Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies
Cover of first edition (hardback)
AuthorDavid Bentley Hart
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject
PublisherYale University Press
Publication date
April 21, 2009
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages272
ISBN978-0-300-11190-3
909/.09821 22
LC ClassBR162.3 .H37 2009

Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies is a 2009 book by the theologian, philosopher, and cultural commentator David Bentley Hart. The book explores what Hart identifies as historical and popular misconceptions of Christianity's detractors, with early material in the book being especially critical of New Atheism.[1]

Content

While saying that “there are many forms of atheism that I find far more admirable than many forms of Christianity or of religion in general,” Hart criticizes New Atheism for being “as contemptible as any other form of dreary fundamentalism” because it “consists entirely in vacuous arguments afloat on oceans of historical ignorance, made turbulent by storms of strident self-righteousness.”[2] Hart makes a case for Christianity as the only "true revolution" in history and the Enlightenment as “a reactionary flight back toward a comfortable, but dehumanizing, mental and moral servitude to elemental nature.”[3] He explores the role of Christianity and its interactions with other religions, arguing that Christianity differs from religious cults and faiths of the time.[citation needed] He states it has changed, forming the basis of modern culture while dealing with the impact of the gradual decline that began with the separation of church and state, as well as the age of war that he says resulted.[citation needed]

Hart attempts to explain the people, history, events, and reasons behind what he sees as Christianity's rise, achievements, mistakes, and recent decline in the face of materialism and the power struggles of world leaders. Additionally, he aims to debunk what he says are popular historical myths used to attack Christianity.[4][5]

Reception

Philosopher Anthony Kenny called Hart's book "the most able counsel for the defence in recent years."[6] Writing for Commonweal, poet Michael Robbins described the book as "an unanswerable and frequently hilarious demolition of the shoddy thinking and historical illiteracy of the so-called New Atheists."[7]

On 27 May 2011, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, awarded the book the Michael Ramsey Prize in Theology.[8]

There is also a Finnish translation (2010) by Perussanoma press.

References

  1. ^ Matt C. Paulson (Fall 2009). "Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies". The Montana Professor.
  2. ^ Hart, David Bentley (2009). Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780300164299.
  3. ^ Hart, David Bentley (2009). "Introduction". Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300164299.
  4. ^ Yale University Press. "Book Review: Atheist Delusions". Retrieved 24 June 2009.
  5. ^ Stefan Beck, The New Criterion. "A review of Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies by David Bentley Hart". Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Anthony Kenny on 'Atheist Delusions'". The Times Literary Supplement and Truthdig. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  7. ^ "He Is Who Is". Commonweal. 27 January 2014. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Winner of £10,000 Theology Prize Announced". The Archbishop of Canterbury. May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
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