Worldviews of Role Model Richard Dawkins

Robert Davidson

CWV-101

April 11, 2013

Instructor Michele Pasley

Worldviews of Role Model Richard Dawkins

In the early 20th Century Darwin’s Theory of Evolution fueled the debate between Christians and Atheists as to the existence of God. The Atheists today believe in the big bang theory. Christians believe that God is the creator of all things. Richard Dawkins’s (Evolutionary Biologist) beliefs are that there is no supernatural power in existence and that man evolved as according to Darwin which is the main premise of Atheism. Atheists have declared Richard Dawkins a role model for Atheism because of his emphasis on scientific evidence to prove all things. Unlike Dawkins, I follow the Christian world view. Dawkins has unique worldviews when it comes to family, social issues such as abortion, and the nature of God; a sharp contrast from mine.

Dawkins is a prominent critic of Christian faith. His view is that religion is both a source of contention and a rationalization for belief without evidence (Dawkins, 2006, pp.282–286). He contends that faith is belief that is not evidence based and should be considered as one of the world's great evils (Bruce, 2012). Allister McGrath, a well known biochemist, a former atheist turned Christian whom respects the writings of Dawkins, describes Dawkins’s worldview as flawed in the scientific community. “Dawkins asserts that religious faith means blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence, which is totally inconsistent with the scientific method” (McGrath, 2005, p.118). Dawkins also holds the view that people who are educated in the field of sciences without having religion in their lives will live a life of ease and contentment. Dawkins is known for his materialist views about the nature of reality and the belief that “the supernatural never offers human kind a true explanation for those things seen in the world and the universe that surrounds us (Dawkins, 2006, p.5)....