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Last week I finished reading Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion. I rather enjoyed the whole book, which you might find strange since it is really just one long argument for common sense. But nevertheless I found it highly enlightening and I would recommend it to anyone - believers and non-believers alike.
There is one recurring point that Dawkins raises throughout the book - and particularly through all of chapter 9 - that struck me as especially critical. Before going any further, I want you to read this sentence and ask yourself what is wrong with it: The Jewish mother and her Jewish children lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood.
Don’t feel bad if you don’t see it right away. Like most of us, I had become accustomed to accepting it as a kind of fait accompli before the outright wrongness of it was pointed out to me. Here is the sentence again, with the problem point highlighted: The Jewish mother and her Jewish children lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood.
Who decided that these children were Jewish? If it makes you feel any better, replace the adjective with any of the following; Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist. Did the children study the evidence presented to them (from all sides), weigh the facts, consider their own personal beliefs, and then decide to willingly and knowingly subscribe to the same school of thought as their parents? Of course they didn’t.
The author presents the argument much better than I could - and I can’t find a relevant quote at the moment - but I figure that is a pretty good starting point to get you thinking. The purpose of the argument is to raise the awareness of the reader, so that every time we hear the words ‘a Muslim child’ or ‘a Christian child’, we should recoil at the ludicrousness of it. Don’t believe me? Try re-reading that phrase with the word ‘Jewish’ replaced by ‘Republican’ or ‘Marxist’.
This kind of wrong-think is the first step down a very slippery slope indeed. If you have an open mind, and aren’t afraid to have any personal paradigms shifted, I whole-heartedly encourage you to pick up The God Delusion today.
Posted by Aaron on November 26, 2007, 10:41 pm permalink top | general
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