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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #4B0082; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:white; background-color:#4B0082"><b>Great and terrible</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Literature" title="Literature"><font size="5" color="white"><b>Books</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#E6E6FA;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Books" title="Category:Books"><img alt="Icon books.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/5/58/Icon_books.svg/100px-Icon_books.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/5/58/Icon_books.svg/150px-Icon_books.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/5/58/Icon_books.svg/200px-Icon_books.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:white; background-color:#4B0082; text-align:center;"><b>On our shelf:</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#E6E6FA;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_Hymn_of_the_Tiger_Mother" title="Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother">Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/You_Can_Lead_an_Atheist_to_Evidence,_but_You_Can%27t_Make_Him_Think" title="You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, but You Can't Make Him Think">You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, but You Can't Make Him Think</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trump%27s_War:_His_Battle_for_America" title="Trump's War: His Battle for America">Trump's War: His Battle for America</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Dictionary" title="The Devil's Dictionary">The Devil's Dictionary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Overton_Window" title="The Overton Window">The Overton Window</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A_Choice_Not_an_Echo" title="A Choice Not an Echo">A Choice Not an Echo</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:white; background-color:#4B0082; text-align:center;"><b>Writer's block</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#E6E6FA;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Saul_Alinsky" title="Saul Alinsky">Saul Alinsky</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cornel_West" title="Cornel West">Cornel West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gary_Johnson" title="Gary Johnson">Gary Johnson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy" title="Nicolas Sarkozy">Nicolas Sarkozy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin" title="Aleksandr Dugin">Aleksandr Dugin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sarah_Palin" title="Sarah Palin">Sarah Palin</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Books" title="Template:Books">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Books" title="Template talk:Books">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Books&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>The God Delusion</b></i> (ISBN <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780618680009" title="Special:BookSources/9780618680009">9780618680009</a>), first published in 2006, is the most famous and most controversial book by <a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" title="Richard Dawkins">Richard Dawkins</a>. It makes the case for the lack of a <a href="/wiki/Deity" class="mw-redirect" title="Deity">deity</a>. <i>The God Delusion</i> has a companion miniseries, originally titled <i><a href="/wiki/Root_of_All_Evil%3F" title="Root of All Evil?">Root of All Evil?</a></i> </p><p>This article is intended not to replace the book, but to serve as a home base for the many articles and subjects already addressed on <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki" title="RationalWiki">RationalWiki</a>. The book is definitely a worthwhile read, regardless of the direction the reader might be coming from, as it contains many humorous quotes, completely excerpted citations, and rhetorical arguments that this article would disservice the book were they to be included here. </p><p>The book was dedicated to Dawkins' intellectual contemporary, friend and spousal matchmaker <a href="/wiki/Douglas_Adams" title="Douglas Adams">Douglas Adams</a>, who is referenced several times throughout the pages. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Preface"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Preface</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#A_Deeply_Religious_Non-Believer"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">A Deeply Religious Non-Believer</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Deserved_respect"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Deserved respect</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Undeserved_respect"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Undeserved respect</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#The_God_Hypothesis"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">The God Hypothesis</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Polytheism"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Polytheism</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Monotheism"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Monotheism</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#Secularism.2C_the_Founding_Fathers.2C_and_the_Religion_of_America"><span class="tocnumber">3.3</span> <span class="toctext">Secularism, the Founding Fathers, and the Religion of America</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#The_Poverty_of_Agnosticism"><span class="tocnumber">3.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Poverty of Agnosticism</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#NOMA"><span class="tocnumber">3.5</span> <span class="toctext">NOMA</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#The_Great_Prayer_Experiment"><span class="tocnumber">3.6</span> <span class="toctext">The Great Prayer Experiment</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#The_Neville_Chamberlain_School_of_Evolutionists"><span class="tocnumber">3.7</span> <span class="toctext">The Neville Chamberlain School of Evolutionists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="#Little_Green_Men"><span class="tocnumber">3.8</span> <span class="toctext">Little Green Men</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#Arguments_for_God.27s_Existence"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Arguments for God's Existence</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15"><a href="#Thomas_Aquinas.27_.27Proofs.27"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Thomas Aquinas' 'Proofs'</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16"><a href="#The_Ontological_Argument_and_other_a_priori_arguments"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">The Ontological Argument and other <i>a priori</i> arguments</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17"><a href="#The_Argument_from_Beauty"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">The Argument from Beauty</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18"><a href="#The_Argument_from_Personal_.27Experience.27"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Argument from Personal 'Experience'</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19"><a href="#The_Argument_from_Scripture"><span class="tocnumber">4.5</span> <span class="toctext">The Argument from Scripture</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#The_Argument_from_Admired_Religious_Scientists"><span class="tocnumber">4.6</span> <span class="toctext">The Argument from Admired Religious Scientists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21"><a href="#Pascal.27s_Wager"><span class="tocnumber">4.7</span> <span class="toctext">Pascal's Wager</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22"><a href="#Bayesian_Arguments"><span class="tocnumber">4.8</span> <span class="toctext">Bayesian Arguments</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23"><a href="#Why_There_Almost_Certainly_Is_No_God"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Why There Almost Certainly Is No God</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24"><a href="#The_Ultimate_Boeing_747"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">The Ultimate Boeing 747</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25"><a href="#Natural_Selection_as_a_Consciousness-Raiser"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Natural Selection as a Consciousness-Raiser</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26"><a href="#Irreducible_Complexity"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">Irreducible Complexity</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="#The_Worship_of_Gaps"><span class="tocnumber">5.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Worship of Gaps</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="#The_Anthropic_Principle:_Planetary_Version"><span class="tocnumber">5.5</span> <span class="toctext">The Anthropic Principle: Planetary Version</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29"><a href="#The_Anthropic_Principle:_Cosmological_Version"><span class="tocnumber">5.6</span> <span class="toctext">The Anthropic Principle: Cosmological Version</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30"><a href="#An_Interlude_at_Cambridge"><span class="tocnumber">5.7</span> <span class="toctext">An Interlude at Cambridge</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-31"><a href="#The_Roots_of_Religion"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">The Roots of Religion</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="#The_Darwinian_Imperative"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">The Darwinian Imperative</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="#Direct_Advantages_of_Religion"><span class="tocnumber">6.2</span> <span class="toctext">Direct Advantages of Religion</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34"><a href="#Group_Selection"><span class="tocnumber">6.3</span> <span class="toctext">Group Selection</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-35"><a href="#Religion_as_a_By-Product_of_Something_Else"><span class="tocnumber">6.4</span> <span class="toctext">Religion as a By-Product of Something Else</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36"><a href="#Psychologically_Primed_for_Religion"><span class="tocnumber">6.5</span> <span class="toctext">Psychologically Primed for Religion</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-37"><a href="#Tread_Softly.2C_Because_You_Tread_On_My_Memes"><span class="tocnumber">6.6</span> <span class="toctext">Tread Softly, Because You Tread On My Memes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-38"><a href="#Cargo_Cults"><span class="tocnumber">6.7</span> <span class="toctext">Cargo Cults</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-39"><a href="#The_Roots_of_Morality:_Why_are_we_good.3F"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">The Roots of Morality: Why are we good?</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-40"><a href="#Does_our_moral_sense_have_a_Darwinian_origin.3F"><span class="tocnumber">7.1</span> <span class="toctext">Does our moral sense have a Darwinian origin?</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-41"><a href="#A_Case_Study_in_the_Roots_of_Morality"><span class="tocnumber">7.2</span> <span class="toctext">A Case Study in the Roots of Morality</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-42"><a href="#If_there_is_no_God.2C_why_be_good.3F"><span class="tocnumber">7.3</span> <span class="toctext">If there is no God, why be good?</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-43"><a href="#The_.27Good.27_Book_and_the_Changing_Moral_Zeitgeist"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">The 'Good' Book and the Changing Moral <i>Zeitgeist</i></span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-44"><a href="#The_Old_Testament"><span class="tocnumber">8.1</span> <span class="toctext">The Old Testament</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-45"><a href="#Is_the_New_Testament_any_better.3F"><span class="tocnumber">8.2</span> <span class="toctext">Is the New Testament any better?</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-46"><a href="#Love_Thy_Neighbour"><span class="tocnumber">8.3</span> <span class="toctext">Love Thy Neighbour</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-47"><a href="#The_Moral_Zeitgeist"><span class="tocnumber">8.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Moral Zeitgeist</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-48"><a href="#What_about_Hitler_and_Stalin.3F_Weren.27t_they_atheists.3F"><span class="tocnumber">8.5</span> <span class="toctext">What about Hitler and Stalin? Weren't they atheists?</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-49"><a href="#What.27s_wrong_with_religion.3F_Why_be_so_hostile.3F"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">What's wrong with religion? Why be so hostile?</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-50"><a href="#Fundamentalism_and_the_Subversion_of_Science"><span class="tocnumber">9.1</span> <span class="toctext">Fundamentalism and the Subversion of Science</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-51"><a href="#The_Dark_Side_of_Absolutism"><span class="tocnumber">9.2</span> <span class="toctext">The Dark Side of Absolutism</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-52"><a href="#Faith_and_Homosexuality"><span class="tocnumber">9.3</span> <span class="toctext">Faith and Homosexuality</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-53"><a href="#Faith_and_the_Sanctity_of_Human_Life"><span class="tocnumber">9.4</span> <span class="toctext">Faith and the Sanctity of Human Life</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-54"><a href="#The_Great_Beethoven_Fallacy"><span class="tocnumber">9.5</span> <span class="toctext">The Great Beethoven Fallacy</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-55"><a href="#How_.27Moderation.27_in_Faith_Fosters_Fanaticism"><span class="tocnumber">9.6</span> <span class="toctext">How 'Moderation' in Faith Fosters Fanaticism</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-56"><a href="#Childhood.2C_Abuse.2C_and_the_Escape_from_Religion"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Childhood, Abuse, and the Escape from Religion</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-57"><a href="#Physical_and_Mental_Abuse"><span class="tocnumber">10.1</span> <span class="toctext">Physical and Mental Abuse</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-58"><a href="#In_Defence_of_Children"><span class="tocnumber">10.2</span> <span class="toctext">In Defence of Children</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-59"><a href="#An_Educational_Scandal"><span class="tocnumber">10.3</span> <span class="toctext">An Educational Scandal</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-60"><a href="#Consciousness-Raising_Again"><span class="tocnumber">10.4</span> <span class="toctext">Consciousness-Raising Again</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-61"><a href="#Religious_Education_as_a_Part_of_Literary_Culture"><span class="tocnumber">10.5</span> <span class="toctext">Religious Education as a Part of Literary Culture</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-62"><a href="#A_Much_Needed_Gap.3F"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">A Much Needed Gap?