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A review by coolhand773
The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Joanna Collicutt Mcgrath, Alister E. McGrath
4.0
When I picked up this book, I thought to myself that the authors were going to have a hard time disputing 400 pages of atheist vitriol with less than 100 pages. I was wrong. The McGraths (husband and wife), both fellow Oxfordians with Dawkins, cleanly and effectively eviscerate many of Dawkins' most egregrious arguments in The God Delusion. I did my best to approach this book with an open mind (as I did with Dawkins' book) and to weigh the arguments on their own merit. This task was much easier to do, reading The Dawkins Delusion? than it was reading Dawkins himself. While Dawkins goes out of his way (and indeed out of the confines of scientific inquiry) to castigate and villify believers, the McGraths don't attempt to alienate atheists for their beliefs. They simply ask that Dawkins drop his pretensions of objectivity and uncorrupted rationality and examine the highly subjective and irrational book that he has penned. The Dawkins Delusion is not an apologetic for Christianity (although it is discussed and the McGraths are both Christian) but instead seeks to engage Dawkins on a handful of his arguments. They state from the beginning that the book will not be a point-by-point refutation, but will instead examine key points and let the reader contemplate the fidelity of the rest of Dawkins' book.
I felt that this book was an even-handed and honest counter-point to The God Delusion. The authors highlight the points that they believe Dawkins gets right and challenge the points where he fails. It is a small book, but a fairly dense read. I read it twice to make sure I understood everything and I'm glad I did. While I don't agree with the McGraths across the board, theologically, I admire their deft and competent refutation of The God Delusion, which I found to be a highly flawed and hypocritical book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has read The God Delusion. It is important to read Dawkins' book first, so that the references in The Dawkins Delusion? make sense. Thanks for taking the time to read my review!
I felt that this book was an even-handed and honest counter-point to The God Delusion. The authors highlight the points that they believe Dawkins gets right and challenge the points where he fails. It is a small book, but a fairly dense read. I read it twice to make sure I understood everything and I'm glad I did. While I don't agree with the McGraths across the board, theologically, I admire their deft and competent refutation of The God Delusion, which I found to be a highly flawed and hypocritical book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has read The God Delusion. It is important to read Dawkins' book first, so that the references in The Dawkins Delusion? make sense. Thanks for taking the time to read my review!