Have you read "The God Delusion"?

Enjoyed it! For me is was mostly preaching at the choir (so to speak) but there were many ideas I hadn't considered and some I didn't agree with. Got my copy signed back in 2007.

Hit the wrong button yes red it, was very informative and respectful

It had some good parts. Mostly it was over-hyped though. If you claim a religion that you secretly deep down don't agree with, then this book is written for you. I liked that Dawkins points out that atheists in America are sort of looked down apon. Atheists are statistically no more or less moral than people of any faith. But, he goes into a lot of other crap that is basically just hating on theists of any kind. Yeah we know 911 would not have happened if it weren't for religion. But humans would have found something else to hate each other for and who knows? The part that I liked the most is how he says that there is no such thing as a religious child, only a child of religious parents. I agree that parents should let children figure out the world on their own so they can choose their own faith (or lack of faith).

Great response. I am an atheist and one thing I dont like is how some non theists are so very hateful towards those who believe in God or gods or whatever....there really is no reason for it. I have to disagree about 9-11 though....I cannot think or anything other than blind unreasoning faith in a religion like Islam which would compel these insane people to literally commit suicide in order to strike out at infidels (in their eyes) and so "please" their "god" and religious commands!

Yes there is a lot of hate especially on sodahead. -and, I guess you just have a little more faith in people as a whole than I do. I think humans tend to have a passionate hate for people who are even a little different from themselves. Everyone wants someone to blame for all of the problems in their lives.

Sadly I think you are correct. Religion makes most people feel more secure I think. And when you pose a threat to that "blanket" they become hostile often and defensive. Dawkins is probably one of the most hated people on Earth today and for no real reason....he seems like a very very nice man.

Have you read "The God Delusion"? ... No and here's why. I have no delusions when it comes to God ...

Some would say that those who believe in any "god' are entertaining or suffering from a delusion Cantus!

That's their opinion Chewy. I know what i've experienced and no educated individual is going to explain that experience away ...

I know. And I am cool with that. That just isnt enough for me. I often wondered why I didnt "feel" anything and wondered why I never felt at home in church and never really agreed with what most preachers constantly bombarded their congregations with...and it...for me...was because I was never one of them....and now I am so glad.

I'm kind of confused, what feeling are we suppose to feel when it comes to God chewy? ... i don't base my belief in God on a feeling. I know how difficult it is to try to gauge someone's motives here on the internet so let me tell you right now that i am not confronting you in a contentious manner. I just am not understanding what you mean by this "feeling we are suppose to have.

You mentioned an "experience" Cantus. And since you didnt cite facts...I am assuming that is some kind of emotional or physical experience....hmmmmm?

To cite facts would mean that i would have to share personal experiences with you which i am not prepared to do as i do not know who you are however i can definitely tell you that God's wisdom surpasses any human being i've ever come across. Can i assume correctly that you have already read Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion"? ...

Yes and he is very straight forward as most atheists are and very on target. .I am a de-convert ( I was a Christian for over 20 years).

So, is his book, "The God Delusion" based on his knowledge or is it based on experience? ...

It doesn no doubt contain some opinion but Dawkins does not claim his book is Scripture and he is a scientist and doesnt operate on mere speculation. He is not an idiot. Not many of the prominent atheists are...Hawking....Sagan..... are not fundametalist Bible thumpers who graduated High School and went to Podunk Bible College...okay?

BTW facts are not always the same as experiences. Here are some things requiring facts :
1. Have you ever seen God?
2. Have you ever seen someone who rose from the dead?
3. Have you ever actually seen a virgin have a baby? Is that even possible biologically?
4. Does water have any chance of becoming something it is not...wine?

These questions and so many others require real evidence to back them up....not hearsay and especially not hearsay from a ancient book that is filled with obvious contradictions...

I asked you this question, "So, is his book, "The God Delusion" based on his knowledge or is it based on experience?" ... asked for a very specific reason. So, first of all thank you for all the extra information you have provided and as for me? ... no, i won't be reading his book, "The God Delusion" because as i stated i don't have any delusions about God. You have yourself a good day Chewy.

