As regular readers will know I don’t do God or gods (of any gender). In fact I don’t do dogmatic belief systems at all, preferring to find my own way and my own ethics, intellectually. Which of course does not mean that I can’t appreciate many of the great things which have been done in the name of religion; that I don’t abhor the many bad things; that I am amoral; or that I would ever deny anyone’s right to believe whatever they wish as a crutch to get them through this life.
I am not a theist; neither am I an atheist. I prefer to say that, while I find the notion of some all-supreme being inherently unlikely – literally fantastic – I simply do not know; and further I doubt that we can ever know. Which should not stop us seeking and pushing back the intellectual envelope.
I am as suspicious of atheists as I am of theists. For atheists are just as bigoted – sometimes more so – than theists. Richard Dawkins is a case in point. His aggressive “new atheism” is just as dogmatic, inflexible and demanding as the belief system of any theist fundamentalist. Indeed I would go so far as to label Dawkins himself a fundamentalist – albeit one who doesn’t fly plane-loads of innocents into office blocks.
I was pleased therefore to see in next week’s Radio Times (23-29 January) the most measured and comprehensive demolition of Dawkins and his ilk under the title The Dawkins Delusion. It was written by novelist Howard Jacobson who presents the first programme in Channel 4’s series The Bible: a History. And it isn’t that Jabobson is a believer: he describes himself as an atheist “who fears all fanaticism bred by faith” which includes Dawkins et.al.
Sadly the Radio Times article isn’t on their website, but I feel sufficiently enraged by Dawkins’s bigoted anti-bigot stance that I’ve broken the rules and put a scanned copy online here (although it will be removed forthwith if I am requested to do so by Radio Times, or if I spot that the article is available elsewhere online).
Jacobson’s opinion, although not new, is important and deserves a wider airing.
Thank you for putting that on the internet. It is one of the most well thought out pieces I've read for a long time. I have yet to read The God Delusion but I always wondered from what I've read about it whether it was atheism as portrayed by a fanatic. The world is not either black or white but infinite shades of grey.
A friend e-mailed me a copy of the article and I found your blog looking for more information on the author. Dawkins is a tiresome bore. He's not that smart, not that knowledgeable. If you want to delve into these ideas Paul Davies has the better mind.Too bad the early promise Dawkins showed in "The Selfish Gene" degenerated into the equivalent of the egocentric ravings of a bar-room drunk.
There was a very interesting debate with Richard Dawkins participating on this very point recently at Wellington College – you can view the video here:
@Wanda … Thanks for the pointer to Paul Davies – I've always meant to read some of his stuff; must put him back on the reading list!@Phil … Thanks for the video link; will take a look.