</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-63"><a href="#Binker"><span class="tocnumber">11.1</span> <span class="toctext">Binker</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-64"><a href="#Consolation"><span class="tocnumber">11.2</span> <span class="toctext">Consolation</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-65"><a href="#Inspiration"><span class="tocnumber">11.3</span> <span class="toctext">Inspiration</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-66"><a href="#The_Mother_of_All_Burkas"><span class="tocnumber">11.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Mother of All Burkas</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-67"><a href="#Additional_sources_repeatedly_cited_in_the_book"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">Additional sources repeatedly cited in the book</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-68"><a href="#Responses_and_criticism"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">Responses and criticism</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-69"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-70"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-71"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">16</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-72"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">17</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Preface">Preface</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Preface">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In his preface, Dawkins outlines some of his reasons for writing the book. He wants to alert people (especially not very religious people, or people unhappy with their religion) to the fact that atheism is an option. He also wants to address a number of related issues including: the argument that it is wrong to label children by their parents' religion, and the idea that being an atheist is nothing to be apologetic about, but is in fact something to be proud of, as, according to Dawkins, it often indicates a healthy mind and intellectual independence. In addition, he outlines how the book is structured, and what questions the various chapters are set to answer. He also takes the time to define the word "<a href="/wiki/Delusion" title="Delusion">delusion</a>", as it is used regularly, and how that definition relates to the book. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="A_Deeply_Religious_Non-Believer">A Deeply Religious Non-Believer</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: A Deeply Religious Non-Believer">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Deserved_respect">Deserved respect</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Deserved respect">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins starts by quoting some prominent non-Christians about their beliefs, such as <a href="/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Hawking" title="Stephen Hawking">Stephen Hawking</a>, with particular attention paid to <a href="/wiki/Albert_Einstein" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a>. The people he quoted, mostly <a href="/wiki/Physicist" class="mw-redirect" title="Physicist">physicists</a> and cosmologists, had used the word "<a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a>" in those quotations with a particular sense of awe and reverence. Dawkins then goes to explain, sometimes using the scientists' own words, that when they said "God", they didn't mean the interpersonal <a href="/wiki/Theist" class="mw-redirect" title="Theist">theist</a> or lazy <a href="/wiki/Deist" class="mw-redirect" title="Deist">deist</a> <a href="/wiki/YHWH" title="YHWH">God</a>, but rather the <a href="/wiki/Naturalism" title="Naturalism">naturalistic</a> <a href="/wiki/Metaphor" title="Metaphor">metaphorical</a> or <a href="/wiki/Pantheism" title="Pantheism">pantheistic</a> God which is used to be synonymous with the natural laws of <a href="/wiki/Physics" title="Physics">physics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Relativity" title="Relativity">relativity</a>. Dawkins suggested that those scientists should probably stop using the word God in any context: for one reason, to keep the preachers from <a href="/wiki/Quote_mining" title="Quote mining">quote mining</a> them; for another, because the God of the believers appears to be less awe-inspiring than <a href="/wiki/Nature" title="Nature">nature</a> itself, and thus not worthy of praising. </p><p>This section also includes the first of many examples of the <a href="/wiki/Courtier%27s_Reply" title="Courtier's Reply">Courtier's Reply</a>, comparing one preacher's assessment of Einstein's lack of expertise in the "field" of religion to the study of <a href="/wiki/Fun:Fairies" title="Fun:Fairies">fairies</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Undeserved_respect">Undeserved respect</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Undeserved respect">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins starts this section by explaining the point of the last section: that the God of Einstein (nature) was not the God to be discussed in this book. Realizing the almost certain possibility of offending a believer with the rest of the book, he devotes this section to alleviating any concerns. </p><p>Dawkins presents examples of how <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religions</a> and religious beliefs are generally assumed by the populace to be unattackable bastions which must be respected by everyone, but no one can explain <i>why</i> they deserve such respect any farther than "they just <i>do</i>!" <a href="/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">Politics</a>, <a href="/wiki/Economics" title="Economics">economics</a>, even <a href="/wiki/OS_Wars" class="mw-redirect" title="OS Wars">operating systems</a> can be raucously debated, but somehow religion is protected, whether it be in determining valid reasons not to be drafted in wartime or allowing <a href="/wiki/Marijuana" class="mw-redirect" title="Marijuana">marijuana</a> to be smoked by churchgoers who <i>believe</i> it provides religious insight, but for <a href="/wiki/Medical_marijuana" class="mw-redirect" title="Medical marijuana">medical purposes</a> it is still restricted. Even <a href="/wiki/Hate_speech" title="Hate speech">hate speech</a> is protected if it is deemed religious, which is an interesting if tragic interpretation of the <a href="/wiki/First_Amendment" title="First Amendment">First Amendment</a>. </p><p>He then compares these concepts, if anyone thought them reasonable, to the controversial riots and violence that occurred as a result of the <a href="/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons">Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons</a>. He remarks that he does not want to cause this sort of trouble, so please continue with an <a href="/wiki/Open_mind" title="Open mind">open mind</a> — and maybe the reader and author together can determine why any religion and the corresponding beliefs, if for a being so perfect and pure, need to be treated with kid gloves. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="The_God_Hypothesis">The God Hypothesis</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: The God Hypothesis">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Dawkins starts his not-wishing-to-be-offensive masterpiece by calling out the God of the <a href="/wiki/Old_Testament" title="Old Testament">Old Testament</a> for the petulant, selfish, vindictive bastard that he is, as interpreted by His <a href="/wiki/The_Bible" class="mw-redirect" title="The Bible">own word</a>. He then continues by saying that this is not what he wants to do for the rest of the book — what he intends to show is that the concept of a <a href="/wiki/Creator" class="mw-redirect" title="Creator">Creator</a> is one of <a href="/wiki/Evolution" title="Evolution">evolution</a> and cannot be responsible for the creation of the <a href="/wiki/Universe" title="Universe">universe</a>. </p><p>The ultimate point of this chapter is to show that God can be regarded as a scientific <a href="/wiki/Hypothesis" title="Hypothesis">hypothesis</a>, for further scrutiny in the following chapters. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Polytheism">Polytheism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Polytheism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Polytheism" title="Polytheism">Polytheism</a></div> <p>Dawkins calls out the state-sponsored prejudice towards monotheism over polytheism (usually involving petitions for <a href="/wiki/Tax" title="Tax">tax</a>-exempt status as a charitable organization) and argues that religious organizations should <i>not</i> be <a href="/wiki/Tax-exempt" class="mw-redirect" title="Tax-exempt">tax-exempt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[note 1]</a></sup> He then questions how <a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> with its <a href="/wiki/Holy_Trinity" class="mw-redirect" title="Holy Trinity">Holy Trinity</a> and <a href="/wiki/Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a> with its many <a href="/wiki/Saint" title="Saint">saints</a> and choirs of <a href="/wiki/Angel" title="Angel">angels</a> can be considered monotheistic. </p><p>But ultimately, Dawkins' point for bringing up concepts of polytheism is so that he can treat all religions and their deities the same, and when he uses the word "God" in text, he is not differentiating between the various deities, semantics and pedantry be damned. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Monotheism">Monotheism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Monotheism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Monotheism" title="Monotheism">Monotheism</a></div> <p>Dawkins then states that he will focus the bulk of his charge against monotheism, specifically the <a href="/wiki/Abrahamic_religion" title="Abrahamic religion">Abrahamic religions</a>, with a focus on Christianity, as it is the religion he is most exposed to — he mentions not wanting to belabor <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> or <a href="/wiki/Confucianism" class="mw-redirect" title="Confucianism">Confucianism</a>, as he sees them more as <a href="/wiki/Ethics" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethics">ethical systems</a> or <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophies</a>. </p> <h3><span id="Secularism,_the_Founding_Fathers,_and_the_Religion_of_America"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Secularism.2C_the_Founding_Fathers.2C_and_the_Religion_of_America">Secularism, the Founding Fathers, and the Religion of America</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Secularism, the Founding Fathers, and the Religion of America">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins asserts that the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> were founded by <a href="/wiki/Secularism" class="mw-redirect" title="Secularism">secularists</a>, as evident by the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Tripoli" title="Treaty of Tripoli">Treaty of Tripoli</a>. He uses a famed quote from <a href="/wiki/Barry_Goldwater" title="Barry Goldwater">Barry Goldwater</a> describing the stranglehold that the <a href="/wiki/Religious_right" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious right">religious right</a> has over <a href="/wiki/Conservative" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservative">conservative</a> politicians. He also mentions the interesting <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">irony</a> that at the time <a href="/wiki/America" title="America">America</a> was founded as a secular nation, <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> was extremely religious — but now in present times, the shoes are on the other feet. For this, he places the blame on the <a href="/wiki/Establishment_Clause" title="Establishment Clause">Establishment Clause</a> — because religions are free in America, they are free to grow unrestricted, wield their influences, compete for worshipers, and benefit from tax-exempt <a href="/wiki/Tithe" title="Tithe">tithings</a>. </p><p>While acknowledging the common belief that most of the <a href="/wiki/Founding_Fathers" title="Founding Fathers">Founding Fathers</a> were deists, he argues that many of them were <a href="/wiki/Atheist" class="mw-redirect" title="Atheist">atheists</a>, if not <a href="/wiki/Agnostic" class="mw-redirect" title="Agnostic">agnostic</a>. He focuses much attention on <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a>, but also provides quotes from <a href="/wiki/James_Madison" title="James Madison">James Madison</a>, <a href="/wiki/John_Adams" title="John Adams">John Adams</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin" title="Benjamin Franklin">Benjamin Franklin</a>, who all had their criticisms of Christianity, churches, and <a href="/wiki/Priest" class="mw-redirect" title="Priest">priests</a> in favor of more reasonable causes. But despite their passion for secularism, they all believed that the religious opinions of politicians, in particularly the <a href="/wiki/President" class="mw-redirect" title="President">President</a>, was a personal matter and no one else's damned business. </p><p>Despite this, he relates stories of extreme and very un-Christian prejudice against atheists in America, which he asserts would have appalled the Founding Fathers. