Has anyone read "God Dellusion" by Richard Dawkin?

Question

I would like to hear comments from anyone who has

Answer 1

Yup, he's the man. Don't know if it would convert anyone though. He presents a rational argument, and religious people aren't rational.

Answer 2

Richard Dawkins is a brilliant evolutionary biologist who writes a charged and sparkling prose, and thinks that Darwin and his ideas explain everything we need to know about what drives us: it is the desire to perpetuate our genes. But at the same time he believes that outstanding individuals perpetuate themselves through their ideas, which can be very influential, as in the case of Socrates.
Let me shift the argument. Thomas Huxley, who was Darwin's best defender in his lifetime, surely did not believe in the account of Creation given in Genesis or that God actually gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai but he nevertheless thought the Commandments an excellent guide to human conduct. That shows a mature outlook, the ability to free the mythological side of religion from the side of it which influences conduct. Dawkins, in my view, is so focussed on the delusional, superstitious belief in God that he fails to see that that belief has inspired many men and women to very high standards of self-sacrifice, morality, and benevolence. Think of St. Francis. Was he deluded? Even if he was he was a very inspiring man. Suppose you don't think Jesus the Son of God or believe that he rose from the dead on the third day. Does that invalidate his teaching? Hardly so. The ringing thoughts and emotions of the New Testament woud have profound credibility even if you don't subscribe to the mythological apparatus.
Bertrand Russell, the brilliant skeptical philosopher, said that ancient philosophy had three aspects: the study of physical nature, the methods of logic, and moral values or conduct. He went on to say that while we have gone beyond the ancients in the first two areas, they still have a good deal to teach in the third area.
Dawkins is so antagonistic to all belief in God that he does not allow himself to see that even if the idea is false, it has had some tremendously beneficial consequences. I agree with him, however, tha religion can lead to superstition, bigotry, and mindless opposition to science.
My own view goes something like this. What matters is not whether you believe in God or not but what you bring to it. One can accept God and religion maturely or immaturely, and one can reject them maturely or immaturely. I think one has to be more mature than most of us are to pronounce all religion bunk.

Answer 3

Sorry, this isn't the answer you were seeking - I haven't read it yet - but you may also be interested in 'The Dawkins Delusion' by Alister McGrath & Joanna Collicutt McGrath.