It's Been 20 years since "The God Delusion" was Published



The Christian press has tried lampooning Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion for all of these 20 years. Yet the book's impact, or the cultural change that gave rise to its popularity, continues. Dawkins penned a wonderful essay about the conflict between the faith and those of non faith and it's worth reading. 

Dawkins points out that the power of Charles Darwin's book explaining where humans came from. It destroyed creationism as the explanation. Darwin wrote this around the time of the Civil War. Christian creationism started downhill and has never stopped. Dawkins points out in last week's essay the destruction of creationism has been so complete those in Christianity with academic backgrounds have all but abandoned it.

Dawkins points out these Christians who have been forced to abandon creationism have now turned to another argument. That is about the universe. Readers all know the argument. It is that so many things in the universe had to happen to arrive at an earth hospitable to humans it is impossible it could have happened without God. 

Christian explain that when the earth was formed by breaking off from earlier sources it had to travel until it was the perfect distance from the sun. The lightening that caused chemical changes that started the first life had to have the right amount of force. Then enough time had to elapse and so on. Dawkins uses the metaphor of a god at a control panel with six dials turning each so precisely the right conditions are dialed up. 

Since we don't yet know precisely how all these variables came about Christian chuckle and inform us the answer has to absolutely be God. As Dawkins points out, there is no human necessity to know the answer to every question about the origin of life. Some may be known later or never be known. It does not require the explanation it was God. The explanation that we don't know is a more knowledgeable and serious explanation than claiming it was God. 


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