The Obfuscation of the New Atheism

The Obfuscation of the New Atheism | Dr. Jose Maria Yulo | December 31, 2007

"No man who is in fear, or sorrow, or turmoil, is free, but whoever is rid of sorrows and fears and turmoils, that man is by the selfsame course rid also of slavery." —Epictetus

"Men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back." — G. K. Chesterton

It has been the position of the current generation of atheism advocates (apologists does not seem the appropriate term), that belief in a transcendent divinity is not necessary for the development of a human system of ethics. Here, there is present an unspoken rebuttal to those who would argue that morality, as conjured in a space and time beyond transcendence, beggars most, if not all, likelihoods. As a substitute for a divinely inspired source of revelatory morality, the abovementioned advocates stress the theme of "human solidarity," the nebulous phenomena which is produced ex nihilo to promote the survival of the tribe and species. Crucial to this idea—one which bases itself on "scientific" analysis of the human condition—is the study of that condition within the landscape of human civilizations.

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