No One Sees God - Dark Night of Atheists and Believers

330 Pages·2008·9.796 MB·English

by  Michael Novak

NO ONE
SEES
THE DARK NIGHT OF
ATHEISTS Ar,o BELIEVERS
U.S. $23.95/Canada $27.95
"The word 'dialogical' might have been invented
to describe Michael Novak. With great patience
and lucidity he engages believers, unbelievers,
and those who don't know what they believe in EI
conversation about the things that matter most.'"
-FRri.c JhoaNhrendu haus,
EdiitCnoh roi fFe IfR TSHTI NGS
When one surveys the contemporary reli­
gious landscape, the division between
atheist and believer seems stark. However, having
long struggled to understand the purpose of life
and the meaning of suffering, Michael Novak finds
the reality of spiritual life far different from the
rhetorical war presented by bestselling atheists and
the defenders of the faith who oppose them.
In No One Sees God, Novak brilliantly recasts
the tired debate pitting faith against reason. Both
the atheist and the believer experience the same
"dark night" in which God's presence seems absent,
he argues, and the conflict between faith and doubt
stems not from objective differences but from
divergent attitudes toward the unknown. Drawing
from his lifelong passion for philosophy and his
personal struggles with belief, he shows that,
far from being irrational, the spiritual perspective
actually provides the most satisfying answers to the
eternal questions of meaning. Faith is a challeng,e
at times, but it nonetheless offers the only fu[y
coherent response to the human experience.
PraisNeo Ofoner Se es God
"Michael Novak boldly-yet winsomely-invites believers and the radical athe­
ists of our day to sit down at table for an honest dialogue, one that will, no doubt,
challenge the atheists' blind faith in No-God; and one that will compel believers
to re-examine their unexamined views of the Almighty. While some of Novak's
views (about the Fall of man, for example) differ from my own and even from
those held by many evangelicals and Catholics, Novak's book will inspire a lively
debate from which we will all profit."
-ChucCko lsfoondu,eno rfP riFseolnl owship
" 'Why is human weakness slow to believe that men will one day live with God?'
once asked St. Augustine. Why itshi s? In this deeply personal book, Michael No­
vak ponders this question, sustaining throughout a sympathetic dialogue with the
so-called "new atheism" of Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens. Along the
way, Novak advances many reasons to believe, with Augustine, that in tlie end
our darkness yields only to the blazing light of the promise of divine friendship:
'Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.' "
-JA.ug u;sD tiNi oni0a.,Pu .n,d erseocftr heet ary
Congrefgoatrt�D ieoo cnt orfti hnFeea ith
"To rebut the flood of atheist propaganda pouring out of.maj.>r publishing
houses, Michael Novak has crafted a response that is at once a masterpiece of the-
ological reasoning and a declaration of faith." p
-RobeDr.Nt o vasky,n diccoamltnuei;dsft t h Ceh icSaugTnoi- mes
"Michael Novak's new book counts as both significant and moving. He deploys
logic and love, emotion and erudition, to address th most enduring questions of
{;
our existence."
-Michael nMaetdivosenydan,ld lityca altke-hdro asdti,o
anadu tohfRo irg Thutr ns
"Why should you read Michael Novak? Let me illustrate with a personal exam­
ple. Novak is a devout and faithful Catholic-and reading one of his earlier books
helped put me on the path to embracing Protestant Christianity. This is the sort
of thing that happens when you read a writer of Novak's brilliance and intellec­
tual honesty-you find yourself asking better questions, and you end up in un­
expected places. His new book is especially helpful, coming as it does in a time
when shallow triumphalisms dominate religious discourse-in the puerile vilifi­
cations of religion by the 'new atheists' as well as the tired, chest-thumping apolo­
getics of too many who write in the name of Christianity. NoO nSee esi s tGheo d
work of a man of faith and a genuine humanist, who calls us all to discuss these
ultimate questions in a manner truly worthy of our nature as human persons."
-MichPaoeetmlr lai,t eerdaiortfyNo a rt iRoenvaile w
"One does not have to agree with Michael Novak to find this book well worth
reading. In his critique of atheism, he rightly says that no one has enough proof
that there is no God. But isn't the same true of those who believe that there ias
God? That goes a long way toward explaining why I am an agnostic. Moreover,
Novak would agree that ethical behavior-living by the Golden Rule-doesn't
depend on a belief in God. But I nonetheless found the force and eloquence of
his argument a most helpful test for my own beliefs."
-Larry Harrison, author of ThCee ntLrailb Terruatlh
"Michael Novak, a firm theist, takes on a formidable host of clever atheists in one
absorbing encounter after another. Novak holds his ground throughout without
a trace of contentiousness-and with a depth oflearning that should move believ­
ers, doubters, and unbelievers alike. The arguments are fascinating. The company
is delightful. I have never seen the subject treated with such sympathy, urbanity,
