God Issues Today: "Fishy Feet"

Author, educator and commentator Dr. James Denison has been pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas since June, 1998. Prior to that, he was pastor at churches in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Midland (at First Baptist) and Mansfield, Texas.

It's good to live in Texas, where pedicures given by flesh-eating fish are illegal. Thirteen other states feel the same way about the latest craze in cosmetology, while other states disagree or haven't made up their minds. Today's Wall Street Journal tells us about epidermis-eating fish which are being used for pedicures. Salon owners stock them in small tanks; for a fee, you can dangle your feet inside and let them dine. That's an unappetizing thought with which to begin your Monday, wouldn't you say?

What a strange world we inhabit. If you were God for a day, what about the cosmos would you change? How can an all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God permit cancer and AIDS and unspeakable horrors such as Josef Fritzl perpetrated on his daughter and family in Austria?

Such issues are at the heart of a protest against religion gaining significant footing around the world these days. "The new atheists," they're sometimes called. Richard Dawkins of Oxford calls religion a virus in the software of humanity which must be expunged. Sam Harris writes bestsellers which claim that Christianity is obsolete, a leftover from unenlightened times which does more harm than good. Daniel Dennett argues that religion is a genetically-inherited predisposition to seek order in chaos, without objective foundation or merit.

The best-known of the "new atheists" is Christopher Hitchens, the British-born journalist and cultural commentator whose "god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" is a national bestseller. I have read some of Mr. Hitchens' earlier work in The Atlantic and Vanity Fair, and found him to be a remarkably gifted wordsmith and essayist. "god is not Great" brings his intellect and turn of phrase to the defense of atheism.

I responded to it in my latest book, Wrestling with God, pointing out some of the errors and omissions in his claims and logic. I have talked about him in various settings where atheism has been discussed. I never imagined that I would get to meet him, much less debate him. But such was my privilege two days ago.

Last Saturday, as part of the Christian Book Expo in Dallas, a debate was staged on the subject, "Does the God of Christianity exist, and what difference does it make?" Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Douglas Wilson, Mr. Hitchens and I made up the panel. For two hours, we discussed and debated the challenges facing theism, Christianity, and atheism. This week, I'd like to relate that experience to the challenges we face in these days. We'll begin tomorrow.