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| The God Delusion | 
| Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $1.80
You Save: $14.15 (89%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1271 reviews
Sales Rank: 382
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0618918248
Dewey Decimal Number: 211
EAN: 9780618918249
ASIN: 0618918248
Publication Date: January 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent book October 9, 2006
30 out of 51 found this review helpful
I thought Dawkins was to the point and tells it like is. He tells how religion has done more harm then good. I hope more people will read this book and start learning more about the world in which we live in and quit living in a delusional made up world.
Beware all "Doubters" ... you probably won't remain one after reading this book! October 9, 2006
41 out of 53 found this review helpful
I received "The GOD Delusion" in the mail on Friday and finished it this Sunday afternoon. This masterful collection of arguments against the existence of GOD, and against the necessity of religion, is going to leave theists sputtering in it's dust.
Dawkins makes his case logically and coherantly ... any claims to the contrary come from someone who hasn't ever been exposed to logical thinking. I found it interesting that another reviewer (doubt they even read it) asked that some "cogent and coherent agnostic or athiest take on Dawkins directly". Why didn't they appeal to a cogent and coherent THEIST? Because they won't have any rational responses to Dawkin's arguments, that's why!
Anyone who reads this fantastic book, along with the equally wonderful "Letter to a Christian Nation", will be taking "a gun to a knife fight" in any theological discussion.
 Typical October 9, 2006
16 out of 195 found this review helpful
This book is nothing special. More of the same old 'arguments' that can be countered with a search on Google. It's funny how atheists are seeking comfort from this book, as if they really really want to believe that there isn't a God. What is reason anyway? Simply objectional, and thus a book based attacking something on reason is inherently weak and, sad to say, simply unremarkable.
Dawkins keeps it simple. October 8, 2006
24 out of 40 found this review helpful
I love the way he has kept it so easy to read and understand. If you are someone who want to make it more complex and complain about his vague simplicity then you are not truely listening to what he is saying.
BELIEF IN A GOD IS IRRATIONAL!
SUPPORT OF SCIENCE IS LOGICAL!
Everyone should read this book October 8, 2006
44 out of 68 found this review helpful
Everyone - religious, agnostic, or atheist - should read this book, because people from all three groups should understand the atheist argument that God does not exist. Moreover, among all atheists, Richard Dawkins is arguably in the best position to lay it out for everyone. He has clearly done so in this book.
Almost every reader will nod along with Dawkins through many parts of this book where the points he makes are difficult to argue. He is particularly clear when discussing the:
- Unfortunate offenses against humanity that people have carried out in the name of religion;
- Eagerness of religious people to "make doctrines up" that are not supported by their religious texts;
- Ignorant arguments against natural selection constantly advanced by the Church;
- Widespread "god of the gaps" philosophy by Christians, often at the expense of scientific curiosity;
- Co-opting of religion by individuals and groups to gain financial or other advantage over others;
- Pervasive, silly, circular, and often fallacious arguments to support theological views.
Obviously, Dawkins could have written an entire work on any of these issues, as their significance cannot be understated. And again, few will disagree with many of the points he makes in these areas.
Will the book, however, accomplish Dawkins' stated goal of turning the religious into atheists?
No. While he will arm his fellow atheists with more conviction, most religious people will be largely unaffected by his thoughts.
The core reason is this: the atheist position, even when fully developed, is not very convincing.
Moreover, just as one could write volumes about how Dawkins' critiques of religion are right-on, one could also write another set about the flaws in his arguments. Here are a few specifics:
- He relies heavily on the argument, "If God created, who created the Creator?" This argument is (and he probably knows this) too simple. The real question is, "Is there an eternal, metaphysical realm or not?" If there is, then the assumption that someone would have had to create the Creator is probably off the mark. Dawkins does not go into this, and he should if he wants to rely on this argument.
- He spends an entire chapter talking about how natural selection has proven that there is no need for a Creator. The truth is that natural selection has proven that it is very likely that the variety of life that we see on earth was the result of natural selection. To prove that there is no need for a Creator, one would have to prove that (among other things) life itself came into existence from non-life and consciousness and sentience somehow evolved naturally. Further, Science's effort to prove these points is not going well. Dawkins admits these caveats in his book, but he devotes only half a page to them, in an apparent attempt to pass them off but still seem balanced.
- His section on the Bible looks more like a rant than an analysis. Dawkins may not like what the Bible says, but anyone who buys this book knows that before reading it. More importantly, however, he doesn't seem to realize that the very verses he picks out and demonstrates as objectionable have been deeply meaningful and insightful for millions of Christians. Throughout the chapter, he is out of his league and damages the overall quality of the book by revealing his anger more than his insight.
- Dawkins seems to believe that, if he can show that you don't need religion to be a moral person, he has accomplished a significant achievement. The problem is this: few religious people will argue this point. Christians specifically will admit that there are moral people everywhere who don't believe in God. But this fact does no violence to Christianity, because the point of Christianity is not morality - it is relationship with God.
Finally, perhaps the most intriguing part of the book was Dawkins' discussion of Pascal's wager. Obviously, he is right when he explains that we cannot be certain that God does not exist, but that we cannot choose to believe in God simply because there is a chance that He is real. No reasonable person will disagree with him here.
But there is a related point that each of us should consider. If there is a chance that God is real, is it rational to choose to dedicate your life to His denial, as Dawkins has done? Acknowledging that you can't simply choose to believe is one thing, but if you think there is a chance that He is real, and that a life of denying him will harm your standing with him in some way (which is easy to imagine), it seems to me that the last thing you'd do is deny him with every breath.
This is why, when all is said and done, I personally don't consider Dawkins rational. I think his anger has driven him mad.
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