Should a Christian read Hitchens and Dawkins?

Sérgio Junior · Dec 11, 2018

In relation to OP, I don't see problem a Christian read books of atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens, it is often even recommended that the Christian who has an interest in defending his faith read atheist authors, if you do not study and don't learn to know the strategies of your opponents is impossible to win any disputes or competition!

Sérgio Junior · Dec 11, 2018

Double Post, Sorry!

brinny · Dec 11, 2018

hiwaystar said:
Amen! Whenever I see an atheist, I see Satan in their eyes. And whenever I see anything written by an atheist, I see the fires of Hell dancing before my eyes.

Am I the only one who thinks atheists should be exiled, if not executed?

Atheists, as anyone, need to be prayed for, brother. As do we. We ALL need prayer, and God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness. i know I do.

God help us.

EJ M · Dec 11, 2018

hiwaystar said:
Amen! Whenever I see an atheist, I see Satan in their eyes. And whenever I see anything written by an atheist, I see the fires of Hell dancing before my eyes.

Am I the only one who thinks atheists should be exiled, if not executed?

Jesus said to love our enemies, so no room for that.

John XYZ Thompson · Jun 24, 2019

Certainly Christians should read Dawkins and Hitchens. Nothing shows more clearly the darkness of unsaved man’s mind, and the weakness of atheism. “The God Delusion” is almost a tongue in cheek parody of atheism. Hitchens is just a mindless rant. Best of all read Hitchen’s brother’s “The Rage Against God.” It’s his convincing testimony about how he came from disbelief to Christian Faith.

Jamsie · Jun 24, 2019

EJ M said:
An activist, atheist, can contribute to the losing of your soul.Please don't read anything written by fools.
Please don't send your children to schools taught by fools. Life is to short, and eternity is to long.

The fact is that any number of Atheists are very critical of Dawkins, Hitchens (who is deceased), Krauss, Harris, or others of an aggressive stance. It is very difficult to discuss or debate someone when you are ignorant of the arguments, and the Christian counter arguments. One can't place their children in a mental cave for at some point in their future they will be confronted by the "world" of alternative ideas and views. It is hardly a pointless effort for the Craigs, Fesers, Plantingas. etc. to directly confront Atheist worldviews.

The words of Machen ring true: "Modern culture is a tremendous force. It affects all classes of society. It affects the ignorant as well as the learned. What is to be done about it? In the first place the Church may simply withdraw from the conflict. She may simply allow the mighty stream of modern thought to flow by unheeded and do her work merely in the back-eddies of the current. There are still some men in the world who have been unaffected by modern culture. They may still be won for Christ without intellectual labor. And they must be won. It is useful, it is necessary work. If the Church is satisfied with that alone, let her give up the scientific education of her ministry. Let her assume the truth of her message and learn simply how it may be applied in detail to modern industrial and social conditions. Let her give up the laborious study of Greek and Hebrew. Let her abandon the scientific study of history to the men of the world. In a day of increased scientific interest, let the Church go on becoming less scientific. In a day of increased specialization, of renewed interest in philology and in history, of more rigorous scientific method, let the Church go on abandoning her Bible to her enemies. They will study it scientifically, rest assured, if the Church does not. Let her substitute sociology altogether for Hebrew, practical expertness for the proof of her gospel. Let her shorten the preparation of her ministry, let her permit it to be interrupted yet more and more by premature practical activity. By doing so she will win a straggler here and there. But her winnings will be but temporary. The great current of modern culture will sooner or later engulf her puny eddy. God will save her somehow—out of the depths. But the labor of centuries will have been swept away. God grant that the Church may not resign herself to that."

Newtheran · Jul 9, 2019

EJ M said:
Proverbs 17:12;
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,
rather than a fool in his folly.
In Northern Alberta, the story is told of a man who met a bear robbed of her whelps. A grader operator did not return when he was expected to and an effort was made to find him. What the searchers found was the grader parked with the front tire on a dead cub grizzly bear.
The tire was flat, the door of the machine partially torn off, and the operator was never found.
Likely when mama bear heard her cub squeal, she became angry, and after assaulting the tire, discovered the tire was not the cause of the problem.
How could this be possible, this operator is better off that if he had met a fool?
Psalms 14:1 has the answer,
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
An angry bear can take your life, but can't touch your soul.
An activist, atheist, can contribute to the losing of your soul.
Please don't read anything written by fools.
Please don't send your children to schools taught by fools.
Life is to short, and eternity is to long.

If you're going to be reading sources like that, you need to make sure that you first know more about the underlying science than they do. There are a lot of internet atheists who took Biology 101 in undergrad and have overactive CTRL-C and CTRL-V functions. The individuals you cite are a step above that on the intellectual ladder so their arguments are more creative.

The Barbarian · Jul 20, 2019

hiwaystar said:
Amen! Whenever I see an atheist, I see Satan in their eyes. And whenever I see anything written by an atheist, I see the fires of Hell dancing before my eyes.

When I meet an atheist, I see a neighbor in need of God. If, as Peter writes, God is unwilling that any be lost, who am I to overrule Him?

Am I the only one who thinks atheists should be exiled, if not executed?

Being Christian, I think they should be ministered to with love and compassion.

lesliedellow · Aug 7, 2019

Reading Dawkins on religion is one way of wasting your time, but there must be more interesting ways.

brocke · Aug 7, 2019

I think I'll take your advise and not read what you have to say.

Should a Christian read Hitchens and Dawkins?

Sérgio Junior

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