Even though it's taking place right before our eyes, I still find it somewhat hard to believe. I hardly expected to witness such a sudden rise of militant atheism that boldly denounces both Bible and believer alike.

Granted, it's existed behind closed doors in some circles for generations, but the hostility with which it has now entered the public arena in the United States is startling. I never expected to see belief in the teachings of the Bible condemned as a threat to society, civilization and sanity, but now it's happening.

This attitude is exemplified by Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins, staunch defender of atheism and evolution. How does he view those who don't agree with him? "It is absolutely safe to say that, if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I'd rather not consider that)," he wrote in a 1989 New York Times book review.

What about the Bible? "To be fair," he writes, "much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird . . . a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents . . . that religious zealots hold up to us as the inerrant source of our morals and rules for living" (The God Delusion, 2006, p. 237).

Professor Dawkins and his colleagues are in the vanguard of efforts not just to attack God and the Bible, but to literally transform society. He and others have gone so far as to argue that parents should be banned from teaching religious beliefs to their children, since to do so amounts to child abuse.

Regrettably, some are heeding these evangelists of atheism. Just this week I heard from one who, after viewing our free booklet Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe?, felt compelled to write the following:

"You don't know [expletive deleted] about science or biology, so it can be forgiven that your logic & arguments are faulty . . . The only 'flaws' pointed out on this page, or on any part of your non-sensical, irrational, & not even very well thought out web site are the obvious flaws in both your logic & your grasp of fundamental biology & anthropology.

"Only when religious extremists such as you are wiped from the face of the earth will mankind be free of the hatred, stupidity & needless suffering the scourge of 'Religion' has put on the human race. If there actually were a God, [expletive deleted] like you would surely be struck down—or at least have a special place in hell reserved for them.

"You are as bad as child molesters, spewing this non-sense to impressionable young minds. Thoughtful, rational people can only hope your kind will die off quickly, while there's still time for reason & sanity to save this planet from idiots like you."

Apparently he missed the many quotes in the booklet from a former director of NASA, a Nobel Prize winner, paleontologists, physicists, zoologists, microbiologists, biology and biochemistry professors and others who logically and clearly lay out some of the many flaws in and evidence against Darwinian evolution.

This battle isn't going away anytime soon. These are the kinds of messages that will increasingly confront you and your family. Will you be prepared? More than ever you need the facts and clear-cut answers you'll find in The Good News. GN