{"id":27328,"date":"2016-07-11T01:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T06:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=27328"},"modified":"2022-09-12T14:22:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T19:22:21","slug":"book-review-god-delusion-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/book-review-god-delusion-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The God Delusion (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Sean McDowell, Josh’s son and Christian apologist, has a popular talk he gives where he stands up in front of a church and puts on his \u201catheist glasses,\u201d changing his worldview from Christian to atheist. Playing the role, Sean gives a short introduction of his life converting from a Christian to an atheist, and opens up for questions. Many Christian attendees are eager to play \u201cStump the Atheist\u201d but every time, Sean is more prepared than they realize. While most attendees get anxious and frustrated, I marvel as Sean\u2019s ability to defend a worldview that is not his own. Calmly and thoughtfully, he is able to handle anything thrown his way.
\nLooking back, I (Matthew)\u00a0find it rather unhelpful of me that I have long defended Christianity without much interest to study an opposing viewpoint.<\/p>\n

How could I consider myself fully equipped to defend any<\/em> position without understanding the arguments from the other side?<\/h3>\n

Although I always wanted to get around to it, listening to Sean finally tipped the scale. I have purchased several books from\u00a0well-known atheists of our time. One of them,\u00a0The God Delusion<\/em> by Richard Dawkins, is arguably the most popular of the bunch, and its author is arguably the most well-known atheist there is today. As the title suggests, the premise of the book is to explain how the idea of God is one grand delusion that has infected humankind, and the cure is atheism.
\nThis article will be broken up into two parts. In Part 1,\u00a0I will point out what I found surprising, humbling, redeeming, and insightful about this book. It’s not that my convictions as a Christian have changed very much from reading this, but there is valuable insight into the mind of an atheist found among these pages. In Part 2, I will offer a selected critique of the book’s primary arguments. I wish I could cover everything page by page, but\u00a0such a full book review would require a full book!
\nIf you are a Christian, please don\u2019t be discouraged that I bundle \u201cChristianity\u201d with the term \u201creligion\u201d instead of \u201crelationship.\u201d When I say \u201creligion\u201d I refer to the innocuous dictionary definition \u201cbelief in God\u201d and not \u201cMan\u2019s attempt to reach God\u201d which is a new definition of the term we often use to help illustrate the Gospel. I\u2019m not criticizing that. But to use such a loaded term as \u201crelationship\u201d is not always practical in this kind of dialogue.<\/p>\n

Part 1<\/h3>\n

The first thing I noticed is that Richard Dawkins is a master with the English language. He has an incredible vocabulary and a superb skill for being articulate. Some may say that he is trying to make himself look smart. Maybe. But I think that Dawkins has a genuine love for words, and I\u2019m impressed. Maybe this has something to do with him being British.
\nThe second thing I noticed is the author\u2019s purpose for writing this book…<\/p>\n