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Poverty_of_Agnosticism">The Poverty of Agnosticism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: The Poverty of Agnosticism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins takes a moment to define agnosticism as a form of "fence-sitting". Agnostics, by definition, wish to reserve judgement until all the <a href="/wiki/Evidence" title="Evidence">evidence</a> is in (one way or another), while recognizing the likelihood that it will never happen. Dawkins quotes <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Huxley" class="mw-redirect" title="Thomas Huxley">Thomas Huxley</a> in the definition. Dawkins cautions about the latter assertion, however, as <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> has a way of improving humanity's view on things once deemed impossible. He illustrates this point with a quote from <a href="/wiki/August_Comte" class="mw-redirect" title="August Comte">August Comte</a> regarding <a href="/wiki/Astronomy" title="Astronomy">astronomical</a> agnosticism — that we will never be able to study the composition of <a href="/wiki/Star" title="Star">stars</a>, a scientific assertion that was defeated even as he first wrote it. </p><p>Dawkins then describes the spectrum of theism/atheism, acknowledging agnosticism in the middle. He mentions verbatim <a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Celestial_teapot" class="mw-redirect" title="Celestial teapot">celestial teapot</a> and references to "a-fairyism", <a href="/wiki/Unicorn" title="Unicorn">unicorns</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Tooth_Fairy" title="Tooth Fairy">Tooth Fairy</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster" class="mw-redirect" title="Flying Spaghetti Monster">Flying Spaghetti Monster</a> as equally unprovable/undisprovable concepts. Here he makes his famed "I just go one God further" statement about how all people are atheists about <a href="/wiki/Gods_Christians_don%27t_believe_in" class="mw-redirect" title="Gods Christians don't believe in">most deities</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="NOMA">NOMA</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: NOMA">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Non-overlapping_magisteria" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-overlapping magisteria">Non-overlapping magisteria</a></div> <p>Again referring to Huxley and to <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould" title="Stephen Jay Gould">Stephen Jay Gould</a> who assert that science cannot prove or disprove God, Dawkins asks the reader why God is protected from scrutiny but the other "undisprovables" previously mentioned aren't equally immune to such <a href="/wiki/Skepticism" title="Skepticism">skepticism</a>. He then mentions Gould's definition of non-overlapping magisteria, but questions under what authority this assertion is made, even going so far as to cast doubt as to why <a href="/wiki/Theology" title="Theology">theology</a> is considered a collegiate field, let alone one worthy of <a href="/wiki/Credentialism" title="Credentialism">expertise</a> — what can a theologian add to the study of the universe, from the motion of galaxies to the mechanics of particles, that a scientist cannot? </p><p>Dawkins dismisses NOMA as a cop-out and a tipping of the hand from scientists to theologians under the guise of being polite. He also mentions that NOMA is a two-way street; if theologians expect scientists to stay out of the non-sciency bits, then such a division is null and void should the theologians try to discuss anything related to science. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Great_Prayer_Experiment">The Great Prayer Experiment</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: The Great Prayer Experiment">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Study_of_the_Therapeutic_Effects_of_Intercessory_Prayer" class="mw-redirect" title="Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer">Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer</a></div> <p>Dawkins relates the results of a NOMA-defying <a href="/wiki/Templeton_Foundation" class="mw-redirect" title="Templeton Foundation">Templeton Foundation</a>-funded experiment involving patients of heart surgery who would be receiving prayers from an anonymous congregation. 1802 subjects were divided into three groups: </p> <ol><li>Patients who would be receiving prayers, but didn't know it.</li> <li>Patients who would be receiving prayers and were told about it ahead of time.</li> <li>Patients who would not be receiving prayers (the control group).</li></ol> <p>The results found no differences in the complications of groups 1 and 3, which a <a href="/wiki/Rational" class="mw-redirect" title="Rational">rational</a> scientist would expect. Patients in group 2, however, actually had <i>more</i> complications during surgery. Understandably, the results were panned by theologians, but Dawkins presses the reader to question whether theologians, who were treading into the other magisteria with this study, would have panned the study should the results have gone the other way. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Neville_Chamberlain_School_of_Evolutionists">The Neville Chamberlain School of Evolutionists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: The Neville Chamberlain School of Evolutionists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins then points out personal attacks made against him by <a href="/wiki/Creationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Creationist">creationists</a>, journalists, and other scientists, like <a href="/wiki/William_Dembski" title="William Dembski">William Dembski</a> and Michael Ruse. Dawkins notes that any politeness offered by scientists who would respect NOMA is being disregarded by proponents of intelligent design (as well as all related positions, such as anti-evolutionists). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Little_Green_Men">Little Green Men</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Little Green Men">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins discusses the views of Sagan, who could not for-certain argue for the existence of <a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial" title="Extraterrestrial">extraterrestrials</a>, but acknowledged that the question, as evidenced by the <a href="/wiki/Drake_equation" title="Drake equation">Drake equation</a>, was not one of <i>yes/no</i> but rather one of <i><a href="/wiki/Probability" title="Probability">probability</a></i>. He appears to bring up extraterrestrials as a matter of comparison — how vastly advanced would a non-human civilization appear to us, and would we regard them as gods? And in what way would our current technology confound the famous historical figures of 100 years, 500 years, 1000 years, or 5000 years past? Dawkins points to <a href="/wiki/Clarke%27s_Laws" class="mw-redirect" title="Clarke's Laws">Clarke's Third Law</a> for a probable answer. </p> <h2><span id="Arguments_for_God's_Existence"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Arguments_for_God.27s_Existence">Arguments for God's Existence</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Arguments for God's Existence">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Dawkins takes a moment to address various previous arguments for the existence of God: </p> <h3><span id="Thomas_Aquinas'_'Proofs'"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Thomas_Aquinas.27_.27Proofs.27">Thomas Aquinas' 'Proofs'</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Thomas Aquinas' 'Proofs'">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins addresses the "unmoved mover", the "uncaused cause", the <a href="/wiki/Cosmological_argument" class="mw-redirect" title="Cosmological argument">cosmological argument</a>, the "argument from degree", and the <a href="/wiki/Teleological_argument" class="mw-redirect" title="Teleological argument">teleological argument</a> (or <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_design" title="Argument from design">argument from design</a>). All are bunk in Dawkins' eyes, some are ridiculous, and some had already been long since <a href="/wiki/PRATT" class="mw-redirect" title="PRATT">refuted</a> by Darwin and others. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Ontological_Argument_and_other_a_priori_arguments">The Ontological Argument and other <i><a href="/wiki/A_priori" class="mw-redirect" title="A priori">a priori</a></i> arguments</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: The Ontological Argument and other a priori arguments">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Ontological_Argument" class="mw-redirect" title="Ontological Argument">Ontological Argument</a></div> <p>Dawkins takes on the ontological argument, as offered by St. Anselm of Canterbury, which he considers infantile. He refers to <a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a>, <a href="/wiki/David_Hume" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>, and Douglas Gasking in their philosophical and logical arguments against Anselm. He also links to a list of comical "proofs" that he found hilarious.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[1]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Argument_from_Beauty">The Argument from Beauty</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: The Argument from Beauty">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_beauty" title="Argument from beauty">Argument from beauty</a></div> <p>This argument is so stupid that Dawkins barely devotes page space to argue against it, and neither will we. </p> <h3><span id="The_Argument_from_Personal_'Experience'"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Argument_from_Personal_.27Experience.27">The Argument from Personal 'Experience'</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: The Argument from Personal 'Experience'">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins addresses <a href="/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence" title="Anecdotal evidence">anecdotal evidence</a>, which is neither scientific nor reliable. He also mentions individuals who swear they have talked to God, or were commanded by God, such as the case as <a href="/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> being called to start a <a href="/wiki/War_in_Iraq" class="mw-redirect" title="War in Iraq">War in Iraq</a> (as Dawkins remarks, "a pity God didn't vouchsafe him a revelation that there were no <a href="/wiki/Weapons_of_mass_destruction" title="Weapons of mass destruction">weapons of mass destruction</a>"). He defers to the ideas that <a href="/wiki/Improbable_things_happen" title="Improbable things happen">improbable things happen</a>, some people <a href="/wiki/Pareidolia" title="Pareidolia">see what they want to see</a>, and some people are <a href="/wiki/Deceit" title="Deceit">liars</a>, delusional, or simply <a href="/wiki/Insane" class="mw-redirect" title="Insane">insane</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Argument_from_Scripture">The Argument from Scripture</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: The Argument from Scripture">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins briefly talks about the <a href="/wiki/Lewis_Trilemma" title="Lewis Trilemma">Lewis Trilemma</a> and goes into depth regarding various <a href="/wiki/Biblical_contradictions" title="Biblical contradictions">Biblical contradictions</a> and mistranslations. He also quickly talks about <i><a href="/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code" class="mw-redirect" title="The Da Vinci Code">The Da Vinci Code</a></i>, noting that the major difference between the novel and the <a href="/wiki/Gospel" class="mw-redirect" title="Gospel">Gospels</a> is that the Gospels are <i>ancient</i> fiction and <i>The Da Vinci Code</i> is <i>modern</i> fiction. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Argument_from_Admired_Religious_Scientists">The Argument from Admired Religious Scientists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: The Argument from Admired Religious Scientists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Religious_scientists" title="Religious scientists">Religious scientists</a></div> <p>Dawkins notes that in modern times, religious scientists are incredibly more rare, but with notable exceptions and not just among those who sell out to the Templeton Foundation. The prevailing reason for their rarity appears to be a lack of <a href="/wiki/Integrity" title="Integrity">integrity</a> in the eyes of other, non-believing scientists: who among scientists can trust someone who accepts an argument without evidence or a truth through revelation and not <a href="/wiki/Experiment" title="Experiment">experimentation</a>?