Challenging Richard Dawkins

In his influential book, The God Delusion, currently Amazon’s 8th bestselling title, the atheist Richard Dawkins argues forcefully that the world would be a far happier place without religion, all versions of which are a massive delusion, founded on lies and hypocrisy. Without God, there would have been no Crusades, no wars, no 9/11 or 7/7. People would live together peaceably and common sense would prevail. He’s a likeable character, his writing is sharp and brilliant, and his beliefs have transmuted into widely-believed popular myth. He is outraged by the burqa worn by some Muslim women and accuses religious people of wearing symbolic burqas that restrict their vision of the world, yet this equally forceful book tackles Richard Dawkins for having a restricted view himself, shaped by 19th century Darwinism. His writings do challenge Christians (and people of other faiths) to think more deeply about their beliefs and shake them out of any complacency. Christians need to hear some of the uncomfortable things he says and to know how to answer his alluring claims. Here is a robust and informed challenge to Dawkins’ gospel of atheism.