I have just been handed The Dawkins Letters: Revised Edition – Challenging Atheist Myths
As you may know, Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion which served as a powerful manifesto for the New Atheists.
Pastor David Robertson decided to respond to Dawkins by sending a letter to his organization. They unexpectedly posted it on their website and Robertson received a number of surprisingly vitriolic responses from the readers.
Realizing he had hit a nerve, Robertson continued to respond in letter format. These letters form the chapters of the book. The titles of the chapters are:
The Myth of Higher Consciousness
The Myth of Godless Beauty
The Myth of Atheistic Rationality and Tolerance
The Myth of the Cruel Old Testament God
The Myth of the Science/Religion Conflict
The Myth of the Created God and the Uncreated Universe
The Myth of the Inherent Evil of Religion
The Myth of Godless Morality
The Myth of the Immoral Bible
The Myth of Religious Child Abuse
As you can tell from the chapter titles, Robertson has a way with words. In his letters, he dismantles Dawkins arguments piece by piece.
In a few places he agrees with Dawkins, such as the critique of the small view of God that many religions have.
At other times he points out the hypocrisy of the New Atheism. After describing the vitriol he has received, Robertson says, “Anyway it is not fair to judge a belief system by those of its advocates who are eccentric, extreme and in need of some kind of therapy.” Then he adds, “Please remember that when you discuss Christianity.”
Finally, in many places he dismantles the emotional and illogical arguments as well as exposing the ad-hominem attacks. Once Robertson has spoken, Dawkins’ arguments collapse flimsily.
The Dawkins Letters would make an excellent gift for the skeptic in your life who has been influenced by The God Delusion. Order two and read it with your friend!
