A Christian Guide to Reality (Reading List)
Alex Rosenberg, in The Atheist’s Guide to Reality, argues that an atheist should answer the following fundamental questions as follows:
Is there a God? No.
What is the nature of reality? Whatever physics says it is.
What is the purpose of the universe? There is none.
What is the meaning of life? Ditto.
Why am I here? Just dumb luck.
Does prayer work? Of course not.
Is there a soul? Is it immortal? Are you kidding?
Is there free will? Not a chance.
What happens when we die? Everything pretty much goes on as before, except us.
What is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? There is no moral difference between them.
Why should I be moral? Because it makes you feel better than being immoral.
Is abortion, euthanasia, suicide, paying taxes, foreign aid, or anything else you don’t like forbidden, permissible, or sometimes obligatory? Anything goes.
What is love, and how can I find it? Love is the solution to a strategic interaction problem. Don’t look for it; it will find you when you need it.
Now, two quick notes. First, Rosenberg doesn’t argue directly against the existence of God in his book. Instead, he simply references “Hume” and suggests it’s not worth arguing against God because religious people already know how devastating the case against deity is, and there’s little chance of shaking them free of their superstition at this point. (His book, as I’ve mentioned before, is deliciously condescending—almost as much as it is ignorant.) Importantly, his book is really a guide for atheists; what he’s saying is that if you’re an atheist—if you’re not under some spooky religious spell—this is how you should look at the world and answer these questions.
Of course, not all atheists agree with Rosenberg—that’s clear. However, given what often motivates atheism in the first place, especially the “science is everything” mentality (or more precisely, the reductivist belief that everything can be explained through some combination of atomic and evolutionary theory), I think many atheists should agree with Rosenberg’s conclusions. And to the extent that they do, it gives us obvious reasons to reject atheism. These positions are not just implausible; they are—to use a technical term—bonkers. (If you’re looking for a philosophically sustained rebuttal to Rosenberg’s project, I recommend Edward Feser’s blog series and Scholastic Metaphysics for a critique of Rosenberg’s scientism.)
By contrast—and for fun (and maybe fourteen cents of affiliate profit, I mean, educational purposes!)—I’ll now answer each question from a broadly Christian or in some cases particularly Catholic perspective by recommending a book or two (or three, in some cases) on the subject. People often ask me for reading lists anyway, so here you go: