I was having a conversation with a friend a few days ago about the new atheists and I was struck by the reaction that Richard Dawkins creates among us. He is unquestionably the most prominent proselytiser of the new atheists, is feted by the media – and someone who obviously creates a particular reaction among us. The reason for that is probably because of how aggressively and persistently he attacks our most fundamental beliefs. For this reason he has taken on something of the status of the Antichrist among many of us.
But this overlooks the obvious fact that we have been attacked by atheists for millennia and the church remains standing while all of their philosophies have been forgotten. This has been and will be again. God is not insecure. He does not worry about whether He exists. He does not worry about how atheists are portrayed as intelligent in the media while Christians are portrayed as uneducated and stupid. He is all-powerful and in control.
So again, Dawkins is not the antichrist. He is a flawed, fallen human being like all of us. God loves Richard Dawkins as much as He loves any of us. And more than that: God can convert Richard Dawkins. It may not be His will but He could if He wanted to.
And what a Christian brother he would be. Someone so full of zeal and filled with faith in things he cannot prove or substantiate and effective at public apologetics. He could make a great missionary if he would give his life to the one who created him.
So we shouldn’t fear him. One day he will bow his knee to God, either as a son or as a sinner – that is between him and his God. But in the meantime we should pray for him as we pray for any other fallen human. And know that God is in control.