The Twilight of Atheism quotes

Hmm, thought I'd put in a couple of quotes from his (Alister McGrath's) concluding section "The Permanent Significance of Atheism"

"Paradoxically, history strongly suggests that those who are attracted to atheism are first repelled by theism. What propels people towards atheism is above all a sense of revulsion against the excesses and failures of organized religion. Atheism is ultimately a worldview of fear - a fear, often merited, of what might happen if religious maniacs were to take over the world. The existence and appeal of atheism in the West is thus largely derivative, mirroring the failings of the churches and specific ways of conceiving the Christian faith."

"In it's most intense and authentic forms, atheism enters a powerful protest against what it sees to be morally or intellectually inferior visions of reality, or institutions grounded in and proclaiming such visions, precisely because they enslave people, preventing them from achieving their true potential. In their place, atheism offered visions of a larger freedom, allowing humanity to throw aside its chains and enter a new and glorious phase in their history. It is perhaps not surprising that many sympathise with Dostoyevsky's character Ivan Karamazov when he respectfully returns God's ticket, in the face of the suffering, pain, and injustice of the world. Christianity must provide answers - good answers - to such fair questions and never assume it can recycle yesterday's answers to today's concerns."

"The rise of atheism in the West was undoubtedly a protest against a corrupted and complacent church, yet paradoxically, it has energised Christianity to reform itself, in ways that seriously erode the credibility of those earlier criticisms. Where atheism criticises, wise Christians move to reform their ways.
The atheist dilemma is that Christianity is a moving target whose trajectory is capable of being redirected without losing its anchor point in the New Testament. And as the theologian John Henry Newman pointed out, Christianity must listen to such criticisms from outside its bounds precisely because listening may be a way of recapturing its vision of the gospel."

"The attraction of a world without God depends on whether the presence of God is seen as a positive matter. For this reason, the appeal and fortunes of atheism do not entirely lie within its own control. If I am to assess the attraction of the atheist vision, I will need to be able to imagine a world with God before coming to any decision. Where religion is seen to oppress, confine, deprive, and limit, atheism may well be seen as offering humanity a larger view of freedom. But where religion manages to anchor itself in the hearts and minds of ordinary people, is sensitive to their needs and concerns, and offers them a better future, the less credible the atheist critique will appear. Believers need to realise that, strange as it may seem, it is they who will have the greatest impact on atheisms future."