<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[note 2]</a></sup> </p><p>He calls out <a href="/wiki/Answers_in_Genesis" title="Answers in Genesis">Answers in Genesis</a> as a force in America working against atheist scientists. He was amused that a study which suggested a very small percentage of religious scientists was cited by AiG to argue that scientists were waging a war against religion despite repeated claims (from scientists) that evolution was compatible with religion. Another study showed that <a href="/wiki/Biology" title="Biology">biologists</a> tend to be more atheistic than <a href="/wiki/Physical_science" title="Physical science">physical scientists</a>. Yet another study of random Americans by <a href="/wiki/Michael_Shermer" title="Michael Shermer">Michael Shermer</a> and Frank Sulloway found a high negative correlation between religiosity and education, religiosity and interest in science, religiosity and political <a href="/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism">liberalism</a>… none of this should be shocking to anyone reading <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki" title="RationalWiki">RationalWiki</a>. The same study also found a high positive correlation between the religiosities of parents and their children. </p> <h3><span id="Pascal's_Wager"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Pascal.27s_Wager">Pascal's Wager</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Pascal's Wager">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager" class="mw-redirect" title="Pascal's Wager">Pascal's Wager</a></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Bayesian_Arguments">Bayesian Arguments</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Bayesian Arguments">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Bayesian_inference" class="mw-redirect" title="Bayesian inference">Bayesian inference</a></div> <p>Dawkins also uses this section to address <a href="/wiki/Theodicy" class="mw-redirect" title="Theodicy">theodicy</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Problem_of_evil" title="Problem of evil">problem of evil</a> as more likely reasons to why God does not exist than evidence of a <a href="/wiki/Hanlon%27s_Razor" class="mw-redirect" title="Hanlon's Razor">malicious deity that pretends to be good</a>. Theologists and <a href="/wiki/Apologist" class="mw-redirect" title="Apologist">apologists</a> will accept arguments like an <a href="/wiki/Satan" title="Satan">anti-God</a>, or an aloof God, or the Old Testament God, or a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/demiurge" class="extiw" title="wp:demiurge" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: demiurge">demiurge</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> or a God that has cursed humanity with suffering as the cost of <a href="/wiki/Free_will" title="Free will">free will</a> before they accept a <a href="/wiki/Null_hypothesis" title="Null hypothesis">null hypothesis</a>. </p><p>Dawkins ends the chapter stating that the next chapter would address the <i>argument from improbability</i>, which is the argument that is the most popular for arguing in favor of a God, is actually the one that comes closest to proving that God does not exist. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Why_There_Almost_Certainly_Is_No_God">Why There Almost Certainly Is No God</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Why There Almost Certainly Is No God">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Ultimate_Boeing_747">The Ultimate Boeing 747</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: The Ultimate Boeing 747">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Creationists like to employ the "747" argument<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[2]</a></sup> to claim that <a href="/wiki/Abiogenesis" title="Abiogenesis">abiogenesis</a> and evolution cannot be true. Dawkins waves this off as evidence that creationists don't know what the hell they're talking about. Instead, Dawkins will attempt to turn the argument around — that since the argument from improbability states that no sufficiently complex entity could have come about through evolution and not design, then how did God, a sufficiently complex entity, come about? </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Natural_Selection_as_a_Consciousness-Raiser">Natural Selection as a Consciousness-Raiser</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Natural Selection as a Consciousness-Raiser">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Inspired by the consciousness-raising properties of <a href="/wiki/Feminism" title="Feminism">feminism</a> (e.g., using gender-neutral pronouns and "<a href="/wiki/Herstory" title="Herstory">herstory</a>"), Dawkins attempts to raise the consciousness of the reader using <a href="/wiki/Natural_selection" title="Natural selection">natural selection</a>. He acknowledges the philosophy of <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Dennett" title="Daniel Dennett">Daniel Dennett</a>: that the living things of the world came from simpler forms of life and not from a greater being is counter to the beliefs that sentient beings have held for eons. But the opposite is obviously not true with complex inanimate objects — bricks do not come from houses; pieces of metal don't come from cars. Darwin's concepts (and those that came as a result of those concepts, like DNA) show this to be the case. Thus, even though evolution is compatible with religion, with evolution in the picture, what does God need to do but start it up? This picture of a lazy God paints one that is lazier than the God of the deists. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Irreducible_Complexity">Irreducible Complexity</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Irreducible Complexity">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Irreducible_complexity" title="Irreducible complexity">Irreducible complexity</a></div> <p>Dawkins uses examples from the <a href="/wiki/Watchtower_Bible_and_Tract_Society" class="mw-redirect" title="Watchtower Bible and Tract Society">Watchtower</a> publication <i>Life - How Did It Get Here</i>, which address the Venus' Flower Basket (a type of <a href="/wiki/Sponge" title="Sponge">sponge</a>), the Dutchman's Pipe (a fly-trapping plant), and the giant redwood. The tract uses language that basically states "these things are perfect, complex, beautiful and amazing; and we don't know why, but it can't have been by chance." Dawkins concurs with the last assessment, but for different reasons: because evolution is not random. Dawkins states that just because some people who never studied biology can't (or don't want to) figure out how some life form came to be, it doesn't mean it's impossible to discover. Design, says the scientist, is not the <i>only</i> alternative to chance, and natural selection is a better one. Yes, Dawkins concedes, it is extremely improbable for some "amazing thing" to come about perfectly on the first shot. But given enough time, trial, and reproductive effort, amazing things can be accomplished. Irreducible complexity is the most simplistic of viewpoints towards life forms, as it means that either "something happened by chance or designed, or it doesn't happen at all". No wonder, he says, it is the favored view of the uneducated. </p><p>Dawkins takes an opportunity to plug an earlier work, <i>Climbing Mount Improbable</i>, which addresses the concept in greater detail. He finishes the section by saying that if God exists, He Himself must be irreducibly complex — put that in your pipe and smoke it for a while. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Worship_of_Gaps">The Worship of Gaps</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: The Worship of Gaps">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/God_of_the_gaps" title="God of the gaps">God of the gaps</a></div> <p>As was the case with irreducible complexity, the "worship of gaps" is also an example of <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance" title="Argument from ignorance">argument from ignorance</a>. Dawkins quotes his friend Matt Ridley against gaps being the realm of God, stating that scientists love mystery as it gives them something to do. Dawkins criticizes creationists for utilization of <a href="/wiki/False_dilemma" title="False dilemma">false dilemma</a> — that if science cannot immediately answer a given question about nature, then design <i>must</i> be the only reason as it is the only alternative. Unlike the creationist, the scientist will look to discover the true answer, whereas the creationist will just assume he or she is right. <a href="/wiki/Ignorance" title="Ignorance">Ignorance</a>, while being a favorite home base of creationists, is in reality the driving force behind scientific discovery. </p><p>Dawkins also mentions the "gaps" left by so-called <a href="/wiki/Transitional_fossil" title="Transitional fossil">transitional fossils</a>, pointing out all the <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> that creationists love to shovel around that topic of debate without realizing what a <a href="/wiki/Fossil" title="Fossil">fossil</a> actually is. </p><p>He then uses an example of a <a href="/wiki/Penn_and_Teller" class="mw-redirect" title="Penn and Teller">Penn and Teller</a> magic trick to explain why <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_incredulity" title="Argument from incredulity">argument from incredulity</a> is false. Magicians will show you a trick. You may think it's amazing and that since you can't figure out how it's done, it <i>must</i> be due to some supernatural force. But then, as P&T are wont to do, they show you how they did it. And now you feel stupid. As you should. The ignorant fool will watch <a href="/wiki/Uri_Geller" title="Uri Geller">Uri Geller</a> bend a spoon and think it must be supernatural; the <a href="/wiki/Rational" class="mw-redirect" title="Rational">rational</a>, <a href="/wiki/Skeptic" class="mw-redirect" title="Skeptic">skeptical</a> scientist will consider the <i>possibility</i> that it's a trick, then endeavor to determine how it was done. </p><p>Dawkins calls out <a href="/wiki/Michael_Behe" title="Michael Behe">Michael Behe</a> for introducing the irreducible complexity and gaps to his "studies" in <a href="/wiki/Cell_theory" class="mw-redirect" title="Cell theory">cell theory</a>. He mocks Behe, whose arguments against evolution couldn't even stand up in court to satisfy a judge no more fluent in science than an average layperson. Dawkins further aggravates the arguments against intelligent design as a scientific theory, saying that no work in science would ever be achieved if the scientists gave up trying to resolve what they couldn't explain and simply say "<a href="/wiki/Goddidit" class="mw-redirect" title="Goddidit">Goddidit</a>". The God of the gaps is little more than the statement "I don't know" dressed up in robes and vestments. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Anthropic_Principle:_Planetary_Version">The Anthropic Principle: Planetary Version</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: The Anthropic Principle: Planetary Version">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Anthropic_principle" title="Anthropic principle">Anthropic principle</a></div> <p>Dawkins notes that the reason that so many different forms of life flourish on Earth is because life has <a href="/wiki/Adaptation" title="Adaptation">adapted</a> to live on Earth, not because Earth was designed to sustain life: otherwise, what is to keep life from forming on other planets in the universe? Or, more to the point, what is <i>currently preventing</i> life from being formed on other planets if they were also designed? </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Anthropic_Principle:_Cosmological_Version">The Anthropic Principle: Cosmological Version</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: The Anthropic Principle: Cosmological Version">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Fine-tuned_universe" class="mw-redirect" title="Fine-tuned universe">Fine-tuned universe</a></div> <p>In addition to discussing the concept, Dawkins derides theologians for suggesting that God is powerful enough to know the exact states of the infinitely large number of <a href="/wiki/Electron" title="Electron">electrons</a> that exist in the universe — not that such a task would be impossible to an <a href="/wiki/Omnipotent" class="mw-redirect" title="Omnipotent">omnipotent</a> being, but that if a scientist can't figure out what's going on, then said scientists must defer to God as the answer. But this philosophy is defeatist: no progress will ever come of it; otherwise, God would have cured cancer by now. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="An_Interlude_at_Cambridge">An Interlude at Cambridge</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: An Interlude at Cambridge">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins relates an experience at a Templeton Foundation-sponsored conference at which he was the <a href="/wiki/Tokenism" title="Tokenism">token</a> atheist. He was shocked that the journalists, and not the speakers, had been <i>paid</i> to attend. Nevertheless, the questions he posited to theologians about the scientific improbability of God were returned with appeals to NOMA — that God lay outside the realm of science. Claims of knowing God must come through <a href="/wiki/Other_ways_of_knowing" title="Other ways of knowing">other ways of knowing</a>, and none of those other ways are scientific. Dawkins suggests that appealing to God for being the answer, having created everything and being able to communicate with everyone, is not only lazy, it is irresponsible. </p><p>Strangely, the most common argument against Dawkins' world view, received at both the conference and elsewhere, was that it was <i>antiquated</i>. Not that atheism was an old concept, but that Dawkins' <i>method of arguing</i> was from the "nineteenth century". Of course, it doesn't take a genius to see that telling a person about how their <i>style of discourse</i> is wrong has nothing to do with why the <i>subject of discourse</i> is wrong. Apparently, a discussion of <a href="/wiki/Style_over_substance" title="Style over substance">style over substance</a> was somehow preferable to actually discussing the topic at hand. A reasonable person might suggest that it was because, subconsciously, the theologians knew their arguments had no leg to stand on, but the <a href="/wiki/Dunning-Kruger_effect" class="mw-redirect" title="Dunning-Kruger effect">Dunning-Kruger effect</a> is probably more likely. Dawkins notes that attacking his style appeared to be a cover for some latent <a href="/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance" title="Cognitive dissonance">cognitive dissonance</a> — theologians, being bombarded with appeals to <a href="/wiki/Common_sense" title="Common sense">common sense</a> and facts obtained from science, don't like being asked how they can still honestly believe in <a href="/wiki/Miracle" title="Miracle">miracles</a> or <a href="/wiki/Virgin_birth" title="Virgin birth">virgin births</a> anymore. </p><p>Dawkins finishes the chapter with a summary of his points, then presents the argument for the next chapter in a manner that suggests it, too, will be easily trounced. