McTag wrote:I believe our Mr Dawkins has been in the States recently and has received some publicity/ notoriety with his views and his book "The God Delusion"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_God_Delusion
There's another one popular here at the moment, "God Is Not Great".
Anybody read them yet?
"The God Delusion" was possibly the most important book I've ever read. Dawkins articulated ideas that had been floating around in my head for years but cohezed quite nicely after the read. But it's more for the scientifically-inclined. He gets a little deep in science lingo in some parts (I could follow it as a scientist, but I must admit I had to slow down the reading and digest it properly), but most of it is crisp logic that makes it almost hard to fathom how I accepted the idea of a god against my rational grain. His wit and sarcasm is exquisite.
"God is Not Great" is also a good one, but I must admit I did get bored more often during this one. Christopher Hitchens has absolutely stellar moments, but it sorta loses its punch in some parts. I think the audio book is a more enjoyable experience than actually reading this one (I've experienced it both ways). He is a lot more abrasive in his criticism, and I think I enjoyed him moreso after having read Dawkins.
The other book I would recommend in this line is the infamous "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. His writing is refreshing because he's born and bred American unlike the above 2 brits. His thrust is to attack the moderate religious groups that give cover and make it taboo to criticize the fundamentalist wack-jobs who actually believe what's written in their holy books. Sam Harris is also quite refreshing to listen to his lectures. They're on youtube.
I enjoyed them in the order I gave my mini reviews. For the rationalist who is trying to find a way to articulate their doubts about an all-powerful space daddy, you can't go wrong with these guys.
