Friday, March 16, 2007
The God Delusion -- Richard Dawkins
By Carmen
Being an avid reader of all sorts of books, I like to cultivate new understanding for those persons and groups with whom, at first glance, I may not share a lot in common. Yet, this was not my typical read. “The God Delusion” is an elegantly written book with bountiful references to scholarly works. It offers readable summaries of philosophers in recent and ancient history, as well as personal anecdotes and references to current events.
Dawkins was born in Nairobi, yet spent most of his formative years in Great Britain and was raised by Anglican parents. While at Oxford, he studied with Tinbergen, an eminent Danish expert on instinctive animal behavior. Dawkins went on to develop the highly interdisciplinary science of ethology, which is a mixture of psychology, physiology, ecology, sociology, taxonomy and evolution. In his earlier book, “The Selfish Gene”, Dawkins expounded on the concept of memes. This term, developed by Dawkins, refers to the process of how Darwinian principles might spread ideas and cultural phenomena.
True to the breadth of his intellectual curiosity as an ethologist, Dawkins approaches the notion of God from many angles. With his religious upbringing, he knows scripture and handily points out discrepancies as well as highlights many of the Old Testament atrocities that Christians prefer to avoid. He points out the barbaric aspect to the notion that somehow the shed blood of an innocent Jesus Christ (offered by his own father!) will atone for our sins.
Another section of the book highlights the fanaticism and hatred that through the ages has spawned from religion. How can religion have such a pitiful outcome? He notes that the “red” states in the USA, though pockets of Christianity, are not particularly known for being pockets of joy and love. He reminds us of the aggression during the Middle Ages in the name of religion. Even in recent history most churches did make a concerted effort to thwart Nazi Germany, or the Rwandan clashes.
Of course, the book offers a broad exposure to the disconnect between science and literal interpretation of scripture. In addition, Dawkins faults creation apologists for fabricating straw man arguments against evolution. He contends that many creationists ignore the natural selection process---choosing instead to base their arguments on the improbability of chance creation of complex living organisms.
My religious convictions are unmoved by Dawkins’ assertions, but wow, have we misrepresented God and misconstrued the Bible through the centuries! I believe God’s boundless love, as evidenced by His respect for our freedom, is the unifying strand throughout scripture. This becomes more apparent when one has a cohesive understanding of inspiration of the Bible. For example, if one reads the Bible using Alden Thompson’s simple construct of the one, the two and the ten, then one has a clear, practical lens with which to view difficult passages. Yet when one reads isolated passages in the Bible without such a guiding principle, one can see how people develop an unfavorable notion of God. Throughout the ages there have been varied and creative ways that God has reached out to humanity. (This is at the risk of being misunderstood1). I believe our mission is to highlight and emulate God’s character of love! For this to happen in the twenty first century, one must include an enlightened understanding of the process of inspiration.
P.S.
Dawkins offers a persuasive case that a person who calls himself atheist receives little respect and civility. This is in contrast to the special consideration under the guise of religious freedom given to all sorts of people with varying cultural mores. His writings are punctuated with samples of the hateful mail he has received. (This bolsters my determination to treat atheists with kindness and civility in the future! SDA’s are for religious freedom, right?) Anecdotally, there is a determined effort to replace the term “atheist” with the term “bright”. Perhaps that will be more palatable to society.
Being an avid reader of all sorts of books, I like to cultivate new understanding for those persons and groups with whom, at first glance, I may not share a lot in common. Yet, this was not my typical read. “The God Delusion” is an elegantly written book with bountiful references to scholarly works. It offers readable summaries of philosophers in recent and ancient history, as well as personal anecdotes and references to current events.
Dawkins was born in Nairobi, yet spent most of his formative years in Great Britain and was raised by Anglican parents. While at Oxford, he studied with Tinbergen, an eminent Danish expert on instinctive animal behavior. Dawkins went on to develop the highly interdisciplinary science of ethology, which is a mixture of psychology, physiology, ecology, sociology, taxonomy and evolution. In his earlier book, “The Selfish Gene”, Dawkins expounded on the concept of memes. This term, developed by Dawkins, refers to the process of how Darwinian principles might spread ideas and cultural phenomena.
