Why the New Atheism Is an Open Door for the Gospel in Europe

In the year 2000, "The Economist" magazine published an obituary for God. In 2007 they published a 16-page retraction entitled "God Returns to Europe." For the whole of the 20th Century, Europe’s secularists have largely assumed that they had won, or were certain to win the battle against "irrational religion." But the 20th century has turned out to be secularism’s failed century, and religion has refused to die, and in some areas is even experiencing a resurgence. This in turn has resulted in the rise of what is termed The New Atheism. It is a more militant version of "liberal" (as opposed to communist) atheism, which seeks to overthrow and prevent any public expression of religion in general and Christianity in particular. However, rather than seeing this as a threat, this session looks at the "open door" that the New Atheism provides in many areas of Europe.