Vocal atheists include Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, John Lennon, and Penn Jilette (of Penn&Teller fame). You can find extensive videos on YouTube by and about these folks, and they make compelling and interesting arguments.
To a man, they all say that there is no longer a need for a mystical being called God, because Science has now explained so many of Life's great mysteries, and will likely answer the remaining Great Questions of Life, the Universe and Everything in the near future. We don't need a Creator, they say, because we have Reason that reveals the Big Bang and Evolution, which demonstrate that Nature herself can take care of making all we see without the need for Celestial Beings.
Only one problem with these arguments: both the Big Bang and Evolution rely on and require miracles. In other words, the great products of Reason, on which atheists build their systems, are in fact just as mystical and require some Creator being to set the events in motion.
Let's just start with the Big Bang. On the basis of Reason alone, we must reject this hypothesis outright. At the very heart of the Big Bang is a miracle: out of nothing, the Universe explodes. Oh really? And how does "nothing" explode and create an obviously infinite Universe with unimaginable diversity and volume of content? And Terence McKenna succinctly put it, "Give us one free miracle, and we'll do the rest."
To place the contraction in stark contrast, an atheist rejects gods as being mystical and irrational, yet they often choose to replace gods with mystical cosmology. What exactly have they done, if not replace one set of irrationals with another? If you don't keep up with science and cosmology, you may not realize that there is no proof for the Big Bang, and that observations have repeatedly blown holes in the theory. To believe in the Big Bang, one must suspend reason as much as to believe in God!
Next, there is Evolution. Here is another scientific mythology masquerading as fact, and on which atheists depend to construct their arguments. If you are one of those folks who think Evolution is unquestionable and unassailable, then you have been hoodwinked into looking the other way while the lab-coated magicians pull the wool over your eyes.
Don't get me wrong. Species are seen to adapt to their environments, even displaying new physical characteristics over time, when the surroundings change. That humanity exists at all and inhabits so many types of environments is testament to an ability to adapt on the part of the species.
However, Evolution posits that life began as single celled critters that eventually joined together in groups, with some cells specializing in certain functions. Eventually, these balls of cells become to specialized that they constitute a unique lifeform. That lifeform splits into different species that are unable to breed with each other. The splitting of species goes on and on, with species making decisions to inhabit new environments, such as leaving the ocean to live on the land.
Sorry folks, but no one has ever witnessed one species splitting into two. Oh sure, we see one species adapting to new environments and even manifesting new physical properties to do so, but never has a dog become a cat, as they say. In fact, the theory that mutations give rise to new species is, in a word, bullshit. Every mutated individual usually dies, either by natural causes or the parents killing it in one way or another. Then, the exact same mutation must arise in both genders at roughly the same time, and they must be in close enough physical proximity that they are able to breed. Nope, sorry, complete rubbish.
There are many examples of interbreeding that create hybrid animals, such as mules. Mules are created by mating horses and donkeys. However, mules are sterile and cannot breed amongst themselves. This is pretty much the case with all forms of hybrids. And even if mules could breed, they are not a distinct species from the parents.
In other words, Evolution is completely without merit. The Big Bang is a farce. And ultimately, we are left with two choices: either there is a God, or we don't yet know how the Universe began and life arose. And by God, we should be able to admit our ignorance, because to believe we have the answer is to stop looking for it. When we stop looking, then Reason itself is short-circuited and we are left even worse off that we were with Mysticism.
Atheists are doing a great disservice to civilization by expounding unsubstantiated theories in place of ancient dogmas. They undermine their arguments by replacing old myths with new ones, rather than truly expressing Reason.
Educated and reasonable people do not accept anything at face value. They research and formulate their own ideas. They look for flaws in generally accepted theories and try to find more substantial answers, and in this way, promote Reason.
Aristotelian Reason is founded on the fact that true knowledge can be discovered by anyone who applies himself to the task. You or I should be able to observe the Universe and come to the same conclusions, based on Reason. If we are required to grant one free miracle to a theory, then the theory is false and we need to find another answer.
A Cosmology that is based on mythical nothings exploding, invisible "dark" matter and energy, and black holes that should not exist in Big Bang Universes, then it is a fairy tale just like the ones we are trying to replace.
If Evolution is predicated on events that have never been witnessed, then it is not science. It is nothing more than an updated form of Genesis, or other mystical tales.
Even highly intelligent and eloquent individuals like Christopher Hitchens have been taken in by these modern versions of ancient fairy tales. They are heard to say over and over again that we don't need God when we have understanding in the form of Big Bangs and Evolution. In fact, what they are saying is that we don't need to old myths when we have such splendid new ones.
The modern priesthood, called "scientists," a strange sort of new clergy one assumes, is able to hornswaggle the general public because we do not take the time to study, think and reason for ourselves. We also spend entirely too much time investing "authorities" with powers far beyond what they deserve. If you have personally witnessed rocks floating, then you should be secure in the knowledge that rocks float, no matter what an "authority" figure tells you.
Miraculous Big Bangs and Evolution do not exist until someone can show us a photo of the explosion or produce a new species that was recorded breaking away from a progenitor. Until that time, none of us should take these theories for granted. We do not have the answers yet, and to believe we do means that we have stopped looking.
One of my favorite quotes, and one which I live by, goes,