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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great start but no substance, October 12, 2010
This review is from: Against Atheism: Why Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris Are Fundamentally Wrong (Paperback)
Markham starts off the book with a great presentation comparing atheists to color blind people. However, he never produces any reasoning of any depth while not bothering to structure his arguments in a logical manor. He appears to miss or misunderstand many of the New Atheists' arguments (such as Dawkins' meme concept). In some cases his responses just don't make sense. For instance, Dawkins claims that the bible is not a great moral reference as it encourages genocide, slavery, and child sacrifice. Markham responds that we need to interpret the text carefully. For instance, when the bible tells us to destroy our neighbors and show them no mercy (Deuteronomy 7), it really does not mean that. He does not even handle standard arguments well, such as the anthropic principle or the ultimate moral authority. The book is also filled with many references to god's desires and intentions, but Markham never tells us how he knows god's feelings. Markham certainly does paint faith, belief in god, or a transcendental spirit as worthy things. However, he never addresses whether these feelings are the result of the world independent of people or an artifact of humanity. I was disappointed. If someone gives you this book, read the introduction and chapter 1 and forget the rest.
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15 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Disappointing Read, August 10, 2010
This review is from: Against Atheism: Why Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris Are Fundamentally Wrong (Paperback)
I began this book looking for excellent arguments and tough questions to answer. Unfortunately, I found myself completely disapointed. Here are the major problems I found in the book: -The author builds a philosophical facade to give him credibility, and completely fails to understand and correctly interpret multiple texts and concepts. -He constantly "modifies the meaning" of various parts of the Bible to suit his arguments. -He spends a great deal of time ad hominem attacking Hawkings, Hitchens, and Harris. -Finally, he spouts a cacophony of supposed defenses for his views without ever providing anything close to sufficient supportive discussion. I give this book two stars because it does manage to introduce a few interesting ideas worth looking into, and it provides a few useful tidbits of information on three major world religions. Overall though, I found it to have absolutely no swaying concepts, and more than likely will serve to further bludgeon a person into holding their concepts/beliefs.
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24 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good book, and a major challenge to atheists., February 24, 2010
This review is from: Against Atheism: Why Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris Are Fundamentally Wrong (Paperback)
This is an excellent book. It is powerful and polite challenge to atheism as a belief system. The book is well produced, well written and fully referenced. It is easy and straightforward to read. The author makes his arguments briefly and well. He acknowledges the strengths of his opponent's positions, and so accepts the challenge to respond to them with proper argument. His main opponents in mind are Dawkins. Hitchens and Harris. I think the author succeeds in achieving the aim expressed in the subtitle of showing "Why Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris are fundamentally wrong." I suspect my atheist friends will disagree with my assessment, and that's fair enough. Markham is a considered and considerate author, and keen to encourage conversation, not polarities. To summarise the content for readers Markham makes his case against atheism on six main grounds, namely:- 1. We have a spiritual sense- this doesn't come from nowhere. 2. His analysis of the problem that our knowledge is always local and rooted, but that we have beliefs (hopefully held tentatively and humbly) that go far beyond our locality. (Think about Kant in Konigsberg...and how far round the world his thoughts have gone!) 3. Science is now one of the best reasons for faith 4. His answer to the problem of suffering. (a version of the "free will" defence) 5. The problem of Islamophobia- and how we can better understand Islam and its followers- and why Muslims and Christians need to listen more to each other's ideas. 6. The implications of Nietzsche's thought about how far reaching and damaging the consequences of the death of God are- he thinks Dawkins et al have failed to fully understand the seriousness of the death of God both for morality and science. This brief summary is outline only, and does not do justice to the quality of Markham's presentation of evidence. Markham's book is a demonstration of the fact that Christianity is a coherent, sensible and rational response to the complex world we find ourselves in. As such it will surprise atheists, and in the same way that atheists force Christians to sharpen their arguments, I think this book will make some atheists come up with better arguments for their views. I can recommend this book to Christians for encouragement, and to atheists as a spur to their thinking.
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