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Roots_of_Religion">The Roots of Religion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: The Roots of Religion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>At the end of the previous chapter, Dawkins sets up the next question, which is simply, "Okay, even if God doesn't exist, aren't religions still good things to have around?" And on we go. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Darwinian_Imperative">The Darwinian Imperative</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: The Darwinian Imperative">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins holds nothing back. With the understanding that humans are products of Darwinian evolution, which regularly weeds out excesses, frivolities, inefficiencies, and vestigialities over time, then how did religion come about and how is it still here? In comparison to other animal behaviors, he mentions that religion consumes enormous resources without any perceived (real-world) end benefit to the creature that practices it — particularly, a religion that goes against the main principle of evolution: the continuation of the species. He uses Aborigines as an extreme example of a group of humans who are great survivors in a natural environment, inarguably better than anyone from an urban civilization; but even they hold some crazy, unscientific beliefs (such as worries over <a href="/wiki/Magic" title="Magic">magic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Witch" class="mw-redirect" title="Witch">witches</a>). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Direct_Advantages_of_Religion">Direct Advantages of Religion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Direct Advantages of Religion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins acknowledges that certain religious practices, such as prayer and <a href="/wiki/Faith_healing" title="Faith healing">faith healing</a>, can reduce stress or cure certain ailments. He also points to doctors who can relieve pressure and worry in the same manner with a few kind words. He likens such activities to the <a href="/wiki/Placebo_effect" title="Placebo effect">placebo effect</a>, which he recognizes as powerful but not effective in all instances, but doubts that such a benefit would explain the worldwide fascination for religion. </p><p>Dawkins states that evolutionists want to know why the human mind takes comfort in experiences that are known (by someone) to be false, as, because it exists, it must serve some purpose. After all, mind over matter or <a href="/wiki/Mind_over_body" class="mw-redirect" title="Mind over body">mind over body</a> only go so far — you may be able to convince yourself that the shark under your surfboard is a sea bass, but it won't make a difference to the shark. It's interesting that at no point in this section does Dawkins use the word "delusion". </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Group_Selection">Group Selection</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Group Selection">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins points to <i>group selection</i><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[3]</a></sup> as a possible reason for the popularity of religion.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[note 3]</a></sup> Churches and sects gather people together, and because of their shared ideas, they tend to relate to each other better than if they did not share ideas. Members of groups tend to stick together, form bonds, enter relationships, make promises, conquer and assimilate other groups, etc. </p><p>However, such cohesion can only go so far, as individual <i>members</i> of the groups are ultimately selfish. If a particular group promotes <a href="/wiki/Martyr" title="Martyr">martyrdom</a> or <a href="/wiki/Sacrifice" title="Sacrifice">self-sacrifice</a> in order to perpetuate the group, some members will go forward and commit <a href="/wiki/Suicide" title="Suicide">suicide</a>, but there will still be others who will say "Well, fuck <i>that</i>!", stay behind to live and procreate and teach their offspring that martyrdom is stupid, thus reducing the percentage of willing potential martyrs in the group over time. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Religion_as_a_By-Product_of_Something_Else">Religion as a By-Product of Something Else</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Religion as a By-Product of Something Else">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins starts this section by saying that the title of the section is an idea he stands by — that is, religion survives from generation to generation because <i>something else</i> is surviving. Dawkins starts by demonstrating the apparently suicidal behavior of moths that spiral into candle flames. Moths are not inherently suicidal, and such a notion is easily ridiculed. But after a little study, one can find that nocturnal moths use moonlight and starlight for navigation, an ability that evolved over time. Introduce candles, relatively recently on the evolutionary time scale, and moths have not figured out that they aren't stars. They are, however, very bright, and the moth maintains its angle of flight relative to that fixed light, until it eventually circles into the flame. It is a very good evolved mechanism for navigation, thrown off by false information that it doesn't know how to fix. This would appear stupid to humans, if it weren't for the number of recent stories of GPS devices navigating location-blind drivers into ditches and lakes. </p><p>This <i>something else</i>, Dawkins offers, appears to be the concept that children are taught to listen to and trust what their parents tell them. If Mommy or Daddy says something is true, the child believes it. The trust and obedience that children tend to naturally have is vital to their survival: it gives the child a chance to think "maybe Daddy is right" before sticking a fork in a light socket or running across a street to chase a wayward ball. But the downside is that with trust comes gullibility — if Daddy tells his young, impressionable child to listen to a man in a robe, and the man in the robe says "playing with yourself is bad, and if you do you'll burn in sulfur and ash", the child is likely to believe it, even if the child doesn't completely understand it. </p><p>These children grow up, procreate, and, having learned from their own parents, <a href="/wiki/Memetics" class="mw-redirect" title="Memetics">continue similar ideas</a>. As discussed earlier, children tend to follow in their parents' footsteps, maintaining similar levels of piety, intelligence, charity, wealth, etc. Or, as computer nerds like to say, "<a href="/wiki/Garbage_in,_garbage_out" title="Garbage in, garbage out">Garbage in, garbage out</a>." </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Psychologically_Primed_for_Religion">Psychologically Primed for Religion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Psychologically Primed for Religion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Other possible "moth to the flame" corollaries could be due to <a href="/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">psychological</a> hardwiring to do other things, such as finding correlations, joining groups, <a href="/wiki/Discrimination" title="Discrimination">discriminating</a> against "<a href="/wiki/Other" title="Other">others</a>" in favor of the familiar, etc. Children are born with <a href="/wiki/Dualism" title="Dualism">dualism</a> hardwired, whereas <a href="/wiki/Monism" title="Monism">monism</a> must be learned. Related to this, children are also inherently <a href="/wiki/Teleology" title="Teleology">teleological</a> in that everything has a purpose: many just never grow out of it when they become adults. He refers to the studies of Paul Bloom that show dualism and teleology as inherent; the concept of separating the mind from the body and the concept of purpose, predispose religiosity. From there, the idea of a <a href="/wiki/Soul" title="Soul">soul</a> or a created universe are not gigantic leaps to make. </p><p>Dawkins also notes the neurological and emotional similarities of belief in a deity to the irrationality of love; that while <a href="/wiki/Polyamory" title="Polyamory">polyamory</a> makes more sense on an evolutionary and realistic level (a person can love more than one wine or rock band, so why not people?), our minds are predisposed toward monogamy, possibly because couples raise children better than individual parents do, or at least have an easier time with it. </p><p>Dawkins mentions that just as <a href="/wiki/Speciation" class="mw-redirect" title="Speciation">species drift over time</a> when separated by geography, so do languages and accents, and in many ways so do religions. That religion has an evolutionary component is certainly supported by evidence, such as the Christian co-opting of <a href="/wiki/Pagan" class="mw-redirect" title="Pagan">pagan</a> holidays and rituals, as well as the many thousands of <a href="/wiki/Denomination" title="Denomination">denominations</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sect" title="Sect">sects</a> that are spread across the globe. </p> <h3><span id="Tread_Softly,_Because_You_Tread_On_My_Memes"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Tread_Softly.2C_Because_You_Tread_On_My_Memes">Tread Softly, Because You Tread On My Memes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: Tread Softly, Because You Tread On My Memes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins states that just because a gene or <a href="/wiki/Meme" title="Meme">meme</a> or religion propagates from generation to generation doesn't mean it confers a benefit to the species — if this were true, humans would have lost their appendixes long ago. Dawkins alludes to the teaching of certain craft skills from master to apprentice — the techniques might slowly change over time, but the results are relatively similar. He likens the combined skills to <i>memeplexes</i>, which are the meme versions of <i>gene cartels</i> — that is, groups of genes that express themselves together, like the traits of carnivores versus traits of herbivores. Some memeplexes provide a fundamental group of ideas. Religions are examples of such memeplexes. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Cargo_Cults">Cargo Cults</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: Cargo Cults">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Cargo_cult" title="Cargo cult">Cargo cult</a></div> <p>Here, Dawkins invokes <i><a href="/wiki/Life_of_Brian" title="Life of Brian">Life of Brian</a></i>, Clarke's Third Law (again), and makes specific mention to the story of <a href="/wiki/John_Frum" class="mw-redirect" title="John Frum">John Frum</a> and how quickly a religion can spring up when promises of a <a href="/wiki/Messiah" title="Messiah">Messiah</a> are made. If Vanuatu natives are willing to wait tens of years for their savior to return, who are Christians to criticize them? Dawkins mentions that <a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">morality</a> existed on the islands where cargo cults were established, before they were established — thus, religion is not a predicate for morality (setting up the next chapter). </p> <h2><span id="The_Roots_of_Morality:_Why_are_we_good?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Roots_of_Morality:_Why_are_we_good.3F">The Roots of Morality: Why are we good?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: The Roots of Morality: Why are we good?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_morality" title="Argument from morality">Argument from morality</a></div> <p>Dawkins starts the chapter exposing the <a href="/wiki/Hypocrisy" title="Hypocrisy">hypocrisy</a> of certain religious individuals, particularly those that send him and the editor of Freethought Today nasty letters which amount to threats of death or <a href="/wiki/Damnation" class="mw-redirect" title="Damnation">damnation</a> by the Christian God. Dawkins wonders why the omnipotent God (should he exist) needs such vitriolic defenders who would do His work. </p> <h3><span id="Does_our_moral_sense_have_a_Darwinian_origin?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Does_our_moral_sense_have_a_Darwinian_origin.3F">Does our moral sense have a Darwinian origin?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: Does our moral sense have a Darwinian origin?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins notes four Darwinian reasons for morality: genetic kinship, reciprocation, reputation, and popularity. All are observed in non-human species. Specifically, Dawkins discusses <a href="/wiki/Altruism" title="Altruism">altruism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Reciprocal_altruism" title="Reciprocal altruism">reciprocal altruism</a>. He briefly examines altruism as a basis for <a href="/wiki/Economics" title="Economics">economics</a> and <a href="/wiki/Money" title="Money">money</a>, and the regulation of cheaters through <a href="/wiki/Game_theory" title="Game theory">game theory</a>. Of particular note in this section is mention of the Arabian babbler, a small species of bird, whose members assert their dominance by <i>feeding</i> others. </p><p>Dawkins takes a moment to mention that just because a behavior is a result of evolution, that fact does not diminish its other qualities. Having sex without the purpose of procreation, or adopting an orphan, while certainly not a purpose in a purely evolutionary sense, do not mean they are worthless activities — nor do they counter evolutionary ideas, as the cooperation and efforts involved certainly make life a little less difficult than without them. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="A_Case_Study_in_the_Roots_of_Morality">A Case Study in the Roots of Morality</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=41" title="Edit section: A Case Study in the Roots of Morality">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins highlights studies of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Hauser" class="extiw" title="wp:Marc Hauser" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Marc Hauser">Marc Hauser</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[note 4]</a></sup> which suggest that morality is mostly universal, regardless of religion or other factors, as revealed through the study of subjects' responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas, referencing <a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a> frequently. Hauser's works also find that the answers to these questions showed no statistically significant difference between atheists and the pious. </p> <h3><span id="If_there_is_no_God,_why_be_good?