FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth

Mission Sunday

November 4, 2007

THE RESURGENCE OF ATHEISM AND

THE RENEWAL OF MISSION

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20, Act 1:1-11

Text: Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God”

INTRODUCTION

At the outset of World War I, when Bertrand Russell was dismissed from the faculty of Cambridge University and imprisoned because of his pacifism and public opposition to that war, the jailer who put him behind bars asked as he filled out the forms, “What is your religion?” Russell replied “Agnostic.” After figuring out how to spell it, the jailer then said with a tolerant sigh, “Well, there are many religions, but I guess they all worship the same God.” And Russell wrote later in his memoirs, “This remark kept me cheerful for (many weeks)”.

Now Bertrand Russell, who was also rejected as a professor at the College of the City of New York because of his radical views on religion, and who wrote a famous essay entitled “Why I Am Not A Christian” – Russell eventually became an atheist during his controversial lifetime, and was involved in many debates with Christian and Jewish leaders. Because he was highly intelligent and had a sense of humor, people were willing to listen to his opinion, and most of his opponents, though they disagreed with him, gained a sense of respect for Russell, who received the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature and died in 1970.

I tell you all of that because, soon after Bertrand Russell died, I was ordained into the ministry, and over the past 35 years that I have served in the church, I have not taken atheism all that seriously.

I do remember, while I was a student at UNC in Chapel Hill, that Thomas J.J. Altizer, a professor here at Emory University, wrote a book in 1966 entitled “Radical Theology and the Death of God,” which caused quite a commotion. But since then, nobody that I know has launched a major salvo in favor of atheism. In fact, the Gallup Polls have consistently indicated for a long time now that 90 to 95 percent of this nation, including 85 percent who are Christian, believe in God in one way or another.

I

But not for much longer, at least so say a group of authors who are called “The New Atheists” and have produced no less than six books which have caught the attention of American readers.

It began in 2004 with a book by Sam Harris entitled “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason,” which lasted 33 weeks on the New York Times best seller list. Then came “Breaking the Spell: Religion As a Natural Phenomenon (2006) by Daniel Dennett; and soon thereafter “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins (2006), and another by Sam Harris last year – “Letter To a Christian Nation” (2006); and just published in 2007, “God: The Failed Hypothesis – How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist” by Victor J. Stenger, and most recently “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens, whom the Christian Century magazine dubbed “the brilliant bad boy of Anglo-American high-culture journalism” (September 18, 2007), and whose book the New Yorker Magazine calls “the most articulate and the angriest of the lot” (May 21, 2007).

If you want a flavor of what these writers are offering, then listen to the rest of the New Yorker’s description of Christopher Hitchens’ quotes from “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything”:

“Creationists are ‘yokels,’ Pascal’s theology is ‘not far short of sordid,’ the reasoning of the Christian writer C.S. Lewis is ‘so pathetic as to defy description,’ (John) Calvin was a ‘sadist and a torturer,’ Buddhist sayings are ‘almost too easy to parody,’ Islam is ‘a rather obvious and ill-arranged set of plagiarisms,’ Hanukkah is a ‘vapid and annoying holiday,’ and King David was an ‘unscrupulous bandit.’” (From an article, “Atheists With An Attitude” by Anthony Gottlieb, The New Yorker, May 21, 2007, Page 77)

(Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?)

II

Now the question is, “Why would this group of so-called ‘new atheist’ authors launch such an angry and acrimonious attack against God in particular, and all forms of religion in general across this country?”

Some might say that it is the evolution of secularism which has become more and more strident in its opposition to people of faith over the past fifty years. They would cite the Supreme Court decisions during the 1960’s to take prayer out of the public schools as the turning point when Madelyn Murray O’Hare, an “old atheist,” and her supporters gained a sense of momentum which is now being taken to the next level by these “new atheists.”

Others might claim that the fanaticism of far-right Christians, Jews and Muslims has pushed these new atheists against the wall, and they are finally rebounding with a sense of vengeance. You may have seen the article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week about Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who was killed in action in Iraq, and whose father won an $11 million verdict against a fundamentalist church that protested his son’s funeral with signs that said “God is your enemy,” and “Thank God for dead soldiers,” claiming that God is punishing America for our tolerance of homosexuality.

