Book Review: A Sceptics Guide to Atheism

It is somewhat amusing to be reviewing this book, since I first had it recommended to me a few months before I started blogging, and finished it the week before I went to the New Word Alive Week where this blog was born. That said, I recently revisited whilst thinking about some apologetics stuff, and so thought it would be fun to review it!

The author, Peter S. Williams, is a philosopher and apologist working for the Damaris Trust in the UK, and has written a fair few books in the apologetics area. This particular one is a very useful book, not least because of its helpfully militant title! Most of the time, in my experience at least, scepticism is directed towards people of faith by atheists. It meant that, whilst reading this book between sessions at a University Missions Week, one of the CU (who I didn't know) came up to me and started sharing the Gospel! 

One of the most helpful things that Williams does in this book - which for those of you thinking of reading it, is readable, accurate, and not too long - is give a brief but comprehensive history of Atheism, before calmly but methodically working through a number of objections to the Christian faith that Atheists frequently trumpet. 

Thanks to his training as a philosopher, Williams is more than capable of dismantling various Atheistic challenges, and it is with this robust method that we come to his conclusion;

"I have reviewed contemporary popular atheology, paying particular attention to so-called 'New Atheists'. I am seriously unimpressed... as a revival of the value of rational thought (something I'm all for) the New Atheism is sadly lacking"

I would share more of this brilliantly firm quotes, but then you might not read the book. I'd recommend that you do. I personally found Williams' treatment, in Chapter 5, of the question 'Does Science Explain Everything?', to be particularly helpful. He helpfully notes the fallibility of people and the limitations of science, and rather brilliantly quotes Alister McGrath;

"As Alister McGrath reports, 'the idea that science and religion are in perpetual conflict is no longer taken seriously by any major historian of science'"

Stern stuff!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and re-reading this excellent book. There are many timely and important reminders here about the nature of truth and true reason, as well as good exposing of the faulty logic and general intellectual error of much of modern, popular atheism. I'd recommend this book to you if you are, Christian or not, in agreement with the title theme, that we might be sceptical about atheism! I'd especially recommend this to those involved in CU's and other evangelistic outreach ministries, both church and parachurch.

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For those whose appetites are whetted by the hints of apologetics that I've touched upon in this review, then I'd recommend "There is A God" by late former Atheist philosopher Anthony Flew. For those interested in the historicity of Jesus, the central person standing apart from the silliness of current debates, then I'd recommend "The Historical Jesus: Five Views", which demonstrates that the Christian story is based on rather more reality than many think! You may also enjoy my review of "Unapologetic Apologetics".

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