Synopses & Reviews
Currently it is fashionable to be devoutly undevout. Religions most passionate antagonists—Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and others—have publishers competing eagerly to market their various denunciations of religion, monotheism, Christianity, and Roman Catholicism. But contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon profound conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history or even outright historical ignorance: so contends David Bentley Hart in this bold correction of the distortions. One of the most brilliant scholars of religion of our time, Hart provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists misrepresentations of the Christian past, bringing into focus the truth about the most radical revolution in Western history.
Hart outlines how Christianity transformed the ancient world in ways we may have forgotten: bringing liberation from fatalism, conferring great dignity on human beings, subverting the cruelest aspects of pagan society, and elevating charity above all virtues. He then argues that what we term the “Age of Reason” was in fact the beginning of the eclipse of reasons authority as a cultural value. Hart closes the book in the present, delineating the ominous consequences of the decline of Christendom in a culture that is built upon its moral and spiritual values.
Review
“With impressive erudition and polemical panache, David Hart smites hip and thigh the peddlers of a ‘new atheism that recycles hoary arguments from the past. His grim assessment of our cultural moment challenges the hope that ‘the Christian revolution could happen again.”—Richard John Neuhaus, former editor in chief of
First ThingsReview
“Provoked by and responding to the standard-bearers of ‘the New Atheism, this original and intellectually impressive work deftly demolishes their mythical account of ‘the rise of modernity. Hart argues instead that the genuinely humane values of modernity have their historic roots in Christianity.”—Geoffrey Wainwright, Duke Divinity School
Review
"In this learned, provocative, and sophisticated book, Hart presents a frontal challenge to today's myopic caricature of the culture and religion that existed in previous centuries."—Robert Louis Wilken, University of Virginia
Review
“Surely Dawkins, Hitchens et al would never have dared put pen to paper had they known of the existence of David Bentley Hart. After this demolition-job all that is left for them to do is repent and rejoice at the discreditation of their erstwhile selves.”—John Milbank, author of
Radical Orthodoxy: A New TheologyReview
“A devastating dissection of the ‘new atheism, a timely reminder of the fact that ‘no Christianity would have meant ‘no West, and a rousing good read. David Hart is one of America's sharpest minds, and this is Hart in full, all guns firing and the band playing on the deck.”—George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington
Review
"Anyone interested in taking the debate about God to the next level should read and reflect on Harts spirited brief on behalf of Christian truth."—Damon Linker,
New RepublicReview
"Hart writes with elegance. Even his invective has style."—
Richmond Times-DispatchReview
“
Atheist Delusions is a history that serves life . . . Hart argues for a brave thesis . . . . With astonishing success, [he] achieves his objective.”--Christopher Benson,
The City
Review
“[A] major work by one of the most learned, forceful, and witty Christian theologians currently writing.”—Paul J. Griffiths, First Things
Review
"Indeed, in a culture battle, pitting religion against secularism, Hart may be the best 'corner man' in the business, providing would'be Christian pugilists with a better understanding of both their own strengths and their opponent's weaknesses."—Graham Reside, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology
Review
"Few things are so delightful as watching someone who has taken the time to acquire a
lot of learning casually, even effortlessly, dismantle the claims of lazy grandstanders. . . . Hart isnt making a bid for wealth, fame, or cocktail-party acceptance: He knows whereof he speaks."—Stefan Beck,
New CriterionReview
"Hart writes with elegance. Even his invective has style."—
Richmond Times-Dispatch Damon Linker - New Republic
Review
"Absolutely brilliant . . . a cultural tour-de-force"—John Linsenmeyer,
Greenwich TimeReview
"Hart aims to provide his readers with a persuasive evocation of historical facts, moral judgments, philosophical principles, and theological musings, which may persuade them of the beauty of Christian truth. . . . Atheist Delusions is an honest book, which doesn't hide the sometimes repulsive truths related to the political or social aspects of historical Christianity."—Mihail Neamtu, Modern Age
Review
“An unanswerable and frequently hilarious demolition of the shoddy thinking and historical illiteracy of the so-called New Atheists.”—Michael Robbins,
CommonwealSynopsis
In this provocative book one of the most brilliant scholars of religion today dismantles distorted religious histories offered up by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and other contemporary critics of religion and advocates of atheism. David Bentley Hart provides a bold correction of the New Atheists s misrepresentations of the Christian past, countering their polemics with a brilliant account of Christianity and its message of human charity as the most revolutionary movement in all of Western history.
Hart outlines how Christianity transformed the ancient world in ways we may have forgotten: bringing liberation from fatalism, conferring great dignity on human beings, subverting the cruelest aspects of pagan society, and elevating charity above all virtues. He then argues that what we term the Age of Reason was in fact the beginning of the eclipse of reason s authority as a cultural value. Hart closes the book in the present, delineating the ominous consequences of the decline of Christendom in a culture that is built upon its moral and spiritual values.
"
Synopsis
Religious scholar Hart argues that contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history and provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists' misrepresentations of the Christian past.
Synopsis
In this provocative book one of the most brilliant scholars of religion today dismantles distorted religious “histories” offered up by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and other contemporary critics of religion and advocates of atheism. David Bentley Hart provides a bold correction of the New Atheists’s misrepresentations of the Christian past, countering their polemics with a brilliant account of Christianity and its message of human charity as the most revolutionary movement in all of Western history.
Hart outlines how Christianity transformed the ancient world in ways we may have forgotten: bringing liberation from fatalism, conferring great dignity on human beings, subverting the cruelest aspects of pagan society, and elevating charity above all virtues. He then argues that what we term the “Age of Reason” was in fact the beginning of the eclipse of reason’s authority as a cultural value. Hart closes the book in the present, delineating the ominous consequences of the decline of Christendom in a culture that is built upon its moral and spiritual values.
About the Author
David Bentley Hart is the author of several books, including In the Aftermath: Provocations and Laments and The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth. He lives in Providence, RI.