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Product Description
Product Description
The essential book for dismantling Richard Dawkins' atheistic agenda. Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker collaborate to debunk Dawkins' theories and show how inconsistent and illogical his conclusions truly are. This is the definitive book for college students or faithful Christians hoping to answer Dawkins' claims and assert the logic and beauty of their faith. .
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First Sentence
We're going to begin with an exposure of Richard Dawkins' faith in a particularly strange anti-deity, which for Dawkins functions as his god, the object of his faith, hope, and dare we say, if not love, considerable devotion. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
We're going to begin with an exposure of Richard Dawkins' faith in a particularly strange anti-deity, which for Dawkins functions as his god, the object of his faith, hope, and dare we say, if not love, considerable devotion. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is probably significant that the authors are American and the arguments they refute are aimed by Dawkins at American fundamentalism. Dr. Dawkins himself has qualifications as a biologist, and I am told that his work on the development of the eye is well-regarded, but for much of the last decade and more, he's written little on the subject he is qualified to write about and much about Christianity and science. Dawkins' dislike of fundamentalist protestantism is clear, as it happens it is shared by Scott Hahn, who used to be one. Hahn is well-placed to show that Dawkins' real beef is not with Christianity, but with a particular form of it in general, and with the political influence it exercised in the USA in the 1990s and under George W. Bush. It might have been better if Dr, Hahn had focussed in on that, which is Dawkins' weakest point. Watching Dawkins and the Fundies bash each other is a bit like mud-wrestling: there are those who like that sort of thing, but the rest of us, Christian or atheist, might regard it as a curious way of passing the time.
Dr. Hahn shows what many others have commented on, which is that Dr. Dawkins is good on evolutionary biology, in which he has a doctorate, and less good on Christianity, where he has the usual middle-class English ex-Anglican attitudes; he thinks he knows what he remembers from his youth. Whether his catechesis was poor, or whether the Fundies are just such a tempting target he cannot help himself, Dr. Dawkins spends too much of his time on them. Hahn goes into depth on where Dawkins misrepresents mainstream Christian thinking, and it is well worth those who agree with Dawkins reading this and asking whether they (he and them) are in disagreement with Christianity, or just certain forms of it.
In the inevitable absence of proof that God does not exist (and I do wish more Christians would acknowledge Dr. Dawkins' humility here), Hahn can make hay of the arguments on the other side. Of course, as a believer, he thinks God does exist, but he might have acknowledged, in turn, that in the end this is a matter of faith. He shows that Dawkins' own atheism is a matter of faith, which is as true as the fact that Dr. Hahn's belief is; a bit of mutual respect might not have gone amiss, although in this area asperity seems the order of the day. The last part, on what a Dawkins state would look like is, like Dawkins' own work, a bit 'gamey' for my taste, but like Dr. Dawkins' work, good knock-about stuff.
In the end I gave it 5 stars because it is well-written and fun to read. It engages well with Dawkins, but I do wonder whether both sides could let up a bit and see that the other is not an Amalekite to be smitten hip and thigh?
Dr. Hahn shows what many others have commented on, which is that Dr. Dawkins is good on evolutionary biology, in which he has a doctorate, and less good on Christianity, where he has the usual middle-class English ex-Anglican attitudes; he thinks he knows what he remembers from his youth. Whether his catechesis was poor, or whether the Fundies are just such a tempting target he cannot help himself, Dr. Dawkins spends too much of his time on them. Hahn goes into depth on where Dawkins misrepresents mainstream Christian thinking, and it is well worth those who agree with Dawkins reading this and asking whether they (he and them) are in disagreement with Christianity, or just certain forms of it.
In the inevitable absence of proof that God does not exist (and I do wish more Christians would acknowledge Dr. Dawkins' humility here), Hahn can make hay of the arguments on the other side. Of course, as a believer, he thinks God does exist, but he might have acknowledged, in turn, that in the end this is a matter of faith. He shows that Dawkins' own atheism is a matter of faith, which is as true as the fact that Dr. Hahn's belief is; a bit of mutual respect might not have gone amiss, although in this area asperity seems the order of the day. The last part, on what a Dawkins state would look like is, like Dawkins' own work, a bit 'gamey' for my taste, but like Dr. Dawkins' work, good knock-about stuff.
