I am currently reading " The GOD delusion" by Richard Dawkins and would appreciate comments from those who have read it,pro &con.

by smiddy 64 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  smiddy

  I`m only halfway through chapter 4 and enjoying what I have read so far .So why am I asking for peoples comments now ? The reason I have is this : I wish I had done something like this when I first was approached by the witnesses ,I beleive I would have been more informed to make some enlightened decisisions that would eventually shape my future .

  Whereas not doing so I spent the next 33 years a slave of the watchtower , and not just me but my wife and children , not that I`m suggesting i would be a slave of Richard Dawkins , but I can weigh up the pros and cons as I progress through his book ,then hopefully I can draw the right conclusions , if their are any.

  smiddy
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  ÁrbolesdeArabia

  Smiddy, you pretend your Dr. Richard Dawkins in this debate against Dr. John Lennox about "The God Delusion Debate" held in the South. It's up to you to debunk the old Christian.

  "http://fixed-point.org/index.php/video/35-full-length/164-the-dawkins-lennox-debate
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  ÁrbolesdeArabia
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  NewChapter

  Smiddy, I'm not sure exactly what you are worried about. Do you think you may be misled? I haven't finished the book, but it's not like a JW study. Use your critical thinking skills. Try to prove everything he says wrong. Be open to other possiblities---truly open---so that you aren't accepting things because of a bias.

  I happen to agree with what I've read so far, and he does make me think. Only critical thinking can really protect you though, if you are worried.

  Dawkins won't financially benefit from you agreeing with him. (other than the occasional book you may buy but it's not a lifetime committment), and there are no rules attached to agreeing with him, and no penalty to not agree with him. He is not holding eternity in his hands---in other words---he has no leverage. I don't think you need to worry, but critical thinking is always good.
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  yadda yadda 2

  This forum seems to be turning into an atheist forum. There is little to no substance on JW's much anymore, its all been said.
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  cantleave

  A life changing book for me!
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  DarioKehl

  LOVE it. It's a gem. And if you have kids or teenagers, get his book The Magic of Reality. It's wonderfully illustrated and the illustrations and analogies he uses really break down the evolution theory in a meaningful and understandable way.

  As far as the God Delusion goes, my absolute favorite part was when he addressed the question every emergent skeptic or budding atheist asks at some point: If evolution is "survival of the fittest" and nature selects against waste and extravagance, why has religion not evolved out of our species long ago? Why would expending so much time, resources and energy into building massive granite cathedrals and marble temples not have made us more vulnerable? Why would such a destructive practice still thrive after thousands of years of bloodshed and strife? Have you got to that part of the book yet? His reasoning on this question is profound. Many people say that religion prompts wars which allow for "population control." But he refutes that idea quite handily. Let me know what you thought of his "moth and candle" analogy.
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  punkofnice

  I started reading it but not got very far yet.
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  Chariklo

  Professor Richard Dawkins is a highly respected and extremely intelligent biologist who has become the leader of rational atheism.

  The suggestion that you should read his book and try to disprove it as you go is ridiculous. Unless you are a scientist of Dawkins' stature, of course you won't be able to. And why should you? Why would you?

  Read and enjoy the book by all means, but for what it is: a work expounding one very knowledgeable scientist's views on whether or not there is a God.

  It is the work of one man. Not of a man who is starting from a neutral position, but of a very, very clever man, learned in his own scientific field, talking about a subject that mankind has been exploring almost for ever.

  Why should Dawkins know more about God than anyone else?

  Read Dawkins by all means and enjoy him for what he is and what the book is. Of couurse he knows his stuff! Then read all manner of other books by others, equally learned, with opposing or contrasting or complementary views.

  But for goodness' sake don't read them and try to disprove them as you go. That is not an intelligent way to go about things.

  yadda yadda 2 wrote

  This forum seems to be turning into an atheist forum.

  You are by no means alone in thinking that. It's possibly the subject matter for another thread, should you wish to start it.
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  cofty

  Unless you are a scientist of Dawkins' stature, of course you won't be able to.

  The God Delusion is not a science book and Dawkin's doesn't pretend it is. You don't need any science background to have a valid opinion about this book.

  It is a good read, my daughter has taken my copy and her friend's mum had nicked my copy of Hitchen's "God is not Great."

  I enjoyed Hitchen's book more to be honest but Dawkin's will give you a lot to think about.