I know I’m blogging about the God Delusion non-stop but it is stimulating a lot of thought. Today, I’ve been reading the worst part of the book, in which Dawkins tries to show that religion is immoral. I blogged earlier about the specious claim that certain violent conflicts wouldn’t be happening without religion. Dawkins also … Continue reading All Dawkins, All The Time
I have frequently heard this argument from atheists: Ricky Gervais argues that “there shouldn’t be a word for atheism: it shouldn’t exist, it’s ridiculous. If people didn’t keep making up supernatural deities, I wouldn’t have to deny they exist.” While I understand that point of view, it crosses me as, frankly, condescending. What Gervais is … Continue reading Disbelief By Any Other Name
Non-Political Links Jesus, what the hell is wrong with people? For once, I agree with Richard Dawkins. Our society’s bizarre obsession with rules and the mindless enforcement therefore is bizarre and damaging. A stunning picture of Christchurch after the earthquake hit. Christchurch is a lovely town and I had the best lamb vindaloo ever there. … Continue reading Tuesday Linkorama
Yes, more linkos. I’m in one of my more bloggy phases today. The good and bad of Ted Kennedy. Balko as well. He could be a great man or he could be a petty power-hungry idealogue. And I have a known distaste for the entire Kennedy aristocracy. But I’m sorry for his family and friends. … Continue reading Thursday Linkorama
I forgot one aspect of the God Delusion that is probably the most controversial. Dawkins spends an entire chapter ranting about the foisting of religion upon children. He fumes about a child being described as a “muslim child” or a “christian child” and thinks they should be left out of religion until they are old … Continue reading The Parent Delusion
Much of Dawkins’ section on the evils of fundamentalism is, like his attack on the Bible, recycled from other authors. I didn’t find much worth blogging about — other than the specious contention that there is no moral difference between aborting an innocent fetus and killing a convicted murderer. But Dawkins closes by claiming that … Continue reading The God Delusion, Final Thoughts
I’m now at the point in The God Delusion where Dawkins is arguing that religion causes violence and bloodshed that otherwise wouldn’t exist, such as in Northern Ireland. This is a common argument for the vileness of religion. Two problems: 1) It is a classic cost-without-benefit analysis. Zero credit is given to violence that religion … Continue reading The Peaceful Delusion
One of the best parts of the God Delusion is Dawkins’ systematic destruction of the notion that Darwinian evolution is inherently amoral or immoral. In fact, he argues persuasively that most of our moral precepts can be traced to evolution. The problem is a misunderstanding of what “selfishness” means in the evolutionary sense. Evolution is … Continue reading The Morality Delusion
I said earlier that Dawkins is good when he’s on his home turf. I just read the section where he is talking about religious belief as a by-product of evolution — i.e., the unfortunate offshoot of a useful aspect of humanity. In this case, he believes our tendency to believe what we are told. I … Continue reading The God Delusion, Part IV
Dawkins should stick to biology. He’s now supporting the multiverse theory to explain why we live in a universe so finally tuned to the needs of life. The idea is that there are many universe, all with different physical properties and we happen to occupy one of those suitable to life. Problem: the multiverse theory, … Continue reading The God Delusion: The Anthropic Principle and Complexity
One thing I will say about Dawkins’ book. His deconstruction of Intelligent Design is outstanding and very entertaining. You would expect this, since biology is his field.
I’m reading Dawkins’ God Delusion and, while parts are interesting, parts are unintentionally hilarious. My favorite example today is when he’s talking about religious scientists. Apparently: 1) Any scientist born before the 19th century was probably an atheist who concealed his beliefs because of peer pressure. Even Gregor Mendel was a monk only so that … Continue reading The God Delusion: One Way Peer Pressure
It tells you a bit about how I think about religion that on Easter I watched both Life of Brian and Ben-Hur. I’m both awed and amused by faith. While I’m on the subject, atheist guru Richard Dawkins was in Austin last week. I didn’t seem him speak — partly because the line was around … Continue reading Easter Movies
I sometimes get asked why I post so often at Right-Thinking about creationism (although once every now and then doesn’t seem very often to me). Am I beating a dead horse? Perhaps. But I’m passionate about science. I have always loved science, knew I was going to be some kind of scientist and have spent … Continue reading Why I Fight