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The God Delusion Audiobook
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(3.00) - 71,580 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
Whether you believe in God or you are an atheist, Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, presents some interesting and convincing ideas arguing against the existence of a religious God i.e., a being who created the world, lives in heaven, listens to our prayers and metes out rewards and punishments as He sees fit. Dawkins doesn't argue against more abstract concepts of God such as the God of pantheism or the God that Spinoza and Einstein believed in. Dawkins' problem is with the idea of a religious God and religion in general.
One of Dawkins' primary arguments is that if God created the world, then who created God? In trying to explain the existence of the world by using the concept of God, we are creating a larger problem. Instead, he suggests that natural selection and other scientific theories do a much better job in explaining the world, and he even argues that the appearance of design can be explained by natural selection. Dawkins isn't trying to disprove the existence of God once and for all; he's just suggesting that we adopt Occam's razor and accept the simplest explanation of something, since this is the rational thing to do.
Dawkins then goes on to argue against religion. He specifically has a problem with children who are classified according to their religion and sent to religious school which he considers a form of child abuse. To call a child a "Christian child" or a "Muslim child" is patently unfair because children don't have the capacity to understand Christianity or Islam well enough to adopt it. For Dawkins, religion is the result of the spread of memes in the population i.e., the tendency for something to spread like a virus from one person to another.
Many of Dawkins' arguments are justified. After all, there is no scientific proof of the existence of God, and it is perfectly possible for a person to be an atheist and moral at the same time. Religion has also been responsible for many atrocities over the years, and Dawkins' theory is quick to point this out. Whether you feel convinced of his argument or not, Dawkins' book is an honest representation of how people think about God and religion today.
Dawkins was born in Kenya, the son of an English civil servant. He returned to England when he was nine and had what he calls "a normal Anglican upbringing." However, he stopped believing in God when he was in his teens and came across the theory of evolution. He went on to do his Bachelor's at Oxford, studying zoology, and later got his doctorate studying under Nobel-prize winning ethologist, Nikolaas Tinbergen. During his academic career, he has taught at UC Berkeley and Oxford. He has also been married three times and has a daughter. The God Delusion has been on the New York Times bestseller list and has attracted widespread commentary from those who agree with Dawkins and those who don't.
"It gave me a lot of my stock arguments on matters of atheism and even caused me to develop a more substantial set of arguments in favor of agnosticism; Dawkins does not promote agnosticism but his criticisms certainly helped me. There are times where I feel Dawkins arguments are far too anecdotal and some discussions seem too close to ad hominem type attack; I did not find this pervasive enough to ruin the quality of the book but it did sour a few passages."
— Scott (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution.
Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
He critiques God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. In so doing, he makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just irrational, but potentially deadly.
Dawkins has fashioned an impassioned, rigorous rebuttal to religion, to be embraced by anyone who sputters at the inconsistencies and cruelties that riddle the Bible, bristles at the inanity of "intelligent design," or agonizes over fundamentalism in the Middle East-or Middle America.
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Quotes
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You needn't buy the total Dawkins package to glory in his having the guts to lay out the evils religions can do.
