A devil's chaplain by Richard Dawkins

 Reading such intelligent thoughts, put so simply and clearly, and with profound originality, this book can't help but to elevate the reader to some inspired mental plane, unless the reader happens to possess that viral disease called Faith. Anyone who harbors that ugly mental disorder will find themselves vomiting objections to the very thing that just might cure them. Richard Dawkins serves as the doctor who has a cure; a treatment that the infected mind, by its very nature, will at first want to reject. However, if the brave believers can get past their infirmity's power of denial, they will have the inoculative tools to help rid themselves of unnecessary (and dangerous) beliefs.
A Devil's Chaplain, written by one of the most renowned evolutionary biologists, comes from his personal selections from past articles, lectures, book reviews, forewords, tributes and eulogies that he had published over 25 years. A few of you may notice that many of the chapters from Dawkins book had previously appeared on John Catalano's wonderful web site, The World of Richard Dawkins.

No doubt some of the Religious Right will believe that the title of this book describes Dawkins as a disciple of Satan, but actually the phrase comes from a letter by Darwin where he jokingly refers to a book by a Devil's Chaplain explaining the cruel works of nature (an idea that a religious mind who thinks their god has created perfect designs in 'His' image, might want to reconsider after reading this book).
The subjects in this book range from the latest views of evolutionary biology, Darwin, the methodology of science, memes (a lot on memes), ethics, religion (a lot on religion), and heros. Of his heros, Dawkins writes lovingly about the lives of Douglas Adams (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxyfame), W. D. Hamilton, John Diamond, Richard Leakey, and Stephen Jay Gould.
Those who have read Dawkins and Gould's books will, no doubt, have heard about the disagreements between these two great scientists. But how mild their disagreements compared with those who disagree on the bases of faith (as do religionists who cannot resolve their disagreements with facts, but instead resort to anger, and sometimes violence or war.) Dawkins expresses his loving admiration for Gould (and Gould had expressed his admiration for Dawkins before his recent death) and shows how scientists behave even in light of disagreements.
Freethinkers will love the raw courage of Dawkins stand against religion. He understands the dangers of belief and writes about, gives lectures, and openly rejects faith based institutions. This book lays it on the line. Dawkins says, "It is time for people of intellect, as opposed to faith, to stand up and say 'Enough!" He explains how religions start and thrive and how closely they resemble replicating viruses.
The last section has Dawkins reveling a loving letter to his ten year old daughter, Juliet. He had always avoided even the smallest suggestion of infant indoctrination and this letter serves as a sort of inoculation against dangerous beliefs; a warning that instructs against three bad reasons for believing: tradition, authority, and revelation. If anything, not only sons and daughters should read this, but the millions of adults who didn't stand a chance to decide for themselves might get something out of this unless, of course, their indoctrination has forever barred them from a remedy.
If you wonder why a renowned biologist would spend so much time on the subject of religion, an area seemingly out of his profession, consider that Dawkins invented (or discovered) memes and knows that they operate similarly to biological genes. Since religions live as the most pervasive and powerful memes on this planet, who better than Dawkins to explain its origins and how it spreads?

The review has been taken from here
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