RE: The God Delusion
November 10, 2013 at 12:03 am
(This post was last modified: November 10, 2013 at 12:52 am by Optimistic Mysanthrope.)
(November 9, 2013 at 11:11 pm)Zazzy Wrote: I really felt it was damned boring, repetitive, and not useful. Dawkins should stick to science.Agreed. So should Hawking. His attempt at philosophy in "a brief history of time" cost me quite a few brain cells from banging my head against the wall in frustration.
Quote:Out of curiosity, what's your beef with Sam? I have issues with him, too- primarily his absolute inflexibility and sweeping statements on nuanced issues of morality and religion, and some disappointing analysis of his own work in neurobiology. Also, he has a a really thin skin for such a rabble-rouser- his blog is intensely annoying for personal reasons.
I generally consider Sam Harris to be a more vulgar, pale shadow of Hitchens. I find his seeming obsession with Islam to be downright offensive - a criticism I also levelled at Hitchens. It may well be just because I'm English, but I find him crass, unsophisticated and over the top. Again, this may well just be a case of cultural bias. After all, I've never had to struggle with my beliefs and I've never really suffered for them.
I don't know, I've grown up watching blackadder, so Hitchens' razor sharp retorts just resonate with me. I guess anything less than a standard of wit comparable to Oscar Wilde falls short of my expectations
Although my distaste at the vitriolic invective levelled at Islam stands regardless. Every single muslim I have ever known and conversed with (both before and after 9/11) has been possessed of a natural good will that I find extraordinarily rare in christian dominated culture. I do not doubt for a second that Islam has it's fair share of bastards, (I find people are people, whoever they are and wherever they come from), but in my experience the average muslim is far more genial than the average christian.
Anyways, I'm rambling. I'll shut up now.
(November 9, 2013 at 11:42 pm)Zen Badger Wrote: But then, I don't really think the books are aimed at people like us. More towards people that have either never really thought about the subject or recovering theists.
(November 9, 2013 at 11:55 pm)MitchBenn Wrote: HOWEVER, I've heard it cited by many former theists as having been a vital influence in their deconversion process, so let's not knock it just cos it didn't tell US much we didn't already know...
I get what you guys are saying about target audience, it's just strikes me as more of an "atheism 101" than anything else. Maybe I had unfair expectations. It would've been nice to see something new in it though.
Still, it's always nice to hear about other life-long atheists
