How to Be an Atheist Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the University of Cambridge, 12 October 2001

by Denys Turner

Denys Turner is a philosopher who holds a chair in Cambridge’s Faculty of Divinity. In this erudite and entertaining lecture he explores the conditions for the belief that God does not exist. According to Turner, the first challenge lies in acknowledging the question ‘Does God exist?’ to be a valid one. Once the question is established, various things follow, each one making it harder to maintain ‘atheism’ as a credible or interesting position. Turner boxes atheists into a philosophical corner, showing how the belief that something has come of nothing is itself an acknowledgement of God's existence. Enlisting the help of thinkers as diverse as Aquinas, Kant, Wittgenstein, Nicholas Lash and John Milbank, Turner’s witty and provocative piece will be of interest to anyone engaged in religious enquiry who has wondered about the nature and status of atheism as a defendable intellectual position in our age.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy

Paperback

First published September 2, 2002

About the author

Denys Turner is the Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale University, a position which he has held since 2005. He previously was the Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University. He received his B.A. and M.A. from University College, Dublin, and his D.Phil from the University of Oxford.

Turner's work covers several areas within the history of Christianity, with a special focus on mysticism and medieval thought. He has also published two works on Marx and the relationship between Marxism and Christianity.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I initially thought this pamphlet was written for an atheist audience, it wasn’t the discovery of its religious tone that made me dislike it, but rather the arrogance of the speech given.
The speech was given by a professor of theology from Cambridge and the whole purpose of his speech was to coach atheist on how to make an argument for the non-existence of god. Seems reasonable enough, right? Well, he spends the rest of the speech outlining how theologians are not able to construct a powerful enough definition of what “God” is and therefore in order to be a true atheist, that person must be able to define what theologians cannot.
It is truly the most nonsensical argument for the existence of god I have ever heard. Turner even recognizes this to some extent and his only defense is shrouded with other theological arguments. Arguments which only serve to further argue the “unknowable” nature of “God”. This book was simply an incredible let down, it did not even give arguments that could be countered it just hid away behind the “un-understandable” nature of god. The only people to whom I could recommend this book would be to theology students who wished to exercise their talents on theological debates.