Thomas Aquinas understands, what so many defenders of orthodoxy will not understand. It is no good to tell an atheist that he is an atheist; or to charge a denier of immortality with the infamy of denying it; or to imagine that one can force an opponent to admit he is wrong, by proving that he is wrong on somebody else’s principles, but not on his own.

(Page 88)

Doesn’t anybody notice this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!

That’s how Mugatu, played by Will Ferrell, felt about Derek Zoolander’s looks in the the 2001 movie Zoolander. When I read some of the things that atheists write I feel the same way. The truth looks so obvious, but it is somehow missed in almost every case.

Take, for instance, atheist Christopher Hitchens’ appearance on Hannity and Colmes to discuss Dr. Jerry Falwell’s death:

I saw this on TV live when it aired and, although Hannity did not do the best job himself, it was clear that Hitchens had absolutely no idea what he was talking about regarding the beliefs of Christians and resorted to simply flinging unfounded insults and unschooled misunderstandings. Yet, if you browse around atheist blogs the opinion is that Hitchens won. If people really believe this, either they are taking crazy pills or I am. I must give Hitchens the benefit of the doubt, though, and assume that if he actually tried to understand the views of Christianity, then he would come to an intelligent opinion.

Now, on washingtonpost.com, Hitchens has once again displayed his ignorance by writing the following:

Here is my challenge. Let Gerson name one ethical statement made, or one ethical action performed, by a believer that could not have been uttered or done by a nonbeliever. And here is my second challenge. Can any reader of this column think of a wicked statement made, or an evil action performed, precisely because of religious faith? The second question is easy to answer, is it not? The first — I have been asking it for some time — awaits a convincing reply.

I’m not sure what Hitchens means by a “convincing reply,” but I don’t think his questions accomplish what he wants them to. The main Christian argument regarding the nature of morality is not that non-Christians have no ability to be moral, but they have no logical reason to be moral.

To answer the second, yes, some Christians have done terrible things just as some non-Christians have. This proves nothing. But how do we know that these actions are either moral or immoral? We know this because there has to be a source of morality outside of us. Evolution can’t explain it. If the main morality was a “survival of the fittest” attitude, then it should be right for me to rob my neighbors. Yet we all know this is wrong. My question for Hitchens is why? My answer is that morality was given to us by God. What is Hitchens’ reason for the existence of morality? He has obviously judged the late Dr. Falwell by some measuring stick.

An article refuting many of the claims made by Sam Harris in his books The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reasonand Letter to a Christian Nationcan be found in the latest edition of Biola Connections, the alumni magazine of Biola University. The article, with contributions by Christian scholars Douglas Geivett and William Lane Craig, can be found online here. A pdf of the entire issue can be found here.

“Andrew Fuller’s success as an apologist was as much a product of his temperament as of his abilities. To be successful, an apologist must be humble and gracious. The most skillfully crafted argument is of no effect if the intended audience takes offence and ceases reading. Fuller took great care to try to avoid offending his readers. At the same time, Fuller gave no quarter and thus avoided any appearance of weakness.”

Clint Sheehan, “Great and Sovereign Grace: Fuller’s Defence of the Gospel Against Arminianism,” in At the Pure Fountain of Thy Word: Andrew Fuller as an Apologist, ed. Michael A.G. Haykin, Studies in Baptist History and Thought (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004), 84.

If you read my previous post and did not know who William Lane Craig is, then this video is for you! Watch and hear him do one of the things he does best: defend the resurrection of Jesus!