A book review of “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins
In “The God Delusion” Richard Dawkins proves that fundamentalism is a frightening doctrine – even from an atheist. Like any fundamentalist, Dawkins is unwilling to tolerate any opinion other than his own. Instead of presenting us with a coherent cosmology, most of Dawkins’ book is a petty and defensive screed against anyone with the temerity to disagree with the learned biologist. It’s really a shame. Dawkins is a colossal intellect overshadowed by an even larger ego.
Even the few original insights “The God Delusion” offers us, such as an exploration of the Darwinian reasons for religion, are marred by a continually mean-spirited nit-picking of any ideas that contradict Dawkins’s own. Perhaps the lowest point in the book comes when Dawkins, in a gesture reminiscent of a teenager scornfully scrawling would-be witticisms in the margins of textbook, inserts his own insipid comments between the lines of a speech by physicist Freeman Dyson. Really, Richard. This is beneath you.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
2 comments:
I just finished reading the book and found it delightful. I don't recall it seeming mean-spirited at all, though I'm not religious so maybe I'm immune to sensing his jabs in that direction. Oh, and for you to say that Dawkins and Sagan "grudgingly admit there is beauty and awe in the mysteries of the universe" is just dishonest wording. I've never seen two men more genuinely inspired by nature. Cheers!
Darron,
I apologize if you misunderstood my comment about Carl Sagan. Carl's "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" is an eye-opening book that dispels religious dogma without the petty and personal attacks Dawkins uses in "God Delusion." I quite agree that Sagan is inspirational in his reverence for the wonders of the cosmos. Dawkins seems small and mean in comparison.
Raul
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