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="If_there_is_no_God.2C_why_be_good.3F">If there is no God, why be good?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=42" title="Edit section: If there is no God, why be good?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins, by himself and quoting Einstein <i>et al</i>, states that not only is this a fairly cynical question (if a person is only refraining from murdering, raping, and stealing because he's worried about what God thinks, what does that say about the person?), it's also unsupported by reality, noting that a majority of high crime cities and "dangerous places to live" in the United States are in so-called "<a href="/wiki/Red_state" class="mw-redirect" title="Red state">red states</a>". </p> <h2><span id="The_'Good'_Book_and_the_Changing_Moral_Zeitgeist"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="The_.27Good.27_Book_and_the_Changing_Moral_Zeitgeist">The 'Good' Book and the Changing Moral <i>Zeitgeist</i></span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=43" title="Edit section: The 'Good' Book and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Dawkins starts this chapter by noting that the religious texts of nearly 2000 years ago do not reflect modern times, and anyone who would set their moral code based on those texts have either not read them or do not understand them.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[4]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Old_Testament">The Old Testament</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=44" title="Edit section: The Old Testament">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins highlights a variety of tales, such as the stories of <a href="/wiki/Noah" title="Noah">Noah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lot" title="Lot">Lot</a> at <a href="/wiki/Sodom_and_Gomorrah" title="Sodom and Gomorrah">Sodom and Gomorrah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Abraham" title="Abraham">Abraham</a>, and even <a href="/wiki/Moses" title="Moses">Moses</a>, and how from a purely moral standpoint they are really quite horrible tales, hardly Aesop's fables. He also points out the many <a href="/wiki/Actions_which_demand_the_death_penalty_in_the_Old_Testament" class="mw-redirect" title="Actions which demand the death penalty in the Old Testament">crimes punishable by death according to God</a>. "But no one takes the Old Testament seriously anymore!" cry the <a href="/wiki/Apologist" class="mw-redirect" title="Apologist">apologists</a>. So, just like they might with scientific evidence, it's okay for them to <a href="/wiki/Cherry_picking" title="Cherry picking">cherry pick</a> the word of their Lord, which they hold sacred and infallible? </p> <h3><span id="Is_the_New_Testament_any_better?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Is_the_New_Testament_any_better.3F">Is the New Testament any better?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=45" title="Edit section: Is the New Testament any better?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Interestingly, Dawkins praises the story of <a href="/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> as one <a href="/wiki/Jew" class="mw-redirect" title="Jew">Jew</a> who chose to break from the ancient traditions prescribed by those that came before him (be nice to the unfortunate, turn the other cheek, etc.) — but only just. Dawkins points out that many of his teachings are similar to the structures of modern <a href="/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cults</a><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[5]</a></sup> and he didn't treat <a href="/wiki/Mary" title="Mary">his mother</a> very well.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[6]</a></sup> In addition to the <a href="/wiki/Original_sin" title="Original sin">original sin</a> of the Old Testament where individuals pay for the <a href="/wiki/Sin" title="Sin">sins</a> of their forebears, the <a href="/wiki/New_Testament" title="New Testament">New Testament</a> brings in a character who, in a fit of <a href="/wiki/Crucifixion" class="mw-redirect" title="Crucifixion">sadomasochism</a>, pays for the sins of every individual's descendants. <a href="/wiki/Guilt_by_association" class="mw-redirect" title="Guilt by association">Guilt by association</a>, it seems, is the cross born by every Christian. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Love_Thy_Neighbour">Love Thy Neighbour</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=46" title="Edit section: Love Thy Neighbour">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins notes that some interpretations of the Bible note that quotations such as "love thy neighbor" referred only to Jews. Similarly, a strong Commandment instructs that "Thou shalt not kill" actually means "Thou shalt not kill other Jews". He goes on to note that throughout the Bible, as well as the doctrines of other religions regardless of origin, there is an inherent appeal to <a href="/wiki/Othering" class="mw-redirect" title="Othering">othering</a> and <a href="/wiki/Segregation" title="Segregation">segregation</a> being taught. Dawkins asserts that if religions were not responsible for any other atrocities in history, indoctrination of the concepts of "us vs. them" would still make them pretty bad. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Moral_Zeitgeist">The Moral Zeitgeist</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=47" title="Edit section: The Moral Zeitgeist">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Zeitgeist" title="Zeitgeist">that stupid movie</a>, with which this book has literally <b>nothing</b> to do.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[note 5]</a></sup></div> <p>Since even the most pious of Christians obviously do not use the Bible as the only source for their moral code, then where do modern humans get their morals? Dawkins remarks that morality is relative to the spirit of the times, noting that even <a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a>'s views on black people, while progressive in his time, would be considered reprehensible today. Even modern standards of immorality (or questionable morality) change — the policies of <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> pale compared to the death sowed by Genghis Khan or the amoral codes of <a href="/wiki/Caligula" title="Caligula">Caligula</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" title="Donald Rumsfeld">Donald Rumsfeld</a> would be considered a bleeding-heart <a href="/wiki/Liberal" class="mw-redirect" title="Liberal">liberal</a> compared to the war chiefs of <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>. Dawkins admits he doesn't have an answer for why morality changes over time, but one thing appears certain: if moral codes were dependent upon religion, they <a href="/wiki/Dogma" title="Dogma">wouldn't change</a> as much as they do. </p> <h3><span id="What_about_Hitler_and_Stalin?_Weren't_they_atheists?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="What_about_Hitler_and_Stalin.3F_Weren.27t_they_atheists.3F">What about Hitler and Stalin? Weren't they atheists?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=48" title="Edit section: What about Hitler and Stalin? Weren't they atheists?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>While recognizing that <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> was an atheist, and we all know that Hitler was a <a href="/wiki/Catholic" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholic">Catholic</a>, Dawkins states that it follows logically that both assertions are irrelevant due to the fact that their actions and policies were not created in the name of atheism, nor <i>because</i> they were (or might have been) atheists. Hitler, in particular, was praised by German cardinals and tacitly supported by the <a href="/wiki/Vatican" class="mw-redirect" title="Vatican">Vatican</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[note 6]</a></sup> </p><p>Dawkins ends the chapter by asking a fairly critical question: Why would anyone go to war over the lack of a belief? </p> <h2><span id="What's_wrong_with_religion?_Why_be_so_hostile?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="What.27s_wrong_with_religion.3F_Why_be_so_hostile.3F">What's wrong with religion? Why be so hostile?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=49" title="Edit section: What's wrong with religion? Why be so hostile?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Here, Dawkins notes that he eschews confrontation, refusing to get into debates with <a href="/wiki/Creationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Creationist">creationists</a> on the grounds that it would only serve to uplift their credentials and degrade his own. Somewhat answering his own last question in the previous chapter, he states that his "hostility" (as others call it) is limited to words, and he isn't going to kill or bomb anyone for not agreeing with him. That being said, there are still plenty of reasons to be pissed off with religions' <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Fundamentalism_and_the_Subversion_of_Science">Fundamentalism and the Subversion of Science</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=50" title="Edit section: Fundamentalism and the Subversion of Science">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins remarks that scientists will admit they are wrong and change their point of view if new evidence renders an old theory obsolete — something no <a href="/wiki/Fundamentalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Fundamentalist">fundamentalist</a> would admit to doing about their own beliefs. He compares the inspirational exaltation of one scientist being proven wrong about a fundamental<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[note 7]</a></sup> of cellular biology to the tragic descent of geologist <a href="/wiki/Kurt_Wise" title="Kurt Wise">Kurt Wise</a> into <a href="/wiki/Young_earth_creationism" class="mw-redirect" title="Young earth creationism">young earth creationism</a> as a modern day <a href="/wiki/1984" class="mw-redirect" title="1984">Winston Smith</a>. Fundamentalism, Dawkins fears, is robbing humanity of some brilliant minds who, hopelessly entrenched in their beliefs, will never contribute anything of consequence to the world beyond useless <a href="/wiki/PRATT" class="mw-redirect" title="PRATT">PRATT</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Dark_Side_of_Absolutism">The Dark Side of Absolutism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=51" title="Edit section: The Dark Side of Absolutism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins discusses examples as late as 2005 where <a href="/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemy</a> and <a href="/wiki/Apostasy" title="Apostasy">apostasy</a> are still considered crimes by fundamentalist groups and governments, punishable by death in some instances. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Faith_and_Homosexuality">Faith and Homosexuality</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=52" title="Edit section: Faith and Homosexuality">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins notes that while the <a href="/wiki/Taliban" title="Taliban">Taliban</a> executed homosexuals, even in his <a href="/wiki/Great_Britain" title="Great Britain">own country</a>, <a href="/wiki/Homosexuality" title="Homosexuality">homosexuality</a> was a crime until as recently as 1967, tragically too late for <a href="/wiki/Alan_Turing" title="Alan Turing">Alan Turing</a>, whom Dawkins asserts did more for the effort against the Germans in World War II than either <a href="/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower" title="Dwight D. Eisenhower">Dwight D. Eisenhower</a> or <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> for his efforts in decoding German intelligence. He goes on to mention <a href="/wiki/Pat_Robertson" title="Pat Robertson">Pat Robertson</a>, <a href="/wiki/Jerry_Falwell" class="mw-redirect" title="Jerry Falwell">Jerry Falwell</a>, <a href="/wiki/Fred_Phelps" title="Fred Phelps">Fred Phelps</a>, and others for their considerable <a href="/wiki/Hypocrisy" title="Hypocrisy">Christian charity</a> towards <a href="/wiki/Gay" class="mw-redirect" title="Gay">gays</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lesbian" class="mw-redirect" title="Lesbian">lesbians</a>, along with the societies that tolerate them. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Faith_and_the_Sanctity_of_Human_Life">Faith and the Sanctity of Human Life</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=53" title="Edit section: Faith and the Sanctity of Human Life">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Consistent_life_ethic" title="Consistent life ethic">Consistent life ethic</a></div> <p>Dawkins goes into the many <a href="/wiki/Slippery_slope" title="Slippery slope">slippery slope</a> arguments involving <a href="/wiki/Faith" title="Faith">faith</a> and <a href="/wiki/Abortion" title="Abortion">abortion</a>, <a href="/wiki/Capital_punishment" title="Capital punishment">capital punishment</a>, <a href="/wiki/Euthanasia" title="Euthanasia">euthanasia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Stem_cell_research" title="Stem cell research">stem cell research</a>, in vitro fertlization, <a href="/wiki/Army_of_God" title="Army of God">Army of God</a>, and martyrdom that plague the international conversation. He notes that those that possess the religious zeal to kill an abortion doctor<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[7]</a></sup> definitely do not see any <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">irony</a> in their actions, only righteousness. