The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins Buy at: Amazon

The atheists guidebook.

Something's happening. The movement against religion has picked up momentum. It used to be OK to just ignore the issue, let it go, to allow religious beliefs to have an equal platform in society. There's a vast road ahead, but it's starting to change.

Richard Dawkins has been pushing this forward as much as anyone. The book is a clear run down of the arguments for God and "why there almost certainly is no God". There's a discussion of the roots of religion, why morality and religion are not the same thing, why religion is bad, and in particular the way children are "mentally abused" by being taught religion.

When I was at school I remember a local vicar giving assembly. He stood up in front of a hall full of 7 or 8 year olds—maybe younger, I don't really know for sure—and said something along the lines of this: "maybe God exists, maybe not. But if you believe and he doesn't exist, you've lost little. But if he does exist, and you don't believe, you're going to hell." It had quite an impact. Of course, it's a terrible argument. It wasn't until I was 17 or 18 that I stumbled on a book in the library that told me this argument is known as Pascal's Wager. I remember feeling angry at being so duped, and at having wasted so many years believing nonsense. Even now, thinking back to that day, I still feel angry. And very little makes me angry. Dawkins dispenses with the argument in less than two pages.

I've described The God Delusion as a guidebook. Am I supposed to give the book to believers? Perhaps, but the book is useful beyond that for forcing the debate, laying out the evidence, as a rallying point for atheists, and to help those having difficulty "coming out" as an atheist. I don't find the writing particularly populist, and at times it feels almost arrogant. But it is so important to see the discussion presented critically. I'd suggest reading it along with What Is This Thing Called Science? to get an idea for why the scientific method is held is such high regard.

There are numerous footnotes and quotes through the book. My favourite: "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful".

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