wandeljw wrote:Steve and McTag,
Georgeob and I were just discussing Dawkins. You have proved my point about Dawkins trying to proselytize atheism.
In my opinion, Dawkins has done a great job explaining evolutionary theory to the public. However, I feel his promotion of atheism is unneccessary and hurts his credibility.
You make an excellent point there Wandel. I was kind of wondering this the other night as I watch the tv programme that Mctag probably saw too. Certainly Dawkins is not easy on the ear, especially if you hold religious beliefs. But this imo is where I totally agree with him. In the past we have been too concerned about stepping on toes. As reasonable people we dont make a habit of going around saying someone's deeply held religious beliefs amount to ... nothing at all. We actually know better, but what is the point of upsetting someone unnecessarily? The children believe in Father Christmas, do we want to make them cry? So we walk away from religious discourse, perhaps smiling to ourselves that they could possibly believe such nonsense, but nevertheless affording them the respect to which a fellow citizen is due.
But I believe and I think Dawkins would agree that in recent years, faith systems have been shown to do real harm. Belief that they are doing Gods will and encouraged by the idea of immediate paradise has been the incentive behind many despicable criminal acts. Its time to fight back, at an intellectual level, and at the root is irrational religious belief. So I admire Dawkins for having the courage to take on these ideas - despite the risks of which I'm sure he is fully aware.
