The God Delusion

Hardcover, 374 pages

English language

Published Oct. 18, 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Co..

ISBN:
978-0-618-68000-9
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
68965666
Goodreads:
14743

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

(199 reviews)

A preeminent scientist—and the world's most prominent atheist—asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.

With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines 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.

The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.

37 editions

The God Delusion

Content warning CW: CSA

This book wouldn't have even aged well in 2006.

Content warning Discusses apologia of rape, abuse, and CSA; includes conversations of various bigotries (spin a wheel, and I promise it's there).

Review of 'The God Delusion' on 'Goodreads'

This is another one that I'll need to re-listen to in order to give a proper review. I had a print copy of this book once that I sold back to the Book Barn in Niantic, thinking that I would never get around to reading it—I was looking for a print copy of The Selfish Gene when I first bought it.

I remembered that I used an Audible credit on this and decided to listen to it on a whim. It always nice that Lalla Ward helped in narrating the audiobooks—Selfish Gene was an example of that—and The God Delusion was no different. It went from an audiobook to fall asleep with to one that I spent some of my waking hours trying to understand where Dawkins was coming from.

The review may change once I do a second listen...or read—I might try to hunt down a print copy …

Review of 'The God Delusion' on 'Storygraph'

I didn't need to be convinced that God is a delusion, but it was interesting to follow scientific logic to analyze religion and its inconsistencies. Dawkins builds up the God Hypothesis and my favourite part of the book is then he presents the spectrum of probabilities about the existence of God, ranging from 1 to 7, including for example "Strong Theist", "Impartial Agnostic" all the way to "Strong Atheist".
I considered myself an agnostic but after reading this book I realized I am "De facto Atheist " according to the Dawkins spectrum

"I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."


It is an extremely provoking read. But worth the ride.

Review of 'The God delusion' on 'Goodreads'

Outright calling it a delusion, straight in the title no less, really isn't the tack I would have taken. I also feel there is a kind of ableism and danger in immediately leaping to calling other people mentally ill when they do something we find wrong or dislikeable. Someone can be profoundly screwed up - engage in mass shootings even - and technically not be mentally ill, unless we are going to start calling all soldiers willing to mass shoot people mentally ill. 'Normal' human psychology is perfectly dangerous on its own.

That said, it does a good job at shocking people, getting talked about more than more tame offerings, and it has apparently made some people deconvert, and it is a genuinely good question why we should arbitrarily consider someone deluded in one case where they hear voices and yet not so in another case.

Review of 'The God Delusion' on 'Goodreads'

Det er en lekse vi alltid gjenmer å lære, og det er at man ikke skal kritisere folk før en har hørt hva de har å si. Nå har jeg endelig hørt Richard Dawkins , og tiden for Å idiotforklare ham er over. Enig i alt, nei! Men fyren har langt mer greie på hva han snakker om enn de fleste av de som kritiserer ham - inkludert meg!

Review of 'The God Delusion' on 'Goodreads'

Richard Dawkins is an insufferable ass. I mean that wholly as an ad hominem attack; it has no bearing on the quality of his arguments. He secretes a superlatively patronizing tone that only the snootiest of Brits can attain, and he fully admits his abhorrence of the people that he claims to want to convert to his beliefs. As such, it's hard enough to read a book like The God Delusion without being distracted by all the snide parentheticals. Listening to it, as I did, is even more difficult because you get to hear every condescending inflection the way he intended it.

Moving past the tone and style of the book, however, I have to admit that I agree with many points Dawkins makes. In large part, he lays out his arguments rationally, coming to many of the same conclusions I have come to myself. He debunks a lot of …

Review of 'The God Delusion' on 'Storygraph'

Despite the fact that while I read this book I was ranting and raving to my wife and anyone else who listened, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do not always agree with Dawkins, though I agreed with him much more than I expected to. There has been quite a bit of discussion around this book. Many of the claims that I've read or heard about this book have turned out to be wrong. There have been misrepresentations from all sides.

Dawkins is, not surprisingly, at his best when he's explaining difficult scientific concepts. Unfortunately, the bulk of this book is not Dawkins at his best. Some of the arguments put forward in the book are supported by a rickety foundation of carefully selected examples. Others are simple rhetorical tricks. Still others seem so blisteringly obvious that one wonders why Dawkins bothered. Some of the arguments, though, are splendidly put …

