The Dawkins Delusion

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World-renowned scientist Richard Dawkins writes in The God Delusion: ‘If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down.’ His work has received wide coverage, fuelled much passionate debate and caused not a little confusion. As far as a rebuttal is concerned, Alister McGrath is ideally placed to evaluate Dawkins’ ideas. Once an atheist himself, he gained a doctorate in molecular biophysics before going on to become a leading Christian theologian. McGrath subjects Dawkins’ critique of faith to rigorous scrutiny. His exhilarating, meticulously argued response deals with questions such as:

• Is faith intellectual nonsense?
• Are science and religion locked in a battle to the death?
• Can the roots of Christianity be explained away scientifically?
• Is Christianity simply a force for evil?

This book will be warmly received by those looking for a reliable assessment of The God Delusion and the many questions it raises – including, above all, the relevance of faith and the quest for meaning.

Reviews:

“Addressing the conclusions of The God Delusion point by point with the devastating insight of a molecular biologist turned theologian, Alister McGrath dismantles the argument that science should lead to atheism, and demonstrates instead that Dawkins has abandoned his much-cherished rationality to embrace an embittered manifesto of dogmatic atheist fundamentalism” - Francis Collins, Director of the Human Genome Project.

“Richard Dawkins’ utopian vision of a world without religion is here deftly punctured by McGrath’s informed discourse. His fellow Oxonian clearly demonstrates the gaps, inconsistencies, and surprising lack of depth in Dawkins’ arguments” - Owen Gingerich, Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University.

“The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why” - Michael Ruse, Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University.

About the authors:
Alister McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and Joanna McGrath is lecturer in Psychology of Religion at Heythrop College, University of London.

Paperback, 78 pages.