Tim Challies has a nice review of the venerable Alister McGrath‘s new book, The Dawkins Delusion? McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, spares little in his accusations of anti-intellectualism on Dawkins’ part. I love this quote:
Dawkins simply offers the atheist equivalent of slick hellfire preaching, substituting turbocharged rhetoric and highly selective manipulation of facts or careful, evidence-based thinking. Curiously, there is surprisingly little scientific analysis in The God Delusion. There’s a lot of pseudoscientific speculation, linked with wider cultural criticisms of religion, mostly borrowed from older atheist writings. Dawkins preaches to his god-hating choirs, who are clearly expected to relish his rhetorical salvoes and raise their hands high in adulation.
Go read Challies’ entire review of the Dawkins Delusion, it’s worth it.
And BTW, McGrath will be debating atheist apologist Christopher Hitchens on Oct. 11 at Georgetown University. That’s gonna be a good one. The debate is entitled “Poison or Cure? Religious Belief in the Modern World.” Can’t wait. You can listen to McGrath criticizing Dawkins’ book at City Church of San Francisco’s Open Forum.