How to Respond to New Atheists: Learning How to View the Material World, Knowledge, and Mystery from Seventeenth-Century Poet Lucy Hutchinson

Abstract:Like the "new atheists," the ancient Roman poet Lucretius zealously wanted to free his readers from dangerous religious superstition so that they could peacefully accept that nothing exists besides matter and void. The seventeenth-century Puritan Lucy Hutchinson was, surprisingly, the first to translate Lucretius's poem De rerum natura into English, and, years later, she published a long poetic paraphrase of Genesis, Order and Disorder. This article reads Order and Disorder as a response, providing an alternate Christian vision to De rerum natura, and draws conclusions about ways that Christians might, like Hutchinson, respond to fervent materialism. First, Hutchinson provides eloquent teaching, leading readers to meditate on the created world to find reasons for worship of its creator and to see the spiritual beyond the material. Next, she emphasizes that humans have a distinct position of both great value and utter humility within creation, a view that contrasts starkly with Lucretius's materialist perspective that elevates human reason but negates human worth. Finally, she shows that Christians should use God's means of accommodation, including creation and scripture but especially the incarnation, to remember God's nearness and trust his providence.