Not easily influenced by the spirit of the times, (which stands to reason, as he doesn't put much stock in spirits) Richard Dawkins has a new, unapologetically opinionated book, "The God Delusion," in which he expounds on the views of theology that inform his well-received science popularization books.
The book centers, as Dawkins tells BBC News in this interview, around an argument addressed not only to confirmed atheists, who will probably be the lion's share of his audience, but also to on-the-fence agnostics and even those who don't realize they're already inclined toward a lack of theistic belief but are afraid to admit it to themselves in a climate somewhat hostile to atheism. (Due to the tone, it's probably not going to inspire much other than ire or, at best, dismissal from most confirmed theists.)
It's obvious from the BBC interview that both Dawkins and the interviewer expect a different reaction to the book in America, which is probably a fair guess. So far, his toughest customer has been Stephen Colbert, but that's probably the tip of the iceberg.
Read it for yourself and see. The only copy at our local library is currently checked out by one of the librarians, but my shackmate signed up for it once it's available.
Here are some excerpts, courtesy of BBC and The New York Times.
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Belated update:
Dawkins was in town recently and we got a signed copy of the book. We were pleased to see that he got a very good turnout. This is a conversation that needs to take place here as well as overseas (where it has been going on for decades already.)
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