Passion for Rationality

I've been reading the Times Online (a UK paper) on the internet for a while and have been surprised to see a podcast there from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity by Professor John Gray. I've posted earlier about Alistair McGrath's response to Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion. But perhaps I really haven't paid too much attention to new atheism in general as I've seen it very much as one of the last wild spasms of rational modernity against postmodernity and the rise of spirituality as a reality in human existence. Still I'm surprise to find it on the Times Online website (here). I found it really strange reading the 140 comments which really felt like a shouting match across a wide room. I'm even more surprised to find that Gray is a skeptic, nonbeliever in God or god.

He asserts that the current publishing atheism is an atheist rejection of monotheism couched in a scientific response of positivism form the 19th century. It is ignorant of history and that concepts of toleration etc which form part of liberalism emerged from Western religious traditions i.e. religion is not intrinsically intolerant. Furthermore this new atheism is a media phenomenon, and is preaching a view that knowledge makes humans free and elevates humanity and often sets these humans (atheists) as more civilized or advanced.

Secularist ideology has gone and yet the assumption has remained that humanity is progressing inevitably to secularism and assumes that science drives out religious faith. But the opposite has happened globally religion and faith has moved back centre stage. Looking at history the great secularist projects of Nazism and Marxism have failed. Gray claims that "Science drives out faith" is an illusion. or perhaps a delusion?

Professor Gray has written an article "The Atheist Delusion"which contains many of the points in his lecture. The weirdest thing is a fundamentalist Christian Youtube video with Gray's article. (here) It sets sadly in my mind exactly a Christian version of Richard Dawkins in response to John Gray, which is a polemical blinkered view of reality. Lacking real depth of engagement in fact a denial of the history of the world, which incidentally includes a figure in a tiny corner of the Roman Empire called Palestine.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10