In this space, several weeks ago, I wrote about the growing recognition that this country of our is no longer a Christian Nation in any real sense of that phrase. We here in the so-called “Bible Belt”feel this sort of abandonment of Christian core values later than other parts of our nation. It is true here in the USA we are generally 20-30 years behind Europe.

Did you hear the one about the fellow who said that when the end of the world came, he hoped he was in Alabama. When quizzed about this strange statement, he replied, “Everything that happens in this world happens 20 years later in Alabama.” This, of course is not true, but it makes my point. With the transient nature of our population even here in the South, we must learn to deal with the growing abandonment of Christian values that has gripped our culture.

Recently, I learned something that drove this point home. It came as a complete surprise to me, for I have never met a real honest-to-goodness atheist. Did you know that there is a group of authors who labels themselves ”The New Atheists”? They have produced no less than six books that have caught the attention of American readers.

It began in 2004 with a book by Sam Harris entitled “The End of Faith, Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason,” which lasted 33 weeks on the New York Times best seller list. Then came “Breaking the Spell: Religion As a Phenomenon (2006) by Daniel Dennett: and soon thereafter “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins (2006); and just published in 2007, another book by Sam Harris, “Letter to a Christian Nation”; just published in 2007, “God: The Failed Hypothesis How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist” by Victor J. Stenger, and most recently, “God Is Not Great; How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens.

Now, you may be asking the same question I asked when I read about this movement, “Why would this group of authors launch such an angry and acrimonious attack against God and all forms of religion in general across this country?” You could say that it is the natural evolution of secularism or humanism that has become the dominant theme of American life during the last half of the 20th century. You could also cite the Supreme Court decisions during the 1960's taking prayer out of our public schools. You could easily point the momentum created by Madelyn Murray O'Hare, an “old atheist,” and her supporters, which now is being taken to the next level by the “new atheists.”

Others might claim that the fanaticism of the far-right Christian, Jews and Muslims has been pushing these new atheists against the wall and they are finally rebounding with a vengeance.

You may remember the story of the father of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who won a $11 million verdict against a fundamentalist church that protested at the funeral of his son with signs that said, ”God is your enemy” and ‘Thank God for dead soldiers,” claiming that God was punishing America for our tolerance of homosexuality. You may recall also that two prominent conservative TV preachers said the same thing about 9/11.

When I read this, I can't help but remember what Tony Campolo said at a Furman University preachers' conference, “The Light of the World (Jesus) attracts bugs.” It takes all kinds to spread the gospel of peace and love.

If you had a week with these fellows, what would you say to convince them of the influence of Christianity on the development of the Western culture? What would you say to defend the preservation and continuation of that influence? I am not asking about your church or denomination, but the totality of the influence of our Christian heritage and culture.