Grayling, provides the reader with an excellent modern reference to the most important. The god delusion is a 2006 book by noted english biologist and prominent atheist richard dawkins. On this traditional view, god s existence would be, so to speak, selfexplanatory and so need no explanation, contrary to dawkins premise 3. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universes wonders than any faith could ever muster. One of the greatest challenges to the human intellect has been to explain how the complex, improbable appearance of design in the universe arises. The bestselling book the god delusion by biologist richard dawkins presents arguments leading to the conclusion that there is almost certainly no god it appears that this conclusion has had little impact upon christians themselves see for example bedes library. The designer hypothesis immediately raises the larger problem of who designed the designer.
The god delusion does not mention that the recent religious resurgence has been in no small part a reaction against the pervasively nihilistic, amoral relativism that so many see as inextricable from atheism. The god delusion is an aggressive, passionate and indictmentseeking manifesto against religion and theistic belief. God is no delusion and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The god delusion by richard dawkins, 9780618680009, available at. Dr dawkins book has been a best seller and it has intrigued me what his arguments are against god. This is a series of articles debunking the atheistic apologetics of the god delusion.
Jun 16, 2016 its challenging to improve on what user149996426564820158 unpacks and ultimately reveals. In his bestselling book the god delusion, dawkins has mixed intellectual, scientific and philosophical arguments with vitriolic attacks on christianity and christians. Secularism, the founding fathers and the religion of america. Richard dawkins is the noted biologist who has held the charles simonyi chair for the public understanding of science at oxford university. January, 2008 this short book is an incredibly erudite disquisition and then absolute discrediting of richard dawkins in his book the god delusion. Some timeconsuming work is required of the reader to go through the book and mark the text where the audio addresses.
Tackling the likes of richard dawkins, stephen hawking, christopher. I would highlight two key themes that serve as red flags in terms of dawkins overall approach. The god delusion richard dawkins has stepped out of his usual area of expertise, biological evolution, and has attempted to become atheisms greatest apologist. If there is a god, than hesheit is certainly not a omnipotent and omniscent creature that squats in some corner waiting if some of us will say a prayer or cheat ones spouse or say a naughty word. Apr 23, 2007 the point is that rejecting design arguments for gods existence does nothing to prove that god does not exist or even that belief in god is unjustified. Oct 22, 2006 the nub of dawkinss consciousnessraising message is that to be an atheist is a brave and splendid aspiration. A preeminent scientistand the worlds most prominent atheistasserts the irrationality of belief in god and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the crusades to 911. Deluded by dawkins, by andrew wilson, is a lucid, coherent and very readable refutation of richard dawkins arguments against god and christianity for ordinary believers who.
Even if we believe in a noninterventionist god, to claim an. This book does nothing to damage that, even though it is not as logically cohesive as the selfish gene. Lets see how those arguments fall apart on proper scrutiny. In the god delusion dawkins is simply following reason to discover that not only abrahamic, but all religions are wrong. The god delusion makes a compelling case that belief in god is not just wrong but potentially deadly. The fourth chapter of the god delusion is what richard dawkins considers to be his most convincing argument that no gods exist. There is even a section on the most notorious of all arguments against the existence of god. The designer hypothesis immediately raises the larg. The religious claim of an interventionist god who answers prayers leads to a very different world from one without such a god. The title of this book immediately betrays the bias of the authoreven for those unacquainted with the writings of this professor of the socalled public understanding of science of oxford university, richard dawkins. When i first read it over ten years ago it reinforced for me why i should doubt all religions especially the one i was raised in greek orthodox interestingly the book first turned me into an atheist was the bible. The god delusion does not meet the standards of rationality that a topic as important as religion requires. I have been a big fan of dawkins from the time i read the selfish gene.
Those who are baffled by the whole god belief phenomenon might find it all a bit obvious, but perhaps there is a middle ground audience of those who, without really being convinced of its. A particularly comprehensive case against religion. On pages 1578 of his book, dawkins summarizes what he calls the central argument of my book. The god delusion by richard dawkins, 9781784161927, available at book depository with free. The god delusion a preeminent scientist asserts the irrationallity of belief in god and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society from the crusades to 911.
The god delusion why there almost certainly is no god. In his bestselling book the god delusion tgd, richard dawkins claims that belief in god is not only mistaken but irrational, especially in the light of modern science. In the god delusion he focuses directly on a wider range of arguments used for and against belief in the existence of a god or gods. For those who arent looking to have their faith and beliefs gravely challenged, you may want to skip this book. Belief in god is not only a delusion, he argues, but a pernicious one. Richard dawkins has stepped out of his usual area of expertise, biological evolution, and has attempted to become atheisms greatest apologist.
