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The God Delusion | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.16
You Save: £4.83 (54%)
New (35) Used (11) from £4.00
Rating:  733 reviews
Sales Rank: 81
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed with additions
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.8 x 1.3
ISBN: 055277331X
EAN: 9780552773317
ASIN: 055277331X
Publication Date: May 21, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book dispatched from stock in the UK
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| Customer Reviews: Read 728 more reviews...
 The dangers of belief. July 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a well written, enjoyable and carefully considered book that meticulously dismantles the faith position, but that is not its strength.
No, the real strength -and the message that should be open to everyone (faith or not)- is that, frighteningly, in the background, is the certain knowledge of the things that people can do when the faith imperative overrides rational behaviour. And through each chapter Dawkins rightly does not allow us to excuse or forget it.
It was also refreshing to see the absurdity that is the "special place" of religion in our society so clearly detailed. Absurdity because, as Dawkins points out, this "special place" puts religion outside the law; it becomes supra-national and this is a real and self perpetuating threat. Enshrining (actively or passively) that an allegiance to a your neighbour is less important than an allegiance to a faith is a very dangerous thing and our refusal to talk about it is becoming increasingly farcicle. As is our headlong rush into teaching it to our children.
On a slightly lighter (but still unsettling I feel) note , this paper back edition gives Dawkins the opportunity to include some more up to date examples of the comical things that religion makes us do. Such as a judge agreeing that it is within your rights to beat your wife if your religion says so (the judgement is the comical part, not the beating). And the government's backing of teaching people that the earth is only a few thousand years old as a fact on equal terms with all the geological evidence (my sister's children were told in one lesson that the mountains were made by tectonic activity and in another lesson by God's footprints).
Dawkins includes another message. It is a variation on the "evil happens when good people do nothing" theme and is a call to atheist militancy. As rational people, atheists feel that religion is a matter of choice: well, it patently isn't! And atheists should make more noise.
This book is above all a plea for everyone to think for themselves.
Reason and Logic in Abundance! July 22, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm almost finished this book and have found it an excellent read. I did find it difficult to get used to so much logic and reason, but it's so convincing that I eventually came around.
The examples he uses are relevant and logical. Nothing is outside the scope of reason, but he can also be very entertaining and we get to see his personality coming through.
At times I did think his views were too strong / angry. Alot of this is directed towards the programming and brain washing of the young by major religions and the complete blind faith religious people have. But I think he fails to recognise the link between the two and realise that the parents and religious leaders have also went through this. They therefore teach their children their religion out of love rather than any malicious intent. It is also terribly difficult for people to admit when they've been wrong / duped. Therefore he may wish to consider using a little more tact and diplomacy in the future and he may receive a more positive response.
Coming from Northern Ireland I can see how much religion has effected our society and how simple changes could make long term differences in our lives, such as integrating all schools and removing religious education from them. As Dawkins suggests, NI would be transformed within a generation. When you consider that the majority of people in NI are all of the same religious faith, i.e. Christianity, it's a completely ludicrous situation!
 Sadly over-rated July 16, 2008
2 out of 9 found this review helpful
Sadly over-rated - Richard Dawkin's smug and self-satisfied attack on relgion is full of ill-considered strawmen and intellectually vacuous arguments. Take any random five year old and dress up their religious objections in vaguely academic pomposity and you'd get the vast majority of this book.
There are bits of it that are rather good though - the representation of evolution as the ultimate conciousness builder is strong throughout, but on the whole there are better and more convincing arguments out there for the rejection of God.
Says just about all there is to say about God July 8, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a book that everybody should read. Dawkins takes religion apart with methodical scientific knowledge, common sense and humour. He also persuades us that our world would be much better of without religion and that it is our responsibility to challenge its superstitions wherever we find them.
Dawkins has been accused of being to hard on religion and especially of using language that is rather strong to get his points over. I cannot disagree with this more. If you have ever seen one of his documentaries (and if you haven't you should) you will surely agree that the language in the book here reflects a polite, well mannered, logical and determined man. When Dawkins's language rarely veers from the emotionally detached it is only at points when he is trying to explain his sheer incredulity at the lies and fantasies of religion or in his deep sadness over the misery it can cause.
Dawkins mostly criticises the big monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) as causing the most pain in the world. Within this much of the focus is on Christianity because as he freely admits this is the one that he is most familiar with. Nevertheless he is even-handed in his scorn for all organised religion and has the arguments and examples to back his point of view.
The book begins with some general background about religion and moves on to arguments for God's existence which is then countered by Dawkins's thoughts on why there is almost certainly no God. It's important to note here that Dawkins doesn't categorically state 100% that there is no God. He counts himself as a defacto Atheist and a scientist. He freely admits that he would change his mind about God if there were concrete evidence to show him he, she, or it is real.
From here he moves onto questions such as Why do we have religion? Why are we good? and What's so wrong with religion? These sections of the book are very interesting as Dawkins describes his views on the issues through the lens of a Darwinian.
If there is any criticism I have with the book is that it seems to rely less on science as it proceeds towards the end than at the beginning. Nevertheless Dawkins does build his opinion on the foundations of science and what we can prove rather than trying to use science to prove what he believes as many religious people do.
Only one other minor niggle. Dawkins holds up the Roman Emperor Caligula as a typical example of a cruel figure from ancient history. I would have thought there were many more applicable examples from this period. I guess we can forgive him for not being an excellent historian as well as an excellent scientist.
Overall an important book for everyone whatever religious persuasion you may be. A really compelling, thought provoking and fantastic read.
A very intelligent man...so why doesn't he do a bit more reading? July 6, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Richard Dawkins is a very intelligent man, that much is evident. A professor at Oxford, prolific author, witty and knowledgeable. So why doesn't he actually do some wider reading so that he can accurately report on issues of religion, Christian theology etc. I'm not a scientist, but if I were going to write a piece on science then I would at least read something BY scientists and not ABOUT them, on what they actually think and not what someone has told me they think. Whatever Richard Dawkins is as a scientist I distrust him completely as an accurate reporter of Christian theology. A first-year theology student or informed layperson will simply not recognise the crude characterisations of Christian theology that are painted by Prof. Dawkins. How can someone who is looked up to by so many as a well-informed commentator be so very ignorant of some very basic and accessible issues of what is believed by so many Christians. One has to conclude that Richard Dawkins writes this way because it serves his purpose in the polemical debates. At times, this book descends to the level of fundamentalist rant. It is so sad that someone of Professor Dawkins' standing has resorted to the level of debate enjoyed by those religious fundamentalists' he so despises. For analyses that are just as witty and insightful, but far fairer, try the late Carl Sagan. Other fascinating and stimulating reads are those works on science and religion by people who, unlike Richard Dawkins, are conversant and competent on both eg Prof. Sir John Polkinghorne or Prof. Alister McGrath .
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