Dawkins, God Delusion, and My Observations

I started reading the God Delusion and got about half way through it and decided to put it aside for awhile. It's not that his challenge to my faith is so compelling that I must take a rest. Rather it's a matter of finding a book so tedious and tendentious. When he lays out scientific arguments, he's okay. When he tries to do theology he's lost. So, instead of engaging those with whom he differs he turns to ridicule and off beat anecdote. He'll mention John Polkinghorne or Arthur Peacocke with an air of disdain, but he never addresses their actual views.

Now, he's right about the God of the Gaps, it's a useless idea, but most Mainstream theologians would agree.

To sum up the first half of the book, the point is simple:

1. Atheists are smart
2. Theists are dumb
3. God doesn't exist

I guess it's all in the evolutionary line -- people with high IQ don't believe, and the lower your IQ, the more likely you are to not believe.

I've yet to get to his comments on spiritual child abuse -- which is his word for teaching your children about your faith. Apparently, from what I've heard, and what I've seen, such abuse is worse than sexual or physical abuse. Now, if I locked my son in the basement (if we had one) and withheld food from him unless he believed, I guess you could call that abuse. But, while Brett might rather sleep in on Sunday rather than go to church, and finds my sermons unworthy of his ears, I don't think he'd call that abuse!

I'll pick him up again later, but I've got some other books needing my attention in the mean time.

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