Scott Klarr Jr
Book Review: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Swiftly and without holding back, Dawkins blasts through a number of arguments that are not always so much against the idea of god, but more specifically towards organized religion in which people put faith and the actions and decisions they make based on that faith. Dawkins without a doubt is one of the most influencing authors of the last decade in regards to the progression of free thought and critically questioning religion.
There are an increasing number of books by other talented authors getting published that question religion and promote atheism but I think The God Delusion has been the most successful thus far thanks to Dawkin's prominent and almost celebrity-like status as a leading atheist. Ask any non-believer what their top 5 books are and you are likely to see Dawkins' works appearing quite frequently.
Many people charge Dawkins with attacking religion too aggressively and that he resembles the same fundamentalist Christians he despises. He does indeed take religion by the horns and fearlessly faces it head on, but as he states in the book, you must make the distinction between fundamentalism and passion. Just because you question faith does not make you a bad or disrespectful person. Religion has too long been held on a pillar of forced respect and people need to stop being so afraid to take a step back and objectively look at what they believe.
Dawkins frequently includes relevant quotes from a broad range of literary and historical sources to give a better perspective and understanding of the topics at hand which I appreciated. All the important claims in the book are accompanied with citation numbers which correlate to the reference in the back of the book; you can be assured he is not just making things up as he goes by verifying sources yourself if you are so inclined.
If you have not read this book yet solely because of preconceived biases or beliefs, then you are the very type of victim of religion that Dawkins is trying to help prevent. This book (among others of the same topic) should be read by every person of every religion. Reading this book could dramatically change your view on life and help rid this world of religious hate, violence and intolerance.
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