The Dawkins delusion
Dawkins, rather than being a profiteer, is savvy in providing monetary support for his foundation
For those of you who did not read Alexander Khanin’s comment piece, his thesis can be reduced to a number of playground-worthy statements. I have a big problem with his reasoning and the nature of his claims so let us work our way through them. It will not take long I promise, but for the sake of intelligent debate everywhere he needs to be cut down to size.
First, that Professor Dawkins is a callous profiteer. The author, maybe trying to be “down with the youth”, compared him to Christina Aguilera and implied that he is pocketing all the proceeds from merchandise sales on his website. If you dislike someone as much as Mr Khanin appears to, you should find evidence to support your claims. Merchandise sales from richarddawkins.net directly benefit his foundation for reason and science. To see for yourself (yes that is evidence) go to http://store.richarddawkins.net. Dawkins, rather than being a profiteer, is savvy in providing monetary support (a drop in the ocean compared to organised religions’ riches) for his foundation at a time when religious superstition goes largely unchallenged in spite of the misery it causes.
Bizarrely, Khanin’s irrational dislike of Dawkins appears to compel him to write more than the despicable worldviews of some leaders of major faiths
Moving swiftly on to the second claim, anybody who has ever heard of Dawkins is, I am sure, perfectly aware of his opinions. He would not be a very effective proponent of a secular society if he didn’t state his case as frequently and eloquently as he does. Does the Pope stop talking about his church’s stance on contraception and condom use in Africa? No. Do extremist Muslim preachers keep their views about the west and women’s rights private? No. Bizarrely, Khanin’s irrational dislike of Dawkins appears to compel him to write more than the despicable worldviews of some leaders of major faiths.
Richard Dawkins is a national treasure. He is passionate about encouraging children to question their elders and think for themselves. He actively encourages a full scale assault on solving nature’s mysteries and it is clear that he cares deeply about humanity and our future. We could all be a bit more like Dawkins. Yes, that includes you Mr Khanin.