True to the breadth of his intellectual curiosity as an ethologist, Dawkins approaches the notion of God from many angles. With his religious upbringing, he knows scripture and handily points out discrepancies as well as highlights many of the Old Testament atrocities that Christians prefer to avoid. He points out the barbaric aspect to the notion that somehow the shed blood of an innocent Jesus Christ (offered by his own father!) will atone for our sins.
Another section of the book highlights the fanaticism and hatred that through the ages has spawned from religion. How can religion have such a pitiful outcome? He notes that the “red” states in the USA, though pockets of Christianity, are not particularly known for being pockets of joy and love. He reminds us of the aggression during the Middle Ages in the name of religion. Even in recent history most churches did make a concerted effort to thwart Nazi Germany, or the Rwandan clashes.
Of course, the book offers a broad exposure to the disconnect between science and literal interpretation of scripture. In addition, Dawkins faults creation apologists for fabricating straw man arguments against evolution. He contends that many creationists ignore the natural selection process---choosing instead to base their arguments on the improbability of chance creation of complex living organisms.
My religious convictions are unmoved by Dawkins’ assertions, but wow, have we misrepresented God and misconstrued the Bible through the centuries! I believe God’s boundless love, as evidenced by His respect for our freedom, is the unifying strand throughout scripture. This becomes more apparent when one has a cohesive understanding of inspiration of the Bible. For example, if one reads the Bible using Alden Thompson’s simple construct of the one, the two and the ten, then one has a clear, practical lens with which to view difficult passages. Yet when one reads isolated passages in the Bible without such a guiding principle, one can see how people develop an unfavorable notion of God. Throughout the ages there have been varied and creative ways that God has reached out to humanity. (This is at the risk of being misunderstood1). I believe our mission is to highlight and emulate God’s character of love! For this to happen in the twenty first century, one must include an enlightened understanding of the process of inspiration.
P.S.
Dawkins offers a persuasive case that a person who calls himself atheist receives little respect and civility. This is in contrast to the special consideration under the guise of religious freedom given to all sorts of people with varying cultural mores. His writings are punctuated with samples of the hateful mail he has received. (This bolsters my determination to treat atheists with kindness and civility in the future! SDA’s are for religious freedom, right?) Anecdotally, there is a determined effort to replace the term “atheist” with the term “bright”. Perhaps that will be more palatable to society.
Labels: atheist, book, Dawkins, inspiration, religion
Comments:
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Thanks Carmen. Great Review!
Very insightful. I think you are right on. Dawkins is as fundamentalist in his interpretation of scripture as Dobson or Haggard (see link below). Dawkins just sounds more logical, more ethical, and even more honest in his conclusions based on his prior assumptions (in my opinion!). It seems to me that many atheists speak more accurately in denying negative attributes of God than many Christians who affirm all sorts of damaging things about God.
We all need to hear the call to a better understanding of inspiration and a more accurate picture of God.
Here is a link to a video of Dawkins confronting Haggard on the Spectrum Blog. I think they could both be a bit more humble (couldn't we all).
Very insightful. I think you are right on. Dawkins is as fundamentalist in his interpretation of scripture as Dobson or Haggard (see link below). Dawkins just sounds more logical, more ethical, and even more honest in his conclusions based on his prior assumptions (in my opinion!). It seems to me that many atheists speak more accurately in denying negative attributes of God than many Christians who affirm all sorts of damaging things about God.
We all need to hear the call to a better understanding of inspiration and a more accurate picture of God.
Here is a link to a video of Dawkins confronting Haggard on the Spectrum Blog. I think they could both be a bit more humble (couldn't we all).
I subscribed to a fascinating magazine called SEED last year and in the November 2006 issue, God vs. Science was the dominating theme. Dawkins book was mentioned in a previous issue, and it sparked my interest. The November issue dedicated a large article to a man called Edward O Wilson. His book Consilience was coming to press at the time. Although I haven't read Wilson's book yet, I found similarities in your review and what I've read of Wilson. Tre and I often find ourselves under-represented amongst our closest friends (many of whom are agnostic or athiest), based on our belief in a creation week, an all powerful & interactive God, and our often criticized understanding that the world is not going to get better, healthier, or safer. Educating myself on where the "other" side of science comes from educationally and spiritually speaking, has helped me to relate to my friends in a more perceptive and understanding way. I'll put this book on my next to read list. Thanks for a great review. Very interesting.
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