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Great_Beethoven_Fallacy">The Great Beethoven Fallacy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=54" title="Edit section: The Great Beethoven Fallacy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Great_Beethoven_Fallacy" class="mw-redirect" title="Great Beethoven Fallacy">Great Beethoven Fallacy</a></div> <p>In addition to describing and debunking the fallacy, Dawkins goes on to mention that pro-life actually means "pro-human-life", desiring to afford special rights to a mass of cells that pro-lifers recognize as human without understanding what that mass of cells actually is (or, indeed, what classifies a being as human to begin with). </p><p>Dawkins also notes the interesting contradiction in the fundamentalist tendency to attribute humanity to a mass of cells while simultaneously not recognizing <a href="/wiki/Transitional_forms" class="mw-redirect" title="Transitional forms">transitional forms</a> of humanity (such as <i><a href="/wiki/Australopithecus" title="Australopithecus">Australopithecus</a></i>) through evolution as human. </p> <h3><span id="How_'Moderation'_in_Faith_Fosters_Fanaticism"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="How_.27Moderation.27_in_Faith_Fosters_Fanaticism">How 'Moderation' in Faith Fosters Fanaticism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=55" title="Edit section: How 'Moderation' in Faith Fosters Fanaticism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Invoking <a href="/wiki/9/11" title="9/11">9/11</a> and the London subway bombing, Dawkins equates the <a href="/wiki/War_on_Terror" title="War on Terror">War on Terror</a> as a sort of "war on religion", except that western politicians don't use the word "religion" because it might refer to their own. He acknowledges that unerring faith has driven some well-educated, middle-class young men to blow themselves up in the name of a deity. But why? Dawkins blames the tactics of <a href="/wiki/Indoctrination" class="mw-redirect" title="Indoctrination">indoctrination</a> that were forced upon them as children. </p> <h2><span id="Childhood,_Abuse,_and_the_Escape_from_Religion"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Childhood.2C_Abuse.2C_and_the_Escape_from_Religion">Childhood, Abuse, and the Escape from Religion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=56" title="Edit section: Childhood, Abuse, and the Escape from Religion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Dawkins begins this chapter relating the story of Edgardo Mortara, a 19th-century six year-old Jewish boy in <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a> who was <i>rescued</i> (read: kidnapped) by the Catholic Church to be raised by Catholics, thus saving his soul from damnation, thanks to a <a href="/wiki/Baptism" title="Baptism">baptism</a> performed by a babysitter earlier in life. Dawkins relates this story to begin his assertion that forcing beliefs upon children, who are too young to understand what they are being taught, is a form of <a href="/wiki/Child_abuse" title="Child abuse">child abuse</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Physical_and_Mental_Abuse">Physical and Mental Abuse</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=57" title="Edit section: Physical and Mental Abuse">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Taking this moment to finally talk about the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church#Abuse" title="Roman Catholic Church">abuses of Catholic priests against children</a> as well as other abuses of the church (such as the <a href="/wiki/Magdalene_asylum" class="mw-redirect" title="Magdalene asylum">Magdalene asylums</a>), Dawkins asserts again (as he had previously done in conversation and in public discourse) that the psychological trauma caused by, for example, suggesting to a child that their recently deceased child friend is going to <a href="/wiki/Hell" title="Hell">Hell</a> for being a <a href="/wiki/Protestant" title="Protestant">Protestant</a> is significantly worse. He discusses the use of <a href="/wiki/Hell_House" title="Hell House">Hell Houses</a> to scare children into being pious as utilized by <a href="/wiki/Dominionist" class="mw-redirect" title="Dominionist">Dominionist</a> priests. The commonality between the physical and mental abuses perpetrated by religious officials is the abuse of trust. </p><p>Dawkins shares some letters (sent to him) and other accounts of individuals who have escaped from the indoctrinations of nuns preaching hellfire and damnation (e.g., coming to the realization that Hell does not exist, sometimes facing ostracism from friends and family). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_Defence_of_Children">In Defence of Children</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=58" title="Edit section: In Defence of Children">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins asserts, citing psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, that children have a right not to be force-fed bullshit by <i>anyone</i>, even parents who believe they have the right to teach them whatever they want. A physical manifestation of this "right" can be seen in practices of <a href="/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation" title="Female genital mutilation">female genital mutilation</a>. The <a href="/wiki/U.S._Supreme_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Supreme Court">U.S. Supreme Court</a> ruled previously (in a case involving the <a href="/wiki/Amish" title="Amish">Amish</a>) that the parents had every right to pull their children from public school if the teachings conflicted with their culture. However, no one bothered to consult the <i>children</i> to see what they wanted. Both Humphrey and Dawkins question whether parents are really doing their children any service by denying them access to science, <a href="/wiki/Vaccine_hysteria" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaccine hysteria">vaccines</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Christian_science" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian science">medical care</a> in order to assert their own rights — whether it be justified by the preservation of cultural norms or by unconfirmed perceptions of reality. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="An_Educational_Scandal">An Educational Scandal</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=59" title="Edit section: An Educational Scandal">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins talks about Emmanuel College, funded by <a href="/wiki/Peter_Vardy" class="mw-redirect" title="Peter Vardy">Peter Vardy</a>, a British public school active in the teaching of creationism and <a href="/wiki/Biblical_literalism" title="Biblical literalism">Biblical literalism</a>, highlighting the denial that Vardy practices when others ask him about the curriculum. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Consciousness-Raising_Again">Consciousness-Raising Again</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=60" title="Edit section: Consciousness-Raising Again">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins uses the example of three four year-olds appearing as the "Three Wise Men" in a creche by their religious affiliations as egregious and inappropriate as identifying them by atheistic-affiliative terms, or by what political party or economic school of thought they subscribe to (<a href="/wiki/Marxism" class="mw-redirect" title="Marxism">Marxism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Keynesianism" class="mw-redirect" title="Keynesianism">Keynesianism</a>, etc), despite protest from <a href="/wiki/What%27s_the_harm_fallacy" class="mw-redirect" title="What's the harm fallacy">concerned parents</a> who would argue that "they're just kids". He even asserts that an organization such as the <a href="/wiki/Brights_Movement" title="Brights Movement">Brights Movement</a> would be inappropriate to label children, suggesting that if you have to <i>tell</i> someone what they believe or think, then they can't be identified by those beliefs or thoughts. Identification, specifically self-identification, requires an active decision on the individual being identified. Faith, in particular, which requires a belief in superiority over other forms of faith, denies a belief in <a href="/wiki/Equality" title="Equality">equality</a> — can any teaching be more horrible for a young child? </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Religious_Education_as_a_Part_of_Literary_Culture">Religious Education as a Part of Literary Culture</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=61" title="Edit section: Religious Education as a Part of Literary Culture">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Despite all of his objections against gods and religions, Dawkins recognizes the need for understanding the Biblical texts (as well as Greek mythology and <a href="/wiki/Norse_mythology" title="Norse mythology">Norse mythology</a>, and others) in order to maintain literacy. He lists dozens of Biblical quotes, idioms, and metaphors that appear throughout everyday fiction, nonfiction, music, conversation, and colloquial expressions — while simultaneously pointing out studies that show a marked ignorance of Biblical references, particularly in the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[8]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span id="A_Much_Needed_Gap?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="A_Much_Needed_Gap.3F">A Much Needed Gap?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=62" title="Edit section: A Much Needed Gap?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Dawkins begins his final chapter by wondering about the necessity of a deity to fill "a much-needed gap"<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[note 8]</a></sup> — if, for example, there isn't something that would be more worthwhile to fill that gap. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Binker">Binker</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=63" title="Edit section: Binker">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins includes a poem by A. A. Milne about an <a href="/wiki/Imaginary_friend" title="Imaginary friend">invisible friend</a> named "Binker", remarking that lots of children have invisible friends.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[note 9]</a></sup> He does not criticize this practice, as some reported stories about a person's invisible friends appeared to contribute positively to their psychological well-being. He posits that perhaps the invisible deities are simply manifestations of these friends that were retained by certain adults out of childhood and puberty. He also considers the inverse, that the tendency to have imaginary friends evolved from beliefs of supernatural gods, but doubts it as the <a href="/wiki/Occam%27s_Razor" class="mw-redirect" title="Occam's Razor">less likely of the two</a>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Consolation">Consolation</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=64" title="Edit section: Consolation">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins questions the psychological need of invisible friends for consolation, and that assertions of pointlessness without a God is a <a href="/wiki/Argument_from_adverse_consequences" class="mw-redirect" title="Argument from adverse consequences">fallacy</a>, stating that simply because a religion <i>says</i> "things get better" doesn't mean that they will. In other words, feelings do not equal truth, and vice versa. He notes that happiness and unhappiness do not know religion, or a lack thereof. While some can take comfort in an invisible friend that things will be better, Dawkins states that science offers more effective consolations, such as <a href="/wiki/Medicine" title="Medicine">medicine</a>. He wonders why so many pious individuals believe they will live on <a href="/wiki/Afterlife" title="Afterlife">after death</a> while simultaneously fearing it, crying at funerals, protesting against assisted suicide, or trying to keep <a href="/wiki/Terri_Schiavo" class="mw-redirect" title="Terri Schiavo">the brain-dead alive</a>. He notes that it is a shame that humans are not afforded the same comforts of terminally ill <a href="/wiki/Cat" class="mw-redirect" title="Cat">cats</a> or <a href="/wiki/Dog" class="mw-redirect" title="Dog">dogs</a>, and questions as to why individuals so anxious to get into <a href="/wiki/Heaven" title="Heaven">heaven</a> are willing to put it off as long as possible, while the opposite happens to be true for the majority of atheists.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[9]</a></sup> </p><p>Dawkins also uses this chapter to mention that consolation used to be sold by the Catholic Church in the form of <a href="/wiki/Indulgence" title="Indulgence">indulgences</a>. He also mentions William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, who used his wealth to guarantee his <a href="/wiki/Soul" title="Soul">soul</a> to heaven.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[note 10]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Inspiration">Inspiration</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=65" title="Edit section: Inspiration">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins states that if the absence of a deity leaves a gap in the lives of humans, it will not mean those lives are empty — humans often find ways of staving off boredom and finding interesting things to do and observe. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Mother_of_All_Burkas">The Mother of All Burkas</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=66" title="Edit section: The Mother of All Burkas">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Dawkins ends his book with an analogy, comparing the eye-slit of a religion-mandated <a href="/wiki/Burqa" title="Burqa">burqa</a> to the worldview of humans who are forced to look through the lens of religion. Using the electromagnetic spectrum as an example of all things observable (though some require different senses or tools), he suggests that removing the metaphorical burqa allows us not only to see more of the universe, but exposes our own selves from the veil that was covering us. There are many things in the universe still yet to be observed, and some of those things are inside us. Removing a deity which states that some things cannot be adequately explained, in turn, removes that limitation from our worldviews and allows the realm of possibility to become realized. