The God Delusion
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
In the seminal text on atheism in the twenty-first centuy, renowned scientist Richard Dawkins examines the irrationality of believing in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society.
From the sex-obsessed tyrant in the Old Testament to the more benign Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers, Dawkins rigorously analyzes God in all his forms, eviscerating the major arguments for religion and demonstrating the supreme improbability of a supreme being. His argument steeped in impressive historical and contemporary evidence, spanning from the Crusades to 9/11, Dawkins shows how religion fuels war and foments bigotry, and makes the compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. As a solution, Dawkins offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism for the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
In the seminal text on atheism in the twenty-first centuy, renowned scientist Richard Dawkins examines the irrationality of believing in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society.
From the sex-obsessed tyrant in the Old Testament to the more benign Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers, Dawkins rigorously analyzes God in all his forms, eviscerating the major arguments for religion and demonstrating the supreme improbability of a supreme being. His argument steeped in impressive historical and contemporary evidence, spanning from the Crusades to 9/11, Dawkins shows how religion fuels war and foments bigotry, and makes the compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. As a solution, Dawkins offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism for the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.
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Community Reviews
Dawkins comes down hard on religion in this. There were a few good points and some novel ideas in this hence the three stars.
My main problem with it is that he's very heavy-handed in not differentiating between religion and fanatical religions and even defending his failure to differentiate. In this, Karen Armstrong's In Defense of God was way more sophisticated, which makes sense because Armstrong is an expert in religion. (Dawkins dismisses expertise in religion as nonsense basically.) Even if, as he claims, fanatical Christians are more numerous than liberal Christians in the US, this doesn't excuse his conflation of the two groups to make his arguments more palatable. Yes, evolution means the Bible isn't literally true regarding the age of the Earth or the timeline in Genesis, but that doesn't disprove God or the value of any and all religions.
Dawkins discusses some physics, but these arguments also left me a little cold possibly because he's not a physicist but an evolutionary biologist. Physics is so deeply weird that nothing has persuaded me more of the possibility of things I might otherwise assume are impossible.
My main problem with it is that he's very heavy-handed in not differentiating between religion and fanatical religions and even defending his failure to differentiate. In this, Karen Armstrong's In Defense of God was way more sophisticated, which makes sense because Armstrong is an expert in religion. (Dawkins dismisses expertise in religion as nonsense basically.) Even if, as he claims, fanatical Christians are more numerous than liberal Christians in the US, this doesn't excuse his conflation of the two groups to make his arguments more palatable. Yes, evolution means the Bible isn't literally true regarding the age of the Earth or the timeline in Genesis, but that doesn't disprove God or the value of any and all religions.
Dawkins discusses some physics, but these arguments also left me a little cold possibly because he's not a physicist but an evolutionary biologist. Physics is so deeply weird that nothing has persuaded me more of the possibility of things I might otherwise assume are impossible.
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