Ruling Elder Publishes Book on Richard Dawkins- November/December 2018

P&R Publishing (Presbyterian and Reformed) is in the process of printing a series of books on influential movers and shakers, called the Great Thinkers series. Some of the volumes include Thomas Aquinas, Karl Marx, David Hume, and Karl Barth. I was approached to contribute a volume on a modern scientific thinker, and suggested Richard Dawkins.

Dawkins might be considered the founder and chief proponent of what has come to be known as the New Atheist movement. Launched in the early 2000s, the movement was characterized by a particularly strong anti-theist strain and found early success through the publication and widespread dissemination of a series of books not the least of which was Dawkins's own book called The God Delusion. It became a New York Times bestseller and Dawkins has since generated quite a bit of a following.

My book aims to discuss the life and influence of Dawkins as well as engage with the substance of his atheist arguments. It also aims to provide a pathway towards fruitful engagement with those who think like Dawkins. The Great Thinkers series as a whole, and my book more specifically, set out to be academically informed, Biblically and theologically informed from a Reformed perspective, and yet still accessible to lay readers.

It was a privilege and honor to be a part of this project and to spend several years working towards the completion of this volume. Lisbeth provided invaluable encouragement, support, and advice during this time, and I feel like I benefited spiritually a great deal from the research and writing of the book. Although some of Dawkins's arguments are troubling, I left this book even more assured of the certainty of the truth of the Gospel. Ultimately, Biblical truth is irrepressible and provides a superior explanation to Dawkins's pure evolutionary materialism.

-Ransom Poythress

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