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Additional_sources_repeatedly_cited_in_the_book">Additional sources repeatedly cited in the book</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=67" title="Edit section: Additional sources repeatedly cited in the book">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Some of the quotes and philosophies not mentioned here came from the following individuals (list not inclusive): </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sam_Harris" title="Sam Harris">Sam Harris</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Huxley" class="mw-redirect" title="Thomas Huxley">Thomas Huxley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H._L._Mencken" class="mw-redirect" title="H. L. Mencken">H. L. Mencken</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monty_Python" class="mw-redirect" title="Monty Python">Monty Python</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mark_Twain" title="Mark Twain">Mark Twain</a></li></ul> <p>The back of the book contains citations, lists of atheistic and scientific organizations (as well as their addresses and URLs), and suggested additional readings (including many but not all of Dawkins' other works). </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Responses_and_criticism">Responses and criticism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=68" title="Edit section: Responses and criticism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>While <i>The God Delusion</i> predictably caused quite a few <a href="/wiki/Theist" class="mw-redirect" title="Theist">theists</a> to foam at the mouth for daring to suggest that god doesn't exist, a number of more substantive responses were made: </p> <ul><li>Biologist H. Allen Orr was underwhelmed, writing that Dawkins failed "to engage religious thought in any serious way." He also claimed that the Ultimate Boeing 747 argument suffered from a number of potential flaws.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[10]</a></sup> Orr's review sparked a back-and-forth with <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Dennett" title="Daniel Dennett">Daniel Dennett</a> and <a href="/wiki/PZ_Myers" title="PZ Myers">PZ Myers</a>. Dennett responded that the book was aimed at a popular audience and so shouldn't be judged as a work of academic philosophy or theology.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[11]</a></sup> Myers argued that Orr's criticism of the 747 argument was unfounded because he failed to define "god" clearly.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[12]</a></sup> Myers would go on to coin the infamous <a href="/wiki/Courtier%27s_Reply" title="Courtier's Reply">Courtier's Reply</a> in reference to Orr's review.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marxism" class="mw-redirect" title="Marxism">Marxist</a> literary critic Terry Eagleton grouched, "Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology."<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[13]</a></sup> Author Adam Roberts characterized Eagleton's review as an incoherent rant.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[14]</a></sup></li> <li>Gudmundur Ingi Markússon agreed with Dawkins that religion is a by-product of evolution, but noted that the details of his explanation did not accurately represent the research in the evolutionary and <a href="/wiki/Cognitive_science" title="Cognitive science">cognitive science</a> of religion.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[15]</a></sup></li> <li>Philosopher <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Nagel" title="Thomas Nagel">Thomas Nagel</a> found its approach to be too scatter-shot and its philosophical arguments to be weak.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[16]</a></sup></li> <li>Philosopher Antony Flew called Dawkins a "secularist bigot."<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[17]</a></sup> Dawkins claimed Flew hadn't actually read the book.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[18]</a></sup></li> <li>Philosopher of biology Michael Ruse <a href="/wiki/Accommodationism" title="Accommodationism">complained that Dawkins' approach would alienate moderate theists</a> in the fight against creationism being taught in schools.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[19]</a></sup></li> <li>Philosopher of religion Richard Swinburne claimed that Dawkins had misrepresented his arguments, but acknowledged a mistake of his own in one instance.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">[20]</a></sup></li> <li>Biologist David Sloan Wilson disagreed with the by-product theory and argued that religion is an adaptation.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[21]</a></sup> Dawkins noted that the chapter was "peripheral to my main critique."<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">[22]</a></sup></li> <li>Robert Todd Carroll of <a href="/wiki/The_Skeptic%27s_Dictionary" title="The Skeptic's Dictionary">The Skeptic's Dictionary</a> wrote that the book would appeal most to non-believers who are "trapped in a religion because they were born into it or are surrounded by family and friends who would ostracize and reject them if they became atheists."<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[23]</a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anthropology" title="Anthropology">Anthropologist</a> Jonathan Marks offered an alternative recommendation: "For an apostate’s witty analysis of religion, the reader would be far better served by revisiting <a href="/wiki/H.L._Mencken" title="H.L. Mencken">Mencken's</a> <i>Treatise on the Gods</i>."<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[24]</a></sup></li> <li>There is a book created in response to The God Delusion, called "Atheist Delusions", though its points make no sense nor do they hold any weight when examined objectively.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=69" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/River_Out_of_Eden" title="River Out of Eden">River Out of Eden</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins_-_God_Hater" title="Richard Dawkins - God Hater">Richard Dawkins - God Hater</a></i></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=70" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><i>The God Delusion</i> by <a href="/wiki/Richard_Dawkins" title="Richard Dawkins">Richard Dawkins</a>, best described as "atheism for dummies", "my first book of atheism", or "Atheism 101". (<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-618-68000-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-618-68000-9">ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9</a>)</li> <li><i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_God_Delusion.html?id=yq1xDpicghkC">The God Delusion</a></i> on Google Books</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=71" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">An interesting perspective; perhaps <i>this</i> is the reason why churches decry the book, because of the <a href="/wiki/Money" title="Money">money</a> they would be losing and not the unassailable beliefs that would be assailed? Naw...</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dawkins doesn't mention this, but <a href="/wiki/Project_Steve" title="Project Steve">Project Steve</a> offers an interesting refutation of this argument.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Even though Dawkins, ironically, does not support mainstream group selection in other contexts. See: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://scienceblogs.com/evolution/2010/09/04/open-letter-to-richard-dawkins/">Open Letter to Richard Dawkins: Why Are You Still In Denial About Group Selection?</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thisviewoflife.com/index.php/magazine/articles/richard-dawkins-edward-o.-wilson-and-the-consensus-of-the-many">Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, and the Consensus of the Many</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The book was published before Hauser was dismissed from Harvard for scientific misconduct, regarding studies unrelated to his work on morality.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dawkins, just like Peter Joseph, is using <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zeitgeist">the actual term "zeitgeist", a german loan word roughly translating into "the spirit of the times"</a>. Dawkins' title here has <b>absolutely nothing</b> to do with Peter Joseph or the Zeitgeist series.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">I know what you're thinking: <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Schlafly" title="Andrew Schlafly">someone</a> needs to read this section, badly.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">I know, tragic use of the word.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Which is distinct from the discussion on the <a href="/wiki/God_of_the_gaps" title="God of the gaps">God of the gaps</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">While simultaneously admitting that he did not have one as a child.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dawkins compares this ridiculous transaction to modern day <a href="/wiki/Cryonics" title="Cryonics">cryonics</a>, suggesting the effectiveness is similar.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&action=edit&section=72" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm">Atheists of Silicon Valley: Hundreds of Proofs of God’s Existence</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jesusandmo.net/2007/05/14/mock/">As described</a> by Jesus and Mo</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bioteaching.com/on-group-selection/">On group selection</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dawkins references <a href="/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong" title="John Shelby Spong">John Shelby Spong</a> for his observation in <i>The Sins of Scripture</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Luke#Luke_14:26">Luke 14:26</a><br />If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.<br /></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/John#John_2:4">John 2:4</a><br />Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.<br /></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See <a href="/wiki/George_Tiller" title="George Tiller">George Tiller</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">For example, one Gallop poll from 1954 notes that three-fourths of all Catholics and Protestants in the study could not identify a single Old Testament prophet, and two-thirds could not identify who preached the Sermon on the Mount.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">In a footnote, he links to studies by Marilyn Smith Stoner, which are no longer available online for free, but are <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jpm.2006.0197">still available</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/jan/11/a-mission-to-convert/">A Mission to Convert</a>, H. Allen Orr, <i>New York Review of Books</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/mar/01/the-god-delusion/"><i>The God Delusion</i></a>, Daniel Dennett (w/ reply by Orr), <i>New York Review of Books</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.edge.org/discourse/dennett_orr.html">Open Letter to H. Allen Orr</a>, PZ Myers, H. Allen Orr, Daniel Dennett, edge.org</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n20/terry-eagleton/lunging-flailing-mispunching">Lunging, Flailing, Mispunching</a>, Terry Eagleton, <i>London Review of Books</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/terry_eagletons_traditional_theology_and_a_new_version_of_pascals_wager/%0D">Terry Eagleton's Traditional Theology; And a New Version of Pascal's Wager</a>, Adam Roberts, The Valve</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Gudmundur Ingi Markússon. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Markusson-reivew-of-Dawkins-the-god-delusion.pdf">Book Review: <i>The God Delusion</i>.</a> <i>Journal of Cognition and Culture</i> 7 (2007) 369–373</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tnr.com/article/the-fear-religion">The Fear of Religion</a>, Thomas Nagel, <i>The New Republic</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bethinking.org/science-christianity/intermediate/flew-speaks-out-professor-antony-flew-reviews-the-god-delusion.htm">Flew Speaks Out: Flew Reviews <i>The God Delusion</i></a>, Antony Flew, bethinking.org</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3348563/Richard-Dawkins-branded-secularist-bigot-by-veteran-philosopher.html">Richard Dawkins Branded 'Secularist Bigot' by Veteran Philosopher</a>, Martin Beckford, <i>The Telegraph</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Michael Ruse. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/529280?uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=4&sid=56186876633">Richard Dawkins: <i>The God Delusion</i>.</a> <i>Isis</i> Vol. 98, No. 4 (December 2007), pp. 814-816</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/pdf_files/Responses%20to%20Controversies/Response%20to%20Dawkins%27%20The%20God%20Delusion%20(revised)_copy(1).pdf">Response to Richard Dawkins’s comments on my writings in his book The God Delusion</a>, Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/07-07-04/">Why Richard Dawkins Is Wrong About Religion</a>, David Sloan Wilson, <i>eSkeptic</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-32">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://richarddawkins.net/articles/1403">Richard Dawkins Replies to David Sloan Wilson</a>, richarddawkins.net</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/dawkins.html">Book Review: <i>The God Delusion</i></a>, Robert Todd Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Jonathan Marks. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://personal.uncc.edu/jmarks/pubs/Voltaire.pdf">Voltaire This Ain't.</a> <i>Dialectical Anthropology</i> (2010) vol. 34</span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&oldid=2715934">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=The_God_Delusion&oldid=2715934</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a 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