You too. Reading this book should not scare your God Cantus!

You have yourself a good day Chewy, i mean it! ... :)

I do too...I am not one of those hateful people Cantus. I respect your beliefs.

Hmmm, interesting ... when i looked into my happenings and clicked into your comment, " I do too ... I am not one of those hateful people Cantus. I respect your beliefs." ... my internet shut down and took several times just to get back to this comment to reply. Now, i know that had nothing to do with God .....

p.s. it is also interesting to note that this comment does not show up on a mobile device. Yup! see .... now that's the difference between God and Science. Science can be manipulated to man's advantage.

Try not to confuse delusions with what you think is experience.

Yup! and that's all you know how to do is attack and i wonder what and who taught you that form of communication ... you have yourself a good day Muskoka from Canada ...

Sad that anything that you do not agree with is seen as an attack.

:)

Life is too short to immerse myself in every hate filled anti-Christian polemic in the world. I have, however, read a number of Christian apologetics titles. Such titles will cause you to think rather than just emote. An accessible one is 'I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist' - Geisler. Or, If you prefer a shorter read, a topical title is 'The Son Rises' - WL Craig. -- You are absolutely correct, Chewy! The truth matters..

Ive read Christian apologetics and it is always the same old tired empty "arguments" that really only impress those who,like Fox Mulder, "WANT" to believe.

I am completely unfamiliar with Fox Mulder. A Google search indicates a fictional TV personality and not any kind of source for serious adult thought.

Fox Mulder was a character on the TV series "The X Files" in the 1990s on US TV. He was a believer in the paranormal and UFOs despite the efforts of his skeptical partner Dana Scully to convince him otherwise. I used Mulder's "I want to believe" poster which had a UFO on it and was in his office on the show as an analogy...an expression.

So, FM just wanted to believe in UFO's without any reason for it beyond his own preference?

Well yes and no....the show was based on the idea of some kind of grand conspiracy theory covered up by the government which he ironically as an FBI agent worked for. But often it looked like Fox was just hitting dead end after dead end. It was a great show and can still be seen on Netflix...all the episodes.

Apologetically speaking FM was dealing with an agency that did not want something known. The Christian God has asked us to know him and has made a way for us to do that.

The Bible says that....but it also says that Unicorns exist and doesnt mention the dinosaurs and says that this planet is 6,000 years old and is flat. It says that once a guy got ALL the species of animals on a wooden boat and that this planet was underwater. It says that dead people can come back and that virgins can have babies.....not a very lab testable set of things. And then there are the things the Bible does not say....

Mulder also was biased. His sister, in the storyline, was abducted (presumably by space aliens) and he was using the X Files in a personal effort to try to find her....so he had to believe....or give up his quest to find her.

and another thing i have often wondered...if you have such a profound God revealed truth...why do your people have to be constantly defending it...with "apologetics" (which I know is not like apologizing but it is ironic how similar the two words are...isnt it?) if I was a God and I had revealed the TRUTH....I think it would be so perfect and unshakeable that I would not need these guys and women standing around explaining what "it really means" all the time and having to cite this argument and that argument...you know? It would unquestionable and it would agree with ALL the facts we know about science and human experience and it would NOT have contradictions (which we KNOW are painfully obvious...okay?).

'The God Delusion' is atheist apologetics......

No...sorry. We dont have to use "apologetics". The burden to prove there is a God is on the theist. Atheism is not a belief. It is the absence of belief in a god or gods. It also is the absence of belief in anything which cannot be proven....including magic and the supernatural and the paranormal.

"Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information." - Wikipedia ----- (So beliving that something does not exist does not qualify as a belief?)

We DONT believe...we dont have to. We just live life and accept what it shows us...really! I've never seen an angel. I've never seen a devil. I've never actually seen or heard a God! My dead parents are dead...they wont rise today and they are not going to rise tomorrow and when we are dead...that is it.