Review: The God Delusion

The God Delusion. By Richard Dawkins. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. 464 pp.

Currently #31 on the best sellers list for religion and spirituality according to Amazon.com.

Though I have read and reviewed god is not Great, by Christopher Hitchens, I have not yet had the opportunity to sit down and read through this book by Dawkins. The absolute best review of this book that I have seen was written by Dr. Glenn R. Kreider in "Bibliotheca Sacra" (Jan-Mar 2008 edition). You can access the article online, but only if you are paying subscriber to the publication (which I would highly recommend, you can get some articles for free if you follow the link so that you can see what all the journal has to offer).

If you don't want to pay for the article, I recommend reading the follow up Q&A article with "Kindred Spirit." This you can access completely free and it will give you a good idea of approach Dr. Kreider takes in his full review.

You might ask, if I haven't read the book how do I know this is a good review? Well, having interacted with Hitchens' work, there are some common characteristics of the new atheism that Dr. Kreider interacts with, and he does so in a way that is distinctly Christian.

The claims of the new atheism must be confronted and dismissed, but they must be confronted Christianly, and the must be dismissed Christianly. In the same issue of BibSac Dr. Kreider also reviews the book The Dawkins Delusion, by Alister McGrath, and it is amazing the similar criticisms that can be leveled against both atheistic and Christian writers. The harsh tones Dawkins levels against Christianity and religion in general are basically mirrored by McGrath, only from the other side of the argument.

We need to stand up and defend our faith, but we need to do so in a way that is different, a way that is unique, a way that is Christian. I highly recommend reading the Q&A article so that you can see that perspective in action.