Refuting the arguments of atheists can be difficult, since in many cases they do not acknowledge some of the most basic truths taken for granted by Catholics, such as the existence of objective truth and man's capacity for true knowledge, for example. As Aquinas reminds us, fruitful debate presupposes some common ground of truth upon which both sides can agree (STh. I, Q. 1, art. 8).
Nevertheless, true dialogue with atheists is possible. The Second Vatican Council teaches that atheism "is among the most serious problems of our age...deserving closer examination" (GS, 19). It is our hope that this repository of articles on the subject will be of some benefit to you in examining the anthropological, philosophical, theological and psychological elements of the many faceted edifice of modern atheism.
Stephen Hawking: Heaven a "Fairy Story": Is the human brain really just a complex computer with no hope of a future life after the computer "crash" that is death? Even granting this flawed analogy, it doesn't make sense.
In June 2016, an article appeared in the New York Times entitled "Yes, There Have Been Aliens." The article was written by University of Rochester astrophysicist Dr. Adam Frank. In this article, Dr. Frank promotes a hypothesis arguing conclusively that advanced alien civilizations have definitely existed in the universe, even if none exist at this moment. The basis of this argument is not any empirical evidence of any such advanced civilization, but rather an exercise in statistics derived from the probable number of exoplanets outside our solar system. Using this calculus, Dr. Frank and his associate argue that over a trillion - yes, trillion - advanced civilizations have existed in the universe. Dr. Frank does not mean a trillion planets featuring life, but a trillion advanced, technological civilizations (where "advanced technological civilization" is defined as one capable of emitting a radio signal).