The God Delusion By Richard Dawkins

The process of the secularization is epitomized on the cover of Steve Bruce’s book God is Dead. The cover depicts a British church converted to a discount warehouse store called Mike’s Carpets. It can similarly be seen at the converted church hostel that our History of Christianity class stayed. There is noticeable evidence all around us that religion has a declining influence. We know fewer people around us that get married in a church or regularly attend church. Christmas and Easter (Christian holidays) have lost much of their religious meaning. The holidays are now an excuse to have a break from work and indulge in food and drink. For many Christian holidays are a cultural rather than a religious affair. It may seem like common knowledge

In Stanley Hauerwas’s article titled “Go with God” he presents a letter to students who are going off to attend college. It’s a guide that proposes certain expectations and helpful information for students heading off on this new endeavor. He makes a point that going to college means much more than a diploma and hopes of high paying job. “To worship God and live faithfully are necessary conditions if you are to survive college. But as a Christian you are called to do more than survive” (Hauerwas). The advice in the letter reinforce its main theme: to be a student is a calling. This challenges the reader to think beyond the normal expectations of why we go off to college.

Brown, Neil. "The New Atheism and The Existence of God.” Compass, 46, no. 3, 2-5. Kensington, Australia: Compass, Spring 2012.

The Crucible of Life, by Timothy Crutcher, is a book that explains: the interrelationship of theological method and religious epistemology, the function of experience as an authority, the specific epistemological grounds, and the usefulness today of John Wesley’s theological method (17). The book begins by explaining an important distinction in Wesley’s usage of the word experience in comparison to our contemporary common use of the word. That is, Wesley uses the word experience to describe an outward, active process rather than a subjective and passive interpretation (23). Furthermore, it is noted that Wesley should not be assumed to be a Lockean philosopher due to his variety of philosophical roots (25).

Religious individuals are viewed as illogical and even delusional, while those who claim to be atheists are seen as more intelligent. Sam Harris, a prominent atheist, made a statement reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson’s view on Christianity in a recent podcast. “It would be possible for you and I to invent a religion, right now, that was better than any existing religion.” His ‘religion’, he continued on to explain, would simply be a collection of benevolent rules to enforce moral behavior. To Harris, while the the majority of religious beliefs are outrageous, the moral framework they provide is beneficial to society. Another prominent atheist, Richard Dawkins, took a stance much closer to Thomas Paine’s in a speech titled Militant Atheism. Faith and reason, Dawkins argues, are incompatible and completely destructive to each other. “Not only is science corrosive to religion, but religion is corrosive to science. It teaches people to be satisfied with trivial, supernatural, non-explanations, and blinds then to the wonderful, real explanations that we have within our grasps,” (Dawkins). Whether Dawkins chooses to recognise it or not, the modern Catholic Church is still using logic to find its own wonderful, real

The meaning of religion is something that scholars, along with society at large, have attempted to define for centuries. Although the term cannot truly have one solid meaning, it is clear that religion is much more than a set of beliefs and practices. In Religion: The Basics, author Mallory Nye discusses his approach to studying religion. In arguing that culture and religion strongly influence each other, he explains that those studying religion must make people and culture their focus, as variations even within the same religions exist and must be considered. Moreover, Nye explains how religion is, essentially, a universal concept, as it takes form in an array of shapes across the globe. With Nye’s argument, I have developed new insights

The Dawkins chapter speaks about the debate between religion and science and how religious people refuse to even give science teachers and professors the time of day. Most of the time people will refuse to listen to what has been proven due to their religious beliefs. Evolution professors have even been threatened with the loss of their jobs. Even though, many professors have tried to explain that evolution is a fact and one of the greatest of God’s works, still their time is wasted. The pope and educated priests and professors of theology have been known to no longer have a problem with evolution because they understand that evolution is a fact and not intended to be an anti-religious study.