To be sure, that is raw and rough stuff, and from what I’ve read in these books by the new atheists, they are saying with unrighteous indignation, “We’ve had enough!”

And there are still others who might point to the internal battles and divisions within Roman Catholicism and our Mainline Protestant Denominations, recognizing that the new atheists are hitting us hard at that vulnerable position where we Christians do not always practice what Jesus preached about unity, harmony and peace.

You may have heard the story about Patrick, who was a dyed-in-the-wool Irish Roman Catholic who suddenly joined the Presbyterian Church. His priest was upset and went to see Patrick to find out what had happened. Patrick explained that he had been suffering some pain and the doctor told him it was a terminal illness and he had less than six months to live. Patrick looked his priest in the eye and replied, “I joined the Presbyterians because I thought it would be better to lose one of them than one of us.”

Now that story is probably apocryphal, but here’s the point: these new atheists have bored in on the divisions between Christians and amongst our denominations and branches of the church, and they are saying that the God in whom we believe does not exist – because if he did, he would have the power to unite us as people of faith, and to establish peace on earth.

III

So how can we as Christians respond to this shot across the bow from the new atheists? We could dismiss them as arrogant and ignorant, and quote our text from Psalm 53, verse one: Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” But as my friend Todd Jones, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee has said, “The Psalmist was not referring to atheism long ago, for atheism is a modern notion. Rather the Psalmist was speaking of practical atheism, of people who live their everyday lives as if there was no God…and the real challenge to us as Christians is to follow Jesus’ commandment, “that you love one another, as I have loved you…By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Dr. Todd Jones, First Presbyterian Church of Nashville Newsletter, July 11, 2007)

In other words, instead of dismissing the new atheists, we can show them that love conquers hatred, and that all of our sins and mistakes are covered in repentance by the forgiveness and grace of God. That is a message the new atheists not only need to hear from us, but also to see in action among us.

Moreover, we can also enter into dialogue and debate with them, just as I saw happen on CNBC back in September when John Meacham, editor of Newsweek Magazine and a faithful Christian, was interviewed with Christopher Hitchens by Tim Russert. Meacham was neither defensive nor aggressively offensive, but rather clear and compelling as he bore witness to his belief in the reality of God, the centrality of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our world today. And that’s exactly what Jesus told us to do. His final words before ascending into heaven were: You shall be My witnesses, not only, we know now, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, but to the uttermost parts of the earth including the United States of America. So we can show the love of Jesus Christ to these new atheists. We can debate and we can become involved in dialogue with them. We can share the witness of our belief with them.

And there’s one thing more we have to share with the new atheists, hoping that they would be willing to stop, look and listen: and that is the mission of the Christian Church as we touch the lives of suffering and poverty-stricken people on this earth.

In fact, if I could spend one week with Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Victor Stenger or Christopher Hitchens, I would take them on a world-wide journey and show them the mission in Brazil, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Nicaragua, Sudan and South Africa, and I would say to the new atheists, “That’s what it looks like – that’s what it really looks like on the ground.” Mission unites us as people of faith. Mission ignites us to reach out to others in Jesus’ name, and mission invites us to give not only our lives but our resources to people in need.

I might even read part of the article to them that I read with surprise last July from USA Today. It’s about the patron saint of the new atheists named Charles Darwin. A teacher at Grove City College in Western Pennsylvania has written that Charles Darwin, the 19^th century English biologist, famous for the theory of evolution, actually supported Christian missionary work his entire adult life. Darwin was moved, says Dr. Mark Graham who wrote this article, by missionary efforts to help people in Tahiti and New Zealand. And Graham concludes, “What’s interesting is that it shows Darwin was a man who could change his mind after looking into something. And he was never hostile to religion, even though he died an agnostic. His wife and children attended church without his objections.”

So I might show that article to the new atheists and then I would ask them: “With the millions of dollars that you are making from your books denying the existence of God Almighty, would you be willing to give just some of your income to help people in need throughout this world survive and to find some sense of hope in their lives?”

CONCLUSION

I don’t know what the new atheists would do with that invitation, and I’m not counting on them. But I do know that you who believe in the Lord and belong to this congregation, are ready, willing and eager to support the Great Commission which has been given to us by Jesus Christ:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Our Lord is counting on us to fulfill His Great Commission. And if we don’t do that in our living and in our giving, then who else will?

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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