The New Atheists by Tina Beattie

The New Atheists by Tina Beattie

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Even though I agree with almost all the substantial points this author makes,I'm still left feeling irritated by it! According to the presuppositions of the book this is probably because I am a white male European! This book is more polemic than debate and some great points are scored. I'm suspicious however of an argument which criticises most responses to new atheism for being too singularly masculine in the rationality of their approach whilst adopting aggressively one-sided denunciations of opponents views in support. This is an author who uses 'all' when she means 'many' and 'many' when she means 'some', and I feel would defend that style as appropriate as indicating the passion involved.

There is a very good book inside this book but for me it loses its ability to influence the readers it needs and presumably seeks to because of its failure to recognise the value of elegance as a form of beauty.


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God's Undertaker: has science buried God by John Lennox

God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? by John Lennox

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is an impressive attempt to show that there is enough scientific evidence to support the belief that the universe has been designed by an intelligent mind. It goes further than some similar books by seeking to demonstrate not only that theism and science are compatible but also that the atheism of many contemporary evolutionary biologists notably represented by Dawkins is not warranted by the arguments they present in support of purely materialistic explanations of the origin of life.


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The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Francis Collins was the head of the Human Genome Project. He is also a practicing Christian.This book is part biographical and part philosophy. It describes how he came to faith from an atheist background and how he does not see this in any way contrary to his work as a scientist.He defends evolutionary biology as compatible with Christian belief and critiques both special creationism and Intelligent Design approaches. He makes a plea for theistic evolution as the way to end the war between science and religion. There is also a helpful appendix on bioethics.


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