Terror has become a common feeling in today’s world. Music concerts and churches have become targets for terrorist activity. People are now thinking twice about their safety before leave home. In the book Terror In The Mind Of God by Mark Juergensmeyer, he starts off talking about different terror acts and how it has changed how he views the world. He says, "On a different day, at a different time, perhaps in a different bus, one of the bodies torn to shreds by any of these terrorist acts could have been yours or mine" (Juergensmeyer p. 3). He goes on to talk about how he feels betrayed that his "personal security and order that is usually a basic assumption of public life cannot in fact be taken for granted in a world where terrorist acts exit" (Juergensmeyer 3). Terrorism is a huge concern for Americans today. We hear on the news about church shootings and attacks on people attending an outdoor concert. We begin to feel unsafe going out in public and enjoying basic activities.

Throughout, the book, The Accidental Universe, Alan Lightman the author of the book discusses a number of ideas ranging from, how the world came to be, to the multiverse, as well as other various ideas and his thoughts on them. Consistently throughout the book, Lightman was wishy-washy and it appeared he was trying to please both Atheists, as well as religious people. However, his key idea stays prevalent throughout the entirety of the book. The idea being that this universe came to fruition accidentally, out of nothing.

Zora Neale Hurston Was Born On January 7,1891. She was raised in Notasulga, Zora studied at the Columbia University where she took courses in Spanish, English, Greek and public speaking and earned an associate degree in 1920. In 1921, she wrote a short story "John Redding Goes to Sea" which qualified her to become a member of Alaine Locke's literary club (1928–1930). During a period of financial and medical difficulties, Hurston was forced to enter St. Lucie County Welfare Home where she suffered a stroke she died of hypertensive heart disease Zora Died On January 28, 1960. Hurston grew up in a community where black people were completely self governed. Her teachers were black the town government was black there was no one around to make her

Morality and ethics have always been a large source of debate and contention between different factions of various interests, beliefs, and ideals due to its centrality and foundational role in society and civilization and incredible importance to everyday life and decision making. In many of these disputes religious belief, or a lack thereof, serves as an important driving force behind one or both sides of the argument. In the modern world, one of the bigger instances of this can be seen in the many debates between Atheistic and religious individuals about the implications of religious belief on morality. One of the most famous Atheists, Christopher Hitchens, asserts that religion is not only unnecessary for morality, but actually impedes

I understand why the congregant worry Dawkins’s view when she read the book of Joshua. When I read the story of holy war, I could not dispute Dawkins’s description. However, I realized that I read the Bible outwardly. It is easy to make mistake to interpret God when we read the Bible only following the words. However, if we read the book of Joshua with the historical side and the real meaning of the words in the Bible, we can see God differently unlike Dawkins’s perspective. I would like to say that Dawkins interpret God in the only one side. Since Dawkins see God as the side of victor or oppressor, he does only see God as what he describes.

Car jackings, house fires, break-ins, weather and climate changes, and mass shootings. One viewing of the nightly news and it is no wonder that religion, faith, and belief in God has come into question. Right in Milwaukee(as in the world), a city with wide divides politically, racially, and economically, religion specifically Christianity has been called into question. How can a just God let people become victims of violence and natural disasters? The answer from Christianity is that faith (trust) in God and his revealed plan brought to end through Jesus Christ. A outspoken biologist, atheist, lecturer, and writer, Dr. Richard Dawkins believes that faith is nothing more than superstition and feeling, with little support to reinforce the belief

a) Christians believe many different things about God’s nature; due to the huge spectrum of Christians that there are. However, as a general rule they perceive God as being one of the following four things:

Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons makes many comments on the good and evil of humanity. The heroes in the book are very human and thus are very flawed. Most of the time, it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Quite frankly, the heroes themselves are relatively bad people and show the inner darkness that humans possess. However, there still seems to be a representation of the good in people. In this panel, there are many aspects that draw on the idea of the evil and good of humanity. This panel is able to capture so much of the story at once and it also presents the reality of what Veidt did. Even more so than the destruction caused, it is the images of the two Bernies, the “Black Freight” magazine, and representation