The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens

320 Pages·2008·1.58 MB·English

by  Vox Day

Praise for The Irrational Atheist
“In a day when too few of the recently published ‘New Atheists’ get hoisted
on their own petard, it is gratifying to see Vox Day undertake that assign-
ment with warmth and enthusiasm.”
—Douglas Wilson, Christianity Today
“Vox Day frags the New Atheism movement with the kind of logic and fact
that Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and Onfray only claim to use. The impor-
tant factor is that Day makes his challenging assertions without faith-based
cross-waving.”
—Dr. Johnny Wilson, Editor-in-Chief, Computer Gaming World
“The Vox is in the henhouse, with the scent of Dawkins’s blood in his nos-
trils and a mouthful of Hitchens’s feathers! Harris, alas, doesn’t make it out
of the book alive and the emergency team is still waiting to see if Dawkins
will pull through after receiving one of the most visceral literary lobotomies
ever inflicted in publishing. In the culture wars between New Atheism and
The Rest of the World, The Irrational Atheist is ‘must-read’ material.”
—ian Wishart, Investigate Magazine
“Day’s work is a healthy kick in the head to the comfortably numb. Using
their own claims against them, he uses logic, reason, and rhetoric to reveal
that atheists are the new fanatics, and that we should all—religious or ir-
religious—be very wary of their schemes. G. K. Chesterton once remarked
that without God, there would be no atheists; Day updates this by showing
how atheism itself is an evolutionary dead-end. A provocative, gutsy, and
in-your-face book, but eminently enjoyable reading.”
—reaD Mercer schucharDt, Assistant Professor of Communication,
Wheaton College
“In The Irrational Atheist, Vox Day plays the card that the atheists consid-
er their trump—reason—against them in a devastating and highly enter-
taining manner. With clarity and wit, he presents a wealth of evidence to
demolish the arguments put forward by the leading ‘brights’ of the day.”
—chaD the elDer, Fraters Libertas

Dissecting
the Unholy Trinity of
Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens
THE
IRRATIONAL
ATHEIST
Vox Day
BENBELLA BOOKS, INC .
Dallas, Texas
Copyright © 2008 by Vox Day

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Day, Vox.
The irrational atheist : dissecting the unholy trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitch-
ens / Vox Day.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-933771-36-4
1. Atheism. 2. Dawkins, Richard, 1941—Religion. 3. Harris, Sam, 1967—Religion.
4. Hitchens, Christopher—Religion. I. Title.
BL2747.3.D39 2007
211'.8—dc22
2007041413
Proofreading by Maggie McGuire, Emily Chauviere, and Yara Abuata
Cover design by Todd Michael Bushman
Text design and composition by John Reinhardt Book Design
Printed by Bang Printing
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DeDication

This is for those who walk The Way,
Weak and stumbling, poorly shod.
May they find strength in every day
To persist on the path to God.
This is for those still lost in night,
Angry, doubting, trapped in strife.
May they find answers in the Light
That leads to the eternal life.
This is for those who fall for Christ,
Faithful, fearless before Cain.
May they find courage to suffice
And know that they die not in vain.

AckNOwLEDgmENTS
W
ITHOUT THE EXAMPLES AND INFLUENCE
of my parents, Dr. Gregory Boyd, Tim Stahl, and
Andrew and Marit Lunstad, this book would
not exist. It is not always our strengths that tes-
tify to the truth, sometimes it is our flaws. I
have been fortunate to enjoy the unrelenting support of my most
faithful readers, the dread Ilk of Vox Popoli, whose encouragement,
criticism, and general insanity have provided many ideas that have
been incorporated, one way or another, into this text. I must also
thank my sometime nemeses, especially Dark Window, Brent Ras-
mussen, and Dr. P. Z. Myers, for their forthright defense of their own
beliefs and the sporadic clashes that have aided me in articulating
my own position.
I am grateful to Jamsco, whose detailed perusal of the early drafts
was invaluable. Thanks to readers Giraffe, SZook, and BAJ as well.
Meredith Dixon helped with the Latin translations and HuckG pro-
vided a speedy and dependable procurement service in tracking
down various required texts.
Special thanks to Mr. Frederick Dawe, Esq., who is equally reliable
vii
viii the irrational atheist
in contract negotiations and bar fights. And most of all, I am deeply
appreciative of the love and support of the lovely Spacebunny, and
am much obliged for her willingness to participate in the occasional
midnight symposium on life, the universes, and everything.
cONTENTS
Preface 1
I A Pride of Atheists 5
II Defining Science 27
III The Case Against Science 43
IV The Religion of Reason 61
V Sam Tzu and the Art of War 79
VI The War Delusion 97
VII The End of Sam Harris 113
VIII Darwin’s Judas 135
IX A Marxian Apostate 161
X The Pragmatic Philosopher 179
XI The Robespierre of Atheism 197
XII Hitler, the Inquisition, the Crusades, 209
and Human Sacrifice
XIII The Red Hand of Atheism 233
XIV Occam’s Chainsaw 251
XV Master of Puppets or Game Designer? 269
XVI “I Belong to Jesus” 285
Appendix A 289
Appendix B 291
Bibliography 301
About the Author 307
ix