A self-proclaimed atheist, Anthony Daniels is a former physician who now writes using the pseudonym “Theodore Dalrymple.” As a contributing editor of City Journal and the Dietrich Weismann Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, his writings are known for their pointed cultural commentary. In an essay titled, “What the New Atheists Don’t See,”1 “Dalrymple” critiques the popular rejection of religion by contemporary atheists. He argues that religious faith was essential for the establishment of Western civilization and is essential for its survival.

The thinness of the new atheism is evident in its approach to our civilization, which until recently was religious to its core. To regret religion is, in fact, to regret our civilization and its monuments, its achievements, and its legacy. And in my own view, the absence of religious faith, provided that such faith is not murderously intolerant, can have a deleterious effect upon human character and personality. If you empty the world of purpose, make it one of brute fact alone, you empty it (for many people, at any rate) of reasons for gratitude, and a sense of gratitude is necessary for both happiness and decency. For what can soon, and all too easily, replace gratitude is a sense of entitlement. Without gratitude, it is hard to appreciate, or be satisfied with, what you have: and life will become an existential shopping spree that no product satisfies.

 Footnotes:
 
1  Theodore Dalrymple, “What the New Atheists Don’t See,” City Journal Website, Autumn 2007, http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_4_oh_to_be.html (accessed October 6, 2008).

from Kairos Journal
First Baptist Church of Perryville is located at 4800 West Pulaski Highway, Perryville, MD  acrosse from Principio Health Center