The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine - Paperback

by Alister McGrath (Author), Joanna Collicutt McGrath (Author)

World-renowned scientist Richard Dawkins writes in The God Delusion: "If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down." The volume has received wide coverage, fueled much passionate debate and caused not a little confusion.Alister McGrath, along with his wife Joanna, are ideal to evaluate Dawkins's ideas. Once an atheist himself, he gained a doctorate in molecular biophysics before going on to become a leading Christian theologian.He wonders how two people, who have reflected at length on substantially the same world, could possibly have come to such different conclusions about God. McGrath subjects Dawkins's critique of faith to rigorous scrutiny. His exhilarating, meticulously argued response deals with questions such asIs faith intellectual nonsense?Are science and religion locked in a battle to the death?Can the roots of Christianity be explained away scientifically?Is Christianity simply a force for evil?This book will be warmly received by those looking for a reliable assessment of The God Delusion and the many questions it raises--including, above all, the relevance of faith and the quest for meaning.

Author Biography

Alister McGrath is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford, and (from 2015 to 2018) Gresham Professor of Divinity. His previous posts include Professor of Theology and Education at King's College, London, and Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University. Alister gained first class honours from Oxford University in Chemistry (1975) and first class honours in Theology (1978).He holds an Oxford DPhil (1978) for his research in molecular biology, a DD from Oxford University's Faculty of Theology for his work in historical and systematic theology (2001), and a DLitt from Oxford University's Division of Humanities for his research in science and religion (2013). He was elected FRSA in 2005, in recognition of his work as a public intellectual.

Joanna Collicutt McGrath studied experimental psychology at Oxford, then went on to specialize for some years in clinical neuropsychology, and subsequently studied Christian theology, particularly biblical studies. Currently she is lecturer in thepsychology of religion at Heythrop College, University of London. She is also coauthor with Jeremy Duff of Meeting Jesus: Human Responses to a Yearning God.