Author Dinesh D’Souza speaks at Monday convocation

Top lecturer, debater and bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza gave Liberty University students some solid arguments to use against what he calls “new atheism” at Monday’s convocation service.

Atheists today “want to discredit and demolish Christianity,” he said. “They want to eradicate its influence in society. They want to make you feel like an idiot for believing in God and practicing your faith. …

“If you can argue atheism at its strong point, then you have a really strong foundation for your beliefs,” he said.

D’Souza’s latest book, “What’s So Great About Christianity” tackles some of the biggest arguments from atheists today. At a book signing after the service, D’Souza said he wrote the book, his “first foray into Christian apologetics,” with C.S. Lewis as his model, defending a non-denominational Christianity.

D’Souza, who at age 26 served as a policy analyst in the Ronald Reagan White House and has been named by New York Times Magazine as one of America’s most influential conservative thinkers, said his first trip to Liberty was 25 years ago when he was writing for a secular market and researching the late Dr. Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority.

“It’s kind of an eerie feeling to be back here,” he said.

Now he lectures on university campuses and has done several debates with leading atheists. He also speaks to business groups, civic groups, and churches across the country. He spoke at Thomas Road Baptist Church Sunday night.

D’Souza said he loves to have contact with college students.

“It’s fun to address these questions [on apologetics] with students who are dealing with them in their everyday life,” he said.

For more on D’Souza’s work and to read his debates, go to www.dineshdsouza.com.