Unbelievers in search of God?
by Margaret Hickey, Mercator:
One of the interesting things about what is called the post-Christian era is that non-believers appear to be more exercised than ever about attacking religious belief. They seem not to be content with what appears to be a continual drift towards secularism and an alternative new morality. It seems like being on “the right side of history” takes work. This movement of counter-evangelisation has many fronts, from hefty books by serious players like Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett to the endless spew of anti-faith virulence on social media.
Somewhere in between are columnists like Matthew Parris of The Spectator, who turn their attention to religious issues spasmodically when triggered by the degree of resistance of religious faith to the cultural headwinds. Research driven by confirmation bias characterises their attacks along with little knowledge of Scripture and Church teaching.
Quite often, it is during times when religious themes surface in the public square, such as at Easter or Christmas or during a papal visit perhaps, that such writers open fire. It is sometimes very easy to take up a hostile and, perhaps at root, an unchristian position in our response, in whatever way we make it, to such attacks.
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