Is Atheism Dead?

[Pat Mustard]

I noticed today that "Is Atheism Dead?" by Eric Metaxas occupies the top three slots in the Atheism category on Amazon. So the hardcover, Kindle version and audiobook are all outselling every other atheism book. Has anyone read this and have any thoughts? I'm going to pick it up and start working through it. From the table of contents it looks like some recycled arguments from ignorance and old fashioned atheist bashing but it's clearly getting some serious traction. A quick web search didn't turn up any serious rebuttals so I'm wondering if any have been posted.

Pump and dump is a big problem within bookselling. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Metaxas, his publishers and other associates are "buying" thousands of copies of this book which will soon end up remaindered into pound shops. Plus atheism books are a sub-genre of a section of literature that generally doesn't sell well. Doesn't take much cheating to become a bestseller.

---

One item that I would like to bring to the attention of the OP is that the book Is Atheism Dead? is very highly rated, much higher than, say, The God Delusion.  On a handful of negative reviews are being made about the book. . . Unlike Professor Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, or Dr. Sam Harris' End of Faith, this book has generated almost no reaction from the atheist community or skeptics at large.  (I subscribe to the American Atheist news letter, and they have not, so far as I know, even commented on the book; I have not heard about it mentioned by anyone, except for here.)  Instead, the people who are reading it are believers, who, like the book's author, Eric Metaxas, subscribe to the principle of "faith seeking understanding". 

This is all true, but it smacks of smugness to let something like this go entirely unchallenged. I detect a general consensus here that the zeitgeist is with the nones so the best plan is to sit back and ignore books and arguments like this. But I think that can be dangerous. I've finished the book now and can see how it would resonate with even those on the fence about their beliefs. There are many grounds for objection. Metaxas misrepresents the science and state of archeology on many occasions. As usual in these types of books, he ignores the best arguments against his positions, favoring the erection of strawmen to create the illusion of easy victories. And his contempt for atheists, whose views he mischaracterizes repeatedly, drips from every page. He even includes a chapter, "Is Atheism Evil?" in which his answer is resoundingly clear. So it's disappointing that there has been a complete lack of response from the atheist community. I get the argument that responding to certain arguments can dignify them and lift them from obscurity. But that's not the case here. This book is not obscure. Within the genre of books of this type, it is a bestseller. And anyone reading it who might be open to persuasion will find nothing out there rebutting it -- only glowing reviews. What conclusions are they likely to draw?

Metaxas' book is not going to stop the march of non-belief. He is simply reciting the same old PRATTs that were long past their sell by date when CS Lewis put them to paper. Remember this type of book is not to convince the heathens, nor even to support the waverers but to reassure the true believers that they are "ZOMG!!!!! WE'R SUPER SPECHUL!!!!!!1!1!111!1!!!"