Richard Dawkins has indeed found a niche for his talent and experience as a scientist (zoology) and writer. In "The GOD Delusion", Dawkins continues explaining Darwinism and correcting many misunderstandings about the role of "randomness" and "design" in evolution as he has in previous books such as "The Blind Watchmaker" and "The Selfish Gene", but he moves more directly into the role (or non-role) of religion in science and philosophy.
In this book Dawkins argues that religion may have had a purpose in the evolution of man or that it might have been a side effect of another human trait that was necessary for increased selective advantage. But in either case, it is not only no longer necessary but is actually counterproductive and dangerous. He also argues that all the arguments about the value of religion in morality and choosing "good" are vacuous. We use our morals to select what is good in the bible and religion not the other way around, he claims.
This book will probably anger moderate and liberal Christians more than fundamentalists as the latter will simply write it off as "atheist propaganda". Moderates and liberals on the other hand would like to find a place where religion and science can co-exist while Dawkins argues that such co-existence is neither necessary nor even desirable.
As expected, Dawkins uses lots of stuff from his previous books but repackages it nicely with fresh references to the turmoil of our current times rather than 30 years ago. An excellent, thought provoking book.
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