Rating: Buy at 3½ of 5 stars
Inside the Atheist Mind is a new book by Anthony DeStefano. It was published on March 20, 2018 by Nelson Books.
The book takes us inside workings of the atheist mind, showing us how they think. I agree with most of what Mr. DeStefano has to say. It is past time that someone pointed out that some atheists are bullies, that they seem fascinated by a culture of death and that they exhibit no tolerance toward Christians.
The tone of the book is as a rant. DeStefano is an angry man, and he lets loose on his foes. He lets atheists know in the first pages that he will not be nice, and he isn’t. Rants are not for altering anyone’s mind; rather they are for confirming the ideas of believers. If you are not sure what militant atheists are up to, and want a run down, this book is for you. It won’t change your mind, but it will confirm your beliefs.
If you are sitting on the fence, this might help. Just remember that it is a rant and therefore angry. If you don’t like rants, stay away.
It is a rather short book. The main body of the book appears to be about 30,000 words, which is half the length of a novel. There are another 50 pages, about 8,000 words, of notes and references, so you can look up the material he is discussing. The total, about 40,000 words, is on the short side. Considering the number of topics that the author introduces, I would have liked a longer book with a more measured pace.
My second problem with the book is that DeStefano speaks of a ‘Renaissance’ as though there actually was a renaissance that brought us out of the ‘Dark Ages’. Most of the book’s quotes start around 1400 AD, so there is very little on early and Medieval Christianity. The ‘Renaissance’ is humanist fiction. It never happened because there was never a Dark Age. By repeating that humanist myth, he forfeits ground needlessly to the atheists. Before he writes about history he should remember that atheists have written history to suit their purposes. One should not accept anything they say. The Dark Ages is the Big Lie about Christianity. DeStefano does us no service by repeating it.
DeStefano also lumps Christians with believers in Islam, Deists and others. Yes, all of them believe in a God, but as a Christian, I don’t necessarily want to be lumped into one big group of ‘believers’.
My final quibble with the book is that there is a mismatch between the dire outcomes and the pitiful input. To speak of the ‘mind’ of Bill Maher is to pay him a giant compliment. I have never thought that Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher or Richard Dawkins had anything new or useful to say. DeStefano elevates these mediocrities to a higher plane than they deserve. Consider Bill Maher. He describes himself as a ‘leading atheist’, which should make everyone feel some pity for the trailing atheists. My suspicion is the Maher is a ‘leading’ atheist in precisely the same way that a figurehead ‘leads’ a ship. The atheist ship has plentiful amounts of fuel (i.e. money). The people supplying the money want something in return. I’d like to know what that is.
However, mostly DeStefano hits the target. The new atheists are bullies and cowards. They constantly pretend to be better than anyone else. DeStefano is right that the atheists want an ‘anything goes’ society in which they have the freedom to oppress others. They think they are above the law. In a godless society, there is, to use a phrase from Al Gore, ‘no controlling authority’. Powerful atheists chafe under the constraints of civil society; they want to break free from what binds them to the rest of humanity. The atheist does not care what unimaginable horrors await a lawless society, because he is rich enough to avoid the consequences. They’ve been around a long time. Hopefully DeStefano’s book will help them shuffle off the stage into the obscurity they deserve.
