Dawkins' God

ALISTER E. MCGRATH is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. One of the world's leading theologians, he has written numerous critically acclaimed books, including The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis (Wiley, 2013), Why God Won't Go Away: Engaging the New Atheism (2011), and Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology (Wiley, 2011). He is also the author of some of the most widely used theology textbooks, including the bestselling Christian Theology: An Introduction, now in its fifth edition (Wiley, 2010).

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction 11 Darwinism: The Rise of a Scientific Theory 7Natural Selection: Charles Darwin 9The Mechanics of Inheritance: Gregor Mendel 18The Discovery of the Gene: Thomas Hunt Morgan 21The Role of DNA in Genetics 24What’s in a Name? “Darwinism” or “Evolutionary Theory”? 262 The Selfish Gene: A Darwinian View of the World 32Introducing Dawkins 33Dawkins’ Approach: The Selfish Gene 38The Place of Humanity in a Darwinian Universe 44Are Genes Really Selfish? 47What Remains of the “Selfish Gene” Approach? 513 Blind Faith?: Evidence, Proof, and Rationality in Science and Religion 57Faith as Blind Trust? 60Is Atheism Itself a Faith? 68Is Christian Faith Irrational? 71The Problem of Radical Theory Change in Science 77The Limits of Science 80Mystery, Insanity, and Nonsense 824 The Blind Watchmaker: Evolution and the Elimination of God? 86The Contours of a Darwinian Worldview 86Is Darwinism a Complete Explanation? 91God as an Explanatory Hypothesis? 93The Elimination of Purpose: Dawkins on Teleology in Nature 96The Divine Watchmaker: Paley’s Grand (but Correctable) Mistake 98Dynamic Conceptions of Creation: Augustine of Hippo 107Natural Selection and Religious Beliefs: Darwin’s Views 111The Christian Reaction to Darwin 1165 Cultural Darwinism?: The Invention of the Meme 120Universal Darwinism: The Evolution of Culture 120Introducing the Meme 122Introducing the “God-Meme” 125Is Cultural Development Darwinian? 128Do Memes Actually Exist? 131The Flawed Analogy between Gene and Meme 133The Redundancy of the Meme 136God as a Virus of the Mind? 139Moving On … 1436 The God Delusion: Dawkins on Atheism, Science, and Religion 144The Cultural Location of The God Delusion 145The “Warfare” of Science and Religion 149Natural Science Leads to Neither Atheism Nor Christianity 155Science, Faith, and Evidence 157A Darwinian Explanation of Belief in God? 162Awe, Wonder, and Religion 166Conclusion 170Select Bibliography 173Index 184