In the end I gave it 5 stars because it is well-written and fun to read. It engages well with Dawkins, but I do wonder whether both sides could let up a bit and see that the other is not an Amalekite to be smitten hip and thigh?
54 of 84 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As an academic with Faith surrounded by atheists, I am always interested in reading rigorous, scholarly responses to what seems to be the atheists' Bible, Dawkins' 'God Delusion'. Hahn and Wiker more than meet this challenge, providing several insightful and thought-provoking rebuttals of Dawkins' arguments, doing so with both style and flair.
Easy to read, this book requires no specialist knowledge or training to understand. The authors' arguments, logic and examples are clearly presented and easy to follow. Moreover, unlike many books on the subject, they use humour to effectively illustrate various points that soundly refute Dawkins' position, logic and scholarship. Yet, despite the lighter tone employed, every one of their assertions is solidly backed up by multiple references to scholarly sources.
Adapting Dawkins' own approach with a spin of Christian charity, Hahn and Wiker's tone is sometimes ironic and 'tongue-in-cheek'. However, absent are the vitriol and venom that pervade Dawkins' work. Instead, they focus exclusively on the argument and the logic, never digressing into the personal or ad hominem so common on the other side. The result is a highly effective, persuasive and entertaining monograph that, once you start, is hard to put down.
One particularly salient point they make is how atheism is, for all intents and purposes, no more than a religion for Dawkins (and, de facto, most of his adherents). They demonstrate, point by point, how Dawkins consistently dismisses or ignores the scientific evidence contrary to his position (ironically, in much the same way that Dawkins and many atheists claim religious persons do). In doing so, they unmask Dawkin's 'new atheism' as merely the latest addition to the world's pantheon of blindly obeyed ideologies and cults (which Dawkins and his followers so haughtily but amusingly disdain).
This book provides significant food for thought to any intellectually honest atheist swayed by Dawkins' work.
Easy to read, this book requires no specialist knowledge or training to understand. The authors' arguments, logic and examples are clearly presented and easy to follow. Moreover, unlike many books on the subject, they use humour to effectively illustrate various points that soundly refute Dawkins' position, logic and scholarship. Yet, despite the lighter tone employed, every one of their assertions is solidly backed up by multiple references to scholarly sources.
Adapting Dawkins' own approach with a spin of Christian charity, Hahn and Wiker's tone is sometimes ironic and 'tongue-in-cheek'. However, absent are the vitriol and venom that pervade Dawkins' work. Instead, they focus exclusively on the argument and the logic, never digressing into the personal or ad hominem so common on the other side. The result is a highly effective, persuasive and entertaining monograph that, once you start, is hard to put down.
One particularly salient point they make is how atheism is, for all intents and purposes, no more than a religion for Dawkins (and, de facto, most of his adherents). They demonstrate, point by point, how Dawkins consistently dismisses or ignores the scientific evidence contrary to his position (ironically, in much the same way that Dawkins and many atheists claim religious persons do). In doing so, they unmask Dawkin's 'new atheism' as merely the latest addition to the world's pantheon of blindly obeyed ideologies and cults (which Dawkins and his followers so haughtily but amusingly disdain).
This book provides significant food for thought to any intellectually honest atheist swayed by Dawkins' work.
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Great book, well-written, some will go over your head, but the arguments are sound. I'd like to hear Dawkins' rebuttal!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tragi-comic
Really poor arguments. Took me a while to get through the whole thing, it's just too ridiculous. Sorry, this is not a good read at all.
Published 10 months ago by Sarah
The book really does demonstrate that Dawkin's arguments are shoddy.
Don't believe the bad reviews about this book. It will not disappoint as a TOTAL demolition of Dawkin's arguments, as well as containing powerful positive arguments for the... Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by Piers
Not persuasive
From the start of this book, the authors have a difficult path to tread. On the one hand, they tell us that students at an 'excellent faith-filled Catholic college' are losing... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2009 by JA Foxton
Disappointing
I was eager to read a well-researched, intelligent rebuttal of Dawkins' work, but this book doesn't even attempt it. Read more
Published on 15 July 2008 by D. Payne
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