The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rules as useful.” - Seneca the Younger
“Those who make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” – Voltaire
“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” - Mark TwainDawkin has an easy audience in me. His book, which argues against the existence of God, does not have to shake my core beliefs or attempt to convert me, since I’m already an atheist. What it has to do, is only reinforce my beliefs (or that is, non-beliefs) by providing a better understanding of atheism and a stronger criticisms of religion. Atheism (not agnotism) is a minority, doesn’t matter where in the world or WHEN in the world, so among so many opposing views, an atheist needs to have a better understanding of his beliefs.
And for that reason, Dawkin’s book, “The God Delusion”, was an excellent read to me. Dawkin is very easy to read, and only a few chapters, did I find losing interest. Most of the time, Dawkins writes in a casual manner, never angry or intentionally mean, but at the same time, he does not pull back his punches. Best of all, Dawkins can be funny, so his book is never dry.
The best part of about this book is that this is not Dawkin’s first book. This means, he has gone through the process of expressing his ideas and being criticized. So Dawkins will present an idea or argument, then he will cover all the potential oppositions, and then reply to it. When you are reading it, there are a few times I tried to play Devil’s Advocate and say, “But what if…?” and the next page, he will address that what if himself, and reply to it. And he knows that religious people sometimes take his comments out of context, so he makes sure to clarify himself as needed. And he also knows that a lot of people try to play around with definitions of God (as in, “Well, I don’t believe in the old man in the sky God”), and he even challenges them.
And if nothing else, Dawkin has an excellent scholarly knowledge. He will bring up theologians, philosophers, scientists, and so far, so even if you don’t take anything from Dawkin himself, you will find something interest from the others he quotes. By favorite is where he mentions the following about the philosopher Bertrand Russel who was asked what he would say if he died and found himself confronted by God, demanding to know why Russell had not believed in him.
“Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence”, was Russel’s reply.
4/5