The godless delusion takes on the new atheism of our times and pulls the rug right out from underneath it. Also by richard dawkins the marxistnkrumaist forum. Has anyone successfully refuted any of the points made in. It predicates itself on the idea that religion isntquaintly meaningful, naively comforting, orsimply foolish, but extremely pernicious, and therefore must be challenged, exposed, denounced, and if possible, extirpated at. Dawkins is a gifted writer, and his position at a leading. The following comes directly from dawkins book, except that i chose to shorten a few of the points here for the sake of brevity.
Feb 09, 2007 in his bestselling book the god delusion, dawkins has mixed intellectual, scientific and philosophical arguments with vitriolic attacks on christianity and christians. The god delusion chapter 3 arguments for gods existence. He calls this argument the ultimate boeing 747 gambit. Overall it was an engaging dialogue and lennox made some good points.
He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children. The argument against richard dawkins the god delusion a secular analysis of the logical fallacies in the god delusion last modified july 20, 2008. He critiques god in all his forms, from the sexobsessed tyrant of the old testament to the more benign but still illogical celestial watchmaker favored by some enlightenment thinkers. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic, with dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hardhitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all. Oct 01, 2006 after having a respectful argument with a friend who asserted that dawkins gave atheism a bad name i decided to reread the god delusion. Those who are baffled by the whole godbelief phenomenon might find it all a bit obvious, but perhaps there is a middle ground audience of those who, without really being convinced of its. Yet when one pokes at popular atheism, many of the arguments used to prop it up. Very logical and convincing arguments against god, albeit mostly from a philosophical rather than a scientific view. I wholeheartedly recommend this work of apologetics for anyone who is serious about defending our faith in the existence of god. I will agree that many of the ancient and revered alleged arguments for the existence of god are lightweight and, as dawkins demonstrates, easily refuted. Richard dawkins, following in the footsteps of bertrand russells classic 1927 essay why i am not a christian, has written a passionate and.
Reading this book took me back to the wonderful days at the university of notre dame when we students were treated to amazing academic presentations that i thought were no longer possible. Overall, this book makes a significant contribution to beginning philosophy students who want a rigorous examination of the crucial questions of. The god delusion by richard dawkins, transworld publishers, london, 2006. The god delusion has a companion miniseries, originally titled root of all evil. Indeed, many christian theologians have rejected arguments for the existence of god without thereby committing themselves to atheism. Regrettably, the book does little to refute this falsehood and largely ignores the powerand desirabilityof moral clarity. The god delusion offers little that is new but packages the arguments against belief in god s and against the practise of religion entertainingly and well. This debate will feature and will focus on the book the god delusion and richards assertions therein over and against the christian faith. The argument against richard dawkins the god delusion intelligent c the intelligent community, barry krusch on. The idea of god being a delusion is promoted by richard dawkins, the worlds chief apostle for atheism. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. Aug 11, 2010 further, dawkins argument ignores the possibility that god is a necessary being that is, a being that, by its very nature, must exist, no matter what. A wonderful introductions to the failures of dawkins arguments in his delusion book. Jadore nest probablement pas le bon mot, vu le sujet du livre.
Atheist fundamentalism and the denial of the divine is a book by the theologian alister mcgrath and the psychologist joanna collicutt mcgrath. Dawkins has been professor of the public understanding of science at oxford university since 1996. With rigor and wit, dawkins examines god in all his forms, from the sexobsessed tyrant of the old testament to the more benign but still illogical celestial watchmaker favored by some enlightenment. However, i have not noticed any arguments for the existence of god used here that is not essentially a version or combination of versions of these arguments, aside from the argument from design. The god delusion is the most famous and most controversial book by richard dawkins. This book was a monumental work of atheist thought by arguably the bestknown atheist of our time.
Should i consider reading it, or should i steer clear of it. It is written from a christian perspective as a response to arguments put forth in the god delusion by richard dawkins. The god delusion offers little that is new but packages the arguments against belief in gods and against the practise of religion entertainingly and well. He criticises belief in god from many angles, but in what he considers to be the central argument of his book, he claims to have shown that god almost certainly does not exist tgd, p. The god delusion is a brilliantly argued, fascinating polemic that will be required reading for anyone interested in this most emotional and important subject. Richard dawkins argument for atheism in the god delusion.
Oct 31, 2007 this short book is an incredibly erudite disquisition and then absolute discrediting of richard dawkins in his book the god delusion. In his 2006 book the god delusion, dawkins labels god and belief in god as delusions. The god delusion is a 2006 book by english biologist richard dawkins, a professorial fellow at new college, oxford, and former holder of the charles simonyi chair for the public understanding of science at the university of oxford in the god delusion, dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which. Dawkins latest book is as brutal and honest as its title. Unfortunately, like so many other atheists, he picks out the easy targets with blinders fully engaged, to. The god delusion caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. Jun, 2016 the god delusion caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. I am not attacking any particular version of god or gods. The title of this book immediately betrays the bias of the authoreven for those unacquainted with the writings of this professor of the socalled. Has anyone successfully refuted any of the points made in the. The work was published in the united kingdom in february 2007. The god delusion debate between richard dawkins and john.
