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Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes. He critiques 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. In so doing, he makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just irrational, but potentially deadly. Dawkins has fashioned an impassioned, rigorous rebuttal to religion, to be embraced by anyone who sputters at the inconsistencies and cruelties that riddle the Bible, bristles at the inanity of "intelligent design," or agonizes over fundamentalism in the Middle East—or Middle America.
The God DelusionBy Richard DawkinsHoughton Mifflin (September 18, 2006)On Amazon.comI didnt intend to write a review on Dawkins book for religion is without doubt one of if not the most discussed topics of todays human culture, and given that the book is two...
I'm currently reading Dawkin's God Delusion. I haven't gotten far (that might be related to the fact that I am reading at least 10 other books parralel), but according to his definition I am classified as a "sexed-up atheist", just so you know what you're at....
As the author of a book that's equally divided between descriptions of neuroscience and descriptions of art, I've spent far too much time pondering the organization of book stores. How should books be classified? Is my book a "science" book, or does it belong...
There has been a lot going on in literature these past 9 months or so in regards to god. If you've been living on the Galapagos, She's under attack! Sam Harris (Letter To A Christian Nation), Daniel Dennett (Breaking The Spell), Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion)...
This is another fine word that I found in Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion. I am still nearly finished with this book and will be reading a new one tomorrow.Abrogation (ab-RUH-gey-shun) [from Latin abrogtus repealed] noun. to abolish by formal or...
I have read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "Breaking The Spell" by Daniel Dennett a couple of months ago, could not bear to slog all the way through "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris, and am still waiting to get my copies of "God: the Failed Hypothesis"...
A few years ago, as a newbie assistant professor, I was visited in my office by an editor at The Free Press. He was basically trolling the corridors, looking for people who had interesting ideas for popular-science books. I said that I liked the idea of writing...
Aydin rstan over at Snail's Tales directs us to a reflection by Daniel Dennett, Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University, on what makes him optimistic. It begins,Im so optimistic that I expect to live to see the evaporation of the powerful mystique of religion....
Brian Leiter points out a discussion by physicist and astronomer Steven Weinberg in which Weinberg discusses Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, the historical larger context of its claims and offers a truly unique, and I think correct, critique. Where I think...
The holiday season is typically a time when most of us over-consume in almost every category possible. I am certainly no exception to this. From dinners with friends, to the chocolate tucked away in every nook and cranny of the house, I certainly ate more than...
There is a bit of a flap over two petitions, one signed by Richard Dawkins and one not. The flap seems to have started with two interacting posts, one by Mike Gene on Telic Thoughts and the other by Ed Brayton on Dispatches from the Culture Wars. One petition...
You see it attributed to Mark Twain everywhere these days. Dawkins even refers to it in The God Delusion."I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest...
Let Us Sing the Language of God: There has been a resurgence recently of the idea that religion and science are incompatible. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has made an extremely successful career of promoting this idea (and at the same time single-handedly...
Chopra.Deepak Chopra is a fraud who probably makes at least ten times my salary, who gets invited onto talk shows and news programs to spout his opinions, whose books are read by millions as if they actually provide any insight…and the guy has the brains...
Last week’s Chronicle of Higher Education carries an excerpt (note: subscription required) from Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, a book by Columbia University Professor Richard P. Sloan on the relationship between medical science...
This is another fine word that I found in Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion. I am still reading this book, but because it inspires so many flights of fancy on my part, I have not yet finished it, as I expected.Aggrandizing (a-grndz) [French agrandir,...
Miss the C-Span event of Dawkins' book tour for The God Delusion? Catch it here on the netcast....
This is another word that I found in Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion. I am nearly finished with this book, so I will probably have a new word from a new book for you tomorrow. fillip (FIL-uhp) [Origin: 1425-75; late ME philippe to make a signal...
Sop
Last night, I found this small word with many big meanings in Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion. sop (sop) [Italian, from sopra, above, from Latin supra.] n. a piece of solid food, as bread, for dipping in liquid food. anything thoroughly soaked....
I just started reading Richard Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion, and already discovered an interesting new word. Bowdlerize (bohd-luh-rahyz, boud-) [Origin: 1830-40; after Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), the English editor who published an expurgated edition...
Atheism is certainly a phenomenon in the book market. I can't remember when books about godlessness made so much news and sold so well, although of course I wasn't around when The Great Agnostic Robert Green Ingersoll lectured to huge audiences in the late...
Two items to set the stage:First, calling someone wicked or foolish or telling them directly or indirectly that they are deserving of eternal punishment by perpetual torment or claiming that their heart is hard or absent or that they have some essential quality...
Some of you may be wondering: “Does God exist?” Fortunately, Richard Dawkins has written a new book, The God Delusion, that addresses precisely this question. As it turns out, the answer is: “No, God does not exist.” (Admittedly, Dawkins...
The lecture by Richard Dawkins yesterday evening was wonderful. It was a long trip and we didn't return to Norman until 3:30am this morning. However, the long trip and late return was well worth the effort. Will Dawkins be in your area? Check here for tour...
Richard Dawkins has written a book called The God Delusion. He appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday just now to push it, and the book is the basis of a two-part film for BBC 4 called "The Root of All Evil" and "The Virus of Faith"....
Former NBA slam-dunk impresario, the The In-Your-Face, All-Over-The-Place, Death-Defyin', Mesmerizin' Richard "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins will be one of...wait, wrong guy. Make that, notably god-free science writer and ethologist Richard Dawkins will be one...
Update: A revision I made to the original draft was not posted yesterday night when I scheduled this post. So many typos were left in...I did a quick re-edit as best as I could (no time right now). Keep that in mind as you read this post (or if you read it...
From The God Delusion:1) 1,074 Fellows of the Royal Society were emailed2) 23 percent responded3) They were asked various propositions, such as, "I believe in a personal God, that is one who takes an interest in individuals, hears and answers prayers, is concerned...
Here's another review of Dawkins' The God Delusion(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). It's unbelievable, as if the critic hadn't actually read the book. Here's the hed/dek:Dawkins needs to show some doubt Scientists work in a field full of uncertainties. So how can some...
My review of Dawkins' The God Delusion(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) (currently at #4 on Amazon's bestseller list!) is in the latest issue of Seed, which showed up at my door while I was flying out East. They changed my suggested title, which I've at least used on...
The British seem to have good taste. Look who is at the top of the UK bestseller list:I know what you are thinking: Where can I get my hands on a copy of Wintersmith? Aside from that, though, it's impressive that The God Delusion has shot to the top so quickly....
I have an advance reading copy of Richard Dawkins' latest: The God Delusion. The "world's most prominent atheist" (according to the jacket) has been scooped, of course, by his friends Sam Harris (The End of Faith) and Dan Dennett (Breaking the Spell). But not...
We know the battle has been well and truly joined when the Religion section of Newsweek gives three pages to atheist/agnostics who happen to be scientists or science savvy -- Sam Harris, The End of Faith, Daniel Dennett, Breaking the Spell, and Richard Dawkins,...
Hrm. Well. Since so many people are emailing me about this (I guess the book is officially out now, since so many are reading it), I'll come clean: I am mentioned briefly but flatteringly in Dawkins' new book, The God Delusion(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll). I'll spare...
It's easy to forget that science and religion weren't always at war in America. Once upon a time (the late 19th century), they managed to co-exist in a romantic synergy. Enlightened theologians tried to integrate Darwin into the Bible, and scientists freely...