Ok. On one hand, I feel you, Dawkins. I get it.Truth is, I agree with him. Mostly. Sometimes, an evangelical Christian will pop off with something they think is a clever argument to prove God exists. And I just...Frankly, I just take a deep breath in through my nose and slowly let it come out of my mouth in a steady stream. It's calming. Try it next time.Because honestly, it does not matter what I say it will not change their mind. Faith is faith. Telling someone who doesn't want to hear it what...

[Original review, Jan 19 2016]I must admit that I was somewhat taken aback when Donald Trump suggested the US should deny entry to Muslims and require them all to carry ID cards. But having had time to get over the initial shock and consider it on its merits, the idea has definitely started to look more attractive. The only problem is that Trump doesn't go far enough.Come on, we need to be realistic here: half-measures won't help. We simply have to face up to the fact that monotheists are extrem...

لا يقل الملحد المتعصب سذاجة عن المؤمن المتعصب‏كلاهما تكاد تراه محتقن الوجه من فرط الانفعال والتأثر‏وهو يقفز لأعلى و أسفل مرددا : أنا صح .. أنا صحسأتعامل مع دوكينز هنا كمفكروأفصله عن العالم الذي يمتعنا بكتبه العلمية المتخصصة‏العلماء بعيدا عن العلم يدعون أحيانا للرثاءفنادرا ما تجد من هو مثقف تثقيفا حقيقيا‏وله عذره فعلمه وإسهاماته تكفيه وتكفيناولكن بعضهم يأبى إلا أن يخوض في ما لا يعرف‏يظن أنه بعلمه- مهما كان غزيرا ‏يكفي لدراسة البشرية ومنظومتها الفكرية العقائدية‏ولذا كثير من العلماء الذين يحاولون إ...

The God Delusion - Why there almost certainly is no God?I have been a big fan of Dawkins from the time I read The Selfish Gene. This book does nothing to damage that, even though it is not as logically cohesive as The Selfish Gene. The God Delusion is easier to argue with and maybe even win, if only in my mind. Dawkins argues mostly against the Christian God that created earth and knows nothing of the vast universe beyond. He remains silent about the God hypothesis that can arise from new physic...

I thought the very best point this book made came right at the beginning. Dawkins reports on surveys carried out in the US, where subjects received a description of an otherwise sympathetic political candidate, and were asked whether they would still vote for them if one extra feature were added. Would it still be OK if they were a woman? 90% or so say yes. Black? Yes. (Well, we have hard evidence on that now!) Gay? Most people still say yes. Atheist? Half the population says no! Considering tha...

This is perhaps the worst polemic against religion I have ever read. Really, if Dawkins actually knew anything about religion, he wouldn't have written the book. Instead, he knows nothing about the subject, and so if you know nothing about something, you don't even KNOW when you say stupid things. For instance, Dawkins brings up John Hartung's article about "love thy neighbor"(Hartung is not, in case you were wondering, a biblical scholar. He's a Professor of Anesthesiology). The argument is tha...

Well, this settles it once and for all. There is no God. Which turns out to be a good thing, considering the God most Americans believe in is a crazy, vengeful, ego-maniacal monster. Dawkins’ insights are so cunning and profound you can’t help feeling embarrassed for the believer.Some of the main arguments:Believer #1: The diversity of life is too complex to be random, so it must have been designed by someone even more complex.Dawkins: If the designer is so complex, then it must’ve been created ...

I am not an atheist, but neither am I a 'true believer'. I border more on 'agnostic', that is to say I believe there is some force beyond this Earth and that I don't know what it is, but I don't subscribe to any particular set of beliefs, per se.Until I come across books like this one. Then, I get an irrational urge to defend spiritual beliefs (but not religion, and that's another discussion).What I mean is, I am generally docile and private about my spirituality and my beliefs until someone goe...

Athiests have been ranked as one of the least trusted groups, and the oft-repeated notion that atheism is the same as amorality is always saddening. A common argument I've encountered is 'if you don't believe in god, then what's to stop you stealing, raping, and killing as often as you like?" And of course, I do steal, rape, and kill as often as I like to--which is not at all.However, if you turn the question around, it has very unflattering implications for the believer who asked it: 'Are you s...

Ok, we get it. Religion is bad. Christianity is evil, Islam is maniacal, and all other religious zealots are out of their mind. I guess Dawkins is right...public hospitals, orphanages (both Christian inventions in the West), as well as communal values all have destroyed Occidental culture. I wish we still practiced 'exposing' infants (i.e. literally throwing out unwanted babies, as made popular by the ancients). Although there seems to be correlation between violence, homocide, and arrogance wit...