How to Be an Atheist: Why Many Skeptics Aren't Skeptical Enough
Stokes, Mitch
Westminster Bookstore Review
“I liked this book so much I read it cover to cover. The Science section is the best short introduction to issues in science, philosophy, and God I have read: it clearly and simply makes its case, while incorporating the insights of Kuhn and Plantinga.
The section on Morality is weaker. While I agree with the conclusion that morality is personal, the author does a poor job of responding to the insights of atheist moral realists. It might be enough to respond to Richard Dawkins, but I think Phillipa Foot would be more difficult. The biggest problem is that Stokes seizes one horn of the Euthyphro Dilemma and doubles down. He is willing to say that God's commands are in some way arbitrary. But I am with Alexander Comrie: God couldn't create a world where idolatry would be ethical, and I think starting with this insight would lead to a better account.
Here’s what I love about this book: Stokes is up to date on all the latest work in science and philosophy, and he marshals all this knowledge in a defense against atheism that is very well-argued. What’s more, he is clear. He won’t over–simplify, but you can understand him. He is skeptical about science, but in the reasonable sort of way that does not hate science. He shows how one can love science and love God. Read this book, and talk about it with your atheist neighbor.”
– Jamie Duguid, WTS Books Staff, 2015
Atheists talk a lot about the importance of skepticism. But the truth is, they're not nearly skeptical enough.
While they champion the importance of a critical stance toward religion, they often fail to take that same stance toward their own beliefs. This double standard results in grandiose claims about the certainty of unbelief. However, their confidence in the rational strength of their own position is logically inconsistent at best and intellectually dishonest at worst. Turning atheists' skepticism around on their own naturalist worldview, philosopher Mitch Stokes critically examines two things that such skeptics hold dear—science and morality—revealing deep inconsistencies among atheists' most cherished beliefs, inconsistencies that threaten to undo atheism itself.
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