The God DelusionA 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. |
What people are saying - Write a review
User ratings
| 5 stars |
| ||
| 4 stars |
| ||
| 3 stars |
| ||
| 2 stars |
| ||
| 1 star |
|
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Razinha - LibraryThingHaving read his books and heard him speak he reads a lot more passionately than he speaks. I appreciate his approach, learned some along the way in a repackaging of many of the standard arguments with ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - steshaw - LibraryThingUnfortunately Dawkins taints an otherwise good book with much (perhaps deserved) hatred of the Catholic church (in particular). One doesn't come away with the feeling that Dawkins is the unbiased scientific thinker that he may otherwise want to portray himself as. Read full review
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
agnostic agnosticism American answer anthropic principle argument atheists believe Bible biblical Binker brain by-product called Catholic cent century Chapter child Christian Church complex creationist Darwin Darwinian Dawkins death Dennett E. O. Wilson Einstein especially evidence evil evolution evolutionary evolved example explain fact faith favour fundamentalist genes God Delusion God’s existence gods happen Hitler homosexuality human hypothesis idea imagine improbable intelligent design intentional stance irreducible complexity Islam Jesus Jews John Frum Julia Sweeney kill kind Kurt Wise live meme pool memeplex memes mind moral murder Muslim natural selection never ontological argument origin parents perhaps person philosopher physicists planets prayers probably question quoted reason religion religious Richard Dawkins scientific scientists scripture seems sense sexual story supernatural survive Taliban theologians theory there’s things thought today’s understand universe words wrong Zeitgeist
Popular passages
Page 29 - There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | The God Delusion |
| Author | Richard Dawkins |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0547348665, 9780547348667 |
| Length | 416 pages |
| Subjects | › Religion / Philosophy Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |