In summary, Dr. Mohler’s warning that I represent “where the rejection of biblical Christianity inevitably leads” may well backfire. When given the choice between an unnatural otherworldly paradise available only in the afterlife and an actual heavenly existence—the peace that passes all understanding—here in the real world, my hunch is that most young people...
Author Archives: Michael Dowd
Finally, Dr. Mohler interprets that I reject a biblical view of sin and salvation. But this is not accurate. I accept the biblical view as the best understanding of the human condition available at the time. Indeed, I celebrate the biblical sense—as myth! Fortunately, we can now also appreciate human nature from a natural, factual standpoint. And in my experience, it...
I don’t reject the authority of scripture, as Dr. Mohler suggests. Rather, I reject a trivial understanding of what counts as scripture. I reject the notion that our best map of reality and most helpful signposts for living are to be found in ancient, mythic tales that were passed on orally for generations before being written down. I reject the idea that God’s...
Dr. Mohler, in reading my book and blog, claims that I reject the notion of a personal God. Given his traditional sense of a personal God, I do not fault him for that conclusion. Here, however, I wish to offer an alternate (and, I assert, a fuller and more compelling) sense of what a personal God could entail in our modern, evolutionary world. St. Thomas Aquinas, one...
Dr. Mohler notes that I reject the supernatural, but it is more accurate to say that I reject the notion that supernatural is anything more than pre-natural. For me, and for many others, understanding has replaced belief. I don’t reject the claim that Harry Potter can fly on a broom; I understand that story as fiction. I don’t reject the seemingly supernatural things...
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and I are engaged in a public debate sparked by my recent sermons, podcasts, and blogposts expressing gratitude for the New Atheists. Here’s the progression: July 17: Press Release: Michael Dowd to Christian Church: New Atheists are God’s Prophets July 19: OneNewsNow.com: ‘Evolutionary...
How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said—grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed”? Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.” — Carl Sagan Biblical...
Last September, the day I learned I had an especially aggressive form of cancer, I pondered, “If I have only one message left to communicate to the world, what would it be?” The answer that came: “Preach the New Atheists as God’s prophets.” A few hours later, I recorded a 30-minute podcast with that title. Ten months later, with cancer in remission, this is still...