Page 18: \u201cThe non-believing choir is a lot bigger than many people think, especially in America. But, again especially in America, it is largely a closet choir, and it desperately needs encouragement to come out.\u201d<\/em>
\nPage 26: \u201cThere are many people who know, in their heart of hearts, that they are atheists, but dare not admit it to their families or even, in some cases, to themselves.\u201d<\/em>
\nPage 27: \u201cThe reason so many people don’t notice atheists is that many of us are reluctant to ‘come out’. My dream is that this book may help people to come out.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Night
\nWhat an eye-opening discovery this was for me! As a Christian I have always viewed myself as the \u201coutcast\u201d in a secular world. To say\u00a0\u201cI am not ashamed of the Gospel\u201d (Rom 1:16) is still relevant for us today, but I never gave much thought that non-believing \u201cbelievers\u201d can feel the same sort of smallness. What do you suppose it would feel like if you genuinely doubted your faith as a Christian, and you\u2019ve grown up in a religious family that scoffs toward a non-believing world? Would you be eager to confess that you are one of them? Many Christian homes do not create a culture where that is even thinkable. Sean McDowell tells about a time that he once doubted Christianity as a college student. He built up the courage and told his father, Josh, about his struggles. Josh\u2019s reply: \u201cThat\u2019s great, son!\u201d In shock, Sean responded \u201cDid you hear anything I just said?!\u201d (I\u2019m paraphrasing a real conversation.) \u201cYes, I did. It means you are thinking for yourself, and I think that\u2019s great! Seek truth and you will find it. Don\u2019t believe in Jesus just because your parents do; but don\u2019t doubt it just to rebel. I think over time you will come back to Christianity because I believe Jesus is the truth. But no matter what you decide, know that your mom and I will always love you.\u201d If every Christian home were like this, Dawkins would have little ground to criticize Christian parents of indoctrinating their children – something he considers to be child abuse.
\nOn a similar strain of thought, a reoccurring statement within the God Delusion regards the\u00a0bitter sound of \u201cChristian child\u201d or \u201cMuslim child.\u201d To Dawkins, these two words together is what \u201cmoist\u201d is for many others. It makes him squirm a little. His reason is that there is no such thing. A child is not old enough to decide if he\/she believes in the family religion. Instead we should say \u201cA child of Christian\/Muslim parents\u201d In our defense, \u201cChristian child\u201d is often used shorthand for \u201cChild of Christian parents.\u201d Still, his point is well taken. Many churches rightfully teach that your faith does not belong to your parents. You have to decide for yourself once you are old enough to understand the Gospel message. We find ourselves constantly reminding this to our young generation, and it\u2019s probably because of wrongly communicating something when we constantly use the term \u201cChristian child.\u201d As for Muslims using the term \u201cMuslim Child,\u201d that\u2019s a different story, and I\u2019ll leave that matter for\u00a0them to deal with.
\nConsider this statement from Richard Dawkins, his\u00a0opening hooker for Chapter 2:<\/p>\n

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. Those of us schooled from infancy in his ways can become desensitized to their horror.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yikes! I was once told by an atheist that I should skip Dawkins and read other atheist literature instead. Many atheists feel this way – he is mean, and thus not a good representation of his kind. I\u2019m happy to make the distinction. Frankly though, I can\u2019t blame Dawkins. If I believed the same way about \u201cThe God of the Old Testament,\u201d added with all the atrocities committed in the name of religion, the child abuse, bigotry, etc., I would turn up the dial too. Some things he says are simply unhelpful, but neither is me getting offended! I\u2019ll let Dawkins speak for himself:<\/p>\n

Page 16: \u201cIf [my language] sounds intemperate, it is only because of the weird convention, almost universally accepted\u2026 that religious faith is uniquely privileged: above and beyond criticism.\u201d<\/em>
\nPage 320: \u201cIt is because of the evidence for evolution is overwhelmingly strong that I am passionately distressed that my opponent can’t see it \u2013 or, more usually, refuses to look at it because it contradicts his holy book. My passion is increased when I think about how much the poor fundamentalists, and those whom they influence, are missing.\u201d<\/em>
\nPage 321: As a scientist, I am hostile to fundamentalist religion because it actively debauches the scientific enterprise. It teaches us not to change our minds, and not to want to know exciting things that are available to be known. It subverts science and saps the intellect.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Please hear me: I will not defend or justify the questionable character of Richard Dawkins, especially when he stands in front of an atheist rally and tells everyone that they should laugh in the face of religious people.* His passion is misguided, and it has misguided his morals along the way. My point is that\u00a0I understand where he and other atheists are coming from.\u00a0As witnesses for the Gospel, we need to know these things.
\nIn the second part of this review,\u00a0I move into a critique of some of Dawkins’\u00a0arguments, starting with his statement about the God of the Old Testament that I quoted earlier. You can read part 2 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

*This statement was\u00a0filmed and uploaded to\u00a0YouTube<\/a>. The editor added a response from the Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias.
\nWork Cited: Dawkins, R. (2008). The God delusion<\/i>. Boston, NY: Mariner Books.
\n** Image Fair use, https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5422004
\nAbout the Author<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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