My opinion is that i and other christians should know what his views are and then work to counteract them. The god hypothesis 29 polytheism 32 monotheism 37 secularism, the founding fathers and the religion of america 38 the poverty of agnosticism 46 noma 54 the great prayer experiment 61 the neville chamberlain school of evolutionists 66 little green men 69 arguments for god s existence 75 thomas aquinas proofs 77 the ontological argument and other. The god delusion is easier to argue with and maybe even win, if only in my mind. Richard dawkins, sam harris, christopher hitchens, daniel dennett, and victor stenger. For example, the core of his case against god s existence, as he summarizes it on pages 188189, seems to go like this.
There is need for an explanation of the apparent design of the universe. In the book, dawkins not only argues that the existence of god is almost certainly a myth, but maintains that believing in a supernatural creator is akin to a delusion, which he defines in his premise as maintaining a persistent false belief in. This article is intended not to replace the book, but to serve as a home base for the many articles and subjects already addressed on. Furthermore, lennox also seemed to be very accustomed with dawkins book, the god delusion, as well as the people dawkins would quote. Buy the god delusion book online at low prices in india. I would recommend it to all especially the skeptics. Summary of dawkins god delusion university of bolton. A brilliantly argued reevaluation of the relation of science and religion. Richard dawkins presents his arguments for atheism by adopting the rigorous approach of a scientist and applying it to the questions of religion, religious faith and the existence of god. I am a christian and my faith in the lord jesus is strong.
Dec 20, 2014 what we are seeking to do this evening is to narrow the discussion just a bit and hence that the name of this debate the god delusion debate. Yesterday i finished leading three weeks of adult sunday school based on the film the god delusion debate, a dialoguedebate between richard dawkins and john lennox. Although he didnt invent all the arguments, mind you, nor did he break new ground in ontology although he does give it a new perspective, he has the bravery, integrity, humor and explanatory skill to describe the god delusion clearly to laymen and dilettantes like us. The first part was written as an attempt to understand atheists at a deeper, closer level. Dawkins identifies himself repeatedly as an atheist, while also pointing out that, in a sense, he is also agnostic, though only to the extent that i am agnostic about fairies at the bottom of the garden. In september 1997 richard dawkins allowed an australian film crew into his oxford home, only. Th god delusion is an excellent book to convince any intelligent reader that there is good arguments to negate god existence, to suspect holy books bible included of having nothing to do with revelation, and to establish other sources of morality than scripture. Richard dawkins the god delusion on pages 157 and 158 of the god delusion, richard dawkins encapsulates the central argument of his book in six points. In it dawkins aims to show that belief in god is a delusion, that is to say, a false belief or impression, or worse, a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. What do you think of richard dawkins argument for atheism in the god delusion. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide.
Though dawkins is looking for everyone to read this book with an open mind, whether youre devoutly religious, agnostic or atheist. The tenth and last chapter was quite odd, off topic and just weird, as if it was from a completely different and unrelated book. If god communicated with humans, that fact would not lie outside science. The god delusion has a companion miniseries, originally titled root of all evil this article is intended not to replace the book, but to serve as a home base for the many articles and subjects already addressed on rationalwiki. Dawkinss writing gives the impression of clarity, but his readable style. He critiques god in all his forms, from the sexobsessed tyrant of the old testament to the more benign but still illogical celestial watchmaker fav. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the. His bestselling book the god delusion has become the literary centerpiece of that movement. Atheistic scientists like richard dawkins in his book the god delusion present specious arguments to disprove the existence of god. In the final analysis, mackie believes theism is itself a mircle, hence the title.
For example, dawkins had misused david humes quote in the connection of the laws of nature. The god delusion by richard dawkins, 9780618918249, available at. A refutation of richard dawkins by thomas crean, o. Its challenging to improve on what user149996426564820158 unpacks and ultimately reveals. Buy the god delusion book online at low prices in india the. The argument against richard dawkins the god delusion. The god hypothesis 29 polytheism 32 monotheism 37 secularism, the founding fathers and the religion of america 38 the poverty of agnosticism 46 noma 54 the great prayer experiment 61 the neville chamberlain school of evolutionists 66 little green men 69 arguments for gods existence 75 thomas aquinas proofs 77 the ontological argument and other. I will focus on dawkins arguments in his 2006 book, the god delusion. I am attacking god, all gods, anything and everything supernatural, wherever and whenever they have been or will be invented. Dawkins has written, perhaps, the most powerful set of arguments against the alleged supernatural god ever written. The god argument is a very respectful, thoughtprovoking and accessible book that addresses the case against religion while making the compelling case for a superior ethical way of living, humanism. The god delusion by richard dawkins, 9780552774291, available at. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic, with dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hardhitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. The nub of dawkinss consciousnessraising message is that to be an atheist is a brave and splendid aspiration.
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