It's refreshing to read such a well organized collection of thoughts and well-reasoned arguments, particularly when it addresses a collection of irrational, poorly-reasoned ideas such as those presented by Dawkins in "The God Delusion," a book so poorly written as an argument that even prominent atheist Michael Ruse said it made him "embarrassed to be an atheist." Harsh words, particularly when they're coming from a friendly camp. Ruse isn't the only "friendly" critic, by any means. I feel it's a shame, to be fair about it. I have always been impressed with Dawkins' skills as a writer dealing with popular and controversial ideas, and he just doesn't present a very smart argument in "The God Delusion."
This book was badly needed. Dawkins is a very persuasive writer and has a devoted following, so getting readers of all stripes to buy into his argument is a simple task. But for anyone looking for a reasonable, rational argument, Dawkins' book is something of an embarrassment, regardless of your worldview. Dawkins proposes to disprove the Judeo-Christian God, but knows next to nothing about Him. As the authors of this book point out, Dawkins creates a strawman God on his own terms, and then proceeds to beat the tar out of him. There's just one problem: this god that Dawkins is trying so hard to disprove isn't even remotely like the God found in the Judeo-Christian scriptures.
Anyone can prove or disprove something when they are allowed to invent the premise to fit their argument. If you would allow me to create my own definition of God, I'm pretty certain I could prove His existence using established scientific facts, as I'd simply invent a definition of God that allowed me to do so. As the authors point out, Dawkins has committed this same sleight of hand, and slipped it right past many readers, who apparently saw nothing wrong with it. For those who haven't read this book yet, I'll try to explain it as quickly as possible, as understanding it is critical to understanding the rest of this review.
To disprove the Judeo-Christian God, one must accept the description of Him found within the Judeo-Christian scriptures. This description suggests a God who existed before the creation event, and therefore outside of our four-dimensional world. He's also described as existing before our dimension of time began, and therefore not constrained by it. Additionally, this god-being is a spirit, not a physical entity. Dawkins dispenses with all of these annoying points, and moves forward with his own conveniently-designed definition of an evolved god. Dawkins believes that as our own intelligence is the result of evolution, then this God must have evolved as well. The numerous problems with this concept should be immediately clear. For starters, evolution works on physical beings with DNA, which, to the best of our knowledge, only exists within this 4-D Universe. How can you apply the powers of natural selection to a spirit? The problems then continue to spiral outward from this starting point, but you'll need to read this book as well as "The God Delusion" to fully enjoy them. As the authors point out, Dawkins tries to create an evolved, somewhat material god who's little more than an amplified version of himself. It's no wonder Dawkins couldn't find him.
The real meat of the authors' argument, however, comes near the end, which addresses the problems encountered with Dawkins' increasingly flawed argument regarding morality. Morality, Dawkins claims, is an evolved trait, the result of millions of years of evolution. The problem with this idea is that if morality is purely the result of Darwinian processes, then, from our human perspective, it's cold and heartless at its core, and not the type of social structure that Dawkins himself would want to live in, and he admits as much. But how can that be? In a totally material world, good and bad are simply subjective tags we give things. How can evolved, amoral behavior be cold and heartless, and why do we largely reject "Darwinian" social behavior in our societies? This is just one part of Dawkins' argument where he paints himself into a corner.
Even more bizarre is his attack on the God of the Old Testament. As the authors point out, Dawkins refers to this God as heartless, xenophobic, selfish and racist. Dawkins is now attacking both God (and by extension, the Jews) for behaving exactly as evolution would have Him behave; selfishly preserving His own at the expense of others. If Dawkins' God is an evolved entity, then He's behaving exactly as Dawkins would expect him to behave. The Jews, as described in the Bible, are brutally efficient at preserving their genes and their environment, qualities that Dawkins praises elsewhere in his arguments, but finds repugnant when actually applied by a particular group. The ancient Jews, by Dawkins evolutionary definitions, are genetic geniuses, and since there is no God in Dawkins purely physical world, how can you ascribe attributes such as good and evil to an "evolved" race that appears so brutally efficient at exploiting natural selection to its fullest advantages, a trait so strong in them that they've survived intact as a distinct group for over four millennnia?
As the authors point out, Dawkins wants to have his cake and eat it too. Pick your poison, say the authors of this book. Dawkins cannot argue in favor of evolved, amoral behavior as the basis for all morality, and then turn around and condemn it as unfair and biased elsewhere, particularly since his natural world, as its core, has no use for such subjective classifications. Evolved traits must be viewed as amoral, says Dawkins. So why does he feel he can change the rules to attack a race of people (and, by extension, their God) that simply came to be (claims Dawkins) as the result of blind, amoral evolutionary processes?
In summation, this book picks apart Dawkins' argument and shows its fatal flaws; flaws, I'll note again, that were roundly criticized by his own colleagues. That point alone should have been a warning sign to readers not to blindly accept Dawkins rhetoric, no matter how inflamed and stirring it may be. I sincerely hope that anyone who reads "The God Delusion" and who considers themselves to be a critical thinker will also take the time to read this excellent argument against it. If you're going to develop a rational basis for your beliefs, be they atheistic or theistic, you should be willing to entertain a sound argument against them. This book is a good place to start. The authors did their homework, and produced a sound rebuttal to an inflammatory book from an author who didn't.
And, if you're a theist who wants to develop a fair and balanced view of the God vs. naturalism debate, I would suggest you skip "The God Delusion," and instead read Carl Sagan's
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark as it's a far better argument than the one delivered by Dawkins. As a theist myself, I found Sagan's book to be far more compelling and thought-provoking, and it gave me much to consider in refining my own Christian worldview.