Not so long ago, I watched a documentary on Netflix called ‘The Story of God with Morgan Freeman’ and I found it absolutely fascinating, it explored the way different religions view various aspects of life. In the interest of fairness, I thought I should look at the other side of it to. So, when considering which book I should read to explore atheism, The God Delusion seemed like the obvious choice.
I was raised as a Catholic and attended a Catholic school, my great uncle was a priest and I regularly went to mass as a child, however, I can’t remember every truly believing in any of it and now consider myself an atheist. I say this because I just want to show that I have experienced both sides of it and hope this in some way diminishes my bias (it probably doesn’t, but at least I tried!).
If you’re looking for a passive read then this book probably isn’t for you, you really have to engage your brain, and they’re the kind of non-fiction books I like. Of course, it can hurt your brain a little and I did find myself having to re-read certain passages to better understand them, and even then there were some things I couldn’t grasp, I’m not going to pretend that I could!
The arguments in the book are balanced and well researched and every chapter is thought provoking and interesting. This, along with a good amount of wit made the whole read very enjoyable. If at first his argument seems extreme, Dawkins has an enviable way of explaining himself. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it quite as much if he was a less able writer. My scientific knowledge isn’t amazing but I knew enough for him to talk me through it, and it was that exceptional knowledge of science and the various aspects of religion that made for a well researched and convincing book.
There wasn’t part of the book that I didn’t enjoy but the chapter ‘The roots of morality: why are we good?’ was a particular favourite of mine. It is odd that we take so many things for granted, as just part of what it means to be human and this exploration into morality was very striking but then, I could say that about much of the book.
I can imagine that many religious people would be put off by the book, and that is understandable, Dawkins is in no way sympathetic. However, I don’t think that it should only be read by atheists, or people who feel they may be atheists with the right encouragement, that really isn’t what the book is about. Although not particularly objective, the book does identify and explore both sides of the argument rationally. Just as I watched and enjoyed the documentary on religion despite not being religious myself, I believe that you can both read and enjoy the book despite not being an atheist.
I’ll be honest, this book took me longer to read than a fiction book of the same length would have but that didn’t put me off and I plan on taking a look at his other books to see if anything else grabs my interest. I am continually shocked and fascinated by religion and so it is a topic that interests me but it’s not all I want to read about. I’ve finally started reading more non-fiction books that aren’t just true life stories and really enjoying how engaging they are. There is sure to be more non-fiction book reviews coming this year!
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