A disappointing parcel

One of the joys afforded by the growth of internet commerce is the arrival of parcels from Amazon. I tend to order books and then forget about them, so when they do arrive, it is usually a pleasant surprise. The other day I ordered a few books and so I was quite eager to open the parcel that came today.

Sadly it was only one of the books; and the one I am least looking forward to reading: Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, shamelessly promoted by the BBC as Joee Bloggs pointed out the other day. Looking at the chapter headings, it promises to be a text-book of modern atheism. It will be useful to read as a presentation of what atheists in the UK today would consider the strongest arguments against God and religion.

Dawkins certainly does not sit on the fence: he not only believes that "there is almost certainly no God", he also believes that religion has done immense harm. His writing has a great deal of influence in Britain, being recommended reading for undergraduates in a variety of disciplines. If you give a talk on the existence of God at any university in Britain, the questions will include references to Richard Dawkins. Hence the need to read this latest work.

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