Scan barcode
nickjonesreadsbooks's review
4.0
How can a book of this nature be a "page-turner"? I'm not really sure how McGrath pulled it off, but I could not stop reading this book. As someone who is relatively new to understanding the "New Atheist" movement and philosophical debates, I found McGrath to be a capable and entertaining guide. First, he introduces the reader to how the "new" atheist movement started and what it is. Secondly, he tackles three major challenges that new atheists pose to theists (violence, reason, and science), showing the deficiencies in these arguments. Finally, he assesses the future for the new atheist movement...and not to spoil the surprise, but the future is not "Bright."
neuschb's review
5.0
Thoughtful, pleasant, lucid, and brief.
Useful note: quotes Isaiah Berlin's observation that human conviction can be classed in three categories:
1.Those established by empirical observation.
2.Those established by logical deduction.
3.Those that cannot be proved in either of these ways.
Examples of convictions in the third category include adherence to human rights, acknowledgement of other minds, and belief in the existence God (a la A. Plantinga); see pages 86-7.
Useful note: quotes Isaiah Berlin's observation that human conviction can be classed in three categories:
1.Those established by empirical observation.
2.Those established by logical deduction.
3.Those that cannot be proved in either of these ways.
Examples of convictions in the third category include adherence to human rights, acknowledgement of other minds, and belief in the existence God (a la A. Plantinga); see pages 86-7.
More...