| The God Delusion |  | Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
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Seller: World of Books Ltd
Rating:  906 reviews
Sales Rank: 209
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed with additions
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 055277331X
EAN: 9780552773317
Publication Date: May 21, 2007
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Product Description
Presenting different arguments for religion, this book demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. It aims to show how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 906
 The arrogant obnoxious rantings of Richard Dawkins. July 31, 2010
AMSnell
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book with the hope that it was going to be an intelligent debate into the existence of god by Dawkins, I was bitterly dissapointed. Dawkins misses the point of arguing a point, which is considering the arguments of the other side, and instead of giving them weight, he chooses to, basically, say "this is another example of a religious person sounding stupid, so there must be no god." The book comes across as a little vendetta Dawkins has, and thus has little relevance to the actual argument. The whole book is written in the most arrogant of ways, after the first few chapters it becomes very annoying.
And no, im not religious.
There are far better books on the God debate than this, and due to its one-sided nature its validity as a real debate is close to zero.
 Yes, BUT ... July 27, 2010
Dewdrop (England)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I (and incidentally my 15-year-old son) have both approached this book from the point of view of history enthusiasts who have found that acts committed in the name of religion - both in the past and in the present - to be shocking and and hard to reconcile with the apparent aims of religion to bring peace and joy.
The first part of Darwin's book is stimulating and really encourages you to view some religious belief in a critical and common sense light. It is amusing at times and tries to present the atheist argument not as a replacement for religion but an ALTERNATIVE to religion (although I did take exception to his stated desire to only deal with Judaism, Islam and Christianity because they were the only religions he was familiar with! How limited a viewpoint!)
It is later in the book, particularly when he begins to deal with the religious 'indoctrination' of children that the book becomes less of an argument and more of a rant. He implies for instance that children are regularly subject to mental abuse by being raised a Christian or Muslim or Jew by their parents. He relates the even more stunning anecdote of how he made a 'throwaway remark' of how the long term emotionl impact of child sexual abuse is nothing compared to the abuse on a child of being raised a Catholic! How insulting to the victims of sexual abuse, to trivialise the pain and horror they would have endured and still endure as adults!
For me, that was the point at which I ceased to give any of his ideas credit and became increasingly annoyed at his preachy attitude. By the end of the book I came to see Dawkin's views as being as dangerous and divisive as those any any religious fundamentalist, Christian or Muslim.
Similarly, his view that in Northern Ireland Nationalist and Unionist is simply a euphemism for Catholic and Protestant in the Troubles is nonsense. My study of Irish history during the period that the troubles began shows that the fundamental principle behind the strife in N. Ireland is the nationalist v. unionist conflict. The IRA of the 20s and 30s decided to add religion to the mix to separate further those who supported an independent Ireland and those who wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom. Get your facts straight Richard!
It is a shame since, as I have said, I agree with Dawkins about much that is wrong with religious practice and belief. However, as an English primary teacher I have been trained to teach RE as a study of many different faiths, and I have learned that there are many religions beyond the 'big 3', which are less about worship of 1 or many gods, but are about practising a way of living which brings the adherent into harmony with other people and the natural world. Buddhism is one such religion. To ridicule all religious belief as Dawkins frequently does, is to ignore the positive benefits to SOME people of SOME relgious practice.
There is no doubt that many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion, but so too have atrocities been committed in the name of political ideology (the repression in Russia by Stalin in the 1920s and 30s, the actions of the Chinese government in recent times are just a couple of examples). However, cruelty and intolerance are not the preserve of the religious or the political ideologue: people can be cruel to the point of violence against people of a different colour or sexual orientation. Violence and ignorance is not the preserve of religious adherents, nor can this violence and ignorance be said to have originated in religious belief.
Anyway, the book is worth a read, but it is decidedly weak at the end and I would not recommend it as an entirely balanced view of the subject.
 Don't be put off from reading by what Dawkins said elsewhere July 19, 2010
Mr. Tjn PRESTON (Buckinghamshie, England)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very enjoyable, stimulating book. If you have not yet read it do not be put off by some of Richard Dawkins' more extreme and unwise comments elsewhere E.g. he agreed to make a television programe entitled at the television company's request (presumably to be 'provocative') 'Religion, the Root of All Evil?' although Dawkins admits he does not believe anything so extreme, dogmatic or absurd.
Likewise Dawkins has argued at length on television that belief in religion is incompatible with belief in science. Maybe, maybe not as a matter of abstract logic; but he must realise that telling people they have a stark choice between science and religion, and that they cannot have both, will lead many to reject science and will be disastrous for those who want to promote the study of science in many parts of the world.
However, do not judge this book (nor his other masterpiece, 'The Selfish Gene') without having read it just on your views of what Richard Dawkins may have said elsewhere. If you are an intelligent person with an open mind, then read and think about 'The God Delusion'.
Another meaningless rant July 16, 2010
The Scientist
2 out of 11 found this review helpful
I must be one of the few who find's Dawkin's books boring. With the God Delusion Dawkin's starts off badly. He never define's God or Delusion. Dawkin's book could be cut in half because most is just meaningless filler. It never comes across why Dawkin's has it in for God or why believing in God is such a delusion. This book is another to promote natural selection and the theory of evolution. A lot of what we have heard before is contained in this book.
Very enlightening July 16, 2010
tlustrell (London,England)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
For someone who struggles to get religion and faith this was a very informative book. I've seen some of his stuff on the tv and this is very much in the same veign. He uses simple, logical discussions to help you reach a conclusion and the book should be read by both believers and non believers alike. He is a polariser however you should approach his book with an open mind, prepared to consider the arguements. If you are so entrenched in your regious faith that you are not able to accept others views don't bother reading it. It's a shame this sort of thing is not included in RE in our schools.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 906
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