page 356.
-
Richard Dawkins, as quoted in the London
Sunday Telegraph, October 18, 1998.
-
Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great:
How Religion Ruins Everything (New
York: Hachette Book Group USA, 2007) pages
94-95. Italics in the original.
-
Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion,
Terror, and the Future of Reason (New
York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2004) page 51.
Italics in the original.
-
David Wilkinson and Robert Frost,
Thinking Clearly About God and Science
(London: Monarch Books, 2000) page 41.
|
Printer-Friendly Page
