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The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
His new book is an impassioned assault on religion in all its forms.
In it, he argues - one must admit, cogently and effectively - that all religions are not only irrational, but dangerous.
One reviewer describes the The God Delusion as "the most coherent and devastating indictment of religion I have read. . . .Dawkins' case could not be clearer. . . There is no God. All religion is wrong. . .".
While the case is put with stimulating vigour, its very style - denying the beliefs of most people in the world; refusing to acknowledge that some of them just may have a point - sets up the author as another kind of ideologist, displaying the same intolerance that many religious people do.
The reviewer of the London Sunday Times, makes the point neatly. He suggests that it isn't moderate religion, but fundamentalism of all kinds - "the imposition of dogma that brooks neither doubt nor respect for disagreement" . Dawkins himself is clearly guilty of this, wrote John Cornwell.. The best that can be said for his "highly readable" new book is that it "leaves abundant room for further exploration and insight" .
The God Delusion, Cornwell argues, suffers from a dangerous delusion of its own.
I like this idea. Socrates 'mean' holds sway here. Moderation in all things. No religion; no ideology, no Believer, no non-Believer can rightfully - let alone piously or aggressively - tell others what to believe.
My belief - like Huxley who coined the word agnostic - is that agnostics have the sanest view. It is that we shall never know if there is a Supreme Being, let alone what kind of God he is, because we no more have the capacity to understand the universe than an ant trying to make sense of the Bible (or the Qu'ran).
But if you can prove I'm wrong, I'd be delighted.
Meanwhile, the moderate way is to respect the faith and belief of everyone - everyone, that is, who doesn't try to push his beliefs down your throat, or blow you up for not agreeing with him.
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