God is No Delusion

Last updated on: May 6, 2010 at 6:16 pm by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

God is No Delusion 2010-05-06T18:16:00-05:00 Fr. Dwight Longenecker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There have been various books published to counter Richard Dawkins’ juvenile book The God Delusion. I can’t admit to having read the others, but this one is an absolute must-read. Fr Thomas Crean O.P. is an English Dominican based in Cambridge, and he responds to Dawkins with a wonderful mixture of erudition, sharp argument, subtle wit and patient charity. All this is combined with the best sort of wry, English understatement and bemused condescension. Having lived in the damp land for twenty five years and got to know this wonderful race, I could just hear the intellectual repartee and see the amusement and concern sparkling across Fr. Crean’s face.

Behind the actual debate is the long rivalry between Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Here is a theological and philosophical version of the famous University boat race–with Fr Crean the physically fit and effortless rower while poor old Dawkins is seen to be huffing and puffing to pull the oars to keep up. Eventually Dawkins’ boat sinks and the bedraggled don surfaces and stomps from the river to console himself in the boathouse with his drunken friend Hitchens.

My imagination is running away…Fr Crean begins rowing by outlining Prof. Dawkins’ essential argument, and what a weak argument it is. Dawkins says that God would have to be terribly complex to have invented the world and therefore he would have to be so very complex not only to have invented the world, but to keep it going and answer all those prayers and so forth, and who could invented him then? An even more complex being and so on and so forth. Fr. Crean dismantles it immediately by showing us how God is not complex but simple. He explains the simplicity of God easily and clearly enough, and it is a concept that anyone even a little bit familiar with the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas would have not only learned, but understood. I don’t have time to explain it all here, but clearly the summa was not part of Prof. Dawkins’ homework in preparation for writing.

In the second chapter Fr Crean takes us through Thomas Aquinas’ famous proofs for God’s existence, Dawkins’ objections and the counter arguments. This is good solid stuff, but the real fun begins with the next chapter about Dawkins and miracles. He is relentless in his pursuit of Dawkins’ shallow arguments, false assumptions and logical fallacies, and as he goes Fr Crean continues to get into his stride. The chapter on Dawkins and the gospels is one of the best. Here Dawkins show his amazing ignorance. He tells us that the gospels are a collection of tales written long after the events and are no more historical than the stories of King Arthur. Fr Crean pulls out fact after fact after fact: the gospels are closer in time to any other ancient historical figure. Their language and knowledge of the ancient world are spot on. There are thousands more manuscripts and more textual evidence than for any other historical figure of the ancient world. One of the best moments is when he says one of the most ancient manuscripts of the gospel of John is not held in a monastic library in Egypt or Turkey, but just down the road from Prof Dawkins’ house in the Magdalene College Library in Oxford. Wasn’t Prof Dawkins aware of the existence of this priceless artifact in his own town? Clearly not.

The rout goes on through Dawkins’ sophomoric views on the origins of morality and the origins of religion. The chapter on Dawkins and the Catholic Church is my second favorite. Once again Dawkins astounding ignorance about the Catholic Church is displayed by Fr Crean. The poor Cambridge don is amazed and bewildered by Dawkins utter ignorance not only of the fine points of Catholic belief and behavior, but of the big picture as well. He simply doesn’t get it. To quote Terry Eagleton’s famous quip, “Reading Dawkins on theology is like reading a book on biology written by someone who has only ever read the Big British Book of Birds.

Of course I am biased. I’m on Fr Crean’s side from the beginning. But you don’t need to be to appreciate his learning, his sharp writing style and his clear and ironic intelligence.

It’s a shame that this book will not be as popular as Dawkins. I have a skeptical relative. I’m going to buy both books and ask him to read them. Then I hope we’ll get together and have a good old chin wag.

I suggest you do the same.

You can read Carl Olson’s interview with Fr Crean and order the book here.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

May 6, 2010

The Vicar on the British Election

Next Post

May 7, 2010 Who Art in Heaven

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anglican Matters Apologetics Architecture Blobble Study Book Reviews Brideshead Caitlin O'Rourke Catholic Art Catholic Culture Church Politics Chust for Nice Contemporary Culture Duane Mandible Ed Blanch Film Reviews Fr Harvey Nicolaitan Frank Viola Mantilla the Hon More Christianity Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady Mystery of the Magi Norman Anderson Queen Hillary Saints and Supernatural Spirituality The Inklings The Vicar Theology Todd Unctuous Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz