Larry Alex Taunton is the author who claimed that atheist Christopher Hitchens was “contemplating conversion” near the end of his life, though he never actually made that leap. It was widely considered an insult and a lie by everyone who knew Hitchens personally. Not only did Hitchens never convert, he never even thought about it. He had no reason to. His own wife, Carol Blue, said of Hitch that the deathbed conversion never happened: “He lived by his principles until the end. To be honest, the subject of God didn’t come up.”

Which suggests that Taunton’s book was just a way to capitalize on the deaths of one of the world’s most famous atheists.

So when Senator Jeff Sessions said last week during his confirmation hearing to become the next Attorney General that he didn’t think atheists were capable of understanding truth, of course Taunton agreed. If it’s a slam on atheists, he’s all in.

It’s ironic, really, that Taunton elaborates on Sessions’ remarks and explains why atheists are immoral since he’s the guy whose recent reputation is built on a giant lie.

As a student of history, no doubt Senator Sessions also knows that secular regimes, lacking any belief in laws beyond those they manufacture, alter, and violate at will, were responsible for the deaths of no less than 100 million people in the Twentieth Century alone. That’s more than all religious wars from all previous centuries combined. That is because atheism unquestionably exacerbates the evil in our nature. And if Christianity doesn’t make you good — strictly speaking, from a theological perspective, none of us are — it makes you better than you might otherwise be.

It’s an argument that’s been debunked so many times, every atheist should know how to respond. People like Stalin and Pol Pot, who were responsible for massive atrocities, didn’t commit crimes against humanity because of their atheism. They did it for other reasons. Blaming Stalin’s atheism for what he did makes as much sense as blaming his facial hair.

Atheism doesn’t exacerbate evil, because people who come to that conclusion on their own are usually capable of the sort of critical thinking required to prevent evil. (I would say the same about people who adopt a religion after much introspection.) I’m far more worried about ignorance and apathy than I am someone’s calculated lack of fear of a Higher Power. And I’m more afraid of people acting on what they believe to be God’s will than I am of the ignorant and apathetic.

It’s a damn good thing Taunton is a Christian because his belief in God seems to be the only thing preventing him from being a horrible person. And given the way he treated Hitchens after his death, his religion isn’t even helping him with that.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)