— Kirkus Starred Review
The God Delusion Listener Reviews
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4/3/2023
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Michael, 6/27/2021
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Kevin Kritzer, 4/12/2021
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David Smith, 10/11/2020
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" one of the greatest writings of all time. Thank you Richard Dawkins. "
— Bridger Barksdale, 7/9/2017 -
" An extremely thought provoking and highly informative work. Mr. Dawkins presents his ideas (of which there are many) more compassionately than you might expect. "
— Andrew G., 11/30/2016 -
" Has a tendency to be equally as vitriolic as those of whom he writes in complaint. Nonetheless, an interesting look at the God question. "
— Shannon, 2/20/2014 -
" Message to Mr. Dawkins: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." "
— Steven, 2/13/2014 -
" Dawkins definitely made some good points about religion, a little bit arrogantly but still logical. "
— Connie, 2/8/2014 -
" One of my favorite Dawkins books. "
— Judi, 1/29/2014 -
" Very hard to get through, he's constantly in my face and I'm not even his target group :-/ "
— Anhdroid, 1/25/2014 -
" Amazingly revealing! He describes the natural world around us in such a beautiful way. All the while shattering delusions in such a way as to make one grateful! Dawkins replaces blind faith with reason & a true love & respect for the natural world around us! "
— Rachel, 1/15/2014 -
" A pretty good read. A bit boring when he gets into the evolutionary stuff. "
— Rob, 1/8/2014 -
" Fascinating ideas by Dawkins. Really interested in what other works he has. A lot of it made very good sense. The science parts were pretty confusing to me, but if read slow, it provides a great understanding of Richard's ideas. Hope to read more of his books, especially Unweaving the Rainbow. "
— Mike, 12/7/2013 -
" A must read for anyone capable of thinking for themselves, or that cares at all about our progress as a species "
— Tim, 11/24/2013 -
" I wish this was required reading. The world would be a smarter, therefore better, place if that was the case. "
— Sandra, 11/16/2013 -
" A well written, well documented novel, backed by fact after fact after fact. "
— Christina, 11/14/2013 -
" A book I would recommend to anybody interested in religion "
— Sam, 10/31/2013 -
" An excellent read for insight into the other mindset. "
— Mark, 9/8/2013 -
" By the time I read this book, I was familiar with most of the arguments. A must read though, so I read it. "
— Curtis, 2/20/2013 -
" ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! If only I would have had this amazing book growing up. This is a book that everyone should read as it precisely defines and exposes the insanity of religious belief. "
— Vicki-shawn, 12/2/2012 -
" Stick to biology, dude. "
— Shriram, 1/22/2012 -
" a must read for any committed athiest "
— Alannagh, 1/8/2012 -
" 2 hours of my life I won't get back. Read Christopher Hitchens instead. "
— Karen, 12/1/2011 -
" Love him, hate him or argue with him - you cannot ignore him. "
— James, 9/22/2011 -
" I'm an atheist, but this book does not represent for what I stand for. "
— Philipp, 8/11/2011 -
" A must read for any atheist and I'd argue for any theist with an open mind. It is clear religion doesn't define or even shape modern morality no more than it holds any evidence for being the truth. "
— Philippe, 6/3/2011 -
" Let's get something straight - Richard Dawkins is a pompous, smarmy intellectual bastard. But dammit, it's impossible to hate him when he's just so.....RIGHT!!! I liked this book mainly because I agreed with him but then like I said, it’s almost impossible not to. "
— Katja, 5/25/2011 -
" Expected more...just hard to get through the polemic straw man stuff. I did like the last chapter though, as an inspiration to the wonder of science. "
— Daynan, 5/22/2011 -
" It was the book that put some things into perspective for me. "
— Paraskevi, 5/18/2011 -
" This book had everything. It had humor, actual scientific facts, reason, not to mention Dawkins' pert little opinions ;) <br/>I loved it. "
— Priscila, 5/17/2011 -
" Clear and concise analysis, written by a scientist who truly believes in understanding the universe using logical conjecture based on empirical evidence. <br/>In the realm of philosophy, the scientific method has proved itself as the best method we have in the search for truth. "
— Ron, 5/15/2011 -
" The brute force of scientific logic. "
— Andy, 5/14/2011 -
" Still reading, gonna take some time with this one. "
— Nikki, 5/12/2011 -
" I'm not complaining about the content, although he does seem rather defensive. It was just too full of "proof." I'll try another of his books sometime. "
— Kathy, 5/11/2011 -
" Well-constructed arguments that show the irrationality of belief in supernatural gods. Lots of emotion on both sides of the issue, but Dawkins is the best of the "New" Atheists. "
— Tony61, 5/9/2011 -
" The book that made me an atheist. Things were simpler before then. "
— Chris, 5/8/2011 -
" I understand it and I agree with it......gave it two stars because it was such a "wade" to get through it. It wasn't a pleasant experience but was an enlightening one. "
— Melinda, 5/5/2011 -
" An engaging read, fascinating insight, and wonderfully unapologetic. Read this book, and you will cast off your superstitions. "
— Adam, 5/3/2011
About Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins, an acclaimed biologist, is a fellow of the Royal Society and was the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Ancestor’s Tale, The God Delusion, and The Greatest Show on Earth.
About Richard Dawkins
Lalla Ward is an actress and audiobook narrator who is best known for her role as Romana in Doctor Who, a popular BBC television series. She has also appeared in several other television shows, including The Protectors, Quiller, The Professionals, and Hazel. She is the former wife of actor and costar Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who.