avatar for chadkoh

rated it

avatar for wilw

rated it

avatar for vlindhol

rated it

avatar for AnthonyPerrett

rated it

avatar for nithinbekal

rated it

avatar for illusions_perdues

rated it

avatar for badgerfaceman

rated it

avatar for pcalvin

rated it

avatar for twhiston

rated it

avatar for b9chomps

rated it

avatar for beef

rated it

avatar for Eldaerenth

rated it

avatar for ShinToad

rated it

avatar for Scordatura

rated it

avatar for JohanVandevelde

rated it

avatar for btuftin

rated it

avatar for alanz

rated it

avatar for oisin

rated it

avatar for dave

rated it

avatar for Minotaur

rated it

avatar for rleyton

rated it

avatar for ThomasA

rated it

avatar for kerryn

rated it

avatar for BojanB

rated it

avatar for ghostmodernist

rated it

avatar for thisisjan

rated it

avatar for bjarte

rated it

avatar for Alex_Loar

rated it

avatar for localstatic

rated it

avatar for sdivyank

rated it

avatar for reverse

rated it

avatar for pcalvin

rated it

avatar for state_electrician

rated it

avatar for kholerik

rated it

avatar for aandnota

rated it

avatar for sajith

rated it

avatar for Danie

rated it

avatar for jzacsh

rated it

avatar for fallaciousreasoning

rated it

avatar for alanz

rated it

avatar for Michael

rated it

avatar for cubeofwood

rated it

avatar for Libbum

rated it

avatar for bkstrm

rated it

avatar for pearsonbolt

rated it

avatar for tempse

rated it

avatar for moopet

rated it

avatar for kaakow

rated it

avatar for cicredopoco

rated it

avatar for ursu

rated it

avatar for jdarnold

rated it

avatar for phocks@book.dansmonorage.blue

rated it

avatar for NoahFahlgren

rated it

avatar for masyukun

rated it

avatar for DerekCaelin

rated it

avatar for arkd

rated it

avatar for emick

rated it

avatar for nathandyer_

rated it

avatar for jfinkhaeuser

rated it

avatar for ngs

rated it

avatar for Jarmer

rated it

avatar for xatlasm

rated it

avatar for omdaru

rated it

avatar for leonivek

rated it

avatar for axleyjc

rated it

avatar for hryggrbyr

rated it

avatar for dave

rated it

avatar for chriskirk

rated it

avatar for michdavidadams

rated it

avatar for Dunedinmouse

rated it

avatar for Thriveth

rated it

avatar for vilhelmr

rated it

avatar for paulralph

rated it

avatar for bradfonseca

rated it

avatar for Talon2Claw

rated it

avatar for prashmohan

rated it

avatar for ReneCNielsen

rated it

avatar for thebbennett

rated it

avatar for TheKimmy

rated it

avatar for konstantin

rated it

avatar for lukeg

rated it

avatar for Shard

rated it

avatar for fabriek

rated it

avatar for vitriolix

rated it

avatar for Fireblend

rated it

avatar for vincekd

rated it

avatar for kwm

rated it

avatar for michjnich

rated it

avatar for jayemar

rated it

avatar for RobinMarx

rated it

avatar for leeschneider

rated it

avatar for cara-cara

rated it

avatar for marcusosterberg

rated it

avatar for valen

rated it

avatar for pollito

rated it

avatar for fighting

rated it

avatar for CaptManiac

rated it

avatar for WillHartzo

rated it

avatar for Cleydison

rated it

avatar for treyhunner

rated it

avatar for slaeg

rated it

avatar for ktabf

rated it

avatar for courts

rated it

avatar for carturo222

rated it

avatar for dewclaw_rappel

rated it

avatar for GenericHero

rated it

avatar for ookla_the_mok

rated it

avatar for nightgolfer

rated it

avatar for Ghalidrim

rated it

avatar for herriott101

rated it

avatar for cogmer

rated it

avatar for darthvi

rated it

avatar for mickesv

rated it

avatar for trillex

rated it

avatar for Adem

rated it

avatar for tpr

rated it

avatar for felipemartins

rated it

avatar for Sweetling

rated it

avatar for YouNaughtyMonsters

rated it

avatar for LRx

rated it

avatar for philiporange

rated it

avatar for lacop

rated it

avatar for dev_tea

rated it

avatar for Coornail

rated it

avatar for hyperreality

rated it

avatar for ixnu

rated it

avatar for Jaldert

rated it

avatar for ThomD

rated it

avatar for deathgrindfreak

rated it

avatar for piotr

rated it

avatar for fatalicus

rated it

avatar for leifbhammer

rated it

avatar for Kavring

rated it

avatar for GvS

rated it

avatar for UdeRecife

rated it

avatar for Rinn

rated it

avatar for EricLawton

rated it

avatar for dankeller

rated it

avatar for GrampaSiFiG

rated it

avatar for takky6445

rated it

avatar for garyackerman

rated it

avatar for Haunted_Toaster

rated it

avatar for dpendolino

rated it

avatar for ward

rated it

avatar for schellenberg

rated it

avatar for rinze

rated it

avatar for jbaty

rated it

avatar for josteinsn

rated it

avatar for mananabanana

rated it

avatar for stevegio

rated it

avatar for necochino

rated it

avatar for bioscape

rated it

avatar for pd-bomber

rated it

avatar for torin

rated it

avatar for CMGX9

rated it

avatar for paulfidalgo

rated it

avatar for tjrourke

rated it

avatar for oobisan

rated it

avatar for armamix@books.infosec.exchange

rated it

avatar for ToddSchroth

rated it

avatar for smyth

rated it

avatar for eyolf

rated it

avatar for TimMason

rated it

avatar for mad_frisbeterian

rated it

avatar for georgewhatup

rated it

avatar for gatoburritodibujao

rated it

avatar for dejangod

rated it

avatar for jacek_

rated it

avatar for paven

rated it

avatar for AdmiralTheBear

rated it

avatar for renatolond@bookwyrm.lond.com.br

rated it

avatar for kdwarn

rated it

avatar for neurobomber

rated it

avatar for knstntn

rated it

avatar for tenndawa

rated it

avatar for justanotherrandomuser

rated it

avatar for Nolotec

rated it

avatar for SquarePancake

rated it

avatar for kavana

rated it

avatar for Spaceshipcrewman

rated it

avatar for Beeker73

rated it

avatar for ErikThor

rated it

avatar for pelley

rated it

avatar for dotKnewt

rated it

avatar for DavidMKelly-scifi

rated it

avatar for Fuxino

rated it

Subjects

  • Religion
  • Science
  • Philosophy
  • Atheism
  • Psychology
  • Spirituality
  • Theology
  • Evolution

Lists