The Apostle Paul's brilliance as a rhetorician shines in the early verses of his Epistle to the Romans. Three times he ties the downward spiral of human sin to the refusal to acknowledge the natural revelation of God's existence and work:
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened" (1:21).
"Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen" (1:25).
"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done" (1:28).
Paul's point seems to be that in the absence of God any belief or behavior seems wise and well intentioned. Atheism, for its adherents, is the most logical and reasonable of belief systems precisely because they have suppressed the truth about God in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). As Christians, we certainly resonate with this explanation for atheism, but it does not prevent our brothers-in-law from reading Christopher Hitchens or our next-door neighbors from enjoying Richard Dawkins on The Colbert Report.
In this issue of Modern Reformation, we set out to give you the tools you need to understand and interact with the so-called "New Atheism" that is flexing its muscles in our post-Christian societies. First up, our resident journalist Mollie Z. Hemingway traces the contours of atheism through the history of philosophy and spirituality. Next, Lutheran theologian Adam Francisco brings us up to date by introducing us to the primary proponents of the New Atheism: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett. Then trial lawyer and apologist Craig Parton discusses the intellectual arguments atheists use to prove their point; Scottish Presbyterian pastor and apologist David Robertson takes us through his recent response to Richard Dawkins and shows us how to counter the arguments that they use against Christianity; and our editor-in-chief Michael Horton finishes up the issue by showing how our own versions of Christianity can short-circuit our apologetics and evangelism.
In addition to this strong line-up of feature articles, you won't want to miss our interview with Richard Bauckham on the authenticity of the Gospels. You will also find our smaller sidebar articles especially useful: Korey Maas on the unhappy reactions to the New Atheism from ardent secularists and atheists; and Patricia Anders on the conversion of C. S. Lewis.
Each issue in 2008 will tackle these important, pressing problems in American Christianity. I'm grateful for your interest. If you have a friend or family member who needs to work through these matters, please let us know and we'll be happy to send them a free trial subscription. Don't forget to take advantage of over 15 years worth of resources on our website too. If you're preparing for a study or just trying to get your mind around a perplexing issue, our website is sure to have the resources you need to answer your questions about God, this world, and your life in it.
Eric Landry
Executive Editor
