God had it right all along!

God had it right all along!

Daniel Dennett, is one of the ’4 Horsemen’ of what is called the New Atheism. He recently delivered a lecture on a post-religious world. He outlined his ‘end of religion’ thesis and his vision of a (better) world free of its restrictions, guilt, irrationality, hypocrisy, and xenophobic hatreds. What became interesting, is while proclaiming with utter certainty the end of all religion, is a very religious atheist indeed. As his lecture continued, his statement sounded more and more like listening to a rather optimistic, naive, kind-hearted yet legalistic preacher. Here are some of the highlights of his talk:

• Moral Behavior: the entire thrust of his talk was an exhortation to good and decent and moral behavior. These are the sorts of values that should shape our behavior and our world, let’s commit to and work for them.
• Note from Jim GOD SAID - Lev 19:18; Mt.22:39 "Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself"
• Mission: he talked of the need to build a missionary movement. Let’s take the secular good news out to the world and make it a better place. His closing words were ‘Let’s do it’. The good news bit was negative – the end of all religion.
• Note from Jim GOD SAID - Matt 28:19,20 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world."
• Worship: he wanted to inspire us with hymns and get us emotionally inspired, excited, joyful and happy.
• Note from Jim GOD SAID - Eph 5:19 "When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart."
• Community: Dennett offered the vision of democratic networks emerging of people working towards a common vision of improving the world. He even suggested that this new atheist movement might consider buying defunct churches in which to meet (he didn’t say what they would do there. Sing atheist songs?).
• Note from Jim GOD SAID Act 20:7 "On the first day of the week we met to break bread together."
• Eschatological Hope: his whole lecture was built around a narrative of hope – a future vision of a better world (without religion) to inspire us to work passionately in the here and now to bring it about.
• Note from Jim - GOD SAID Gal 5:5 "For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness."
• Doctrine of Man: Dennett has great faith in humankind. He asserted (while also describing himself as an ‘objective engineer’ of the human consciousness) that ‘People just want to be good.’ Wow.
• Note from Jim - GOD SAID Pro 20:24 "Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? "

The above is recorded by Patrick Mitchell in Ireland on his Blog - FaithInIreland (with the exception of the GOD SAID portions inserted by yours truly). I thought it amusing that here is an atheist (someone who denies the existence of God), extolling the values and principles that Christianity has been promoting for more than 2000 years and the Bible since the beginning of man. Seems like God had it right all along!

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;

but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

Rom 1:21

Jim