The Atheist's Fatal Flaw, by Norman Geisler and Daniel McCoy

In recent years atheist writings have flourished.  Many intelligent and thoughtful writers have made the case for the non-existence of God. Christians with an evangelistic bent would do well to be prepared with some intellectual background when they talk with atheists about matters theological. Norman Geisler, long a leading apologist, and Daniel McCoy have teamed up to write The Atheist's Fatal Flaw: Exposing Conflicting Beliefs, in which they examine a central argument of atheists and propose that it falls apart as self-contradictory.

Quoting extensively from atheist writers both contemporary and historical, Geisler and McCoy lay out a central atheist argument against God: the problem of moral evil. Put simply, how could an infinitely powerful and infinitely benevolent God allow evil to occur?  The authors charge that atheists call for God to act to prevent moral evil, yet that would call for a curtailment of human freedom. And yet atheists also would object to divine limitations on human freedom. "The atheist says in essence, 'God is morally bound to go to such extremes to fix the problem of moral evil that he removes at least a good part of out autonomy. At the same time, it would be immoral of God to go to lesser extremes because to do so would infringe on our autonomy."  

Geisler and McCoy spend so much space setting up the atheist position that one might grow weary of reading the source quotes. I would estimate that more than half the book is actually quotes from atheist writers. In some chapters, that figure may be greater than 3/4. So they leave little question about what the atheists say. However, I wasn't as impressed with the response. I mean, they build an interesting argument, but it seemed more like a fanciful logical exercise than a serious challenge. It feels like a very narrow, limited project that I am not sure an atheist, even an intellectually honest one, would be persuaded by. I hope I'm wrong. 

The Atheist's Fatal Flaw is certainly not a waste of time for Christians interested in apologetics.  It is a great source book (with an extensive bibliography) for readers who want to understand the atheists' perspective on the moral argument. I'm just doubtful that this is the  apologetic silver bullet implied in the title.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!