and generosity of spirit."
-Christina Hoff Sommers, resident schelar of the American Enterprise Institute
"NoO nSee Geosid s a lightning flash of illumination about our post-secular age­
proving, as everything that Michael Novak writes does, that faith and reason can
work together. Engaging on the highest level (and with intellectual charity) with
today's 'new atheist' writers, and showing what they've missed or misunderstood
about religion, Novak has written a book for the ages that anyone interested in
the big questions, believer or unbeliever, will profit from."
-Brian C. Anderson, editor of CiJtoyu rnal
"With learning and humor, Michael Novak calls for respectful dialogue between
believers and skeptics. This book could not have come at a better time."
-Glen Harlan Reynolds, professor of law at the
University of Tennessee, creator of Instapundit.com
"Some have tried to defeat the new atheists with an equally dogmatic new fun­
damentalism. There is neither truth nor kindness in this approach. Finally,
Michael Novak has written from his mind and his heart a rejoinder to the mate­
rialists among us. He succeeds where others have failed by honestly appreciating
their critique of simple-minded faith, while also clearly demonstrating their in­
sufficient response to the mystery of God. Only Michael Novak could have writ­
ten this book because of the scope of his intellect, the depth of his faith, and his
deep humility that is his greatest gift to us all."
-Rabbi Marc Gellman, syndicated columnist and host of "The God Squad"
"Even those of us who believe and trust in God know the difficulties and ques­
tions through which the Lord takes us. In NoO neS eeGso dM,ich ael Novak ex­
presses the thoughts of both believers and atheists in a nonjudgm ental and most
helpful manner."
-Joanne Kemp, board member of Prison Fellowship Ministr,ies
"NoO nSee eGso dth,e l atest contribution of Michael Novak to secular theology,
is, as are all his previous works, a very persuasive book. All believers in freedom,
whether Catholics or nonbelievers, have an enormous debt of gratitude to
Michael. He has shed light on very important and complex issues and has done
so from the perspective of those who consider liberty as the fundamental organ­
izing principle of an open society."
-Antonio Martino, former Italian Minister of Defense
No One Sees God
MAJOR WORKS BY MICHAEL NOVAK
Belief and Unbelief
The Experience of Nothingness
Tell Me Why (with Jana Novak)
Ascent of the Mountain, Flight of the Dove
Free Persons and the Common Good
This Hemisphere of Liberty
The Universal Hunger for Liberty
On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding
Washington's God (with Jana Novak)
Choosing Presidents
The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism
The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The New Consensus on Family and Welfare (Editor)
The Guns of Lattimer
The Open Church
The Joy of Sports
Untneltable Ethnics
FICTION
The Tiber Was Silver
Naked I Leave
MICHAEL NOVAK
THE DARK NIGHT OF ATHEISTS AND BELIEVERS
DOUBLEDAY
NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO
SYDNEY AUCKLAND
GD
DOUBLEDAY
Copyright© 2008 by Michael Novak
All Rights Reserved
Published in the United States by Doubleday, an imprint
of The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.doubleday.com
DOUBLEDAisY a registered trademark and the DD colophon is
a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Excerpts from ThGeo Dde lubsy Riicohanrd Dawkins
copyright© 2006 by Richard Dawkins. Reprinted by
permission of Houghton Miffiin Harcourt Publishing
Company. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from BreatkhiSenp geR lell:iga isao nN atural
Phenomby eDnanoiel nC . Dennett copyright © 2006 by
Daniel C. Dennett. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a
division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
LIBRAROYF C ONGRESCSA TALOGING-IN-PUBLIDCAATTAI ON
Novak, Michael.
No one sees God/ by Michael Novak.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Christianity and atheism. 2. Apologetics. I. Title.
BT1212.N68 2008
261.211-dc22
2007050554
PRINTEIDN T HEU NITESDT ATEOSF AMERICA
I 3 5 I7O 8 9 62 4
FIRSETD ITION
DEDICATETDO
ELIZABETLHU RIEA ND W. H. BRADY
AND
JOSEPHA ND BRENDAC ALIHAN
WITH GRATITUDE
IN MEMORIAM
FATHER RICHAR.O NOVAK, C.S.C.
(August 1935-January 16, 1964)
2,
Missionary, Student of Arabic, and Teacher of Philosophy, murdered on a mission
of mercy in Dhaka, during riots that killed thousands. He had hoped to become a
world expert on Christian-Islamic relations. He laid down his life for others.
(1962)
WORDS BY FATHERR ICHARD
I AM NO LAZY LOVER
I am no lazy lover
With sweeping grandeurs
of
small talk. Words, you discover,
are passing; love endures.
Projfered is no measured length
of
the potential soul.
l
of
Rather, infuence strength,
corner-stone, cemented whole.
The senses know the form
and smile and eyes
of
love, but the lover's norm
is to pierce through this disguise
to spirit which in all things
does love intensify
to ripened bei . Each day that sings
ng
our love is more July.
Sand below and stars above
of
give instancy me.
Mine is no lazy love;
come taste my love and see.