CliveH, the great evil on the planet is not religion or any version thereof but rather man's tendency to deny freedom of expression to others and the insane need to control what others think. This has nothing to do with any version of god or the genuine pursuit of spiritual truth. This is human nature 101. This is the ego at its worst. The misconception that religion is the cause of this suffering is due largely to the fact that those who would control what others think have done it largely by using religion as a tool over the centuries and they still do today....mostly in Islamic countries now but also to a lesser extent with other religions. But this is not the sole domain of religion. We have seen atheistic ideologies such as communism torture and murder and imprison people for their spiritual beliefs over the last century. Today in North Korea you can be machine gunned for owning a bible and your family can be made to watch it happen.
I can't say I have a lot of time for your man Richard Dawkins. The man has a fine mind I won't deny that and he is well spoken but at the end of the day he is just a guru for atheism no different to all the spiritual gurus he professes to stand against. And just like all the other gurus his way is the only right way and anyone who doesn't conform should be mocked and scorned and otherwise ridden into the ground.
Why is it that Richard Dawkins spends most of his time trying to debunk and stamp out all forms of spiritual belief?? If science holds the key to ultimate truth and if there is no other truth beyond this physical universe then why would he not instead spend his life in pursuit of that truth rather than in an endless crusade fighting a lie??
Something about Dawkins does not add up. What has happened in his life that makes him so driven, so vindictive and so determined to control the beliefs of others?? What is that chink in his character really all about?? There is something there for sure, some trauma or some subconscious association from his past that is bubbling up from deep within. In the final wash though, he is no better than the Spanish inquisition or the Islamic fundamentalists today who are persecuting non-moslems.
It is my opinion that anyone who reads a couple of Dawkins books and then claims enlightenment is just as guilty of being part of a brainwashed cult as anyone who joins one of the weird and whacky religious movements. Dawkins is as charismatic as they come and you just need to hear the enthusiastic cheers and see the adoration on the faces of his followers as he gives one of his anti-religion speeches. Ironically he would be right at home as a speaker at a Billy Graham revival rally if he were to be reading from a different script.
