Intense and interesting - that is how one can summarize 'The God Delusion'. Intense in the way it destroys the religious myths and muddled feelings in your mind; interesting in the way in which it does so, filling that empty space with worthy ideas and ideals.
No matter whether you're a theist, deist, pantheist, agnostic or an atheist, this is a book that you MUST read. It will end up changing your religious orientation, unless you're a dyed in the wool fanatic. Dawkins has a magical knack of predicting every question, every excuse and every doubt that might pop up in the minds of the readers and answers it well. As you keep reading it, you will find yourself astonished, muttering to yourself, 'Gosh! That was what exactly I was going to ask/was thinking/was wondering about'.
One loveable thing about this book is that Dawkins doesn't simply and bleakly question the religions and the reality of the god. He cleans all the cobwebs of religions away from your mind and fills it with refreshing ideas, morals and miracles. He proves that the universe is as miraculous as it is, without there being a need for a man (or, a woman, as I prefer to polemically put it) in the sky pulling the strings. He says that it is possible to live morally and ethically, without having to need some imaginary being looking over your shoulder and making a note of how you live, what you eat and what you say.
But, if you're a believer in god and would love to remain that way till the end, please DO NOT read 'The God Delusion'. Richard Dawkins will systematically destroy your belief system, without letting you safeguard your belief in any nook and corner. He predicts every other excuse and argument that the believers could come up with and detonates a blast right at the root of that.
Finally, as Richard Dawkins managed to change all the doubts in my mind into definite - at least for the time being - answers, I felt another question. Can anything and everything on this Universe be merely analyzed and laid down as mere scientific explanation? Should we desiccate the human mind by making the hope and mystery taken out of every aspect of 'faith'? What is wrong if some people believe in an imaginary god and still end up living truthful, worthwhile lives? Will not life lose its charm if we try to dissect and view everything as mere facts and logic?! For example, Love, the most charming of human emotions, can be explained in terms of physiology, psychology and bodily chemistry too. But won't the way of viewing love as an ordinary prelude to exchange body fluids and procreate progeny steal away all the magic and mystery from the human mind? And, in the process deprive us of those innumerable works of art, music, poetry and literature?!
Just a thought. Not an excuse for the imaginary ‘supreme being in the sky’ to ascent her throne in my mind again.
Ashok Krishna
No matter whether you're a theist, deist, pantheist, agnostic or an atheist, this is a book that you MUST read. It will end up changing your religious orientation, unless you're a dyed in the wool fanatic. Dawkins has a magical knack of predicting every question, every excuse and every doubt that might pop up in the minds of the readers and answers it well. As you keep reading it, you will find yourself astonished, muttering to yourself, 'Gosh! That was what exactly I was going to ask/was thinking/was wondering about'.
One loveable thing about this book is that Dawkins doesn't simply and bleakly question the religions and the reality of the god. He cleans all the cobwebs of religions away from your mind and fills it with refreshing ideas, morals and miracles. He proves that the universe is as miraculous as it is, without there being a need for a man (or, a woman, as I prefer to polemically put it) in the sky pulling the strings. He says that it is possible to live morally and ethically, without having to need some imaginary being looking over your shoulder and making a note of how you live, what you eat and what you say.
But, if you're a believer in god and would love to remain that way till the end, please DO NOT read 'The God Delusion'. Richard Dawkins will systematically destroy your belief system, without letting you safeguard your belief in any nook and corner. He predicts every other excuse and argument that the believers could come up with and detonates a blast right at the root of that.
Finally, as Richard Dawkins managed to change all the doubts in my mind into definite - at least for the time being - answers, I felt another question. Can anything and everything on this Universe be merely analyzed and laid down as mere scientific explanation? Should we desiccate the human mind by making the hope and mystery taken out of every aspect of 'faith'? What is wrong if some people believe in an imaginary god and still end up living truthful, worthwhile lives? Will not life lose its charm if we try to dissect and view everything as mere facts and logic?! For example, Love, the most charming of human emotions, can be explained in terms of physiology, psychology and bodily chemistry too. But won't the way of viewing love as an ordinary prelude to exchange body fluids and procreate progeny steal away all the magic and mystery from the human mind? And, in the process deprive us of those innumerable works of art, music, poetry and literature?!
Just a thought. Not an excuse for the imaginary ‘supreme being in the sky’ to ascent her throne in my mind again.
Ashok Krishna
