The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

A preeminent scientist--and the world's most prominent atheist--asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. 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 universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly The antireligion wars started by Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris will heat up even more with this salvo from celebrated Oxford biologist Dawkins. For a scientist who criticizes religion for its intolerance, Dawkins has written a surprisingly intolerant book, full of scorn for religion and those who believe. But Dawkins, who gave us the selfish gene, anticipates this criticism. He says it's the scientist and humanist in him that makes him hostile to religions--fundamentalist Christianity and Islam come in for the most opprobrium--that close people's minds to scientific truth, oppress women and abuse children psychologically with the notion of eternal damnation. While Dawkins can be witty, even confirmed atheists who agree with his advocacy of science and vigorous rationalism may have trouble stomaching some of the rhetoric: the biblical Yahweh is psychotic, Aquinas's proofs of God's existence are fatuous and religion generally is nonsense. The most effective chapters are those in which Dawkins calms down, for instance, drawing on evolution to disprove the ideas behind intelligent design. In other chapters, he attempts to construct a scientific scaffolding for atheism, such as using evolution again to rebut the notion that without God there can be no morality. He insists that religion is a divisive and oppressive force, but he is less convincing in arguing that the world would be better and more peaceful without it. (Oct. 18) Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Scientific American Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion, tells of his exasperation with colleagues who try to play both sides of the street: looking to science for justification of their religious convictions while evading the most difficult implications?the existence of a prime mover sophisticated enough to create and run the universe, to say nothing of mind reading millions of humans simultaneously. Such an entity, he argues, would have to be extremely complex, raising the question of how it came into existence, how it communicates ?through spiritons!?and where it resides. Dawkins is frequently dismissed as a bully, but he is only putting theological doctrines to the same kind of scrutiny that any scientific theory must withstand. No one who has witnessed the merciless dissection of a new paper in physics would describe the atmosphere as overly polite. George Johnson is author of Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order and six other books. He resides on the Web at talaya.net From Bookmarks Magazine Richard Dawkins's latest book raises the question of style over substance. As in his well-known books The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and River Out of Eden, the renowned evolutionary biologist has done his homework, and argues with precision and a fair glaze of wit. But Dawkins can't restrain his vitriol for those that have put their faith in religion, to the point that he comes off as rabid as those believers whose eyes he yearns to open. This fatal flaw knocks his book down a rung or two for critics, many of whom seem inclined to believe in Dawkins, if only he weren't so preachy. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. Review At last, one of the best nonfiction writers alive today has assembled his thoughts on religion into a characteristically elegant book. --Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, author of The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate A resounding trumpet blast for truth . . . It feels like coming up for air. --Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Francis Crick Dawkins gives human sympathies and emotions their proper value, which...lends his criticisms of religion such force. --Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy This is a brave and important book. --Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape and The Human Animal Richard Dawkins is the leading soothsayer of our time. . . . The God Delusion continues his thought-provoking tradition. --J. Craig Venter, decoder of the human genome The God Delusion is smart, compassionate, and true . . . If this book doesn't change the world, we're all screwed. --Penn & Teller This is exceptional reading. Kirkus Reviews, Starred The world needs . . . passionate rationalists . . . Richard Dawkins so stands out through the cutting intelligence of The God Delusion. --James D. Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, author of The Double Helix - About the Author RICHARD DAWKINS is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008. He is the author of 15 books includingUnweaving the Rainbow, A Devil's Chaplain, and The God Delusion.Dawkins lives in Oxford., From Bookmarks Magazine Richard Dawkins's latest book raises the question of style over substance. As in his well-known books The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and River Out of Eden, the renowned evolutionary biologist has done his homework, and argues with precision and a fair glaze of wit. But Dawkins can't restrain his vitriol for those that have put their faith in religion, to the point that he comes off as rabid as those believers whose eyes he yearns to open. This fatal flaw knocks his book down a rung or two for critics, many of whom seem inclined to believe in Dawkins, if only he weren't so preachy. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. Review At last, one of the best nonfiction writers alive today has assembled his thoughts on religion into a characteristically elegant book. --Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, author of The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate A resounding trumpet blast for truth . . . It feels like coming up for air. --Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Francis Crick Dawkins gives human sympathies and emotions their proper value, which...lends his criticisms of religion such force. --Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy This is a brave and important book. --Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape and The Human Animal Richard Dawkins is the leading soothsayer of our time. . . . The God Delusion continues his thought-provoking tradition. --J. Craig Venter, decoder of the human genome The God Delusion is smart, compassionate, and true . . . If this book doesn't change the world, we're all screwed. --Penn & Teller This is exceptional reading. Kirkus Reviews, Starred The world needs . . . passionate rationalists . . . Richard Dawkins so stands out through the cutting intelligence of The God Delusion. --James D. Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, author of The Double Helix - About the Author RICHARD DAWKINS is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008. He is the author of 15 books includingUnweaving the Rainbow, A Devil's Chaplain, and The God Delusion.Dawkins lives in Oxford., Review At last, one of the best nonfiction writers alive today has assembled his thoughts on religion into a characteristically elegant book. --Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor, Harvard University, author of The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate A resounding trumpet blast for truth . . . It feels like coming up for air. --Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Francis Crick Dawkins gives human sympathies and emotions their proper value, which...lends his criticisms of religion such force. --Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy This is a brave and important book. --Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape and The Human Animal Richard Dawkins is the leading soothsayer of our time. . . . The God Delusion continues his thought-provoking tradition. --J. Craig Venter, decoder of the human genome The God Delusion is smart, compassionate, and true . . . If this book doesn't change the world, we're all screwed. --Penn & Teller This is exceptional reading. Kirkus Reviews, Starred The world needs . . . passionate rationalists . . . Richard Dawkins so stands out through the cutting intelligence of The God Delusion. --James D. Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, author of The Double Helix - About the Author RICHARD DAWKINS is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008. He is the author of 15 books includingUnweaving the Rainbow, A Devil's Chaplain, and The God Delusion.Dawkins lives in Oxford., About the Author RICHARD DAWKINS is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008. He is the author of 15 books includingUnweaving the Rainbow, A Devil's Chaplain, and The God Delusion.Dawkins lives in Oxford.,