The God Delusion, Part 5: Survey

As promised, here's a quick overview of The God Delusion with basic chapter descriptions and some basic opinions of mine that result. I'm done with the book, by the way. Maybe there will be another post, but I kinda doubt it. The last few chapters don't really rub me the wrong way like some of the others did. As I said for the first post about this book, I'd much rather talk to people individually about this, rather than send these posts out to everybody (and consequently, nobody). Tim Keller's The Reason for God is next on my list. It should be a refreshing read after this one.

Chapter 1: A Deeply Religious Non-Believer
The t-shirt issue/topic was in this chapter. Basically, it's just his introduction to the book. He points out some of his observations that go into the book (irrationality of treating religion and more 'gingerly' than other topics) and defines some terms that he uses throughout the book. Nothing too controversial here.

Chapter 2: The God Hypothesis
This chapter starts out as a laundry list of basic world-views: Polytheism, Monotheism, and Agnosticism. He points out basic characteristics of each, and some initial impressions that he has of them. He talks about the religious views of America's founding fathers, as well as other notable scientists. Probably most relevant to me, is that this chapter started me realizing that this book wasn't quite written in opposition to my beliefs. Overall, this chapter is a little scattered.

Chapter 3: Arguments for God's Existence
This is a meaty chapter, and a good one to read if you're interested in seeing what others offer as proof for God's existence. He doesn't pull the 'straw man' tactic too much (setting up an argument in such a way that it is easy to dispute, often by simply misrepresenting what it claims), and does a good job of surveying the teleological argument, ontological argument, argument from scripture, as well as other proofs that are offered. One point I appreciated from this chapter was the fact that we must distinguish between what we'd like to be true and what is true (hence, the title of the book). Obviously I disagree with him in the implications of this statement. To me, it means that we must take a serious look at scripture before we claim divine approval of our actions. In addition, it means that we take seriously the things is prescribes (I'm thinking of Sabbath rest: the present we don't want).

Chapter 4: Why There Almost Certainly is No God
This is Dawkins's forte: evolution and natural selection. Most frustrating for me through this chapter was his repeated frustration with people who misrepresent the theory (ie, claiming randomness, statistical impossibility, etc), followed by his own misrepresentation of Biblically sound beliefs. Most often, it's the suggestion that if we're having difficulty scientifically explaining something, that we throw up our hands, chalk it up to God's mystery, and move on. Rather, it is my conviction that we are to use all of our intellectual powers to investigate and appreciate creation so that we might, with an increasingly great sense of awe, worship God.

Chapter 5: The Roots of Religion
Here, Dawkins tries to explain why we have religion using evolutionary theory. I think that it's a pretty weak argument, not to mention disappointing in the way it treats human creativity. Whether you view humanity as made in the image of God or the way that secular humanists do, this view of religion negates the imagination that is inherent to humanity.

Chapter 6: The Roots of Morality: Why Are We Good?
This chapter tried to explain why we are 'good' in evolutionary terms. It works to some extent, but there are some pretty big gaps. He talks about Kant a little, as well as some Bentham and Mill, but trying to explain ethics has always been a difficult pursuit (whether you include God or not) and I don't see this argument holding too much weight with philosophers in the future.

Chapter 7: The 'Good' Book and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist
This is the chapter that angered me the most, and is easily the most densely 'margin noted' section of the book. I already put up one post about it, and could put up many more explaining why I don't agree with this chapter at all. In addition to his misunderstanding of Biblical history and morality, Dawkins offers an argument for why Hitler and Stalin are not proof that Atheism leads to immorality. I'd agree with that, as well as his comments about the tragedy of the fact that religion leads some people to commit heinous crimes in the name of God (bombing abortion clinics, segregation, etc).

Chapter 8: What's Wrong With Religion? Why Be So Hostile?
Homosexuality and abortion are in his sights here, and as usual, he only deals with them to the extent that mainstream evangelical Christianity deals with them. The biggest disagreement I have here is his claim that Christians teach that faith in inherently good, and the more illogical the belief, the more admirable the faith is. I firmly believe that we are to employ both reason and faith in pursuit of truth (and that everyone does it to varying degrees of success).

Chapter 9: Childhood, Abuse, and the Escape From Religion
In this chapter, Dawkins bemoans the practice of labeling children as members of a particular religion. He says that they should be taught how to think, not what to think. Educated, not indoctrinated. I agree that children should be taught how to think, but I'm still undecided on the whole 'Christian children' thing. I need to put more thought into that, specifically in understanding God's covenant promises as applying to 'you and your children.'

Chapter 10: A Much Needed Gap?
I really liked this chapter. Dawkins details how we are creatures of Middle World: there are things too small or too vast for us to comprehend. There are sounds too low or too high for us to hear. There are waves too long or to narrow for us to view. But. With advances in science, the window through which we view the world has been thrown open wider and wider. His conclusion is that we toss the unnecessary, limiting belief in God out the window in light of our own achievements. Mine is that we fall on our knees and worship God for the beauty and majesty and mystery of His creation.